Do I Need Health Insurance To Receive This Service
The referral service is free of charge. If you have no insurance or are underinsured, we will refer you to your state office, which is responsible for state-funded treatment programs. In addition, we can often refer you to facilities that charge on a sliding fee scale or accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you have health insurance, you are encouraged to contact your insurer for a list of participating health care providers and facilities.
Help Them Find Support
Your friend may not be aware theyre dealing with depression, or they may be unsure how to reach out for support.
Even if they know therapy could help, it can be daunting to search for a therapist and make an appointment.
If your friend seems interested in counseling, offer to help them review potential therapists. You can help your friend list things to ask potential therapists and things they want to mention in their first session.
Encouraging them and supporting them to make that first appointment can be so helpful if theyre having a hard time with it.
Or Spend Time With Loved Ones
Depression can tempt you to isolate yourself and withdraw from people you love and trust, but face-to-face time can help wash away those tendencies.
If youre unable to spend time together in person, phone calls or video chats can also be helpful.
Try to remind yourself these people care about you. Resist the temptation to feel like youre a burden. You need the interaction and they likely do, too.
Research has shown that keeping a journal can be a beneficial add-on method for managing mental health conditions.
Writing down your thoughts can help you express what youre feeling more clearly. It can also help you keep track of what symptoms youre having each day and identify what causes them.
You can make a goal to write for a few minutes each day or week. Most importantly, what you want to write about is completely up to you.
When you do the same thing day after day, you use the same parts of your brain.
Research shows doing new things can feel rewarding improve your overall well-being and strengthen your social relationships.
To reap these benefits, consider trying a new sport, taking a creative class, or learning a new cooking technique.
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Learn To Recognize The Signs Of Anxiety
Anxiety disorder is the most common mental health condition in the United States, affecting up to 18% of the population. Knowing the signs of anxiety can help you realize when someone you love is having fearful thoughts or feelings. Symptoms vary from person to person but can be broken into three categories:
Supporting Someone Through Depression Treatment
Your loved has taken an incredibly brave step by asking for help for their depression. From here, the best thing you can do is be as supportive as possible throughout the treatment process.
Note that if, at any point, you think your loved is at risk of suicide, take immediate action. Call a national helpline, like Samaritans, book an urgent appointment with their GP, or head straight to your nearest A& E department.
- Continue to help out in any way you can. From housework to just being a sounding board, its important that you continue trying to be as helpful as possible
- Suggest activities. There are lots of ways people can cope with depression. One of these getting themselves out there, which can be achieved by things like exercise or a taking up a new hobby. You could suggest that your loved one starts looking into activities that they enjoy, that could potentially be a distraction for them. However, if they dont feel up to it at that time, then dont put any more pressure on them
- Be realistic. Even during treatment, there might be bumps along your loved ones road to recovery. If they do seem to be having small setbacks, remain patient and understanding, and dont let frustration set in
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Avoid Judgment And Blame
If someone you love is depressed and no longer able to do the activities they used to, including working or helping around the house, you may feel like they are lazy. When you get frustrated, try to remember that someone who is depressed isn’t lazythey’re ill.
Everyday activities like cleaning the house, paying bills, or feeding the dog may seem overwhelming, if not impossible, to someone who is depressed. If your loved one’s responsibilities around the house are piling up, you may not be able to take them on yourself.
In addition to resisting the urge to blame your loved one, try not to blame yourself either. Know that it’s OK if you need to ask for help.
Dont Judge Or Criticize
From the outside, youll be able to see lots of ways in which your loved one could improve their life. However, when theyre depressed or anxious, it can be almost impossible for them to think rationally about these topics. So, whether youre trying to figure out how to help your spouse with depression or how to help your friend with depression, avoid negative judgments and critical comments at all costs.
In particular, you should avoid platitudes masquerading as advice, such as You just need to remember that the glass isnt half empty, its half full!.
Before you say anything, make sure it doesnt accidentally imply that the person is making a choice to be anxious or depressed.
Mental health issues are just like any other, physical health problem they are involuntary. Suggesting otherwise can make your loved one feel guilty, misunderstood or isolated. All of these feelings make depression and anxiety symptoms worse, not better.
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Symptoms And Causes Of Depression
Symptoms of depression can be very different from person to person. However, as a general rule, if you are depressed you feel hopeless, sad and lacking interest in things that used to make you feel happy.
Depression symptoms are bad enough to interfere with work, social life and family life, and can persist for weeks or months.
