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Most teens and young adults turn to friends first when they’re feeling depressed, so a Vancouver-based mental health group has produced a set of tips for those delicate conversations.

The Mood Disorder Association of B.C. has launched its What helps, What hurts campaign with a pocket guide — and companion website whathelpswhathurts.com because a person’s first experience of depression is often met with misunderstanding.

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“Most depression has its onset in late adolescence and early adulthood, so we want to reach out to that group so they don’t struggle for years before they get help,” said the group’s development co-ordinator, Polly Guetta.

“It’s never so simple as telling someone to snap out of it. If they could snap out of it, they would, because no one wants to feel this way.

“That can make people reluctant to speak about it again,” she said. “It’s the way the message is being delivered. It would be better to say something like, ‘It sounds like you need to make some changes so that you’re not so stressed out.'”