Spoke on the phone to the mother of one of dd's friends about 8 weeks ago to invite her dd to join us on a trip, she was in tears, told me she was depressed and she would call me when she could talk. She called tonight and asked us to visit her tomorrow. I don't know her very well, I have met her twice before briefly and she told me something of what she has been through.
I don't have any experience of depression but I am sure she will want to talk about what has been troubling her. From previous talks we have had, I know she was imprisoned and tortured as a young women for speaking against the govt, she lives away from her home country and cannot really go back. She is living in an amicable divorce arrangement and feels stressed with her dd's schooling because she feels "it is all on my shoulders". Recently her best friend, a man she has known for a long time died at an early age and she herself has pain from an operation which seems to have been botched.
Obviously she has a lot on her plate and I don't know her very well. If anyone has experience of depression, could you give me some advice on how I can best approach it so I don't end up making her feel worse? She has told me she has been seeing a therapist now for a few weeks and it is helping.
Due to the pain she cannot easily walk so we can only really chat at her home. I am worried that talking to me about it might bring it all up and make her feel worse.
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Mental health
Depression - mother of dd's friend, how should I handle this?
7 replies
ZZZenAgain · 18/01/2013 21:10
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