What Do You do for Someone who is Depressed?
So What do you do for them or yourselves:
Give them support and get them some help-it is as simple as getting them into their family doctor or walk-in clinic. Don’t get angry or ignore them-this makes it worse. It is difficult for them to ask the dr for help and they don’t always want to. They sometimes will only get help when they hit rock bottom- it seems that they think they can overcome it in the meantime until it hits rock bottom or sometimes they will not get help without your help-forever floundering to the depths of despair to only think the solution may be suicide* to rid them of these feelings.
Also, be patient-sometimes it seems the person you love and want to get help for, is not listening so it is easy to get angry with them (and you assume they know why you are angry- you want to help them because you love them and do not want to see them like this! -which they don’t );
My analogy to this is what you would do if they had a physical injury- you would TAKE them to the doctor- so my advice is book the appointment and take them- just like you would if they had any other ailment. And for those of you who are self-diagnosing and feel they are depressed- go see your family doctor- it does not need to be a psychiatrist or speciality practitioner-your doctor will put you through a list of questions and will get you the help you need.
C Van Bargen
*Remember Suicide is not a disease but an outcome or solution to the person involved and depression is the leading precursor to suicide in over 80% of suicides/attempts-not PTSD or any other mental ailment, but PTSD can cause depression; this is why “depression awareness” is so crucial.
A Checklist to bring with you to Doctor * use this PDF of this document and checklist for printout
Depression.org -Click and Save your life-National Foundation for Depressive Illness for more information on depression
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