Depression is a serious disease which affects millions of people. This condition can greatly interfere with a person's ability to live a healthy life, and even lead to substance abuse physical health problems such as insomnia, fatigue, and health disease says Johnny K - owner of True Life Recovery detox program in Orange County, CA. If you've suffered from depression then you may find this hard to believe but anyone who has dealt with a depressed person will know that this issue can have an incredible impact on a person's life. Not only that, it can also have a major effect on your life - this is especially true if that person is a family member. But what can you do about this? How can you help a family member with depression? In this article we're going to give you a few ideas for doing this. 

1. Learn About Depression 

The first thing you should do is learn what you're dealing with. Try to read and learn as much as you can about depression. This should include anything you find online, including books, videos, or magazine articles. You want to study this problem in depth and understand what depression is, what causes it, and how you can deal with this problem. Remember, knowledge is power, and the more you know the better chance you have of helping your family member overcome this problem. 

2. Talk to Them 

Talking about your problems is often the best form of therapy. Simply talking to trusted family members can help depressed people tremendously. Try to encourage your depressed family member to talk to you about their problem. When doing this it's important that you simply listen. Do not offer advice or try to solve their problems, just listen. 

At the same time, avoid criticizing them, or blaming the person for their problem. It's also important that you take their depression seriously. Many people don't actually believe that depression exists. They think that you should, "simply get over it." You need to avoid this. Instead, listen respectfully to everything they say. 

3. Help Them Find Support 

As a family member you are probably the best person for this. You can help your family member find some type of treatment or support. Most importantly, you can also help them with financial support when seeking treatment. This can mean many things. There are many support groups for people with depression. What's also nice is that there are virtual support groups these days and these can be conveniently accessed online. 

You can also help your family member get into some kind of therapy, or to even see a psychologist or psychiatrist. Finally, they may need to take some type of antidepressant medication, and you can also help them do this. 

4. Encourage Them To Take Care of Their Health 

Depressed people often have terrible physical health. They eat, smoke, or drink too much, and rarely exercise. Many depressed people also abuse drugs as a form of self-medication. You need to help them avoid this. Abusing food, nicotine, alcohol, or drugs will only make their problems worse, and exacerbate their depression. Instead, encourage them to eat right and avoid substances. 

You should also encourage them to start exercising. This is actually one of the best ways to overcome depression. Moving around and doing some type of exercise that gets your blood pumping helps to release feel good chemicals. This includes things like endorphins and serotonin. These feel good hormones and natural antidepressants which can help the person feel better. 

5. Take Care of Yourself

Caring for someone with depression can in itself be a depressing experience. It's an exhausting and emotionally draining disease, and this means you need to take care of yourself. You want to avoid identifying too much with the person's problems and taking responsibility for their issues. Understand that it's up to them to get better. There is very little you can do about their issues other than supporting them. 

This means you need to make sure to continue with your own life, and not spend all your time caring for the depressed person. Also make sure to set boundaries and don't give up the things you enjoy. You may also want to join a support group or start seeing the therapist. By keeping yourself healthy and strong you will be in a better position to help your family members.

6. Be Patient 

It's important to realize that depression is a serious condition which may take time to solve. Getting back to normal isn't something which happens overnight. This means that you need to be patient with your family members and give them enough time to overcome this problem. Do not get frustrated with them or give up prematurely. Instead, give them as much time as they need to overcome this issue. Impatience will only make things worse. 

7. Pay Attention to the Signs of Suicide

The eventual end point of depression is that many people commit suicide. You need to pay close attention to the potential signs that someone is going to kill themselves. These include obvious signs such as the person talking about suicide, or wanting to die. Other signs include things like excessive alcohol or drug usage, or suddenly withdrawing from the family, becoming emotionally distant, or mentioning that people would be better off without them. They may also begin to give away personal items or wrap up loose ends. Also pay attention to something called, "gathering lethal means."  This is when the person starts looking for something to kill themselves with i.e. they buy a gun or begin to stockpile pills. 

8. Don't Expect Much From Depressed People 

What you have to understand is that getting through the day is extremely difficult for people with depression. They may struggle to get out of bed, or do anything of the things that ordinary people take for granted. What this means that you shouldn't expect too much from a depressed person. Don't get angry if they're unable to help out around the house, clean up their room, or engage in other types of physical activities.