HELPING THE DEPRESSED STARTS WITH COMPASSION

I WRITE in response to Jaimee Wilkens‘ column (GA 1/8) that spoke of the sadness she felt at the tragic death of Chester Bennington, lead singer of rock band Linkin Park.

I speak as one who has suffered depression, and needed hospital treatment several times.

I believe the stigma of previous generations has largely gone, except when it comes to the employment of people who suffer mental illness. I have found that a lot of people now do not see it as a weakness, or as a lack of character, rather they find it difficult to know what to do, and how they can be better placed to identify the signs people give when they suffer from depression, anxiety, and other forms of mental illness.

So, as Jaimee puts it, we need to know how to look for signs so we can support them, and refer them to professional people who can assist them.

Friends, family and workmates can help through empathetic listening, and moving sufferers from destructive self-talk.

An example of this is if a person says that they are stupid when they make a mistake, change this to l did a silly thing. Help sufferers eat properly, have proper rest, exercise and do things they enjoy.

Finally a note of caution: Please do not beat yourself up saying l wish l could have done this or that, as mental illness is hard to identify, as it is not like having a broken leg or broken arm. All we can do is be as open as possible to sufferers. Name withheld