What can you do for someone who is depressed? How can you help? What can you say to them? Well, what if I told you that you won't be able to reason someone out of depression?
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to interview Nathan Mitchell, a co-director of the Anasazi Foundation and the actor who portrayed Joseph Smith in the Church's films and, more recently, Peter in the Bible videos.
After interviewing Nathan extensively about the Anasazi Foundation, I started asking him more general questions. One of the questions I asked him was, "How can you help a loved one with depression?" Nathan's answer took me by surprise—even though, intuitively, I understood its truthfulness:
"You're not going to be able to reason someone into having a healthy outlook about themselves," he said. Because depression actually causes irrational thoughts—it doesn't listen to reason. "But there are things that we can do," he said. "There are always things that we can do to show love." He then went on to share a deeply profound piece of advice.