Strong, caring relationships can be the foundation of a happy life. But what happens when someone you love or care about becomes depressed? Being around depressed and even moody people can have a negative effect on your health. Living with a depressed person can bring down your own mood.
Many people will try to elevate the mood of their depressed partner or friend. You may find that your attempts to involve the depressed person are rejected. When someone doesn’t have a visible injury or obvious signs of illness, it’s hard to realize that depression is an illness. But as with any illness, a person can wallow in their sickness, or try to improve. Part of the difficulty with depression, is that people don’t seem to have the motivation to take action to improve their situation. While you can suggest and encourage your loved one to seek treatment, you cannot force them to do so. In the case of an adult, even if a person is contemplating suicide, the states that’s I’ve investigated will not force a person to go into a hospital for treatment.
In the beginning, many people will be sympathetic with the depressed person. If the depression is the result of an unhappy situation: they hate their work, they are sick, of an other reason, it’s reasonable to listen with a caring heart, and to be reassuring. But after a certain point, hearing the same story time and time again can wear thin and take a toll on the relationship. You want to be supportive and help someone you love, but this can be a very difficult proposition to sustain.
The person who is not depressed may even harbor the belief that they are responsible for the mood of the depressed person, and blame themselves. This is can be a real stressor. It’s important for you to realize that you are not responsible for another person’s moods or illness. Don’t take their illness and moods personally.
It’s so important for you to take care of yourself to prevent yourself from falling into a depression. Make sure that you take time on your own to see your friends, and do the things you enjoy in life. Make sure you are getting adequate sleep, eating well, and getting exercise which are all great stress relievers.
Don’t confuse loyalty and love with sacrificing your life and your happiness. You may need to seek therapy to help you deal with the situation, and decide what is the best course of action for you. EFT Tapping, and HeartMath® stress relief techniques are powerful. They can help both the depressed person, AND you. While you can’t force someone to try these approaches to depression, if they see that doing the practice works for you, it might encourage them to try.
Remember, if you get sick and stressed out, you can’t help anyone else. Although it may sound selfish, you MUST put on your own oxygen mask, and then help others.
Coach Lianda will empower you with simple, but powerful proven methods to alleviate stress and revitalize your life!
It’s not enough to KNOW what to do: Lianda will guide you to create new habits and to MAINTAIN these life affirming methods to keep you on your chosen path to wellness and wellbeing …
