How to help a family member with depression?

Several tips on how to help a family member with depression from simple steps.

Depression is the most common psychological disorder in our society.. Statistical data indicate that about 10% of the general population is or will become clinically depressed in their lifetime.

However, despite being such a common problem, people often find it difficult to detect this symptomatology and therefore may take a long time to seek help. This is due to the fact that depression is a disorder that starts very slowly, and the sufferer tends to underestimate these symptoms at first, believing that it is a passing "bad patch" and that he or she will be able to get out of the situation by his or her own means.

But depression is much more than all this; in reality it is a matter of an emotional disorder that involves major changes in the way we feel, think and act, and contrary to what many people think, it has nothing to do with being more or less emotionally strong.It has nothing to do with being more or less emotionally strong, and contrary to what many people think, it has nothing to do with being more or less emotionally strong.

How does depression arise?

When someone is depressed, his way of thinking begins to change, he begins to think badly about himself and to blame himself for everything that happens around him..

Self-esteem is significantly affected, and so the person experiencing depression believes that others do not appreciate him or her, that the world is a hostile place, and that the future is uncertain and hopeless.

Symptoms

The main symptoms in a person suffering from depression are these:

• Low mood, intense sadnessfeelings of hopelessness.
• Loss of interest in activities that were enjoyable or little pleasure in doing them on most days.
• Lack of energy or intense tiredness.
• Desire to cry for no apparent reason. apparent reason.
• Sleep problems (insomnia or oversleeping).
• Difficulty concentrating or memory problems.
• Irritability (in adolescents, this symptom is much more frequent than sadness.
• Significant changes in appetite, which may result in weight gain or loss.
• Loss of sexual interest.
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt.
• Negative thoughtsexcessive criticism of oneself.
• Recurrent thoughts of death.

In addition, depression is a devastating problem for the couple or family members, because usually the usually the people of the close environment do not know how to help, which usually causes great frustration.This often leads to great frustration, guilt and feelings of anger. This in turn makes the problem even worse, reinforcing the idea that others reject you and that you are to blame for the suffering of your loved ones.

How to help a depressed family member?

Let's look at some tips on how to provide support in these cases.

1. Do not blame yourself

The first thing is to understand that family support is very important to overcome depression, but that it is the person him/herself who has to take responsibility for getting out of this situation. That is to say, you are not guilty that your partner or relative does not get ahead, you are a help, but ultimately, the work of getting out of the well is only theirs.

2. Don't take it personally

Although it's complicated, try not to take their pessimism, irritability, apathy and sadness personally, as they are not under their voluntary control.as they are not under your voluntary control.

3. Reward improvements

Every time he/she smiles, takes the initiative to do something.Be more affectionate, participate in conversations, feel like going out, etc. Show your liking verbally and nonverbally.

4. Do not talk about problems all the time

The depressed person tends to be very worried about all the problems around him/her. Although at first we may think it is good for them to let off steam, the truth is that problems as the only object of conversation makes the person become more and more obsessed and focus only on the negative side. and focuses only on the negative side of his or her life.

If she brings up this type of conversation, listen to her without judging her and without reproaching her, and change the conversation to another topic that you know she likes.

5. Don't overprotect

Let her understand that you are there no matter what happens, but don't overly without asking too many questions or being continually aware of her behavior.. Also try not to give too much importance to behaviors related to irritability or sadness.

6. Do not assume his or her responsibilities

Do not perform tasks that should be done by him or her, as this may unintentionally benefit the person and cause him or her to become comfortable with the situation.

7. The importance of leisure activities

As we have seen, the depressed person loses interest in the activities he or she used to like to do, even the ability to enjoy them. A good help is to to encourage him/her to recover little by little those leisure activities, starting with the ones he/she enjoys the least.starting with those that are less difficult to do and those that were more rewarding in the past.

8. Ask for professional help

It is important that this person gets in the hands of a professional as soon as possible, in order to be able to start working on all those leisure activities.to be able to begin to work on all those issues that are reinforcing the depressive disorder.

Once treatment begins, the psychologist will begin to propose weekly goals that you, as a family member, can help him/her to achieve in order to improve his/her mood little by little.

However, you should assume that recovery is a long road with ups and downs, and that it is important to encourage the and that it is important to encourage the person not to give up and to finish the treatment.

In our psychology center in Seville we have extensive experience in treating people with these types of problems. Contact us without obligation and we will guide you to find the most appropriate way to help your partner or family member.