My friend John mentioned that he has been feeling depressed lately. There have been some bad things in his logs that would make anyone sad but the things that normally bring him happiness aren’t doing anything for him lately. It’s something he has struggled with in the past. He has a counselor and has been prescribed anti-depressants. I’m not worried about him harming himself.
My understanding is that part of being a friend to someone facing depression is reaching out to spend time with them.
How much should I reach out? I don’t want to harass him, and he has a wife and other friends (that are emotionally closer than me). His wife for sure knows what’s going on, but I’m not sure about his other friends (our kids go to the same school so I actually see him more then most of his friends).
I understand that sometimes depressed people neglect chores in their life, should I ask his wife if there’s anything I could help him/them with?
I had a friend go through some pretty major trauma recently. Sending them memes and pet pictures was something they said was really helpful. I also reminded them that they didn’t need to actually reply to any of it.