Hi people, my name is ronnie, and I have a best friend who is going through some serious, depression.?

Question

She also turns to alchohol whenever she is feeling down, which is more and more often. She comes to me for guidance, but, I am at my wits end! If I had the means, I would pay for her to speak to a professional, but, sadly, that is not the case. She too does not have the financial means to speak to anyone that can help her. It is horrible watching someone you care about self destruct before your very eyes. Does anyone know of any low income or sliding scale resources that I could suggest to her? As, I mentioned earlier, alcohol is a huge problem, but, I think that speaking to a counselor in order to identify and resolve all her issues of past family abuse, low self esteem, feelings of self doubt and worthlessness, and a general feeling of "miserable" to use her words, would be the first step in healing for her. Also, does anyone know of any self help books to suggest? She was in a much better place mentally in college, but, since moving here to LA, she is crashing. Please help.

Answer 1

There is only so much you can do for a friend. If she's eligible, she can apply for public assistance, which covers medical bills. She can then see a therapist and the state will cover the cost. or most of it. Alcohol is a depressant, so that's the worst thing she can be doing right now. Perhaps her relocation is part of the problem, too.

Answer 2

It's hard to tell like this what would be the best book to suggest, since you didn't wrote nothing about her problem. You mentioned just that she's started to have an alcohol problem, but that's just the peak of the iceberg.

In the meantime, until she gets professional help, you can help her a lot by asking her a questions. When she comes to you "miserable", ask her why does she feels like that. What's by her opinion reason for that. Ask her why she thinks that that's the major cause, Ask, ask, ask... Make her think deeply about her situation. Don't make any comments, don't make any suggestions how to solve problem, just ask questions, and let her talk. Don't interrupt her, ask when she's finished talking. Before you start doing that tell her that you're not doing that because of your curiosity, but because you want to help her ( she might wondering why are you asking so much). Make sure that you'll have enough time to talk and DON'T by any circumstances, share those informations with anybody else! Do that as much and as often as possible. There is a lot of answers hiding inside her, she just needs to find them.

This helped my best friend a lot. Two years ago, when we met, he was more or less the same like your friend with an exception of family abuse. Today he's successful person full of self confidence and power to live. He's bursting with positive energy. All he did was talking to me.

Answer 3

Hi Ronnie,
It's hard to watch a friend in so much pain.

The alcohol isn't really the problem, the pain she's avoiding is the real problem and it's hard to face that alone. AA meetings are a great place to start. You can go with her so she doesn't have to go alone. They are warm places because they take you as you are and people there have been through it. I knew a man who hadn't had a drink in decades and he still went for himself and to help the other people there. I'm assuming you meant LA, California, so here's a link that you can use to get started with AA http://www.lacoaa.org/.

Often there are other community resources to help people only it might take some dedication and persistence to get to it. Call government offices and keep calling until you find someone who can get you some connections.

Try local churches. Open the phone book and just start calling. This is a chance to learn and use networking skills. "Can you help me help my friend?" No? "Do you know of some place that has the resources to help her?" One of my favorite quotes is "The answer is always 'no' if you don't ask." (Patricia Fripp) Keep asking. I think you might find some good resources through AA for her in addition to the meetings themselves. Like I said, keep asking.

Last, and not least, is prayer. You don't need to belong to any group to do this, just start talking to God and asking for help, guidance, strength for you and your friend.

Good luck!

Answer 4

YEAH, it's f****d up to see anyone like that. OK, what she can do is go to ANY, ANY, ANY hospital in Los Angele's and say that she is seriously thinking about killing herself, If your friend is in need of IMMEDIATE help, then do this! Tell the emergency nurse that she is about to kill herself, she's doing drugs, etc,etc, The reason is two fold. First, she can be At a place where she will be monitored, mentally and physically, Second, she can seek the services that she needs. It's against the law to turn ANYONE away who Say's they are about to commit suicide, she does NOT, i repeat NOT need medical coverage for this! FORGET these arm chair morons here who think they know EVERYTHING! YOUR friend needs help and she needs it NOW!!! Trust me, if your friend really wants help, it's there! Oh, and self help books? FORGET THAT S**T! SOUNDS LIKE SHE'S WAY PAST THAT POINT!

Answer 5

Self-help suggestion. First read up on The Science of Deliberate Creation or at least The Law of Attraction as taught by Jerry and Esther Hicks, material which can be found online. If that approach is appealing to her, send her to one of their workshops with a list of questions she might have.
Otherwise she WILL crash and burn or she Might crash and bounce. If it is the latter, the benefit is that one tends to start all over and then it is a matter of ignoring the past, which she needs to do anyways. She needs to focus on how she wants her life to go.

Answer 6

First, there are helplines that can help her find the help she needs. If she has medical insurance, that can help her financially as far as seeing a therapist. If I were you, I would call some local hospitals and ask what you can do for her. If she has a drinking problem, that should be taken care of asap, especailly if she is willing to get help. Does she have family, parents? Maybe they ought to know whats going on.

Answer 7

I know how you & your friend both feel. Maybe you could check with the Psychology Dept. of a nearby college. They usually have a senior student work with you on a sliding scale fee. The instructor watches & listens through a one way mirror. Or maybe a church group. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

I truly have been bothered by submit partum melancholy for the previous one 3 hundred and sixty 5 days once I gave beginning to a sprint one boy. i could no longer give up thinking approximately how my husband loves him greater advantageous than me and how issues could be greater advantageous if he wasn't born in any respect. for this reason, I stayed faraway from him by way of fact I knew that i'd do something i would be apologetic approximately for something of my existence. very almost quickly I went to a therapist and persuade them that i want help. between different issues, i've got attempted organic supplementations and different e book to handle melancholy yet no longer something works like the melancholy unfastened technique. So now i'm proud to assert i'm between the happiest mom contained in the international. My husband loves us the two very plenty and that i thank the Lord for the blessing he gave us. melancholy unfastened technique?

Answer 9

Take her on a group survival hiking trip into the mountains. Or, go camping with her for a few days, with a guide. The change of atmosphere and the new demands may bring a change of perspective.

Answer 10

Ronnie, this is a scary and very hard question to answer cuz I to know someone suffering from this disese. It would be great if the two of you could visit a AA meeting. And, I'm sure if you called AA someone could refer you to a free councelor. Good Luck ronnie helping your friend.