How's best to help a partner suffering from depression?

Answer 1

Depression can rob your loved ones of fully enjoying life or engaging in everyday activities. Instead, they may feel sadness, despair and hopelessness. Not surprisingly, their depression affects you, too, as someone who cares about them, whether it's a family member, friend or even a co-worker facing this serious medical condition.

When a loved one has depression, you can offer support and help in a variety of ways. At the same time, remember to tend to your own physical and emotional needs, too. This way, both of you will be cared for even during the darkest days.

Don't tell someone with depression to snap out of it
If you've never experienced depression yourself, then it's impossible to know how helpless and hopeless a person can feel in the midst of it.

Understand that depression is a serious illness that requires medical attention. It isn't the result of a character flaw or moral weakness. It may result from a chemical imbalance in the brain. When someone with depression can't get out of bed, go to work or play with their children, it's not laziness. Rather, it may be a debilitating sense of fatigue, overwhelming feelings of worthlessness or the inability to make even simple decisions.

Answer 2

Depression is a serious and stubborn mental and physical disability. It involves a fundamental impairment in areas of the brain that support motivation, energy, and hope. Because of the complexity of depression, recovery may involve more than one kind of intervention. Each individual may require a different sequence of or combination of interventions. With the help of others, each person must discover which interventions meet his or her individual needs.

The National Institute of Mental Health suggests the following ways to help someone who is depressed:

Help him or her obtain an appropriate diagnosis and treatment

This may include:

Encouraging the individual to stay with treatment for several weeks, until symptoms begin to abate, or to seek different treatment if no improvement occurs
Making an appointment and accompanying the depressed person to the doctor.
Closely monitoring the person to be sure any medications are being taken according to doctors’ orders.
Offer emotional support

Provide understanding, patience, affection, and encouragement.
Engage the depressed person in conversation and listen carefully.
Do not disparage feelings expressed, but point out realities and offer hope.
Do not ignore remarks about suicide. Report them to the depressed person’s therapist.
Invite him or her for walks or outings, to the movies, and to other activities. Be gently insistent if your invitation is refused.
Encourage participation in activities that once gave pleasure such as hobbies, sports, and religious or cultural activities.
Do not push the person to undertake too much too soon. The depressed person needs diversion and company, but too many demands can increase feelings of failure.
Do not accuse the depressed person of faking illness or of laziness, or expect him or her to “snap out of it.” Eventually, with treatment, most people do get better. Keep that in mind, and keep reassuring the depressed person that, with time and help, he or she will feel better.

Most people have experienced a depressed mood at some point in their lives. But depression is quite different from a depressed mood. There is a point at which a depressed mood moves from a response to a state, when stress creates persistent adverse changes in brain functioning. Strong support from friends and family and a healthy lifestyle can help a person overcome depression and cope with extreme difficulties.



If you would like to refer your partner to a list of things they can do to help themselves while they muster up the will to seek treatment, they can read:
http://www.psybersquare.com/depression/selfhelp.html

Answer 3

just being there is amazingly effective. been there (depressed), done that. i wouldnt have made it without my wife. also look into a mild antidepressent like nortryptiline, but don't let some quack overmedicate - that happens a lot. oh - and exercise does help a lot. not sure about exorcisms, though...is your partner's head spinning around and spewing green goop? if not, then you probably don't need "exorcise". LOL!

Answer 4

from experience let them be at times. if you ask about anything the answer you get is end of story. then you just say something of the sort that when they want to talk or need anything youre there. dont force it. its only going to make them irritable. try to find hobbies or do things you know for a fact they love to do. or maybe if theres something you know that would make them smile get it, do it, whatever it is. im still in the depression thing. its hard. people dont understand unless theyve been there. sometimes you gotta just let them be.

Answer 5

By getting yourself some help. You can't force your partner to get help if they don't want it, but you can get help for yourself and learn how to deal with your partner's depression without having it make YOU depressed. I'm telling you--it's catching...negativity is ALWAYS catching and you have to take care of yourself.

Answer 6

Keep them from drinking too much alcohol, or smoking too much marijuana, and get them to exorcize. Exorcize has a direct effect on the dopamine level in the brain.