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* BANSWER * ENSWER It can really affect not only her children, but her husband, family members and also herself. Children learn from their parents, so any bad habits a depressed person has such as sitting around the house doing nothing, seeing no one, drinking or doing other drugs to deaden the pain is computed by the children. Because one is depressed doesn't mean that person doesn't know what is going on. They are simply so down that they are like a runaway locomotive that can't stop. Not until they receive professional help and get medication along with that help can they function normally. Firstly, the depressed person needs to realize that there are stats of 75% of depressed people roaming the U.S./Canada (since 9/11 in the U.S. these stats increased by a high margin) and that most people in their lifetime will have one or more bouts of depression (mild or serious) where they will need medication to get them on their feet and counseling. That stats on that alone are rising dramatically because of the times we live in. Teenagers to college students have a high rate of depression from peer pressure, studying too hard and perhaps holding down a job or two to pay their way through college, but, many thank heavens are seeing out advise from their doctors and taking medications (be it conventional medicine or homeopathic medicine) and professional help. There is help out there! Cognitive Therapy is a wonderful tool and helps people deal with the stress' of life. I have been depressed in the past, took the meds for short-term and saw a psychologist along with Cognitive Therapy and Tai Chi (Mind, body and soul) not to mention I am a Christian with a deep faith). Of course I still get depressed off and on like most people, but when it doesn't last more than two weeks it's normal depression. There are many reasons why people can get depressed: DEPRESSION IN YOUTH can be caused by a lack of confidence, not fitting in with the crowd they would like to be with and thus a feeling of rejection. These are years when the hormones in the body are going all over the place. Depression in youth can be caused from trauma such as parents divorcing, poor grades, drugs (including alcohol) or other traumas in their lives such as date-rape, car accident, beatings, being bullied, etc. DEPRESSION IN MOTHERS: PostPartum Blues depression wasn't recognized by doctors until the last 5 years (at least in Canada.) The thought was that "the mother would get over it!" She was left to deal with it herself and it was a terrifying experience for many. The mother had feelings of not being able to cope with her child(ren) because she could hardly hang on herself. Well, it's real! The doctors have recognized it and it can happen with a first, second or third birth. A mother may have two great births and no postpartum blues, but after the third child is born she may experience this. These mothers are treated like anyone else with depression and there is a very high success rate. The hormones will settle down. Husbands/boyfriends and family in general play a big part in helping the mother to cope and to give her a break from the stress' of raising the baby. ADULT DEPRESSION: Each unpleasant thing that can happen to a person in life be it losing a good job, being fired from a job, a divorce, a death of a mate or child or a loved one can trigger depression in some people. DEPRESSION FROM TRAUMA: If a person of any age is in a car accident or any bad accident to a trauma to the body such as rape, being severely beaten up or even see their home lost in a flood or fire can experience depression. Bodily injuries such as spinal cord injuries, etc., or any disease can throw an otherwise mentally healthy individual into depression. DEPRESSION IN THE ELDERLY: A high rate of 89% affects the elderly. If they have many illeness' to cope with while growing old and they realize they are getting older and there is no place to go but closer to death this can certainly thrust them into a deep depression. Dementia, Alzheimer's and many other illness' can cause depression. While some elderly have no problems with settling into a nursing home others pine for their mate or families and fall into a "death wish" depression. Depression can be genetic (so check the family back-ground) or it is a malfunction of the 2 brain chemistries in the brain. I have seen a scan of a malfunctioning brain and it's amazing. A healthy brain has these two chemicals encapsulate the brain, while the brain that is not functioning correctly only has parts of the brain that have these 2 chemicals. It can be from birth and thus genetic. Head trauma can also cause this. AM I CRAZY AND WILL I BE LOCKED AWAY? Absolutely not! If you know there is something wrong and feel sad all the time, just can't get out of bed and have no energy and don't want to see friends or family or go to work then you are more than likely depressed. Instead of worrying, be honest with yourself (I was) and see your doctor. Your doctor will lead you in all the right directions and, if you follow what your doctor and specialist says you will get over this. YOU WILL NOT GO CRAZY! There isn't the stigmatism to depression as there once was. I am not in the least embarrassed about my depression and talk openly about it if a person asks me and by doing so I have helped some recognize their depression where they didn't feel embarrassed or uncomfortable about getting help from professionals or discussing it with certain family members they felt comfortable talking too. Many people I know that have been depressed and including myself go through the process of getting better and feel much stronger. People with depression are usually intelligent, artistic in nature, can be perfectionists, and are kind to a fault. That's where the professionals come in to teach people with depression to "speak up and learn to say no if you don't want to do something without feeling guilty." Depressed people come from all cultures and all walks of life (rich, famous or poor.) At one time it was a myth that only poor people who had to struggle were depressed, but that myth has been broken and, in fact, the poor have been found to be resilient and strong. If you look at Black Americans and what they have had to go through for over 400 years that is strength! I often wonder how they did it. I know. It was faith in God. No matter what happened to them they still had that faith and they fought for everything they knew was right. Why? That will always remain a mystery. Is it because certain cultures go through so many traumas it tends to bounce off or is it faith. I feel Westernized countries have too much out there to choose from and there are the "fat cats" and people that struggle to maintain a way of life all their lives. Westerners have become soft and selfish, but there are still many that are of good pioneer stock. It doesn't really matter how one gets depressed, but it is important that a person with depression knows they are not going to die or they aren't crazy and they are going to make it. I am walking proof of that. My depression hit me in 1973 because my father had a severe stroke and it crushed me more than I knew. I worked hard, just got married, raced up to help my mom look after my father, then came home to my new husband and do work around our apartment and started all over the next day. I simply burned myself out. So what! I knew it, I had to do it, but by being on medications to mask the depression it gave me a chance to learn from the professionals and others who had suffered from depression what tools I could use so I would never fall into that trap again. I learned that it's OK to feel sad or to say "no" without feeling guilty. So far, so good! So please, if you or anyone else you know is depressed get help. It's there so use it. Life really is a great gift and a depressed person can enjoy life again whether they believe it or not at the time of their depression. Good luck & God Bless

