Continuing the discussion from SANE Mental Health Charity - Black Dog Campaign & Selfies:
I feel very helpless and ineffective in the face of depression and negative symptoms. I do ask questions, I do read what I can get my hands on, and I do listen when people tell me what it’s like and what worked for them. Yet for some reason, I don’t feel I understand.
I wish I knew how to better support and comfort someone going through a deep depression or negative symptom. It’s a fine balance between trying to help motivate and being ineffectively pushy.
There are many sites and chapters on how to help during a psychotic break. I wish there was just as much information when dealing with the negative symptoms. It’s hard for me to understand the deep apathy, the lethargy, or the sudden withdrawal in any mental illness. I think I find negative symptoms harder to understand then positive ones.
When a loved one hits a deep depression I’m at a loss myself. The only thing that I feel helped me with my oldest brother is that, I’d like to think, I knew him pretty well before his negative symptoms hit him. Considering the dramatic change in his personality during his negative onset, previous knowledge of who he was, wasn’t much to go on.
When I was younger, I also held onto a belief that deep down in my oldest brother’s heart, he tried harder for me, he worked more to reach out to me. I also feel that when I was younger, there was more stuff I didn’t question, just accepted.
Now, my danger boy youngest brother, the hard-core, hard drinking, hard partying daredevil, has been diagnosed, he’s completely deflated before my eyes. Many people involved had a feeing that after years of manic, he would in fact hit a depression. But I am surprised it seems so deep. I’m working on finding that acceptance and suspend questioning. But this is a different person and a different diagnosis, so again, this might not be the right track.
I’m on a lead for a support group. They have contacted me back and I can attend their next month gathering. I hope I can get some answers and ideas on how to help more effectively.
I’ve been reading the bipolar sites that I was directed to. I even found some schizoaffective forums.
I still have questions and I still wish I could find that balance between being supportive and being pushy.
As always, ideas welcome.
Thank you for letting me post