Best Gifts for Friends with Depression (19+ List)

In this short article, we are going to discuss the best gifts for friends with depression. Each gift idea comes with a description to explain how it helps with depression. This list has over twenty such products that can make people feel better.

What are the Best Gifts for Friends with Depression?

If your friend is going through a tough time with clinical depression, here are some of the best gifts you can give them:

• Essential Oils
• Craft Kit
• Journaling/Art Supplies
• Daily Gratitude Journal
• Mood Tracking Journal
• Therapy Sessions
• Mindplace
• Plants
• Soothing Teas
• Diffuser
• Aromatherapy Heating Pad for Neck & Shoulders
• Weighted Blanket
• Daylight Therapy Lamp & Clock
• Muse
• Pill Case
• Yoga Mat
• Daylight Therapy Lamp & Clock
• Cleaning Kit
• Bath Kit
• Candles
• Comforting Compression Socks
• HemiSync

Top Gift Ideas for Friends with Depression

Depression can be a debilitating experience. It takes away your motivation, energy, self esteem, and sometimes even your will to live. People with depression need to be shown that others care about them. That’s why, giving them a present is a great idea. 

It’ll remind them of your love and if it’s a gift specially designed for depression, it can be extremely useful. Here are some of the best gifts you can give to someone with depression:

Essential Oils

Aromatherapy using essential oils is an effective treatment for depression. This is a pack of four blends of essential oils pre-mixed and packaged in portable, convenient roll-on bottles. Dream is a mix that promotes better sleep, has a relaxing scent, and is made of calming ingredients. 

Fresh will lift your mood, reduce anxiety, and boost concentration. Shield will support your immune system, make your body defenses stronger, and is great for seasonal changes. Finally, Head Ease is a blend that targets the bodily symptoms of anxiety. It relieves pain, alleviates stress, and soothes sore muscles.

Craft Kit

Arts and craft are fun to do, educational, and have a positive effect on depression. One of the symptoms of clinical depression is anhedonia, which means that they are unable to feel pleasure. 

By giving your friend a creative craft kit, you might motivate them to try something recreational again. The novelty of the present could ignite their curiosity and they might end up spending a quality Sunday afternoon. This kit is simple to learn and the output is lovely to look at.

Journaling/Art Supplies

Just like we mentioned above, practicing arts and craft can significantly improve mental health. Therapists also recommend journaling as a regular practice. That’s because when you pen down your thoughts and feelings, you gain perspective. 

They don’t feel as overwhelming as before and you can look at them objectively. Journaling can also be highly cathartic especially if accompanied with an artistic expression of what’s on your mind. This is a stylish journal they can use plus an elaborate kit for art supplies. 

Daily Gratitude Journal

The effects of gratitude on depression are profound. One can actually come out of depression without taking medication if they consistently practice gratitude. But in order to be truly effective, it must be done every day. 

Keeping a gratitude journal makes this a lot easier. You have a tangible way of recording your thankfulness and it also serves as a reminder of this ritual. Gift your friend their ticket out of depression with this useful journal.

Mood Tracking Journal

Another practice that helps with depression is self awareness and mood tracking. When you check in regularly to see how you’re feeling, you allow yourself to gain some control. If you know what you feel and give yourself the time and space to process it, it improves mental health. 

If the feelings are positive, this helps you rehearse it and enhance its positivity. If the feelings are negative, this gives you a chance to understand them. This mood tracking journal is quirky and inviting.

Therapy Sessions

Did you know that you no longer have to visit the office of a therapist to get professional counselling? That’s right, therapy can now be accessed using a smart device. We’re not talking about speaking to a bot or trying fixed templates of therapy. 

These are actual human beings with the right qualifications who can be reached using therapy apps. Talkspace is one such app that connects you to professionals for therapy. You can gift your friend live video sessions or messages using video, audio, or text.

Mindplace

MindPlace is a related product used to simulate meditation through audios and visuals. Their unique feature is the light and sound meditation that relaxes the mind and body while inducing sleep. 

The GanzFrame light glasses from MindPlace wrap your eyes in a spectrum of color spread evenly across inner space. LED lights and binaural beats create a conducive environment for you to sit back and uplift your mood. MindPlace also offers their customers a wide range of sessions and tutorials that let people optimise their meditation skills.

Plants

By giving someone plants, you’re literally giving them life. Horticulture is considered highly therapeutic and there’s evidence that it helps with depression. This is a set of six cute little succulents growing in even cuter planters. 

They don’t require a lot of care, can grow indoors, and take up very little space. Seeing them daily can bring back vitality to your friend’s routine. If they already have a green thumb, you can even try this bonsai or this beautiful flowering plant.

Soothing Teas

Drinking a hot cup of tea can be a very relaxing experience whether you have anxiety or not. There’s something special about a hot beverage as the warmth spreads slowly throughout your body to make you feel better.

But if the tea is made of plant extracts that are known to have depression-busting effects, there’s nothing like it. Here is a kit of soothing herbal teas that make an excellent present.

Diffuser

Your friend will love this 5-in-1 function aromatherapy diffuser. Along with spreading therapeutic scents, it also works as a humidifier, night light, decorative item, and an oil diffuser. It has four built-in timer setting modes and seven soothing LED lights. 

The automatic power off setting makes it super convenient to use. Try it for spa treatment, yoga, work, sleep, or even for kids. It’s bound to make your friend feel a lot lighter.

Aromatherapy Heating Pad for Neck & Shoulders

This wrap can be heated in the microwave or cooled in the fridge to suit your temperature needs. It relieves neck and shoulder tension, which are common pressure points for depressed people. Wearing this will soothe your muscles and help you feel more relaxed. 