Doctors describe depression in one of three ways, depending on how serious it is:
- mild depression it has some impact on daily life
- moderate depression it has a significant impact on your daily life
- severe depression this makes it nearly impossible to get through your life day to day
A few people with severe depression may have symptoms of psychotic depression.
Below is a list of depression symptoms it’s unlikely that one person would have all of them.
Things To Remember About Depression
Depression isnt anyones fault
Its important to understand that your loved one cant help the way theyre feeling and its not their fault. Treating your loved one with compassion and understanding is incredibly important.
You cant flick a switch and cure depression
Unfortunately, theres no quick fix for depression and your loved one cant simply pull themselves together. It will take small steps for them to recover, and what helps one person will not necessarily help someone else.
Patience is invaluable
When youre suffering from depression, the thought of getting out of bed and going through the daily motions can be exhausting. However, this doesnt mean your loved one lacks the motivation to get better. Allow them to go at their own pace and comfort level, and support them where you can.
Depression is a serious but treatable condition
Your role here isnt to fix your loved ones depression. In most cases, it takes professional treatment from highly qualified people to overcome depression. The best thing you can do is be as supportive, compassionate and patient as possible. If your loved one is open to it, you can suggest ways that can help motivate them when depressed and it could be something you both enjoy doing.
Further reading on depression:
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Provide Support During Recovery
While recovery from depression is possible, it can be challenging at times. To support a partner during the recovery process:
- help them keep track of their appointments and medications
- do some physical activity together most days
- plan and prepare healthful meals together
- try to reduce stressors in the home
- make goals small and achievable
- encourage them to socialize with others
- plan fun activities together
- point out the persons progress on their journey to recovery
- avoid forcing treatment on the person
Let them know that they are not alone by saying things such as:
- I am here for you.
- We will deal with this together.
It may also be helpful to attend a support group for family members of those with a mental health condition. Couples may also benefit from couples therapy or family-based counseling.
Psychological Depression Symptoms Include:
- doing poorly at work
- difficulties with your family or home life
It’s not always possible to tell that you’re having symptoms of depression right away it can start and progress gradually. A lot of people don’t realise they’re ill and try to carry on and cope with their symptoms. Sometimes it takes a friend or family member to notice that there’s a problem.
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Ask Them What They Need From You
To show further understanding and support, ask the person what they need. They may need:
- reminders to take medication
- company when visiting the doctor or attending therapy
- home-cooked meals
- encouragement to socialize or exercise
- a hug or a hand to hold
- to be left alone sometimes
Helpful questions to ask include:
- What can I do to help?
- Would it be helpful if I ?
Signs That Someone May Be Depressed
Depression has lots of possible symptoms.
You may notice that someone:
- has lost interest in doing things they normally enjoy
- seems to be feeling down or hopeless
- has slower speech and movements or is more fidgety and restless than usual
- feels tired or does not have much energy
- is overeating or has lost their appetite
- is sleeping more than usual or is not able to sleep
- has trouble concentrating on everyday things, such as watching TV or reading the paper
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Tips For Men Coping With Anxiety And Depression
There are lots of things you can do to look after your health and wellbeing, so find an approach that best suits you. For example, try to stay active and make plans for the day they dont have to be grand plans, just small things like going for a run or talking to a mate.
Try to include activities or hobbies that you specifically enjoy. At first, you may not enjoy them as much as you did before, but if you keep active and persist, the enjoyment should eventually return.
Its important to look after your body by staying physically active, eating healthily and getting plenty of sleep. Try not to drink alcohol or take other drugs to block out how youre feeling and what is happening. This is not a positive long-term solution and can make the anxiety or depression worse.
The important thing is to find the right options and the right health professionals that suit you.
Other Ways To Help Include:
- Offering him support, understanding, patience, and encouragement
- Listening carefully and talking with him
- Never ignoring comments about suicide, and alerting his therapist or doctor
- Helping him increase his level of physical and social activity by inviting him out for hikes, games, and other events. If he says, no, keep trying, but don’t push him to take on too much too soon.
- Encouraging him to report any concerns about medications to his health care provider
- Ensuring that he gets to his doctor’s appointments
- Reminding him that with time and treatment, the depression will lift
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Support Them To Seek Help For Depression
All types of depression are treatable, whether your loved one is struggling with clinical depression, seasonal affective disorder or any other type of depression, and this is a key message to try and reinforce to your loved one. Connecting with a mental health professional means that your loved ones condition can be evaluated and some proactive next steps put in place but only if they feel ready.
