How should i talk to my mom and doctor about depression?
September 8, 2009 by admin
Filed under Mental Health
Joeshmoee asked:
Bringing up any kind of a conversation with a doctor or family member could be very difficult. Here are some ways that I reccomend starting up a conversation:
“Mom, can you please not judge me and listen to what I am saying?”
“Mom, I need you to be understanding of me.”
“I’ve been going through some tough times, and I’d appriciate it if you could listen with an open mind.”
“Doctor, I’ve been feeling odd lately.”
“Doctor, I think I’m depressed. Can you help me?”
“Mom, my life has been changing. I really felt that you would like to know what’s going on in my life, so I thought that I’d tell you some news about it now.”
I know that it will be hard to start a conversation, but good luck. I wish you well.
Kadie
The doctor is easier than the mother. You can just straight out say “I’ve been feeling really depressed lately” and tell him if you haven’t been sleeping well, if you’ve had changes in appetite or attention span, if you aren’t enjoying things you used to, etc - these are all classic symptoms of depression.
As for your mother, it depends on your relationship with her. If it’s a fairly good one you should be able to say “I haven’t been feeling that great lately” and hopefully that will open a conversation about it.
Trust me, it is way easier than you think. I was diagnosed at 15. It’s so common, you don’t need to feel awkward about it. Just tell your mom, she will want you to get help for it. Your doctor will prescribe you something, a lot of people end up trying more than one medication, but the first one I got worked. I’ve been off and back on it 3 times, and I know what a huge difference it makes.
Say something like “mom can I talk to you about something”, and then go from there. It may be a little hard and awkward so it may help to practice alone in the mirror. it should be easier to tell the doctor, just say you’ve been feeling depressed lately. Hope I helped, bye.