How to help someone with depression?

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How to help someone with depression?

When is depression?

Depressive moods or sadness are normal emotional states that we all know. The difference in clinical depression lies in the extent of the symptoms and the duration of the symptoms. In the following article, we get to know about How to help someone with depression? So don’t skip the article from anywhere and read it carefully because it’s going to be very useful for you guys.

The following two-question test can be useful for an initial classification:
  • In the past month, have you felt down a lot, sadly depressed, or hopeless?
  • In the last month, have you had significantly less desire and enjoyment in things that you normally enjoy doing?

If both questions are answered with yes, clarification with a family doctor, psychiatrist or psychotherapist makes sense.

What can relatives do?

When a loved one suffers from depression, this triggers great uncertainty among relatives: How should I deal with it if my husband suddenly seems absent? Should I speak to him or leave him alone to help someone with depression? Is it counterproductive if I tell my wife that I am very worried about her? And can you help at all?

First of all, it is good to know the following: Depression is not an irreversible fate, it can be treated. The earlier you seek professional help, the higher the chances of recovery. That is why you can be confident and tell the sick person that they will soon be better.

Relatives can also help by

  • the diseased person in support to stick with therapy.
  • are there and listen.
  • try to understand what depression feels like.
  • take the disease seriously without downplaying it, but also not dramatizing it.
  • are willing to endure and get through the disease together.
  • stay patient.

What should relatives not do?

«Look how beautiful the sun is shining. Try to enjoy it ». Depressed people often hear such well-intentioned prompts. But they are just as unfavorable as admonitions and reproaches: “Now hold yourself together.” Depressed people want nothing more than to be active again and in good spirits. But they are thwarted by their own organism due to their illness. You can’t want to to help someone with depression. Therefore, appealing to their will is of little help or even makes the problem worse.

On the other hand, it makes sense
  • to encourage someone when they show initiative.
  • to support him to gradually find his way back to a regular daily routine. Because it is often the simplest activities such as getting dressed or going to the mailbox that has become insurmountable. Every step, no matter how small, counts.

Depression in parents: how do I explain what mom or dad has to my child?

When parents feel bad, even small children can feel it. But they cannot classify what is happening around them and they quickly blame themselves for it. Therefore, parents should not leave them alone and explain the disease to them to help someone with depression. Books are good aids for this: “Mama’s Monster” or “Annika’s Other World” is intended for smaller children to help someone with depression. “My Black Dog: How I put my depression on a leash” is suitable for older children and young people.

What to do when family members run out of strength?

Depression can drag on for months, which is debilitating for loved ones. You may feel powerless or guilty at times, exhausted and overwhelmed to help someone with depression, and sometimes angry. It is important to recognize these limits and take care of your own health by

  • taking a break.
  • exchanges with friends.
  • Joins a self-help group for relatives.
  • if necessary, go to the therapist himself or arrange a «family meeting» with the sick person. It can be relieving to hear from a professional about how depression works, what treatment options are available, and that it is legitimate for family members to seek help.

Important: Don’t just turn away from the sick person, but be honest and say that you will continue to be there, but will not make it on your own.

How do relatives deal with rejection?

Depressed people sometimes don’t let anyone get close to them and can be dismissive. For those who want to help, this is difficult to understand and insulting. But: if you are depressed, you do this not with bad intent.

But because you cannot react differently at this moment. Relatives who are aware of this and who do not take the rejection personally are better able to deal with it. It would be less beneficial to turn away from the sick person.

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