Sister

[Ashes]

I keep trying to convince my sister to use the clinic I have to go to.  She has no insurance and the clinic works on a sliding scale.  She needs to go get some anti depressants.  I have heard her making statements like " she has given up, she doesn't care anymore, ect...".  I am trying to get her to go because she went through a divorce about a year ago and I think the hard reality of single motherhood has set in.  She thought she would be able to date and money would just come.  Life isn't that simple.  The point is I can see the depression and she wont reach out for help.  She says she has nothing to be depressed over so the doctors would look at her like she was crazy.  Anyone else know someone who needs help but wont get it?

[Phyllis]

Any mental illness has a lot of stigma attached to it. So, it makes it difficult for people to get help when they need it. Many people don't think they need help, even when other people see it. It is a high percentage of those people who have to hit rock bottom before they even think about getting any help. I hope if your sister is truly depressed she will get the help she needs. The only thing you can do, is be there for her. She will come to terms with it in her won time.

[spongebobfan]

I absolutely know somebody like that! My very closest friend was very close to a child that just passed away. She had a very hard time with it and insisted that she didn't need help. I kept encouraging her to go to counseling since she wasn't interested in medication. She kept saying "I don't like to talk about myfeelings and everything will be fine. I'm just going to sit there and stare at the person and it won't help" So finally I told her that even just staring would help. I said "that would be wonderful! just go and sit in the office and if you feel like talking talk and if not then just sit. Either way I think it would be a healthy choice for you"  She went and she still didn't really like it but it got her over a hump and she is starting to heal

[Paz]

 Just be there for your sister if you can...sometimes helping another who has a problem can help us to feel better, after all who knows better than us how horrible it is to be sad? Let her know that it's ok to feel overwhelmed with single motherhood, and that everybody needs a little help sometimes. It's not a sign of weakness to ask for help.

[Ashes]

Thanks everyone
I am still going to try and persuade her but I know she has to see it and want it for herself.  I think she feels like so many others have it worse than her that she shouldn't be depressed.  I'll keep an eye on her and try to help however I can.

[Dreamline]

I used to fell like that before I ever got help...I would think that there's people worse off than me and so I don't really need help, I thought I was just a loser or wimp or a freak.  Would she go if you went with her...like maybe just go to councelling first, so there's less stigma.  That's how I did...I started going to therapy and my therapist suggested that I see the pdoc.

[chasemanzmum]

Odds are if someone has mental illness signs it runs in the family. And if you are siblings or children of someone with bipolar you may exibit signs of it.