I don’t sleep, I don’t eat, I don’t talk to people, I say that I’m tired all day long… As long as I go out, I’ll try my best to buy things; exhausted…
How should families respond to the abnormal behavior of people with depression and manic-depressive disorder? Today, our new concept psychology has sorted out four situations, and proposed coping strategies for these four methods.
Condition 1: I understand my depression best → The patient thinks he knows his disease best, and he understands all medical knowledge. Stopping the drug without authorization, so that I go to the rivers and lakes with illness, how can my family help?
In the course of treatment, psychotherapists occasionally encounter patients who have become “good doctors”, and their knowledge of the pathology of depression is no less than that of the treating physicians. Such “well-understood” patients often “master” the condition by themselves and arbitrarily interrupt the drug, which is a headache for doctors or psychologists.
Professor Rong Xinqi, a psychologist, found that these patients have strong “self-efficacy” and believe that drugs will erase their resilience. They often self-diagnose the condition to decide when to take medicine. A doctor’s diagnosis is still required, and it is recommended that the companion should let the patient follow the doctor’s instructions, rather than taking medicine by judging the condition by themselves.
For such patients, it is best for their companions to guide them to make good use of their ability to “control the disease.” There is a book called “The Heart of Bipolar Disorder”. The author is a psychiatrist who is also a patient with bipolar disorder. He has a medical background. Once he notices that his depression has worsened, he will immediately aggravate the drug treatment. It can be seen that the drug is in the treatment of depression and mania. Significant effect on depression.
Tell the patient that despite his understanding of the condition, he still lacks medical training, and guide him to take advantage of this to discuss with his physician rather than “decide” when or how much medication to use.
Condition 2: It’s all my fault → Depressed patients have a strong sense of worthlessness or guilt, how can family members enlighten them?
Depression is most often accompanied by “feelings of worthlessness” and “guilt”, and the best way to accompany is to “listen, not necessarily give advice.” Once advice is given, the patient can’t do anything At this point, his sense of worthlessness and guilt will be higher, which is counterproductive.
Professor Rong Xinqi said that many companions would tell depressed patients “don’t think too much”, etc. In fact, depressed patients just can’t control their thoughts, and the “advice” of their companions is very important For him, it’s more like an argument.
For this type of patient, it is like a spinning top. The companion should not let it accelerate. Slowly, the top will stop automatically. In fact, depression is also cyclical. The patient is depressed for a period of time and then gets better, as if it were cured without medication; but after a period of time, depression will appear again.
Therefore, in addition to not being able to interrupt treatment, it is even more necessary for the caregiver to “listen and accompany”, Rong Xinqi reminded, “Don’t suggest too many actions, otherwise the patient will not be able to do it, and will be more conscious of its worthlessness. Or feel guilty.”
Condition 3: In depression, do not disturb → Depressed patients are self-isolating, like a stuffy gourd, do not tell others at all, and do not want to listen to professional diagnosis, how can family members help? Provide interpersonal support to patients?
This is the most commonly encountered situation, where the caregiver will lead the patient to “live” if the patient is only self-isolating and does not like to talk. Accompany him to eat, deal with daily chores, take him out, etc. I am most worried about encountering a severe stuffy gourd and I will not eat or drink. At this time, I must take a more active approach and take the patient to see a doctor, or even be hospitalized, at least to be able to “maintain life”.
Psychologist Rong Xinqi said that the drugs used to treat depression were not as good as they are now. At that time, severe patients would use electrotherapy to “reorganize brain cells”, so that patients would have the desire to resume eating . Now the medicine is better, but if the patient is too severe to eat or drink, the caregiver must take him to receive professional treatment from a doctor.
Condition 4: Shopping spree → When a person with bipolar disorder has a bipolar disorder, he buys frantically… How can family members help him “hit the brakes”?
Many people with bipolar disorder go on a shopping spree, buy gifts for others, buy more items than they can handle, or suddenly become crazy about certain behaviors. What the author can do is limit the frenzied behavior of the manic person.
If the patient has an attack, he is not allowed to bring a credit card. If the patient is difficult to communicate, like someone who has no money or credit card, he still takes the store’s goods generously, and his family members have to follow him. , when he didn’t pay attention to put things back, if he insisted on buying, he could only help pay the bill.
However, once this type of patient affects relatives and friends around him, he must be taken to a doctor forcibly. If the condition is not serious, the caregiver tries to keep the patient’s behavior during the attack in a way that does not affect his financial resources and encourages him to join support groups.
If a person with bipolar disorder has been diagnosed, the patient is usually aware of the illness, and caregivers should assist in seeking medical attention if they notice an episode of bipolar disorder. If you have never seen a doctor, the patient may not know that he has bipolar disorder, so clinically, many people who seek medical treatment for the first time are brought to the doctor by their family members.