Advice On Depression Help From Friends And Family
To someone suffering from depression, depression
help for his/her family is like the oxygen mask for a suffocating
person. The feelings of being exhausted, worthless, and above all those
of helplessness, experienced by the sufferer, can press on him/her to
give up living and commit suicide. Thus, if any of your friends or
family members suffer from depression, your support is vitally
important. One thing you must always remember is to treat depression,
especially severe depression, as an emergency situation. The first rule
of providing help to the patient is to treat depression as a matter of
life and death situation. Below are some guides for you.
Willingness to Act
One of the most urgent parts of depression help is to realize for the
help giver is the readiness to act. Thinking that a depressed person is
'not alone' is the thing that gives many a life to suicide. If you are
close friend, family remember, or acquaintance that cares, treat the
case as if you are the last person on whom the survival of the patient
depends.
Getting Treatment
The most helpful way to provide depression help is to get the patient
necessary treatment by a trained psychotherapist/psychiatrist. Make an
appointment with the therapist, encourage the patient to accept the
treatment and be consistent in following it. Take time to accompany the
patient to the therapist. Keep yourself informed on whether the patient
is taking the prescribed medicines
Emotional Support
Major depression is essentially a river of emotion running out of the
person's control. The patient is emotionally devastated by the feelings
that the situation is out of control; life means little; and nothing is
there to live for. The core of practical depression help consists in
staying with the patient and boosting his/her morale to live. Treating
him/her with affection, paying full attention to his speech, and keeping
a positive tone of conversation about things, all bring about a positive
change in the patient's attitude towards living.
Remarks about Suicide
If the patient mentions anything about suicide, even if with a smile or
apparent lightness, mark it as a threat. Do not impose your 'learn
positive living' on him/her. Tell the therapist about this in
confidence. Offer hope to the patient and never laugh at the way he or
she thinks about life.
Involvement in Life
Depressed people lose all interest in life and mostly they prefer to be
left alone. This is the dark tunnel, which open into death. Take them
out to be part of life activities, eating, movies, games, friends and
anything which they were previously fond of. However, take care not to
be too demanding or forcing things on the patient for acceptance.
Depression help demands that the patient be allowed to accept things on
his/her own or otherwise, feelings of failure loom.
Initiative
Proper depression help must never wait for the patient to come and seek
your help or tell you that life is getting hard. It is your job to go
ahead and make the difference in the patient's life by saving him or her
from giving up on living.
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