Mental health has always been quite important, although far too many people have been neglecting it for the better part of their lives. Some of the previous generations were simply not taught to think about their mental wellbeing at all, and that has taken a huge toll on their overall health, as I am sure you understand. The days of neglecting our psychological wellbeing are, fortunately, over. More info on its importance.
While we are now all perfectly aware of the significance of keeping our mental health in check, the truth is that we often don’t know how to do that. This is because understanding certain illnesses can be quite difficult. So, not only do we not know how to recognize certain issues, we also don’t know how to help if we notice signs of those issues in the people close to us.
All of that leads to a lot of frustration, because we cannot just idly sit back and watch our loved ones struggle with certain problems, such as depression for example, while not knowing how to help them. Well, in order to really help people with depression, the first thing you need to do is find a way to understand this specific disorder, because there’s no way you can help without having a sense of what the other person is actually dealing with. Understanding the disorder will, of course, require you to do quite a lot of reading and educate yourself on the topic as much as possible.
Understanding Depression
Since psycho-education is definitely necessary in these cases, I suggest you begin learning right away. And, no, this does not mean that you have to become a psychologist, psychiatrist or a psychotherapist in order to get a good understanding of what the person you love is dealing with if you suspect that he or she is depressed. Of course, nobody can understand the condition better than these professionals, but gaining at least some basic knowledge will help you, well, help the people you love.
Here are some things you can do for them: https://www.everydayhealth.com/depression-pictures/ways-to-help-loved-one-with-depression.aspx
As explained, in order to be able to help, you’ll need to do your best to understand this condition, so let us start learning. Depression is a mood disorder that leads people towards feeling sad and hopeless at all times. You should not, however, assume that it is the same as sadness in general. The mood of depressed people is usually so low that they cannot bring themselves to perform even the smallest everyday tasks that they are in charge of.
When the disorder is severe, these people may completely lose the will to live, and this lack of willingness will probably keep them in their beds at all times. They will stop enjoying the activities that they once loved and they might even neglect their own hygiene. Everyone can have depressive episodes, but in order to qualify as the major depressive disorder, this type of behavior and these types of feelings have to be persistent, lasting longer than six weeks, approximately.
Of course, you shouldn’t immediately assume that all people with this disorder will lock themselves up in their rooms and refuse to leave because they just don’t feel like it. Depression certainly has many faces, and one of those faces can keep on smiling even when it is at its lowest point mood-wise. The concept of smiling depression explains this phenomenon very well, and you should read up on it if you’ve never heard it before.
Even though it can sometimes be difficult to notice that some of the people around us are suffering from depression, the truth is that there are always signs we should be on the lookout for. Those include the behaviors that I have mentioned above, as well as general lack of interest in anything, inability to concentrate, as well as thoughts of harming oneself. If you notice any of the signs in a person close to you, there is a good chance that they suffer from this mood disorders.
How To Help
If you are not a mental health expert, then I hate to break it to you, but there is very little you can do in order to get the person you love out of the pit of despair that he or she has fallen into. What you can do is provide them with constant support and let them know that you are there for them, while doing your best to avoid those clichés such as “come on, it’s not that serious, you have a lot going for you in your life”, as those can only cause more harm. In addition to providing them with necessary support, you should get these people to contact mental health professionals, psychiatrists and therapists, that will be able to slowly, but surely, help them overcome the condition and return to their previous selves.
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