Do you know anyone with a depression? Is someone in your family or circle of friends depressed? Then the article below might help you! People with a depression namely require special treatment. Because they are down, your advice might not be interpreted in the right way. Any proposal which you come up with, requires a certain type of action, which is exactly which people with depression find to be difficult. They often do not see a meaning in life, let alone want to actively treat their depression. In this article we try to give you an image of depression and how you can deal with it.
How do I speak with someone with depression?
People with depression often feel somber and misunderstood. Depression is caused by a deregulation of certain hormones. These hormones attack the neurotransmitters in the brain. This process plays a large role in the development of emotions. For example, if there is a deregulation of the hormone dopamine, then the person in question will feel somber. People without depression feel hope and enjoy pleasant moments in life. Someone with depression can hardly imagine doing this. This makes communication more difficult. If you talk to someone with depression, it will not be useful to come with solutions to their problems. The person in question will namely feel that they are being misunderstood. Sometimes the environment a person lives in can worsen the situation, without meaning to do so. For example, they might hear things like "stop being so dramatic" or "just get over it". Such comments are often meant to be well-meant advice. Yet, someone with a depression will not be helped by this and instead they will feel like they are not being taken seriously.
How does depression influence our friendship?
When someone is physically ill, the person stays in touch with the people around them. The outside world understands their disease. With a depression, however, someone loses touch with reality. They are unhappy and have a morphed view of reality. They feel powerless and lost. The slower functioning of body and mind which goes with this, can lead to helplessness in major depressions. Because of this, someone can - even without noticing this - lose all contact with the outside world. Empathy, distraction, and consolation no longer work. They namely experience a combination of hopelessness, anxiety, and empathy.
'15Minutes4Me.com'
The online self-help program is aware of the hurdle to health care being high. With this reason in mind, '15Minutes4Me.com' was developed. This is an online program, where you can anonymously sign up to deal with your depression. '15Minutes4Me.com' gives you daily videos and solution focused questions to help you work on yourself. We only need fifteen minutes of your time. While '15Minutes4Me.com' is not time-consuming, it is very effective. Research namely shows that participants are 40% happier after 3 weeks of following '15Minutes4Me.com'! If your depression is advanced, '15Minutes4Me.com' can serve as a complementation of therapy.
How do I know if someone is depressed?
You can show them our free depression test. They can fill this out online and anonymously. After answering the questions, results are shown right away. At the top of the page you will also find an interpretation of te results. Then you know right away how serious your depression is!
