How Does Depession Affect Your Family?

Depression is a disorder that affects your thoughts, moods, feelings, behavior and even your physical health. People used to think it was “all in your head” and that if you really tried, you could just “get over it.” But doctors now know that depression is not a weakness, and it’s not something you can treat on your own. Depression is a medical disorder with a biological and chemical basis.

Sometimes a stressful life event triggers depression. Other times depression seems to occur spontaneously with no identifiable cause. Depression is more than grieving or blue moods. Depression may occur only once in a person’s life, or it may occur as repeated episodes over a lifetime, with periods free of depression in between. It could also be a constant condition, requiring ongoing treatment over a lifetime.

In many cases when a person is diagnosed with depression it not only affects them but the people that love and surrounds them in their everyday lives, their family. While the person with depression is dealing with their illness their family members are the ones that have to walk on eggshells because they don’t know how to help them deal with the illness.

In many situations family members are torn apart because of the actions of the person trying to cope with the unseen illness. Suffering from symptoms that include sleep disturbances, impaired thought, changes in weight, agitation, low self-esteem, less interest in sex and thoughts of death this can be a big strain on the person suffering from depression and on their family members. Since depression is a more common disease for women, this can put a strain on the marriage and make a spouse feel useless. Feeling that they can’t help their spouse they might confide in someone else. If children are involved this can harm not just the couple but also the kids. Already feeling a gap between themselves and the parent with depression this can hurt children worse. Knowing that their mom or dad couldn’t be strong enough to help the other parent go through their illness and get their family back in order.

Because of all the symptoms that occur when depression is diagnosed there are many ways that it may harm the home of the patient diagnosed with the illness. Things will never be the same because there is no 100% cure of this illness. It can always come back. Although depression may not be able to be cured indefinitely, seeking out professional help may make things easier on the patient and the people living with or around them.