What to Do
When You or a Loved One Has Depression
One of the
worst aspects of depression is the tendency to withdraw and to be “unreachable”
by the very people who want to help, or can help! There’s a cultural tendency to avoid
“interfering” and so family and friends might avoid making suggestions (or even
demands) on the basis that the person will “come right”. Or alternatively the depressed person might
be assailed with well-meaning but pointless advice to “pull up his/her socks”
or “look on the bright side” or whatever.
None of
these things are in the least bit useful.
Depression Affects Everyone
Depression
is not actually a private matter, it’s a family matter and a community
matter. This is because it can be a
matter of life or death, and in these cases treatment issues well and truly
reign supreme over privacy issues. And
because depression impacts so damagingly and painfully on all members of the
family, the family have a perfect right to demand that the sufferer seek out
and co-operate with treatment.
While you
might be well advised to “go soft” on the sufferer in terms of the amount of
stress he/she is subject to, going soft on whether or not they get necessary
treatment is not an option.
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!
In fact
there are some 17 lifestyle “mistakes”, each one of which is capable of
producing depression. Unfortunately
these mistakes have become so common that in some families and communities they
are the new norm! In protecting yourself
and your family from depression, it pays to look over the check list and get
life back on healthy track again!
With
depression rates rising very quickly, it’s important to note that the free book
“17 Solutions” outlines these 17 lifestyle errors and describes how to overcome
them.
Apart from
lifestyle factors, thinking styles or thinking patterns also play a part and
must be addressed. The family can play a
small role in helping by refusing to listen to “broken record” comments or
complaints. Hearing someone out
comprehensively the first or second time is one thing, but encouraging someone
to dwell on these things isn’t useful.
It’s very important that family members do their best not to be affected
by the depression, and remain determined to live a life that is healthy and
happy, and continue to invite the depressed person to join them.
In addition
professional therapy is a must and this should involve the new BMSA (brief,
multi-sensory activation) techniques which have proven to be so beneficial in
helping people to change thinking patterns quickly.
The book
“Relieving Depression – Quickly, Easily and Safely”, available from the front page of this site, 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.
What
happens in therapy is certainly private and the legislation regarding privacy
is well-known. Not so well known are the
requirements of the therapist in cases where suicidality is an issue. The therapist must ask questions about
suicidality, must document answers, must have written permission from the
client to speak with certain family members and/or other health professionals,
and such permission must specifically describe what kind of information the
therapist may or may not impart to which people.
The object
of therapy is certainly to assist the sufferer to overcome depression, but also
for the client to remain alive in the meantime!
By
attending to lifestyle issues that may underpin or even cause depression, and
also eliminating depressed thinking patterns (which are basically automatic,
conditioned thinking styles) the sufferer can become free of depression not
only quickly, but permanently.
The free
book “17 Solutions” is of vital importance to families who have a depressed
family member. Likewise the free book
“Stop Wishing and Start GETTING” proves how quickly unwanted thoughts and
feelings can be eliminated with BMSA.
Read more about our depression treatment program by clicking HERE.
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