This page is for those of you with friends or family who are dealing with mental illness. People who are suffering need friends and support most of all during difficult times. If you have a friend who is depressed, do everything you can to be there for him/her. Let him/her know that you're listening and will be supportive. Be someone he/she can confide in and a shoulder to cry on if need be. Encourage him/her to seek help.
You're probably confused about why he/she is suffering. Maybe you're thinking, "What does he/she have to be so upset about?" The sad thing is, mental illnesses can have physiological causes. Many sufferers need to take medication to correct an imbalance in brain chemistry. Yikes! Sounds scary! People are "crazy" and need chemicals so they don't froth at the mouth? No, try again. Psychiatrists prescribe anti-depressants to patients to help them during rough times. Sometimes, they must try a few different medications to find the right one. This can be frustrating to the patient; it usually takes a few weeks to tell if a medication will be beneficial. Fortunately, there are quite a few different medications out there. If your friend or family member is honest with his/her physician, they really can get the help they need.
The tough question: What do you do if your friend/family member doesn't want to get help or denies the problem? Sometimes, sufferers try to hide their illness, but it never works. Everyone gets caught eventually. Maybe you've mentioned your concerns to him/her and he/she threatened to harm himself/herself if you told anyone. Well, face the facts: You have to tell someone. Which is worse: To report someone close to you and have them examined against their will to find that it's a false alarm, or to not tell anyone and possibly have that person wind up seriously injured or dead? This person might be angry with you when you first "snitch" on him/her and try to hurt your feelings, but saving lives is much more important than hiding a dangerous secret. As always, visit my Connect with Me page to contact me with comments or questions.
When The Cut Goes In Deep originally posted on 03-05-2000 and
reposted after remodeling on 06-22-2000.
Ronnie 2000-2004 ©
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