| How to help someone with depression
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How to help someone with depression
Help the person to recognize that there is a problem. If a friend or family member’s activity and outlook on life starts to decline and stays down, not for a few days, but for weeks, depression could be the cause. Many people don’t even realize that they are depressed. Encourage your friend to share his or her feelings with you, since talking about depression makes things better, not worse. Once it starts to become clear that something is wrong, you can suggest that he or she seek professional help.
Give details that asking for help does not mean they lack moral character. On the contrary, it takes both courage and wisdom to know when someone needs help. Help them to understand that they have taken a big step, and encourage them.
Learn everything you can about clinical depression. Find out about symptoms of depression and how to tell when your loved one is improving. Teach yourself on the issues that you should be careful about, and learn how to hold up your friend in the best way. Knowledge is authority and thoughtful.
Provide emotional support. What a person distressed from depression needs most is compassion and understanding. Telling someone to “snap out of it” or “lighten up” are dreadful things to say. The best things to say are, “How can I help you?” or “I will be here for you. I won’t leave.” Typically, depressed people lie about their depression, so if somebody says, "Are you okay?" they will say "Yes," but you have to ensure they can tell you how they really feel. Remind them of all their good character and why to live.
Provide physical support. Participate with your friend or loved one in low-stress activities such as taking a walk, watching a movie, or going out to eat somewhere nice (often they won\'t want to eat at all, but they might eat good food). In some cases you can ease the depressed person’s burden by helping with the small things—running errands, shopping for food and necessities, cooking, cleaning, etc.
Monitor likely suicidal gestures or threats. Statements such as “I wish I were dead,” or “I don’t want to be here any longer,” must be taken critically. Depressed people who talk about suicide are NOT doing it for the attention. If the person you care about is suicidal, make sure that a doctor or trained professional is informed. For now, hold on to the likelihood that your loved one will get enhanced, even if he or she does not believe it.
How to help someone with depression >
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