Depression can affect a person's life to unsuspected limits as a result of the severity of this clinical picture. Symptoms of depression include a great loss of interest in the vast majority of daily activities and highly variable moods. It is common to hear people who suffer from living with this type of disease, since the irritability that manifests itself can be detrimental in various vital circumstances. In this sense, if your mother has depression and makes your life impossible, surely you want to know some coping strategies, understanding it, and helping her cope with the symptoms of this disorder mental.
In this Psychology-Online article we will explain what to do if my mother has depression and makes my life miserable.
First of all, depression is a mental illness that is characterized by the presence of a unpleasant mood and dysfunctional ideas about life. For this reason, depressive behaviors are not voluntary on the part of the person, but rather respond to particular moments of reluctance that are imposed.
In any case, it is necessary that this diagnosis be established by a mental health professional who evaluates the clinical conditions of the sufferer. DSM-V[1] classifies this condition as major depressive disorder based on its diagnostic criteria.
We will detail each of them below:
- Depressed mood most of the day.
- decreased interest or pleasure in almost all activities.
- Loss and/or increase in appetite.
- Alterations in the sleep pattern.
- persistent fatigue.
- Catastrophic thoughts linked to death.
- Deterioration of work, social and family relationships.
- Two weeks or more duration.
- The alterations cannot be explained by the intake of toxic substances, medications and/or other mental disorders.
From these indicators, depression can be detected. Taking these considerations into account, it is possible to understand that the fact that a mother makes her feel hurting a child is not a conscious act, but rather responds to the experiences that forged the character that she owns.
Here's how a mother's depression affects her children:
- Low self-esteem: children who live with a depressed mother may develop a tendency to underestimate their personality.
- school problems: family experiences affect the state of mind in a generalized way. For this reason, many boys and girls can present low grades due to loss of concentration or attention, among others. In other areas they can develop Low tolerance to frustration, behavioral problems and contempt of authorities.
- Suffering from depression: children who are affected by a mother's depression who do not receive specialized treatment may suffer from the same clinical picture. In this sense, it is common for children to imitate behaviors, emotions and ways of thinking that they observe in significant people in the family environment.
- lack of desire: Depression interrupts the motivation to achieve goals in life. This can be reflected in social apathy, fatigue, impossibility of having a stable relationship, among others.
Although it is true that there are genes that can be transmitted to children, the processing of the way a mother with depression can have various nuances. Understanding these qualities can help situate the consequences that could arise.
Despite the difficulties that this diagnosis raises, it is possible to establish some strategies to mitigate the negative effects on living conditions. In the next few points, we will talk about how to help my mother out of depression:
- Suggest that you do psychological therapy: The first step for a person to solve a problem is to recognize it. Due to this circumstance, it is important that those who suffer from depression receive professional assistance to treat the problem they suffer from. A therapeutic device provides the necessary tools to combat mental health disorders.
- Offer a listening space: Sometimes people just want to be heard because they feel misunderstood. Because of this, telling a mother that she is available for whatever she needs allows her to feel welcomed and have a space of contention.
- Don't invalidate feelings: It is not about denying what the person feels, since it could be harmful. On the contrary, trying to understand her is essential for her to accept help.
- Provide help with daily tasks: On some occasions, it is possible that there is no will to carry out different occupations. In this sense, it is essential to collaborate at this time and to know that emotions may vary in the future.
- help her decide: Life can be filled with uncertainty in depression. For this reason, it is necessary to act on time and facilitate complex decisions.
- Build an emotional support network: Emotional support from both friends and family is important so that a person can get ahead.
- Distract from negative thoughts: when these appear, distraction must be used to prevent them from increasing.
- Reinforce positive actions: every time the person performs an action that favors them, they must bet that it can be repeated in the future.
- Promote a healthy lifestyle: Maintaining a healthy diet and a routine of physical exercise helps to combat the stress that the painting produces.
- Set realistic goals: people with depression feel that it is impossible to carry out many goals because they feel incapable. Given this, it is preferable to set realistic goals to avoid further frustration.
In this article you will find more information about How to help a person with depression.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
