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How to Help a Depressed Person
Nowadays depression is a common mental disorder. According to an estimate, over 300 million adults and children live with depression. The causes of depression vary for everyone, but they experience depression in the same way. You often find a person with the following symptoms, but get confused about How to Help a Depressed Person. we are here to suggest some easy measures for How to Help a Depressed Person. If a person has the following symptoms, he may be suffering from depression.
- He often seems sad or tearful
- Appears hopeless and pessimists about life.
- Talks about feeling empty, worthless and guilty.
- Spends more time in isolation and avoids to meet with friends and family.
- Gets upset and annoyed easily over the minor things.
- Seems less energetic and takes less interest in responsibility.
- Often remains sleep deprived or sleep more than the usual routine.
- Experience forgetfulness and have trouble while concentrating on a task.
- Eat more than usual or less than usual.
- Often talks about death and suicide.
How to Help a Depressed Person
If you find any person in your surroundings with these symptoms, you can help them in the following way.
Pay Attention and Listen to Him
Pay attention and make him realize that you care for him. You can ask about their feelings, for example, you can ask that person, “I noticed you are feeling down and having trouble in your life.” However, if he does not tell you the first time, keep on asking and keep showing that you care for him. Once he tells you about his feeling, engage with him by asking more question and try to get more and more information. Listen to him, validate his feelings and show empathy for him.
Support Him to Find a Therapist
In our society, people don’t want to visit the psychologist or therapist because of societal pressure and stigma. Therefore, always support the depressed person for therapy, help him in finding the best psychologist and therapist. Encourage him to speak his heart with the therapist. However, there might be the days when he is going through the bad days and don’t want to visit the therapist, encourage him to continue his session and tell him that you are noticing a good change in him on account of the previous sessions.
Help Him, But Set Boundaries
Always remember that the purpose of your help is to pull him out of that depressing phase. However, your help and support should not make him dependent upon you. To meet this purpose, help him, but set boundaries as well, for example, accompany him for his first appointment with the therapist, but encourage him to go alone for the next meeting. In this way, you will not make him dependent upon you and he will realize that he has the potential to perform different tasks and to solve the problems.
Learn About Depression on Your Own
Ask different questions from the depressed person to get more and more information about his feelings, but don’t ask him the direct and generic questions about depression. We suggest, learn about the general symptoms, and causes of depression on your own. When you have a better knowledge of depression, you will be able to have in-depth conversations with him.
Assist Him to Perform Everyday Tasks
When a person goes through the depressing phase, he finds it very difficult to perform everyday tasks. Offer him your help and assist him to perform these tasks. For example, you can give him a company while going for grocery shopping. If you accompany him in performing different tasks, the tasks would seem less daunting for him.
Invite Him for Meetup
People who go through depression avoid gatherings and want to stay in isolation. However, it is suggested that you invite him for the Meetup but don’t force him to join you at any cost, it will annoy him and he will avoid to meet you. Therefore, invite him and tell him that you will be happy to see him, whenever he feels like.
Be Patient and Stay in Touch
The treatment of depression is a slow process and people take time to come out of the depressing phase. Even the treatment does not mean that the person would not feel depressed anymore. The affected person may experience symptoms from time to time. Therefore, be patient with him and stay in touch and keep on asking about their feelings and life.
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Things Not to DO While Dealing with a Depressed Person
Don’t Take Things Personally
People who suffer from depression often burst out at you in aggression, cancel a plan, avoid meeting with you. However, they do so because of their depression and not because they don’t like you. Therefore, don’t take things personally and help them to cope with depression.
Don’t Try to Fix Things
The person who is going through depression needs your support, but don’t try to fix his problems. Always remember that depression is a disorder and it has its cure, but only the professionals can cure it. It cannot be cured with just a few well-intended phrases. Don’t try to fix things by saying that “just stop thinking about being sad,” “You should be thankful, Things could be worse than this. “
Don’t Give Advice
Be empathetic with the depressed person, but don’t give him advice during the depressed phase because the depressed person is already going through a lot and he does not want to listen to it at the moment.
Don’t compare his situation with Anyone else
Comparing the situation of a depressed with the troubles of anyone else does not help him and it will further annoy him. Therefore, show empathy and said, “I can understand.” But don’t make a comparison.
How to Help a Depressed Person is not difficult now, i think now you are very much clear about How to Help a Depressed Person.
