Do you have a depressed friend that can never seem to get their house clean? Always dishes in the sink or the floor really needing to be vacuumed? Thinking back to my absolute worst days I can see my houses at those times and I just cringe at the sight. Clothes everywhere rather than in the basket. Dishes in the sink. And vacuum? You’ve got to be kidding.

Know that even if your friend doesn’t know they are depressed you are probably seeing someone that is having a really rough time. I had so many times where my house became the first visible sign of how bad my depression had gotten. I remember my mother saying ‘a messy house is a sign of a messy mind’ and she was usually right. How could I possibly wrap my head around cleaning my house when I couldn’t wrap my head around clearing the clutter in my mind?

Some opposites happened as well. A couple times I was smart enough to help someone else out financially while I dealt with the depression rather than making the depression worse by trying to clean or organize. On the other hand there were times where a specific thing would be neat and organized to the nth degree. I was told once by a psychologist that it was because it made me feel better to be able to control that one thing.

If you have a friend or family member going through this don’t JUDGE them, help them. Find out what’s wrong and how you can help pull them OUT of the depression even a little bit. Anything could help.

Yeah, I still see days when stuff builds up but nothing like I have before. And man am I glad I recognize it for what it is when it starts. If this is you. Just tackle it once piece at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed and take care of you! Ask for help if you need it.