How to communicate with people suffering from depression

There are always some special people in life. They may be different from us normal people, but I hope we don’t look at them with prejudice. Give them some respect, treat them well, and care for them, and one day they will gradually recover and live a normal life like us. The emotions of patients with depression are the most unstable. This article will explain how to communicate with patients with depression.

Depression is not like the low mood in our lives. We can't boost morale by giving a little comfort, a shot of encouragement, or a bowl of chicken soup. When communicating with patients with depression, we need to be very careful about the methods and approaches, because it is very likely that our unintentional words will become the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

So, if there are people with depression around you or in your family, don’t panic. Today I will tell you how to communicate with people with depression.

If you are a relative or friend of the patient

At the beginning of the communication, tell the other person that you have noticed that he/she is different and are worried about him/her. Be willing to listen carefully and patiently to what problems the other party has. Communication should be based on listening and giving appropriate responses. When the patient has certain thoughts or behaviors that you feel are not smart or rational, do not accuse him/her of asking for the pain.

Try to understand what he/she is saying

Each person's illness and the feelings brought about by the trauma they experience are unique. Even people who suffer from the same illness and experience the same type of trauma find it difficult to fully understand another person's feelings. So we can only express our attempt to understand rather than truly understand, because there is no such thing as empathy in this world.

Build enough trust

Say that you will not leave or alienate the other person because of his/her honesty, and that you will keep the other person's secrets.

Express affirmative support

Like, I don’t quite understand how you feel/think, but I’m here to support you. You are important to me.

Cheer up the patients

Try to keep yourself in a relatively relaxed and happy mood, tell more jokes and happy things, which can also affect the patient through emotional infection and play a helpful role.

Encouragement and positive guidance

Patients will have many negative and inferior thoughts during the illness. When communicating, encourage him/her more and guide him/her to think positively. Affected by the disease, patients may have difficulty completing their studies or work, or even daily life and some small things. When faced with this situation, give the other person more encouragement and less criticism. For example: Take your time, don’t rush. This time we did better than last time. Do not force the patient to do anything he/she is unwilling to do, and encourage him/her to do things that are beneficial to him/her.

Allow the patient to grieve, don't force them to socialize, and allow the patient to be alone if he or she really wants to be alone.

Establishing and maintaining a patient's sense of safety

Maintain a stable relationship and don't change your relationship pattern easily. For example, maintaining close contact for a while and then suddenly snubbing each other, or not contacting for a few days without telling the reason, is the pattern most likely to trigger his/her anxiety. You need to inform him/her before leaving for a long time or being unable to contact him/her, otherwise it will cause him/her to feel uneasy. For friends/lovers/family members who are sick, please remember to turn on your cell phone when you go out so that he/she can find you in time. For example: I have to go to (work, meeting, study) and need to be away for (how much time). I will contact you as soon as I am done. If you have any urgent matters, you can contact me via (text message, phone call). Regarding this point, many people, when they hear that the other person is suffering from depression, immediately become overwhelmed with compassion and show all kinds of understanding, consideration and care. However, when the patient really lets down his or her guard and begins to rely on and trust themselves, they cannot hold on and want to avoid the patient. This kind of behavior is absolutely unacceptable in patients with depression. Therefore, if you cannot truly care about them and help them, don't be a good person for a while.