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Re: Good interview with a great writer, Andrew Solomon » Phil

Posted by tabitha on July 27, 2002, at 22:48:47

(this is a cross-board post replying to
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/2000/20020724/msgs/542.html )

Thanks for that link, Phil. I liked what he said. Did you read his book? When it came out, I expected to feel really validated by it, but it kind of alienated me. What he described as his depression is not what I feel. Maybe he's more vegetative, and I'm a little more agitated, I don't know, or maybe I've never been as low as he describes.

Anyway, here's my favorite piece of that interview...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What advice would you give to the family member or friend or mate of someone suffering from depression?

Depression is a disease of loneliness, and the best thing you can do is to mitigate the isolation of a depressed person. No matter how withdrawn that person is, it is helpful to him to have constant concrete manifestations of support around him. It is important to remember that the depressive's belief in the intractability of his condition is one of the symptoms of the illness. Keep reminding the person who suffers that the situation is temporary, that things will change, and that the voices he hears within himself are the voices of depression and not the voice of reason. Encourage your depressed friend to seek the professional help he may need -- to find medications if appropriate (and they usually are) and to find some form of talking therapy to enable the emergence from despondency. Give encouragement. Don't, however, keep telling the person to cheer up, or remind the person in great detail of how wonderful his life is. Don't be patronizing. Accept that the statements being made by the depressive, no matter how distorted they may seem, are his truth. Have some respect for the reach of the illness.

 

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URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020722/msgs/27456.html