Friends

Friends play a central and vital role in most people's lives. Most people have a circle of friends that they meet regularly. A group of friends gives us a feeling of emotional support and stability. It is important for our self-esteem that we belong to a group.

It may be that one of your friends has tried to make you aware that he or she is feeling mentally unwell. If this is the first time your friend has been affected by depression, he or she will be uncertain as to what has gone wrong.

The incipient symptoms of depression can easily be confused with other, less serious problems. But depression is a serious mental illness. If one of your friends is suffering from depression, you may also be affected by your close friend's mental illness.

Tough on human relationships

Depression can put many strains on human relationships. Among the many symptoms of depression is social withdrawal. It is almost an inevitable consequence of depression that the sufferer does not use his or her network. But these symptoms can easily be misunderstood.

If your friend starts to turn down invitations to meet up, you might start thinking that he or she is angry at you. And if your friend repeatedly says no, it is inevitable that you will start to take it personally. You may become irritated. But perhaps you should try to call a common friend before you get too irritated. Your friend may have dropped all their friends and isolated themselves, and it may not only be you that he or she is rejecting.

Dependency

You may however also experience the opposite: That is that the person becomes dependent on you and is always calling you and telling you how bleak their life is.

When your friend is affected by tiredness, irritability and a lack of interest in the outside world, it is hardly surprising that your friendship will be put to the test.

If you are unaware that depression is the reason why your friend's behaviour has changed, the obvious solution would be to drop your friend. But it is of course unreasonable to destroy a friendship because one of you is ill.