What to Do When You or a Loved One Has Depression
Christine Sutherland
It can be difficult for families to know what to do when someone has depression. The depressed person may be withdrawn and difficult to communicate with, and there might be a desperate tendency to try to cheer them up or get them to look on the bright side of life. Or there might be a nervous silence because people are afraid of "interfering".
But neither of these stances are logical or effective!
Keep in mind that depression is not a private matter just for the sufferer. It is truly a family matter, and even a community matter, because of the damage it does to everyone. So the family has a right to insist that the sufferer receive and co-operate with treatment. Additionally, life and death matters take first place over privacy matters. You might want to try to help to reduce the stress level of the sufferer, but this should never involve enabling them to avoid treatment.
But many times families can work together to ensure against the development of depression, or to quickly turn depression around when it does arise, if only they understand the crucial role played by important lifestyle factors.
For instance although the estimation of fluid requirements have been somewhat overstated in the past, we still find people presenting with depression solely due to dehydration. Immediately the sufferer starts eating and drinking normally, the depression magically disappears.
Likewise a lack of adequate physical activity can create a deeply depressed state, complete with the full range of depression symptoms, like sleeping difficulty, digestive upsets or constipation/diarrhoea, dry skin, hair loss, extreme fatigue, etc. Simply by introducing a brisk 30-minute walk each day, in the company of at least one other person, you may gain a rapid improvement!
Altogether there are around 17 lifestyle errors associated with depression, but these "errors" have become so common now that families and even whole communities regard them as normal! To protect yourself and your family against depression, you need to pay careful attention to the check list and make changes that support a healthy body and brain!
Depression rates are escalating out of control and are estimated to become our most expensive disorder by the year 2020. In view of that, organisations like The Lifeworks Group are trying to get information out to the general public to turn this trend around. The free book "17 Solutions" outlines the lifestyle mistakes that underpin or cause depression and describes how to get back on track.
But there's more to depression than lifestyle factors, as crucial as they are! Typically the depressed person will have developed an habitual, depressed thinking style and these thoughts and feelings serve to hold the depression in place. The family can be at least a little helpful here by remaining caring, but firm. By all means hear the depressed person out, but not the same stories over and over again. Be compassionate, but do your best to be a role model of someone who is fully engaged with life, and living healthfully and happily.
As well as intelligent help from the family, it's essential for the sufferer to receive therapy in order to firstly resolve issues that may have helped create the depression, and secondly to eliminate unwanted thoughts and feelings that keep the depression in place. BMSA should be the treatment of choice in most cases, provided that is delivered by a properly qualified health professional, in the context of a comprehensive therapy plan.
The book "Relieving Depression - Quickly, Easily and Safely" describes how BMSA is used both in therapy and as a self-help method.
A professional therapist will also examine a host of issues (such as relationships, trauma, and health) that can play a part in depression, and help the sufferer to think through an solve problems more effectively.
Most people are well aware of privacy legislation and the fact that therapy is private. Normally your therapist may not disclose to ANYONE what occurs in therapy, other than their supervisor, and then only in a way that does not identify the client. However when suicidality is an issue the therapist is required by law to get written permission to pass specific information to specific people, in order to protect the client.
The therapist will certainly want to help the sufferer to return to a happy and fulfilling life, but in the meantime must take all possible action to ensure he/she survives.
If you or your family member has been prescribed drugs for depression, make sure everyone knows that sudden withdrawal is to be avoided because of the potential for severe and dangerous side-effects. In particular the SSRI's actually change the way serotonin behaves in the brain, and some people react by reducing the amount of serotonin they produce. When the drug is withdrawn, this reduction in serotonin can be catastrophic.
The purpose of this article has been to explain how depression can be eliminated very quickly (and also permanently) by correcting lifestyle errors, and by eliminating habitual thinking patterns. While you'll find excellent support and information on the internet, you'll also be best advised to study a good treatment manual on depression, and engage a skilled therapist or counsellor.
About the Author:
The free book "17 Solutions" is of vital importance to families who have a depressed family member. Also the free book "Stop Wishing and Start GETTING" proves how quickly unwanted thoughts and feelings can be eliminated with BMSA.
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