Not many people know how to help a friend who is suffering from depression – which is why film critic and writer Sheila O’Malley felt compelled to publicly praise her friends for how they helped her when she needed it most.
On the Twitter thread she published last week, O’Malley explained how the death of her father sent her into a grieving spiral. Upon moving to a new apartment, the writer says her mental health prevented her from unpacking any of her belongings.
“For MONTHS, I was ashamed I couldn’t unpack,” says O’Malley. “How can you be UNABLE to unpack? Just open the g.d. boxes. That was the year I cried for 19 days. Straight.”
As she struggled with her condition, her high school friend David did his best to uplift her with words of encouragement and love – neither of which were quite enough to help.
RELATED: This Update From Unlikely Friendship in 2016 is a Sweet Reminder that Good Things Last
Finally, he took a risk and rallied their friends for a secret unpacking party.
“It very well could have ended badly. I could have lashed out,” says O’Malley. “But he took the risk. He sent out an email to a group of local friends (w/out my knowledge) and said, ‘Sheila is struggling. She needs our help. Let’s all go over there and unpack her apartment for her. Bring food. Let’s make it fun.’”
After ensuring that O’Malley would be home, the determined team of friends showed up at her door ready to get to work.
“At 6 pm on Thursday night the doorbell rang and 10 of my friends barged in, bearing platters of food,…
