Q Will relatives have depression affect family members?
A:
Emotions are contagious. It is difficult for us who live in groups to avoid being affected by the emotions of others.
Friends are not in a good relationship and need to complain to you; the leader is criticized by superiors and will pass on the criticism to you; even if the relationship between parents is not harmonious, we should tell you that what the other person is not...
For a long time, we will inevitably become depressed, anxious, and have some emotional troubles. The above experience is more common in the families of of patients with depression.
Because they not only need to assume the responsibility of taking care of patients, but also share the negative emotions of patients. Over time, life will change somewhat, such as:
Changes in family division of labor
Harmony family is like a small society, its operation cannot be separated from the division of labor of family members, and everyone has their own responsibilities or shared responsibility.
A relative suffers from depression , which means that TA may be unable to bear the original family responsibilities.
So accordingly, family members need to shoulder more responsibilities and may need to share family income generation, child nurturing, family labor, etc.
Negative emotions care
2
Depressed patients have major emotions, and they are often shrouded by low air pressure during the onset, depressed, frustrated or irritable.
In order to comfort the patient's emotions and avoid stimulating bigger problems, family members sometimes need to make concessions.
Although appropriate concessions can avoid problems, being unable to follow one's own wishes will also make the family feel wronged. Over time, family members are prone to psychological imbalance and become pessimistic, melancholy or angry.
Social life reduction
Care for depressed patients requires time and energy, from supervising medication, accompanying exercise, to following up consultations, listening to emotions, family members should try to participate.
This also means that family members need to balance time and make choices. Many families chose to give up their private social entertainment time and instead gave patients more company.
So the social circle continues to narrow and becomes active around patients. will actually reduce the connection between the family and society to a certain extent.
Physical fitness affects
Care is a relatively hard job and has high requirements for the spirit and physical health of the family. The family may have to take into account housework such as cooking, washing, washing, and cleaning in addition to work. will inevitably neglect to take care of itself.
So physical fitness may decline, not only emotional changes, but also physical problems may occur.
So while taking care of patients, family members should pay attention to self-care, maintain a good mental health, and avoid the negative impact of depression from individuals to families.
Family members need to do the following 4 points:
Keep time alone
Just like driving requires a safe distance, people get along with each other, no matter how close the relationship is, we must also keep our own boundaries and space.
is the same for the patient's family. Although patients need companionship and support, we should also reserve time for ourselves to be alone, allow ourselves to temporarily take off our responsibilities of escort and enjoy life.
can be a social activity for about three or five friends, a leisure activity for exercise and reading alone, or a self-reward for a good sleep and a good meal, and do something that can help you gain strength.
Being alone does not mean being alienated, but rather giving yourself and the other person a space to rest. Only when the patient and his family are full of energy can healing occur naturally and depression can truly recover.
Receive home care interventions from their own limitations
play a crucial role in the treatment of depression, so doctors often advocate that family members should be well accompanied.But we need to understand one thing:
The ability of individuals is also limited. We cannot take all the responsibilities on them, nor can we hope that we can save the other party.
During the escort process, there will definitely be times when the results are not as good as expected. For example, if you want him to exercise, but low motivation makes him ignore you; if you urge him to take medicine, his emotions will make him lose his temper at you.
These moments, it is normal to feel depressed and sad. We don’t need to condemn ourselves or feel guilty because you have worked hard to do a good job.
We should allow negative emotions to exist and then vent them in a reasonable way.
After replenishing psychological energy, try again according to reasonable expectations. Remember to take good care of yourself no matter when, so that you can have enough energy to take care of the sick person.
Get professional help
The existence and development of individuals need help and support from others, so we all have our own social support network. For patients, their families are their social support.
Correspondingly, family members also need to find their own social support, obtain a steady stream of strength, and support themselves to overcome difficulties.
When you feel sad, you can find friends, relatives, or families of patients who are willing to listen to and tell them. Maybe they can’t provide effective advice, but listening is the best help.
can also find professional psychological counselors who have professional knowledge reserves and can better help clear negative emotions.
In addition, you can also learn more about depression. Only by learning more can the family understand the patient's feelings more personally, understand the patient's actual needs better, and provide more practical help.
Try to stay optimistic as much as possible
Depression is a chronic mental disease. The patient's condition may be capricious and the recovery process may also take a long time.
Sometimes the patient will show "lazy" and "depressed" due to the symptoms of the disease; sometimes the patient's condition has obviously improved, but it suddenly worsens.
Don’t rush to criticize and condemn the patients at this time, and understand external factors that cannot be changed by human resources.
Criticism and condemnation will only backfire and bring unnecessary mental stimulation to patients. Therefore, the family members should be mentally prepared to fight a protracted war, always maintain an optimistic attitude, and treat all changes with patience.
You can smile more in front of the mirror every morning, and you can hug and praise yourself every night. Effective self-care can keep us happy and gradually accumulate can cultivate positive thinking methods.
Depression will not only affect the patient's mood and health, but also affect the family members who care for the patient.
hope that all family members can also consider their own difficulties while taking care of their patients and love themselves well.
