When you are depressed, it profoundly affects every aspect of your life. However, depression can also cause severe problems for your loved ones and those around you. You may have people around you that don’t understand depression and want you to “snap out of it.” Many people desperately want to help, but they have no idea how to help you. Your depression affects your loved ones in different ways, and it always makes them sad to see what you’re going through. If you or your loved one is battling depression and addiction, reach out to Bayview Recovery today at 855.478.3650.
Worry, Depression, and Loved Ones
One of the main things depression does to your loved ones is to make them worry about you. They may not understand what you’re going through, but they usually want to. They worry about your suffering and about the possibility of your depression getting worse. They fear that it might take your life. They may also be concerned that they aren’t doing what they should to help you. If you have not sought mental health treatment for your depression, seeing how much your loved ones worry might convince you that depression treatment is worthwhile.
They Try to Understand
If you have loved ones who have never experienced depression, they may not understand just what it is and how it affects you. It may help if you take some time to explain the basic facts about depression and some of the symptoms you’re having. Those may include:
- Not wanting to do activities that you usually find fun
- Insomnia or waking up during the night
- Having feelings of sadness much of the time for weeks or longer
- An inability to concentrate, make decisions, or remember things
- Feeling tired all of the time
- Either not eating enough or bingeing
- Having thoughts of harming yourself
They May Be Hostile
There are still people out there who see depression as some kind of weakness or failure of character. Those people may end up angry about your depression because they believe you aren’t doing enough to come out of it. This type of misunderstanding around depression and loved ones can change relationships for the worse. It can also make you feel that you are even more worthless than you felt before. This approach to depression and loved ones usually backfires, and it can create long-term resentment. Sometimes, loved ones feel anger because they don’t want to feel hopeless or sad. They don’t want to blame themselves for your depression, as loved ones often do, so they make you take the blame.
It’s critical to remember that depression isn’t a failure of strength or morals. Instead, it’s a severe mental health condition, which is treatable with the right support and therapy.
They Get Frustrated
Unless your loved ones are mental health professionals, they will not know what they can do that might help you. They may try several different strategies to help you and end up feeling frustrated when none of it works. They may think that if they can’t make you better, you’re doing it on purpose. They may feel useless when it comes to your problem and blame themselves for not knowing what to do.
Getting Treatment at Bayview Recovery
The best thing you can do for your depression and your loved ones is to seek out mental health treatment. They are less likely to worry if they know you’re actively getting help for the condition. At Bayview Recovery, we strive to support your mental health with evidence-based treatment options. Reach out to our treatment center at 855.478.3650 to find out more about our depression treatment program.