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14y ago
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11y ago

Part of the problem with depression is that society has become gathered up into an agreement of belief that does not consent with depression. The desire to fit in and conform encourages people to lose their inner voice and not speak up when something is wrong. We are products of a cultural belief system that ignores or devalues matters of the heart, and then we turn and point our accusatory finger at those who suffer. When we do so, we discriminate against people with depression. Effectively, society affects depression and this makes depression affect society.

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14y ago

Dealing with a family member with an anxiety disorder frequently puts stress on the family. At first most families are sympathetic but as the symptoms reoccur and don't get better the stress level goes up, often leading to anger and hostility This in turn cause the anxious person more anxiety and it become a vicious circle. Proper therapy is a must, and the family should be involved in the therapy or at the very least become educated about anxiety disorders to keep the situation in check.

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9y ago

Bipolar disorder is a complex medical disorder and if one family member has it, it tends to affect everyone in the family. How it affects each family, specifically, is different, but some of the things that may occur include:

  • Focus being on the individual with bipolar to the exclusion of all others leaving siblings, or even adults, feeling neglected.
  • Financial hardship due to bipolar treatment. Need for family counselling as everyone must deal with the feelings (resentment, anger, etc.) they have around one person in the family being sick.
  • Troubled relationships between parents and children or between siblings.
  • Problems with employment due to time needed to deal with the treatment of bipolar.

Additionally, bipolar disorder is partially genetic so if one member of the family has bipolar disorder there is a seven times greater than average chance that a first-degree family member also has bipolar (the chances of other major mental illnesses also increases). This can increase the burden further.

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16y ago

deppresion can hurt the family, because it can make the family sad as well.

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14y ago

For one thing my daughter gets rather pissed off at me. She hates me being depressed (as if I enjoy it) and uses it as an excuse for acting up.

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12y ago

Sometimes the females just zone out, or take a bunch of naps and males get lazy. It really depends on your family, but that's what most do.

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Q: How does bipolar disorder affect the family?
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