[LadyW]

I've posted twice now; you may have run across my history. 10 yr battle. First Major episode lasted 2+ years. I'm 16 months into my 2nd Major. Suicide survivor from the first. Patterns repeating. Family really never bothered to learn or support. Guess I need to teach them. Printed out some great quotes of what depression is like, suicidology etc. Any one out there have to teach their caregivers? Even thru my first episode, hospitalization etc - I came home to pay the bills & make the decisions. Someone has to come up to bat. Meds I'm on, not working, stayed home today to find a new Dr. & start psychotherapy again...I'm on a bad path, & I know the snap happens out of my control. Is this a weird thing to do?

[Twisted_Soul]

LadyW:
It seems like a very protective and good thing for you to do. Get as much support rallied for yourself as possible.
Your goal here is to KEEP ALIVE!
Depression is a strange beast.
Glad you are trying to find a pdoc and therapist.

if it works for you go for it.for

Me calling a family meeting against myself seems pointless. I know I cant depend on my family to fix me, heck some of them would rather kill me at this present day point let alone when I was crashing.

To me when I think about the words family intervention I picture interventions you read about with alcoholics and drug users. I don't see the point of calling my family together just to have them come down on me when they do enough of that without calling a meeting.

Hearing someone tell me how far out of it I am to the point where I will agree with them and my doing what they want....been there done that its called emotional abuse (along with other attocities they have done to me) and have been in therapy on and off for over 20 years because of it.

I know most of my family are not, will not and or can not support or help me and my fighting to teach them when they think what happened to me is perfectly normal is useless.

The only thing that woke some up to reality of my depression and mental problems was my protecting myself, and doing what I need to regardless of them. Which meant going to resources and people outside the family.

I know a few people that have succeeded in their attempts even when they had the best family support system in place, So I know no one not even with the best support systems in place can prevent me from killing myself. My family cant force me into therapy Im over 18 years old so only I can enter and stay in therapy to help myself.

To me I don't consider doing what I need to do for myself an intervention, to me doing what I need to for myself is called being a responsible adult. It is just expected that a person 18 years or older is an adult and is supposed to take care of themself by taking care of their own basic needs of food clothing, shelter, work, and health care needs be it physical and or mental.

[LMo]

I belong to a different support group for spouses/significant others of people who are depressed. At risk of this thread turning into "nobody cares about depressed people", let me say that many SOs are making themselves crazy with worry. It is a very helpless feeling to watch someone you love be stuck in depression. I hope that your family can learn to understand and support you. I have read a number of books about it, but most of them are from the perspective of someone (like me) who wants to help but doesn't know how.