The ultra-soft fabric feels good to the skin and can be a grounding tool. The filling contains lavender, which has a calming fragrance. Linalool is a compound found in lavender flowers that is an established antidepressant.

Weighted Blanket

A weighted blanket is like a regular blanket but heavier so that it can create a deep relaxing pressure. Putting on a weighted blanket can make body parts less restless and calm the person wearing it.

Mosaic is an American company that exclusively deals in weighted blankets. They offer a variety of categories for these calming blankets including cotton, washable, mink, and kid-friendly. Their range of ‘Grab Bag Weighted Lap Pads’ are ideal for such a gift.

Daylight Therapy Lamp & Clock

Mental health professionals often recommend spending some time in daylight to improve sleep. A wake-up light alarm clock uses the same mechanism to promote healthy sleep cycles. This can be extremely useful for someone with depression as sleep disturbances are a common symptom.

Philips offers multiple models for wake-up light alarm clocks. Here, we’re talking about the HF3520/60, which has many smart features like tap snooze, dimmable display, and FM radio. There are 20 brightness settings and 5 natural alarm sounds.

Pill Case

Someone with chronic depression is probably going to have to take many many pills. There are the meds for depression, some for comorbidities, possibly one for sleep, and others to counter side effects. It’s not a pleasant journey to recover from this mental disorder but it can be made convenient. 

This is an attractive pill case that can organise all the capsules your friend needs to take on a daily basis. It also comes with a cute leather bag to take away the appearance of something medical.

Yoga Mat

Yoga and meditation are highly recommended as an alternative treatment for depression. This is especially true if the depression is related to some kind of trauma. While yoga can be done on any soft and firm surface, having a yoga mat is most ideal. 

It is made of the right kind of foam to support your body as you do the poses. A yoga mat also helps give you an idea of how much space you’ll be needing for your flow. Most of all, it adds to the ritual of practicing yoga, making it a lot more meaningful.

Muse

Muse is a brain-sensing headband meant for EEG-powered sleep tracking and meditation. The band contains receptors that record electroencephalogram waves to monitor your focus, sleep, and recovery. 

It gives you insights for sleep stage visualisation, sleep position tracking, and a personalised sleep efficiency score. It pairs with the Muse meditation app so you can take sessions and track your progress.

Cleaning Kit

When people are depressed, it’s usual for them to stop caring about cleanliness. It’s such a harrowing experience that you stop caring about your own hygiene, let alone your home’s. 

That’s why this cleaning kit can be a very useful gift for your friend. It is an 11-piece set complete with a bucket, mop, cleaning cloths, and refills. The best thing you can do for your friend is to show up with the gift and help them clean.

Bath Kit

Encourage self care with this jumbo deluxe bath kit full of lavender-scented body products. It is complete with a bubble bath, bath bomb, bath salt, body scrub, shower gel, body lotion, eye mask, and a body mist. 

With this, you can gently nudge your friend to take care of themselves, something neglected in depression. All the different options tempt you to give yourself some much needed self-time. The lavender fragrance will promote relaxation and induce sleep.

Candles

Scented candles are a quick and easy way to create a calming and romantic ambience. They usually come with stylish packaging so even when they’re unlit, they add beauty to the space they’re in. 

This is a 13-ounce decorative candle that’s available in multiple fragrances. While many of these choices are effective in reducing depressive symptoms, we recommend the lavender vanilla scent. It will not only calm the person smelling it, but will also elevate their mood.

Comforting Compression Socks

Compression socks create a gentle pressure to facilitate blood circulation and to make one feel more relaxed. These are made from premium-quality stitching and fit perfectly on your feet. You can choose between several size options and different colour combinations so that they match your taste. 

Wearing these will improve your blood flow, help you run faster, react quicker, and use less energy. These will prove quite useful for someone with chronic depression as they fight fatigue and assist recovery.

HemiSync

Hemi Sync is a large online collection of content that helps viewers relax, focus, meditate, sleep, and thrive. The content on this website is categorised based on the desired outcome. They can be guided meditation, ambient music, practical tools, and much more. Each item has a rating given by previous users from more than 50 years of service. 

These products are available in numerous European and Asian languages and cost between $10 – $100. There are some useful courses as well that can cost more than that. You can pick the ones that you think your friend will like and buy the subscription.

BetterHelp: A Better Alternative

Those who are seeking therapy online may also be interested in BetterHelp. BetterHelp offers plenty of formats of therapy, ranging from live chats, live audio sessions and live video sessions. In addition, unlimited messaging through texting, audio messages and even video messages are available here.

BetterHelp also offers couples therapy and therapy for teenagers in its platform. Furthermore, group sessions can also be found in this platform, covering more than twenty different topics related to mental health and mental illness. The pricing of BetterHelp is also pretty cost-effective, especially considering the fact that the platform offers financial aid to most users.

Conclusion

In this short article, we discussed the best gifts for friends with depression. Each gift idea came with a description to explain how it helps with depression. This list had over twenty such products that can make people feel better.

Our list included Essential Oils, Craft Kit, Journaling/Art Supplies, Daily Gratitude Journal, Mood Tracking Journal, Therapy Sessions, Mindplace, Plants, Soothing Teas, Diffuser, Aromatherapy Heating Pad for Neck & Shoulders, Weighted Blanket, Daylight Therapy Lamp & Clock, Pill Case, Yoga Mat, Daylight Therapy Lamp & Clock, Cleaning Kit, Bath Kit, Candles, Comforting Compression Socks, and Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt Lamp

FAQs (Best Gifts for Friends with Depression)

Citations

• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04508.x