If you have a person close to you who is not going through their best moment, if you live with someone who suffers from depression or anxiety, if you think that this relative or friend may have any of these conditions and you don’t know what to do, here are some tips that could help.
On many occasions we live with someone who is undergoing medical treatment, in other cases perhaps; We identify those traits in a loved person since they are not at their best.
7 keys that will be useful to know how to help.
Listening without judging:
It seems very easy but it is very difficult to listen to someone without telling them what we would do. Normally a depressive person has a very repetitive speech and when they tell us the same thing over and over again, we can be overwhelmed and respond abruptly giving quick solutions.
Telling them for example what they should do, what would we do in his place, or that he who has depression is because they want to. That’s not going to help anything, though; listening openly validating their feelings, and explaining that that is not a burden and that is not to blame for feeling this way can greatly improve their mood.
Show empathy:
A person who fights depression every day needs the most is the love of their loved ones. Support, understand, and show that you can be there. It is not necessary to give advice or make him constantly reflect on what is happening to him. Encourage to do some activity that they like but don’t force them, if they feel obligated, frustration and anxiety will increase.
Accept their silence:
Maybe they don’t want to talk or don’t want to go out, on many occasions they don’t know how to express what they feel or they don’t want to repeat what happens to them a thousand times. Respecting their silence and accepting it can reduce their tension, they understand that if you pressure them to express themselves, the only thing we achieve is that they feel misunderstood.
Applaud their achievements:
For a depressed person, any small task costs a lot of work. When you take any step to improve, celebrate the effort, the most common thing is that people with depression have very low self-esteem, for this reason, they usually detract from the progress they make. We can make them feel better by acknowledging what they are doing well and highlighting the skills they have.
Respect their space:
On many occasions we have such a need to help that the only thing we achieve is the opposite effect, being able to create more dependency or overwhelm that person. An individual with depression may accept help with housework or shopping, but avoid being too fatherly. Perhaps our help is so overprotective that it makes the person feel incapable and useless. Respect their times and do not force situations.
Encourage them to seek professional help:
When we talk about major depression; We are facing a disorder that can become chronic, relapses are very common, whether we are facing a mild case or a severe case of depression, the help of a mental health professional is very important. It is normal for depressed people to reject psychological help since they do not see the benefit that this can bring them. With the appropriate therapy in each case, depression can be tackled with many more tools and better results can be achieved.
Self Care:
On many occasions, those who live with depressive people can become infected with these emotions. If we continually see a family member or friend suffering, we could trigger psychological effects. Helplessness and guilt are emotions that people who accompany depressive patients often feel. Being able to unburden ourselves with someone and express whether we are overwhelmed or not, is necessary to be able to continue helping. We have to be assertive and understand that we cannot help if we do not help ourselves.
These keys serve to be able to help a family member who is suffering from this disorder, however, it is important to emphasize that they need professional help to be able to face their situation. These keys can serve to help but are not a substitute for the professional help they need.