How to Help Someone With Depression or Anxiety

Get the course: How to Help: Peer-to-Peer Support Certification

"How do I help someone with depression?"
"How can I help someone with anxiety?"
These are the questions I get asked most frequently.

And I’ve got a ton of ideas for you — 51 videos and counting — that I have filmed and am in the process of editing. It’s all part of my new course, “How to Help: Strategies to Support Loved Ones With Mental Illness.”

If you want to learn how to help someone with depression or how to support a friend with anxiety, then this course will teach you essential skills, starting with the basics and moving on up to more advanced techniques.
If you want to know what to say to someone who is depressed or how to talk to someone who is anxious, this course will walk you through that step by step.

Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC, and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.

About Me:
I’m Emma McAdam. I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and I have worked in various settings of change and growth since 2004. My experience includes juvenile corrections, adventure therapy programs, wilderness therapy programs, an eating disorder treatment center, a residential treatment center, and I currently work in an outpatient therapy clinic.

In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.

Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC
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[fritzyfritzyfritzyfritzy]

everyone who actively searched for videos like these, please take a virtual hug.

[brahimm]

i hope the person you care about gets well soon 💜

[tjdaniels]

What if ur helping them so much that u cant deal with ur own emotions 😕

[jackanderson]

Psilocybin saved my life. I was addicted to heroin for 15 years and after Psilocybin treatment I will be 3 years clean in September. I have zero cravings. This is something that truly needs to be more broadly used in addiction treatment.

[arhaan]

i just feel like its my fault cause i didnt know how to help

[liloandstitcbedtogether]

When you want nothing more than to see them feel good and share with them!

[maybeerin]

I really needed this.
An online friend of mine had a really bad life and, I just want them to feel safe and happy. Even if I can't do much, I'll still do it.

[juandiegoalvan]

My ex girlfriend just left me cuz of depression during quarantine and now I’m very worried about her because i don’t care if she left me or if she loves me or not but I love her and I want her to be okay but i don’t know what to do to help.

[gunjan]

I’m working on a project with a person who is diagnosed with depression and has suicidal thoughts. I don’t normally talk to him because I’m quite and he’s kind of a popular kid. I would never have guessed he was dealing with so much.
He opened up to me and I’m not exactly sure how to help. He says most people say they care but they don’t actually care. I don’t wanna be like them. I want to help him get better but I don’t know how.
I don’t know if I’m saying the right things or not. I don’t want to make it worse.
The video helped but I’m still so worried.

[lizardofchaos]

I just wanna say.... I can’t help my depressed friend.... because of the the best part.... all her devices got confiscated so there is no way for me to contact her..., the last time I saw her was on video call and I could tell she was now I’m in depression myself

[afroleeminmi-]

At the end of the day, tell yourself gently: ‘I love you, you did the best you could today, and even if you didn’t accomplish all you had planned, I love you anyway.

[benjipoth]

I appreciate people who understand what depression is and are eager to help
even though they have never gone through it before.

[averagegirl]

He doesn’t let me help. He would rather be alone until he’s better.

[GhostOfKotori]

I have depression myself, but I damnes well try my hardest to push it aside when it comes to a friend of mine who also has it, I would rather help her get through than myself.

[fdr]

Then Jesus Christ said : “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11 : 28

[hitesharathod]

People who are here for helping someone..you are a great soul :)

[_IamAstro_]

Hard to create deep change with someone who keeps pushing you away 💔

[hamzaalaa]

I'll learn this for you babe. My girlfriend
struggles with depression and anxiety. I'm
trying my best to understand how to help her.
I just want her to have a happy life that she deserves ❤️

[nakyiahcaballero]

My ex girlfriend suffers from this we have a son together. I love her and want to fix everything. She left me and put me in the friend zone an wants no romantic relationship with me. I am trying so hard to be a family again. I just want to give up but I love her and find myself getting just as depressed. It’s so hard to be inlove with someone like this . Thanks for your tools I’ll try and use them and hopefully save my family. I think she doesn’t want to confront her problems or has in the past and knows what’s wrong so she refuses help . I’m looking for my own therapist to help me be a better man and father . Maybe seeing changes in me will help . I am on some notebook level for this woman. Prayers for me pls

[aloistrancy]

I'm here because I have a friend and she cuts and want to take her life but me and my bestfriend (Her gf) try to stop her but she doesn't care.