Helping people with depression-

Hello, So lately I have recently discovered some of my friends have been suffering with depression and they have told me a few stories about how they 'overcome' it. Well perhaps overcome isn't the right word but 'control' might be. They have learned to control there bad thoughts and drown it out with better ones. I know a girl, who is probably the single most beautiful girl I have ever seen. But as luck would have it, she's depressed a suicidal. I had known this girl for 4 years, I knew she cut but never knew it was that bad. Well, one day something ticked her over. She tried to commit suicide. Swallowed a heap of anti-depressants and was waiting around to die, that's when my best friend at the time saved her life. She found her lying in the bathroom, called an ambulance and she got her stomach pumped and survived. This incident happened when I she was 15 (3 years ago to the date) and I only found out 6 months ago about it. It broke me, knowing that one of my great friends tried to end her life. Well I can happily say since the incident back in 2011 she is now at the happiest point in her life. She has not cut for 1 and half years and is, I repeat, the happiest she's ever been. She deserves as well. This girl has told me about some of the things that helped her get through it. One of the things she found most helpful was focusing on the future, having a reason to live, not a burden to live. You are going to have to want to live, this can be by having something to do after school. A dream job, looking after a pet or just being around for your loving friends and family. As much as you might not think your friends and family love you, they do they might be in the midst about how to help but the are there to help. Another way was to find something therapeutic to do; for her it was art, she did 2 hours of art everyday which helped her drown out any negative thoughts. And last and probably the most important one, she had a friend who she could trust. Here's what I have gotten out of people suffering with depression; they don't want help or advice, they don't want someone to take pity on them and call them attention seeking (although there are some people who fake depression for attention), all they want is someone to dump there thoughts on, hold them and tell them its okay. So I like to be that guy. I sometimes go on online chat rooms and find people who are suicidal and depressed (they go on these sites because they need someone to talk too) and just tell them that im here if they want to talk. They usually tell me there problems and I often express the story about my friend who tried to commit when she was 15. Tell them that it gets better, and that's because it does. If you're reading this and are feeling suicidal it does get better. I cant show you but I can assure you. You just have to give it time. Although I do not think depression can be 'beaten' as such (prove me wrong) it can be drowned out to a point that you have control of it. You will find that point or your friend will. You just have to be someone they can trust. If they tell you about it, don't tell anyone else. They have trusted you with something that is really important to them. Don't break that. Okay that's the end of my blog about how I try to help depressed people and a few pointers on how I do so. It does get better, it always gets better.