Depression??

Question

My friend has been suffereing from depression for a quite a while now, but the doctors dont seem to be helping her. They just prescribe her with some drugs and leave her. She is really in a bad way, she thinks she is ill and is going to die, the depression is making her think shes got all these illnesses when she hasnt. her family are no help they just keep telling her to get her act together, and its all in her head. She now thinks the docs have been talking about her and they are getting the nursery to watch her children. She thinks there going to take her children away. What can i do to help??

She had a phyciatrist last year, but got better and they stopped seeing her. Now all the symptoms have came back and the doctor hasnt refferred her. Which i think he should!!

Answer 1

Sounds like your friend has problems other than just depression. If by "doctors" you mean general practitioners, you should suggest she find a good psychiatrist to talk to. You should also go along to the visit if she's ok with that, to describe her behaviour, which she probably doesn't see the way the rest of the world does.

Answer 2

First off, well done for being so caring towards your friend!
Second, maybe she needs a new doctor! She is well within her rights to see a different doctor, even register somewhere new.
Third, if she had a psychiatrist before, it's worth ringing the hospital she was under, they should stil have record of her, and SHOULD see her as an emergency.
Also, many psychiatric units have emergency receptions, where anyone can turn up and get seen by a doctor there and then. It's worth finding out about that.
Failing that, she CAN go to A&E if it's really urgent. mental health is just as much of an emergency as naything else, they will not turn her away, and they will take the problem seriously

Answer 3

Depression is a very serious illness and it must be treated by a psychopharmacologist who specializes not only in normal psychological evaluation but in the prescription of special medication for the diagnosed problem. Regular MDs do not know enough about the interaction of medication and specifically which ones are best for a particular patient. They merely use an antidepressant brand A or B and hope for the best. This not enough! Therefore your friend must see a specialist who can help with analysis and medication combined together to affect a cure. She can be helped but only if she adheres to a strict program and sees the kind of doctor I described. How do I know all this? I was once very depressed and went through what your friend is going through. My only hope was to follow the routine I just described which was given to me by a friend who is an MD who practices internal medicine and who had similar depression problems. I was lucky. I found the right doctor and I was OK within 7-8 months.

Answer 4

this only works when the doctors will get on the same page as you ,, But they wont because cures make the patient go away and therefore the money go away. Stop all sugar, caffiene processed food artificial sweetners of all kinds. bread.take out food ect. you get the picture stop all the junk 100 %. Now replace it with fresh fruits and vegetables and dark green salads and beans and seeds. and every healthy food you know is good. go as raw as possible. this is what the body needs when it doesnt get it it rebells. its like giving a car bad gas its going to run but not too good. you have to stay eating this way or it will come back . you will feel bad before you feel good for a short while this works. then the real energy and happiness will come back and you will feel like exercising which further elavates a persons mood. also i worked in a mental institution for many years and there were many great and smart people who ended up there after a full life they lost thier minds to alcohol. which is a great depressant also so if you do that too stop it now once you lose your mind to that there is no return. Remember what you eat today becomes your cells tomorrow. so what do you want to be made of? there are many natural cures for depression. look them up .chinese medicine is good and macrobiotic eating is good also and there are more..... Jennie

Answer 5

It definately sounds like paranoia has introduced itself.

Depression can feel isolating even if you have got a great friend by your side. She really needs to have to doctor take her seriously, seek a second opinion if you must and arrange counselling as i do not believe medications alone will help.

If intrusive thoughts are the cause of her paranoia then it could be schizaphrenia- mental illnesses can often be misdiagnosed or change from disorder to disorder.

you are doing a great job. Just continue being there, make sure she eats/drinks, be honest with yourself and her if you think she is having difficulty looking after the kids. Often we dont want to interfere but at whose detriment...People with depression who sruggle to keep face undertake an immense emotional battle.

Good luck

Answer 6

Keep her company and try to find her a hobby, a volunteer activity or an artistic thing. Does she have a job? If not, she definitely needs to stop all the drugs and go help people, like children with problems, homeless people, animal shelters, etc. When I was depressed this is how I realized how blessed I was and stopped worrying about me, because i saw how people were much less fortunate than me.

Answer 7

, if she is a single mum you can understand her worries for her children. Has this depression been brought on by something or just happened out of the blue? As her friend could you not go with her to the doctor and ask for either counselling or phycriatric help, also if you surf the web there may be helplines of use. Good Luck

Answer 8

As much as the doctors aren't seemingly helping, perhaps it is because she hasn't told them everything you have said here?
If she thinks she is 'ill and going to die' and she is starting to get paranoid about things, perhaps it is a different mental illness and not simply depression anymore - meaning the pills she is on aren't neccessarily the right ones.
She needs to go back to them and tell them it is not working; perhaps she would be better off seeing a therapist or someone who she can talk to about what might be the root of her depression. If need be, she needs to switch doctors if the one she is seeing is letting her condition deteriorate.
She might need your encouragement to stand up and say 'these drugs aren't helping'. And if she is not in a state to tell the truth of the matter to the doctors, then she needs someone to go along who can support her, or else you need to intervene yourself - but be warned, that can get a bit messy.

Answer 9

I have almost the same problem.
I found going to therapist to just talk really helps. Having someone to listen to you when no one else does helps a lot. It feels like someone actually cares.
But when there is no one to talk to, all the problems pile and pile and the only way to release it to to snap or do something drastic to get someone to notice you have a problem.
So I think the best thing for your friend at least is to have someone there to talk to them about what is going on in their life to make them depressed.
And after a while, if your friend is feeling better, make sure they still have someone to talk to. Because people think once someone is feeling better and less depressed means everything is okay.

Having someone there to just listen helps more than people know.

I really hope this helps.

Answer 10

I really feel for your friend as i was in the same position a few years ago. I suffered with depression for about 6 years and it takes time for things to improve. My family told me the exact same thing, and it makes things ten times worse. All you can do is be there for your friend, if you feel that the drs are not helping, tell her to go back, maybe to see a different dr for another opinion. Maybe go with your friend to see her dr if she is willing as a sort of back up, express your concerns. Your friend shouldn't just be left in this condition, seening a Psychiatrist and Counselling are a big help. Your friend may be reluctant to follow these routes, as i myself was, but reassure her that they can be a major help in the healing process. I wish your friend the best of luck