As a depressed former child :)
Submitted by Triple Q on June 14 1999 at 14:59:33
In reply to A bit off topic.......but Submitted by Don on June 12 1999 at 19:24:01
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I'll tell what works for me. Buy him a diary or journal...something him can write down his thoughts and feelings in. That way there is no pressure. He doesn't feel that he HAS to talk to anyone. But, when he starts feeling bad, encourage him to write in his diary...express the emotions that are overwhelming him. This way he isn't talking to someone who probably wouldn't really understand what he was try to say. He would be defining his emotions in terms HE could understand...that HE can work through. I think you are going about the problem wrong. When a depressed person is feeling good, he doesn't want to be reminded of how he felt when he was feeling bad. Give him some time to write in his diary (and you may have to keep encouraging him to do so because he may be resistant to do so at first) then, when he feels it is "safe", he may let you read some...then you can begin to help him. It's a long and exhausting process but one that will be better than adding "pressures" to his life. Good luck! |