How To Help
Someone With Depression
In
this article we will have a look at HOW to help someone with
depression by exploring
what you can do to help a person with depression - help themselves.
Look
at it this way - this article shows you how you can get a person with
depression to help themselves.
But before I jump into the
details I want to make sure that you understand the difference 
between you helping someone
with depression and you helping the person to help themselves, by using
at least one of the strategies discussed below.
The difference is that instead
of you directly helping the person with depression...
...you encourage,
support and help the depressed person to help themselves.
Okay? Good, let's continue.
There
are many things that you can do and say to help a depressed person - so
many tips
and strategies that I have written an eBook on HOW you can
genuinely help
someone!
Click
here for more information on my newly released eBook
"The
Easy To Follow Guide To Helping Someone With Depression."
Back to the purpose
of this article, which is to share
with you how a person with depression can help themselves.
 It is important
that the person has the support of their family, friends, a
mental health practitioner, or a fellow depression sufferer to help
them with their depression.
Support from these people really help the person with depression feel
that people care about them, they are not alone and if they are feeling
low or down, they have people to talk to.
But it doesn't stop there,
either.
There are several strategies that a person can do
to help themselves.
So what are they? I'm glad you
asked!
How
A Depressed Person Can Help Themselves: Strategies
Reduce
Stress
 Stress is
common in daily life but stress by itself is not depression.
Stress
usually means that something is happening that’s causing worry
and affecting
how we are thinking and feeling.
It is
only when acute distress becomes a "stressor"
and may be a risk
factor for depression if it persists.
A "stressor" is a
stimulus that causes stress.
Please allow me to explain.
I do not
like to go to places where there is a large crowd, such as at a concert.
For me, the large number of people is my "stressor" that results in me
feeling very
distressed, anxious and is a risk factor in making my
depression worse.
So to
reduce my stress I avoid crowed areas and put aside some time everyday
to relax
and do things that I enjoy, such as listening to my favorite music,
exercising,
or
watching my favorite television show.
Also, if I
am feeling stressed or anxious, I avoid making major changes in my
life, such as changing jobs. I leave these big decisions to a
time when I am feeling better.
Other ways
to reduce stress is by practicing slow-breathing exercises and
mediation. Personally, I don't do these 2 things as I don't find it
helpful to me, but I am aware
of
many people that like and use them.
Getting
Enough Sleep
 I know from
personal experience that difficulty sleeping is a common problem with
depression. Instead of sleeping, I would worry about what
someone thought of me, how much work I had to do or did I speak too
harshly to a friend.
And my sleeplessness and being tired
led to me having no energy, poor concentration and irritability.
Having a good
night’s sleep is important for maintaining good health.
The body needs the opportunity to recharge from the day’s activities.
Now
if I go to bed and can't sleep, I get up after trying for 20 minutes
and write down all my worries and them go back to bed. This
strategy works for me as once I have put pen to paper,
I feel that I can let go of my worries or concerns.
Good quality
sleep isn’t necessarily a long sleep – it’s having what
doctors call ‘deep sleep’ and ‘dream sleep’. Most ‘deep
sleep’ occurs during the first five hours after falling asleep.
What this means is even if a person
sleeps for only four or five hours, they can still get
about the same amount of ‘deep sleep’
as someone who sleeps for eight to ten hours.
I usually only sleep for 6 hours a night and wake up refreshed.
Be Active
I must admit that I
found being active very difficult at first, but once I got into the
routine
of being active, it was no longer a burden.
Doctors
have recommended that I undertake activities such as swimming, yoga, or a gym
workout. But these are not things that I enjoy, so I do
physically active things that give
me a sense of achievement.
So
what do I do?
 I go sailing
as often as I can.
Doing the
housework is very physical and rewarding when I look at my clean house.
If the
weather is good, I will go for a ride on my motorcycle.
Everyday I
walk my 2 dogs, which they love and it is a great way to get me out of
the house.
Reduce
Alcohol & Other Drugs
Many people with
depression try to make themselves feel better with alcohol, cigarettes,
cannabis and other drugs.
Although
these substances may provide temporary relief, they may also cause
long-term problems.
Most illegal drugs and alcohol interfere with the effects of
anti-depressant drugs.
 It is certainly
hard to stop using alcohol or other drugs completely, but if the
depressed person can at least reduce their intake, they will be helping
themselves.
Dealing
With A Bad Day
Everyone
has times when things are really tough and they have a bad day.
But having a bad day for a person with depression can have
serious consequences.
Why is this?
For the simple reason, that a
depressed person may not have any support mechanisms in place, such as
family or friends that they can talk to. It's not uncommon to
feel isolated when you have depression.
I
felt very isolated when I was first diagnosed with depression and I did
not help myself
by staying at home alone, instead of maintaining social contact.
I can't
stress this enough - the absolute worse thing that a person who is
having a bad day can do, is to stay in bed. This is exactly
what I did, and it
had a huge negative mental and physical effect on me.
It's best to get up and get on with a
normal routine as soon as possible e.g. going to work, school,
university, meeting friends or family.
The reason why it was a very bad idea
for me to stay in bed, was because I would go over
and over in my head what a failure I was, does anybody care about me
and so on.
These negative
thoughts would not stop. It was only when I got out of bed
and distracted myself, by going to work or doing any sort of activity
was I able to stop these negative thoughts.
 When people get
depressed, often they don't feel like socialising, but it's important
that they continue to talk to family and friends.
Something as simple as talking to a
friend on the phone or organise to meet for a coffee or go to a movie,
is a very good strategy for the depressed person to help themselves.
There are several things that a person with depression can do to help
themselves, but it may take time and your support for them to do these
things. For example, you can show your support by suggesting
that you go for a walk together.
I suggest that when you are helping
someone with depression, be patient
with them and
when the time feels right, mention the
above tips that they can do that WILL make them feel better.
Each
person with depression is at a different stage of recovery, and we need
to be sensitive to that, and not try and make them do things that they
may not be ready for. Persistence is the key!
Home
About Me
Articles
Disclaimer
Contact Me
©
www.howdoihelpsomeonwithdepression.com
Reproduction without permission prohibited.
All rights
reserved 2011.
|