The difference between empathy and sympathy and why it's important

[bennyboy]

I'd definitely agree that "tough love" can be beneficial, but empathizing doesn't necessarily mean reinforcing their behavior. One could certainly combine empathy with tough love. In fact that would probably be the best way to handle the situation. You responded well to those friends, but it's possible that you could have virtually ignored their advice because you have the mindset of "Easy for them to say something like that, they're not dealing with this."

Yeah, that's the essence of the problem, isn't it? The person him/herself needs to come out of their shell and decide they want to engage in life even if it hurts or feels scary. But most depressed people are so clouded by their situation that it's very hard for them to take that step.