Depression is a serious mental health problem with more concerning symptoms that are easy to miss and that not many people are familiar with them. While simultaneously being one of the leading causes of other health problems worldwide.
If you know someone experiencing depression, it can be challenging to care for them. It’s not because they are difficult to deal with, but because it’s what depression does. Fortunately, there are various ways that you can help people with depression.
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Understand Depression
The best way you can help people with depression is to take your time to understand and learn about what it is. Depression is a complex mental illness that needs careful understanding, and you’ll only understand its severity when you learn more about it.
Depression is more than just feeling sad or feeling unmotivated. It’s not something that you can force out of someone. You can perform your research, read the diagnostic criteria, and learn more about the possible treatments to understand the depth of its seriousness.
Encourage Them to Get Help
People with depression may not be aware of or admit to their problems. In this case, they might mistake their current emotions as normal, and others can become embarrassed. Moreover, the stigma surrounding this mental illness isn’t as helpful. So, as a family or friend, you can take the initiative to talk to them and suggest seeking help from a professional.
Since, again, it’s a much more complicated problem than you think and visiting a psychologist or a licensed counselor will help you to start in a good place. Having a person beside them to face this initial step will slightly help them to continue fighting against depression and face the problem head on, although slowly.
On the other hand, other people become concerned about the possible costs of treatments. Though it’s not the most affordable, support communities can assist people who need help. You can help your friend or family to find support groups as they seek professional help.
It’s also the same with medications, which can be relatively more expensive than regular prescriptions. Fortunately, one of the most prescribed medications, Prozac, has a Prozac Coupon where you can purchase them at more affordable prices.
You can try to discover several other prescription coupons to find more ways you can buy their medications at a discounted price.
Offer Assistance to Help in Every Task
With depression, simple tasks, such as cleaning the house, paying the bills, or even eating, can be very tedious tasks for the person.
Regular daily tasks become overwhelming for them, and the chores can pile up for several days or weeks. However, there are cases where people cannot clearly say what they need. So, instead of waiting for them to reach for you, it would greatly help them if you offered a hand in doing a little work.
You can initiate buying them groceries to fill their refrigerator or ask them what they need or if there’s something they want. You can also consider asking them to go together so that they can at least get out for some air. Aside from this, you can also assist by cleaning the dishes, putting away the laundry, or cleaning the house.
You don’t have to do this regularly, but keeping them company while keeping yourself busy at their house can also help.
Be Willing to Listen
Depression may also cause a person to bury in their emotions, affecting their ability to share their feelings.
You don’t have to do so much, but let them know you’re concerned for them and genuinely want to learn about how they feel. You can try striking up a conversation, for starters. Ask them what they ate that morning or what you’ve observed that they seem in the low lately.
Remember that they may take some time to open up, but when they do, some only want to talk. This means they’ll appreciate a listener, not someone who gives out unwarranted advice. Instead, you can try engaging with them. Ask them questions and validate what they’re feeling.
Look Out for Warning Signs of Suicide
Not all people who commit suicide have depression, but people diagnosed with depression can be at risk of committing it. So, if you’re with your friend or loved one, it would help if you stay alert for warning signs of self-harm, suicide, or suicidal thoughts.
Moreover, although withdrawing themselves from other people is also a symptom of depression, you shouldn’t really leave them alone. You should keep this in mind, especially if they start showing ideation.
A few of the warning signs include talking about suicide, like wishing they hadn’t been born or wishing that they were dead. This might sound harmless to a regular person, but these suicidal thoughts can be weighing on their head, and leaving them with such ideas can be dangerous.
Aside from that, you should also be alert about their possible means of attempt, such as stockpiling pills or purchasing a sharp object or a gun.
Final Thoughts
Depression is a serious problem that needs great attention. However, this doesn’t mean that you should completely forget the life you have. The only way you can become an efficient help to these people is if you know what you’re doing and when you can do it for a long time. As such, it’ll require your commitment and dedication to helping out of love.