I was thinking about this, and I came across a time where I had helped
a friend who was battling a severe case of depression that stemmed
from a divorce that he was going through. I was truly afraid that he
was going to hurt himself or worse. I could tell he needed someone to
talk to, so I went to him, and just actively listened. I wanted him to be
able to get it out what he was feeling, many times especially with
guys they have a hard time expressing their emotions. While listening
I learned a few things, not only about him personally, but about my
own depression as I had not been through that in particular, I was
able to identify with how he felt. Another thing that I did for him was
stage an intervention so that he could realize just how many people
truly cared about him. My friend had experience with substance
abuse problems as well, so that was on top of what he was already
going through. Although there was no advice that was going to take
away how he felt, I did get him to agree to see a therapist about what
he was going through. That led to him starting to attend AA. That
made a profound difference in his life as he has been sober for many
years now and even met his new wife through AA. I am glad he was
able to turn his life around. He worked very hard in doing that I am
just grateful for having a small role in that.
