First

Depression, anxiety, suicide, and self-harm. Dealing with any one of these things can be a struggle. It's even worse if you are dealing with more than one at a time. It seems as if these problems don’t exist until one of them happens. But even when they occur we as a society sweep it back under the rug. Because each one is an uncomfortable topic. They bring to light that life is not easy, it's a difficult battle. Some of us fight this battle on our own.

From a Christian point of view we just give the person a verse from the bible, tell them to pray and give it to God. But that's not good enough. Each teenager, each young adult suffering through this needs to be met on their level. Someone who has been where they are at needs to show them how it does get better. I look back to when I was a freshman in highschool when I was going through depression.I always wished someone could have reached me where I was. If you have not been where they are, they more than likely will not listen to you because you don't understand how they feel.

Your words of advice become hollow and useless. If you have not personally dealt with depression,  anxiety, suicidal thoughts, or self-harm the best thing to do when helping someone is saying, “I have no idea of how you feel. I cannot relate, but I will be here when you need someone to listen.” I always hated it when someone would tell me that they understood my pain, yet they had never been where I was at. Never had they looked at suicide as a last resort, so how could they tell me they understood how I felt.

Now, if you have been there. If you know what it’s like to have lost all hope then you can reach them on their level. You have the battle. You will be able to show them that there is hope, a light at the end of the tunnel. The reason is a survivor can share their personal troubles. Helping someone going through this type of pain is a process. Not only do they need to want to get better, but someone needs to be willing to help them.