Helping others with depression

[Borg]

I've heard the following logic from people who are depressed and I'm wondering how others would answer it.

I'm depressed so I try telling myself that I shouldn't feel so bad because there are others who are worse off than me. But, it doesn't help and I still feel depressed - which makes me feel even more depressed.

How do you deal with this logic?

[waht]

Depression is unique for every individual. I don't think there is anything you can say but encourage to stay positive. Also, have them pick up rigorous physical exercises to get the endorphins flowing.

[hypatia]

I don't believe one{a friend} can deal with that logic. Sometimes professional help is needed. When one of my friends is feeling depressed, I just hang out with them, maybe go for a walk or see a movie.

[f95toli]

I don't think there is anything you can say but encourage to stay positive

Actually, you have to be careful about telling someone that is depressed to "stay positive". There is a real risk that you make him/her feel guilty because they are depressed. One can of course still try to help them see things in a more positive light when possible (e.g. "No one cares about me", well tell him/her YOU care) but the risk is always that the person in question might put on a brave face but stay depressed.

Also, to answer the OP: Logic has nothing to do with it. People get depressed for many different reasons, but there is rarely any correlation between how bad a situation really is in "objective" and how deep the depression is. If possible try to make the person understand that.
In my experience all one can do is to make sure that the person in question knows that there is nothing wrong with being depressed and be as supportive as possible.

If the situation gets really bad one should encourage them to seek professional help. There are too many people walking around with depressions that never seek help because they are afraid of being labeled as "crazy".

[Borg]

Actually, you have to be careful about telling someone that is depressed to "stay positive". There is a real risk that you make him/her feel guilty because they are depressed. One can of course still try to help them see things in a more positive light when possible (e.g. "No one cares about me", well tell him/her YOU care) but the risk is always that the person in question might put on a brave face but stay depressed.

Also, to answer the OP: Logic has nothing to do with it. People get depressed for many different reasons, but there is rarely any correlation between how bad a situation really is in "objective" and how deep the depression is. If possible try to make the person understand that.
In my experience all one can do is to make sure that the person in question knows that there is nothing wrong with being depressed and be as supportive as possible.

If the situation gets really bad one should encourage them to seek professional help. There are too many people walking around with depressions that never seek help because they are afraid of being labeled as "crazy".

Thanks for the replies. I usually try to emphasize that most people go though some sort of depression at one point or another in their life and that things usually get better - with the usual advise to seek help if it doesn't.

My original post is more of a general question than anything else. I haven't had anyone tell me this phrase recently but, I have heard the same thing from different people over the years. None of them has been severely depressed from what I could tell - probably closer to melancholy. I've always found it odd that different people would explore the same 'logic' in an attempt to deal with it.

[Galteeth]

I've heard the following logic from people who are depressed and I'm wondering how others would answer it.

I'm depressed so I try telling myself that I shouldn't feel so bad because there are others who are worse off than me. But, it doesn't help and I still feel depressed - which makes me feel even more depressed.

How do you deal with this logic?

I would say that if they re experiencing depression in the chronic medical sense, help them realize they're thoughts relating to emotional states are not going to lead them to a productive place (you're not going to "outhink" depression), and encourage them to learn more about their condition and seek treatment.