Helping without mentioning the illness

It is not always necessary to mention the illness when encouraging illness management strategies (e.g. invite the person to go for a walk with you because the dog needs walking, not because it might help the person’s depression). Also, keep in mind that not all support has to be verbal; sometimes just sitting with the person can be supportive or you can provide practical help without  necessarily discussing this in advance (e.g. with household tasks or with the children).