MENTAL HEALTH TAKE AWAY - STARTING POINT FOR HELPING A LOVED ONE NEW TO EXPEREINCEING DEPRESSION.

6 Ways You Can Help a Loved One with Depression.

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and helpless when someone you love has?depression?— or when you suspect they might but don’t know how to tell for sure.

For starters, it’s key to know the differences between feeling down in the dumps and having a more serious?mental health?problem that needs?treatment, says?April Thames, PhD, an associate professor of psychology and psychiatry at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Feeling down is typically a temporary setback that is usually triggered by an external event. And it doesn’t interfere with day-to-day functioning. Somebody feeling this way will still engage in activities they enjoy doing, at least after several days.

People with depression also have a quite Different Mindset from people who are feeling down. “A Person Feeling Down Usually has HOPE that things will change for the better,” Thames says.

“The person with depression feels that their situation is HOPELESS AND WILL NOT CHANGE."

Signs and?symptoms of depression?to look out for,?according to the Mayo Clinic, are:

Expressing feelings of sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness

Feeling irritable, frustrated, or angry over trivial things

Sleeping?much more or less than normal

Having changes in appetite — either eating more or less than normal and gaining or losing a lot of weight

Having?anxiety, restlessness, or agitation

Having unexplained physical problems, like?back pain?or?headaches

Difficulty thinking, concentrating, remembering things, and making decisions

Expressing feelings of guilt or worthlessness or?ruminating?on past failures

Mentioning death or suicidal thoughts.

If someone you care about has been diagnosed with depression or is showing any of these symptoms, knowing how to respond is key. Here are six ways to help.

THESE SIX WAYS TO HELP ARE MY SUGGESTIONS BASED ON MY OWN PERSONAL EXPEREINCES - YOUR CHOICES AND WORDS YOU USE TO HELP A LOVED ONE ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN THEIR RECIEVING CARE AND TREATMENT AND THAT CARE AND TREATMENT BEING A SUCCESS.

When I was in my preteens and teen years experiencing depression, I would spend days not wanting to get out of bed (my father not his fault because mental health and facts about depression were not a talked about issue as it is today,) would get upset with me and say things such as:

"Get your ass out of bed and get a fucking job, I'm not going to work all day so you can sleep in bed all day."

Here are six ways to help.

1. TALK WITH YOUR LOVED ONE ABOUT YOUR CONCERNS AND CARING ABOUT THEM (key words Talk With - Not talk at Them.)

2. HELP YOUR LOVED ONE FIND THE HELP AND RESOURCESTHEY NEED (not every therapist is going to be a great therapist - they're people too and not everyone in the world will get along when working together. WORK WITH THEM ON A PLAN AND ACTION FOR THAT PLAN (Key words again Work with Them on a Plan and Actions for That Plan.

The more you involve them and their input the better the plan becomes and easier to put in place.

3. Support Your Loved One in Their Day-to-Day Routine - The Question here is what you think support is and the support your loved one needs can be vastly different.

Example: If your loved one has been neglecting themselves and their personal care for a few days and then they tell you they feel good that day, because they had a shower and made their bed that morning. Congratulate them these Simple Words:

"I'm Proud Of You" Are Very Powerful Words For One To Hear."

4. If You Notice Even Subtle Signs Of Improvement In Their Appearance and Actions - These are Signs That The Treatment and Care They Are Receiving is Working.

And For It And Them To Continue This Treatment Your Encouragement Goes A Long Way To Ensure This.

If you see them smile more regularly tell them "It's Nice To See You Smile Again," or "I Miss That Smile."

If they decide to wear one of their favourite shirts, tell them "I Like That Shirt You're Wearing, It's One Of My Favourites Too."

5. Be Alert to Signs That Treatment Is Not Working. If you notice their more down or less engaged, sleeping more again. ASK THEM IS EVERYTHING OK (don't ask are you taking your meds - Fucking Worse Question You Can Ask for starters it's an accusatory question.)

Ask How They Are Feeling About Their New Medication. ASK THEM IF IT IS MAKING THEM FEEL WORSE. Medications do have side effects, most of these side effects only last a brief time and it may be a matter of the right dosage needed (adjustment.)

However, if your Loved One Tells You of Serious Concerns and How These Concerns Are Affecting Them - Give Their FEELINGS/CONCERNS Validation and Your Attention & Concern.

Some medications can have serious side effects, increased depression, suicidology, body shakes, leg tumours, headaches, etc. THESE NEED TO BE ADDRESSED RIGHT AWAY AND YOUR LOVED ONE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO SUFFER UNTIL THEIR NEXT DOCTORS APPOINTMENT FOR THIS TO BE ADDRESSED.

6. FAILING TO PLAN IS A PLAN FOR FAILURE: So, with this in mind again Talk With Your Loved One About Actions To Take If They Relapse (I hate the word relapse because it is mostly associated with someone getting drunk/high or both again.)

A person with depression or other mental health concerns can Relapse without the involvement of Drugs or Alcohol.

THE MOST COMMON RELAPSE IS MISSING MEDICATION TIMES TO TAKE MEDICTION PRESCRIBED. OFTEN WHEN A PERSON IS SELF ADMINISTERING THEIR OWN MEDICATION AND THEY MISS TAKING THEIR MEDS AT A CERTIAN TIME, THEY WILL DOUBLE OR TRIPLE DOSE NEXT TIME THEY TAKE THEIR MEDICATION (taking all missed medications at one time.) This can have serious health concerns.

AGAIN, I NEED TO STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF NOT BLAMING AND SHAMING SOMEONE FOR MISSING MEDICATION TO BE TAKEN. TALK WITH YOUR LOVED ONE ABOUT A PLAN AND ACTION IF THEY MISS TAKING THEIR MEDS. LET THEM KNOW IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHY THEY MISSED TAKING MEDICATION.

This can be deliberate or because of something else affecting them mentally and emotionally (such as an argument with a friend or another family member.) IF IT IS BECAUSE THEY DELIBERATELY MISSED A MEDICATION TIME/DOSE - IT CAN BE DUE TO A SIDE EFFECTS OF THE MEDICATION, WHICH NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.

A lot of patients are afraid to tell their psychiatrist, because a lot of psychiatrists are book smart, but dumb as fuck when it comes to understanding the need to not judge. AND NOT LISTENING TO A PATIENT'S CONCERNS IS A FORM OF JUDGEMENT.

LAST AND VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF RELASPE: MIND GAMES - A LOT OF PATIENTS WILL FEEL 100 PERCENT BETTER AFTER PROPER USE AND ADMINISTER OF PRESCIBED MEDICATION, SO THE MIND FOOLS THEM INTO THINKING THEY ARE BETTER AND NO LONGER NEED TO TAKE THEIR MEDICATON.

THE PROBELM WITH THIS IS AGAIN REFRAME FROM THE BLAME AND SHAME: DON'T FUCKING SAY THINGS SUCH AS "YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T FUNCTION WITHOUT YOUR MEDS." or "DO YOU WANT TO WIND UP IN THE HOSPITAL AGAIN, THEN TAKE YOUR FUCKING MEDS." - you're the problem not them.

You're no fucking different than them, you get sick with a bad cold, or the flu and you get prescribed some antibiotics for 30 days (3 weeks,) but after taking them for a couple of weeks you feel better and stop taking the rest only to get a worse cold or flu.

The most abused medications and one's are children will begin to experiment with is the unused prescribed meds in their own parents' home.

AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/depression-pictures/ways-to-help-loved-one-with-depression.aspx?