How Can Family Members Help a Loved One Who Has Depression?

How Can Family Members Help a Loved One Who Has Depression? (0:44)

Living with someone who has depression can be hard on family members. Offering the right kind of support to a depressed loved one can help the whole family, says psychiatrist Sudeepta Varma, MD, in this WisePatient video.

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A lot of times people with depression feel very isolated, they feel shun by their family, they find that their families don't understand what they're dealing with, their families blame them, they are often not able to hold their shared responsibilities because they are depressed, if they are parents, they might be checked out, they are not adding to the household, so it's really important that family members offer support and get the patient to help motivate them, often times people with depression need that extra boost and support, maybe more than the rest of us.

Sudeepta Varma, MD

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About Sudeepta Varma, MD

Sudeepta Varma, MD, is a board certified psychiatrist at the NYU Langone Medical Center. She was also the founding medical director and attending psychiatrist to a prestigious mental health program at NYU Langone.

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How Can Family Members Help a Loved One Who Has Depression?