You’re Skeptical Of Their Mood
Your loved one is happy, chipper, optimistic, and feeling hopeful. Yet, something about their outlook on life worries you. It just doesn’t seem authentic or believable. You’re afraid they might be overcompensating. In private conversation, they express a different tone around you. Watching them carefully, you notice that when they think nobody’s looking, they appear much more somber.
They Deny Anything Is Wrong
Out of love and concern you might have approached them about your worries. Almost immediately they got defensive, but in a very cheerful way. “Why would I have depression? What do I have to be depressed about? Everything is fine?” You know well that someone doesn’t have to have a reason to be depressed, it’s a chemical imbalance and mental health disorder which doesn’t always have a cause. Their denial is concerning, especially when it seems pushy.
You Know They Have Some “Stuff”
Everyone has their “stuff”, their particular story, their baggage, their histories, and their pasts. Most mental health practitioners feel that “stuff” has to be gone through eventually. Nobody can just ignore what has happened to them in the past as if it didn’t happen at all. Being that you’re close with them, you know there are difficult things through which they have had to endure, which must have taken a toll. Whenever you bring it up or suggest therapy they say it didn’t have an effect on them and that they are fine.
They Aren’t Entirely Normal Anymore
Lately, you’ve noticed they look tired. After asking them about their sleep, they admit they’re sleeping quite a lot, but don’t feel well rested. Or, they might confess they’re hardly sleeping at all, feeling as though they are having a phase of insomnia. You notice changes in their eating habits, even though they aren’t changing their diet, and even their moods are irregular.
You Have Heard Them Crying
Denial about depression can run so deep that trying to hide it becomes an emotional task in itself. If they ever decide to talk about it, they’ll likely admit they don’t know what’s wrong with them and why they just can’t change the way they feel by themselves. Mental health care is still shamed in most parts of the world. People are not inclined to reach out for help and realize that they need any.
Approach your loved one with empathy and compassion when you suggest they seek treatment services for dealing with their depression. Remind them, hundreds of millions of people, of all kinds, around the world are living with depression every day. They will feel better again.
Avalon By The Sea is a mental health treatment facility providing residential care for primary mental health conditions like depression. If you or a loved one are in need to support for depression, call us today for a confidential assessment and more information on our programs: 1 888-958-7511.
