So You or Someone You Love Has Depression?
One of the worst aspects of depression is the tendency to withdraw and to be “unreachable” by the very people who want to help, or can help! There’s a cultural tendency to avoid “interfering” and so family and friends might avoid making suggestions (or even demands) on the basis that the person will “come right”. Or alternatively the depressed person might be assailed with well-meaning but pointless advice to “pull up his/her socks” or “look on the bright side” or whatever.
None of these things are in the least bit useful.
Because depression impacts so damagingly on everyone in the family, it is a family matter - not just a matter for the sufferer. Depression can be life or death, and life and death issues well and truly take precedence over privacy issues! So while you might be trying to avoid upsetting the depressed person in order to keep their stress levels down, this won’t extend to avoiding demands to get treatment.
But many times families can work together to ensure against the development of depression, or to quickly turn depression around when it does arise, if only they understand the crucial role played by important lifestyle factors.
One common enough cause of depression is dehydration. It’s true that in the past we might have overestimated people’s need for fluid intake, but we still find clients presenting with depression from that cause alone. If dehydration is the cause, you’ll see an almost miraculous resolution of depression immediately the person begins eating and drinking normally again.
Physical activity levels can also play a role in depression. Inactivity has a high association with depression, and 2 separate studies (McGill University in the USA, and The Lifeworks Group in Perth, Western Australia) have shown that depression can be resolved very rapidly with the introduction of a brisk, daily 30-minute walk with a partner or group.
In fact there are some 17 lifestyle “mistakes”, each one of which is capable of producing depression. Unfortunately these mistakes have become so common that in some families and communities they are the new norm! In protecting yourself and your family from depression, it pays to look over the check list and get life back on healthy track again!
Because depression rates are escalating so quickly, we need to do something rather urgently, and for that reason the book “17 Solutions” outlining the lifestyle mistakes and describing the answers, is freebie for anyone who wants to resolve depression in their family.
While lifestyle factors can be said to underpin the development of depression and other disorders, of course that’s just part of the picture. Another important factor is the thinking patterns developed by the sufferer, that become habitual and hold the depression in place. The family can help here by acting as role models of health and wellbeing and refusing to get “sucked in” to the depression. This doesn’t mean being uncompassionate - rather it means being caring but firm.
As well as intelligent help from the family, it’s essential for the sufferer to receive therapy in order to firstly resolve issues that may have helped create the depression, and secondly to eliminate unwanted thoughts and feelings that keep the depression in place. BMSA should be the treatment of choice in most cases, provided that is delivered by a properly qualified health professional, in the context of a comprehensive therapy plan.
The book “Relieving Depression - Quickly, Easily and Safely” describes how BMSA is used both in therapy and as a self-help method.
A professional counsellor will ask a host of questions relating to family and life history in order to throw a light on other factors that can play a part in the development of depression. But therapy is more than just talking about these things - it’s about working together to solve issues more easily, more creatively, and more effectively, in order to live a more satisfying life.
Most people are well aware of privacy legislation and the fact that therapy is private. Normally your therapist may not disclose to ANYONE what occurs in therapy, other than their supervisor, and then only in a way that does not identify the client. However when suicidality is an issue the therapist is required by law to get written permission to pass specific information to specific people, in order to protect the client.
The therapist will certainly want to help the sufferer to return to a happy and fulfilling life, but in the meantime must take all possible action to ensure he/she survives.
In the matter of antidepressants, if you or a family member has been taking antidepressants and begin to feel better, or simpy want to stop taking the drug, please do so only under the supervision of your specialist. The effects of rapid reduction or withdrawal have the potential to be tragic.
The main point of this article has been that by attending to lifestyle issues and also to depressed, habitual thinking styles, depression can be resolved very quickly, and also permanently, provided you avoid disproven therapies such as “talk” therapies, or CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) styles. Purchase a comprehensive manual on depression treatment, work with a good therapist, and also look out for excellent information and support on the net.