If theyre nervous about speaking to a professional, offer to go with them to any initial appointments and help them to make a list of their symptoms to talk through.
Allow Yourself To Feel What Youre Feeling
Depression and anxiety are medical conditions, not the result of failure or weakness, and theyre absolutely not your fault.
Without a doubt, the unwanted emotions they cause can lead to plenty of distress. But knowing depression and anxiety result from underlying causes and triggers, not anything you did or didnt do, can promote self-compassion instead of criticism or self-punishment.
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Helping A Suicidal Friend Or Relative
If you see any of the above warning signs:
- get professional help for the person
- let them know they’re not alone and that you care about them
- offer your support in finding other solutions to their problems
If you feel there is an immediate danger, stay with the person or have someone else stay with them, and remove all available means of committing suicide, such as medication.
Over-the-counter drugs such as painkillers can be just as dangerous as prescription medication.
Also, remove sharp objects and poisonous household chemicals such as bleach.
How To Help Someone With Anxiety And Depression
Anxiety and depression are prevalent in todays society. On a daily basis, I am asked how my clients can help their loved ones who are struggling with anxiety and depression, and if my clients are to blame for the struggles.
Each person will experience emotions and any anxiety or depressions symptoms differently than the next, so if you are seriously worried about your loved one, the best thing to do is to talk to a professional. I offer free 30-minute consultations that can be offered over the phone or video call that you could use to discuss your unique situation. If youre not ready to talk to someone about it, the first thing youll want to identify is if they are experiencing or showing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Then, the most important step is to identify if their life is potentially at risk. Then, you can move into the support phase. In this post ive outlined all the information you need to walk through those three steps and help support your loved ones.
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Take Care Of Yourself
It can be pretty scary and intense to see someone you care about experiencing depression or anxiety. You can be there for your friend, but its equally important to do things that keep you well. By taking care of yourself, youll be in a better place mentally and physically, and this allows you to better support the people around you.
Remember to do the following to make sure your own wellbeing is looked after:
- Monitor your mood. You might be really worried about your friend, but it’s important that you also monitor your own mood and stress levels. This could include rating your mood out of ten each day, to track how you’re doing.
- Don’t give up the things you enjoy. Always make sure you’ve got the time to do your favourite things.
- Make time to relax. Relaxation is great for helping you to unwind and deal with stress.
- Set boundaries. You arent going to be able to be there for your friend all of the time. Set some limits around what youre willing, and not willing, to do. For example, you might decide not to take any phone calls in the middle of the night, or not to miss social events just because your friend isnt up to going.
- Ask for support. Its important that youre getting your own emotional support. Talk to people you trust about how youre feeling.
Helping Someone With Depression And Anxiety
Many individuals with these mental health issues may think that the way they feel is normal, or they may feel ashamed that they cant overcome these feelings on their own. If someone is suspected of having untreated depression or anxiety, one of the best ways to help is by talking to the person.
The first step is to share any concerns with the person and help them recognize that anxiety and depression are medical conditions. It is also important to share with the individual that both issues can get better with the proper treatment from mental health professionals like a licensed counselor.
Finally, be willing to help the person set up an appointment or even accompany the individual. Simply being empathetic and trying to understand how the person with depression or anxiety is feeling is a great place to start. Other ways to assist include preparing a list of questions to ask the counselor or psychologist during the initial appointment.
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Things Almost Everyone Gets Wrong About Managing Anxiety
4. Remember that you cant fix them, but you can help them get help.
One of the biggest sources of distress for people dealing with others mental health problems is an inflated sense of responsibility. You are not responsible for fixing a persons depression or anxiety, nor is it likely that you will be able to. What you may be able to do, however, is help them connect with a professional who might be able to. Educating yourself on the effectiveness and local availability of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions for depression and anxiety is one concrete thing you can do to help someone effectively address their depression and anxiety. And if they refuse to get the help you suggest, and you are feeling discouraged and stuck, consider speaking to a mental health professional yourself for support.
5. Keep at it as long as you can.
The unfortunate truth is that supporting people who are struggling with mental health issues can at times be unrewarding and frustrating. When people are feeling scared or hopeless, it is only natural that they may be resistant to your outreach and may struggle to enjoy activities that are supposed to be fun. Nevertheless, it is important that you keep connected and providing support as long as you can . Keep calling and texting and inviting, even if the outreach seems to go unnoticed. Keep telling them that you care and are there for them, even if it seems your efforts go unappreciated.
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