WHEN SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS DEPRESSED

Rating:
Summary: Very helpful and informative
Review: I found this book to be tremendously supportive when I was trying to help my fiance (now my husband) deal with his depression. Depression in a loved one is such a tricky, difficult thing to handle. This book gave me the background, information and courage to discuss the depression with my fiance and take action.

Rating:
Summary: Simple minded
Review: Someone I care for has just gone into a major clinical depression so I've been reading everything I could get my hands on to understand both him and the impact on me and our relationship. Of all the books I've read, this one was least helpful. Perhaps if I'd just hatched out of an egg and had no experience with life, it might give me information I didn't already have from living every day. It is so simple-minded, condescending and addresses the obvious so blandly - I felt it was a total waste of money. Anne Sheffield's book on Surviving when They're Depressed was a godsend - as was Terence Real's on men's depression. This one - gave me nothing at all. I don't usually slam things but this was useless in my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: eye-opening to my own problems with his depression
Review: This book gave so much information and m,ade an easy to follow guide to everyone reading. Thank you

Rating:
Summary: Out of the morass
Review: This book, written by two psychologists at Columbia, confronts the difficulties faced by friends and relatives of people who suffer from clinical depression. Although perhaps a bit longer and more repetitive than necessary, it presents balanced and thorough information about depression and treatment options. The authors also acknowledge how easy it is to get caught in a morass with a depressed person and offer concrete (if difficult) suggestions about how to escape from that stuckness.

Rating:
Summary: Out of the morass
Review: This book, written by two psychologists at Columbia, confronts the difficulties faced by friends and relatives of people who suffer from clinical depression. Although perhaps a bit longer and more repetitive than necessary, it presents balanced and thorough information about depression and treatment options. The authors also acknowledge how easy it is to get caught in a morass with a depressed person and offer concrete (if difficult) suggestions about how to escape from that stuckness.

Rating:
Summary: Simple minded
Review: This is a must-read book for anyone struggling to understand a loved one's depression. You'll learn the do's and don'ts of caregiving. But more than this, you'll learn the importance of trying to maintain your own mental health and sense of normalcy, in the face of what can be a debilitating illness impacting all members of the family. A lot of the advice is common sense, the kind of thing your loved one's psychiatrist might tell you--if only he or she weren't so pressed for time. Plus it's nice to know you can help your loved one without trying to be Superman or Superwoman. In fact, the first step to helping your loved one is to realize that you (and the rest of the family) have needs as well. So be nice to yourself and get this book. And then hang in there. Your family really CAN triumph over depression!

Rating:
Summary: work as a team
Review: _Maintain your routine as much as possible._ is one of successful techniques offered by Drs Rosen and Amador in this helpful handbook for people whose loved ones suffer from clinical depression. Although the book is well-organized and the tools are presented with clarity, some of us may have reservations about following all of the advice, _The experience of craving sexual release and having a partner who is not interested in sex can be very frustrating. It is important to acknowledge your sexual needs. If you cannot have sex with your partner, one solution is autoerotica._

It is the authors' intent to _provide you with information about depression, its treatment, and the help that is available_ Moreover, _provide examples of common reltaionship problems when a loved one is depressed._. I appreciated the simple and straightforward approach offered here. For example, the stages to healing are easier for me to remember because of the mnemonic TRIP. Trouble - difficulty with interpersonal interactions in the first and typically, unnoticed stage. Reaction - an initial response that may be either conscious or unconscious. Information - gathering data about the problem, reading this book, a move away from denial. Finally, Problem solving - conscious response to the trouble based upon the data gathered. This TRIP through depression is described in relationships with partners, children, parents and friends.

The guidelines for support are presented with equally unassuming directness. First, the authors advise, have realistic expectations, and second, offer unqualified support. Third, is one you already know, maintain your routine as much as possible. Fourth, share your feelings and fifth, try not to take it personally. That is the most difficult one for me to remember and apply. I can get so frustrated at times that I forget about the context of the situation. Having read this book has helped me to keep its simple advice in mind. The last two suggestions provide a way out of the problem for everyone involved. Six, ask for help. Seven, work as a team. I don't feel that I am facing my difficulties alone when I know that there is help outside of the relationship and support within the relationship. Keeping these guidelines in mind has helped me to understand depression as just one more problem that a family or friends face together. There is a chance that this can make us stronger.

A drawback I experienced with this book is that the guidelines are applied systematically to the point of redudancy for each class of relationships. On the other hand, I was surprised to discover that depression is contagious. From reading this book, I came to realize that the depression that I experience clearly can affect those who live with me. After this discovery, I was motivated more strongly to cure because the someone I love who is depressed can very often be me.

From a spiritual perspective, I find that I am most vulnerable to depressive episodes when I lose hope and faith. I have found tools in WHEN SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS DEPRESSED that have helped me maintain a stronger spiritual commitment, and a way to help those I love. If you are interested in depression, relationships, psychiatry or sociology, this book may be interesting to you.

PEACE

Rating:
Summary: work as a team
Review: _Maintain your routine as much as possible._ is one of successful techniques offered by Drs Rosen and Amador in this helpful handbook for people whose loved ones suffer from clinical depression. Although the book is well-organized and the tools are presented with clarity, some of us may have reservations about following all of the advice, _The experience of craving sexual release and having a partner who is not interested in sex can be very frustrating. It is important to acknowledge your sexual needs. If you cannot have sex with your partner, one solution is autoerotica._

It is the authors' intent to _provide you with information about depression, its treatment, and the help that is available_ Moreover, _provide examples of common reltaionship problems when a loved one is depressed._. I appreciated the simple and straightforward approach offered here. For example, the stages to healing are easier for me to remember because of the mnemonic TRIP. Trouble - difficulty with interpersonal interactions in the first and typically, unnoticed stage. Reaction - an initial response that may be either conscious or unconscious. Information - gathering data about the problem, reading this book, a move away from denial. Finally, Problem solving - conscious response to the trouble based upon the data gathered. This TRIP through depression is described in relationships with partners, children, parents and friends.

The guidelines for support are presented with equally unassuming directness. First, the authors advise, have realistic expectations, and second, offer unqualified support. Third, is one you already know, maintain your routine as much as possible. Fourth, share your feelings and fifth, try not to take it personally. That is the most difficult one for me to remember and apply. I can get so frustrated at times that I forget about the context of the situation. Having read this book has helped me to keep its simple advice in mind. The last two suggestions provide a way out of the problem for everyone involved. Six, ask for help. Seven, work as a team. I don't feel that I am facing my difficulties alone when I know that there is help outside of the relationship and support within the relationship. Keeping these guidelines in mind has helped me to understand depression as just one more problem that a family or friends face together. There is a chance that this can make us stronger.

A drawback I experienced with this book is that the guidelines are applied systematically to the point of redudancy for each class of relationships. On the other hand, I was surprised to discover that depression is contagious. From reading this book, I came to realize that the depression that I experience clearly can affect those who live with me. After this discovery, I was motivated more strongly to cure because the someone I love who is depressed can very often be me.

From a spiritual perspective, I find that I am most vulnerable to depressive episodes when I lose hope and faith. I have found tools in WHEN SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS DEPRESSED that have helped me maintain a stronger spiritual commitment, and a way to help those I love. If you are interested in depression, relationships, psychiatry or sociology, this book may be interesting to you.

PEACE