How To Help Someone... With Depression

Depression is one of the most common illnesses and mental illnesses of them all, and is thought to affect 15% of people or 300 million people in their lifetime. Depression and suicide is the second biggest cause of death in people aged 15-29 and almost 50% of people with depression will also suffer from an anxiety disorder.

Depression is categorised as a mental illness causing low mood, low self esteem, worthlessness and emptiness and can be as serious as to result in suicide. It is extremely common in all ages but is especially seen in women and the most common age group to suffer is 18-25. Depression is seen from mild cases to severe cases, and it is possible to be high-functioning and suffer from bouts of depression just as it is possible to be near dibilated by depression and unable to move, get out of the house or do anything.

Symptoms of depression

There are a lot of way depression can present itself, but the main symptoms are;

chronic low mood and sadness
feelings of hopelessness
low self esteem and self-worth
tearful
bouts of irritability
lack of motivation to do things
lack of energy/feeling lethargic
no longer finding enjoyment in life or the things in it
feeling anxious or worried a lot
suicidal thoughts or self-harming
changes in appetite - eating too much (binge eating) or unexpected weight loss
low sex drive
disturbed sleeping pattern/insomnia

There are also numerous social symptoms of depression such as;

neglecting hobbies and interests
lack of interest in seeing friends, avoiding contact
struggling to cope at work with pressure and lack of interest
arguing with loved ones - irritability
finding home and work life difficult all of a sudden

Support Them To Get Help

Not everyone is ready for help or to ask for it, but try and support your loved ones that when they are ready, help is out there. The first step is going to see your GP and telling someone they are struggling and reaching out for the help they need to get better, or if they are feeling so depressed they are feeling suicidal and have told you they are, support them to contact your local crisis team, usually found in your a&e. Every GP practice area is different but in mine, they support you by giving you a leaflet, you call up the number and arrange to go to group therapy or individual therapies depending on your needs and are assessed from there.

Professional help isn't the only help out there of course, the support of loved ones is the most important type of help out there for people suffering with depression, knowing you are loved and worth something by people around you can make the world of difference. Talk, listen, and be there for them.

A little quote - kindly supplied by my friend Tom x

How To Support Them

The easiest thing to support someone with depression is to listen to them, make sure they know you're there for them and there to listen when they need someone, sometimes all you need in times of despair is an ear, someone to listen to your worries, to hold you whilst you cry, just someone there to know you're not alone.

Sometimes all it takes to support a loved one is to send a text, just to check in and see how they are feeling, something so simple can mean the world to someone struggling. People struggling with depression can often feel very alone and isolate themselves away from people, so make sure you are reaching out to them and don't take it personal if they don't want to talk right now, but keep asking.

Opening up about depression can be difficult but is so important on how to help someone, supporting someone by talking to them, about anything and everything and knowing the opportunity to talk about their feelings is always there can help someone to ease up and open up to you to offload. Keep talking, until you can help them make sense of it all. Opening up about your own feelings can also encourage a conversation on how they are feeling.

Encourage them to keep up with activities, getting out of the house and out of bed, showering, eating well etc. This might sound simple and trivial but I've seen it for myself and done it myself where I've been struggling so hard with my depression that I need dragging out of bed and into a bath and reminded to eat and drink throughout the day as sometimes these things just aren't of importance to you when you're struggling. Getting out of the house even to just take a walk to the shop or round the block can clear your head and get a fresh mind.

It's important to not judge or be critical whilst someone is struggling, when you are feeling depressed the littlest of things can set you off, so try not to be critical of their struggles and what they talk about when they are opening up to you.

Urgent Help

If you are worried about someone who is having suicidal thoughts, urge them to contact their GP, even offer to go with them to get help.

If they are wanting to talk but not to someone they know, urge them to contact the samaritans, a free charity service who make sure there is always someone to talk to over the phone or via text and provide a listening ear.

If you are urgently worried about someone, take them to your nearest A&E to speak to your crisis team and get immediate help or in an emergency contact 999.

I hope this post comes of some use to people, and any advice you have that I haven't mentioned feel free to leave in the comments for others!

Meg x