Just make sure she knows she's not alone (terrible cliché, I know, but it's a common feeling), and that she's aware you can empathize with her position.
Maybe keep coming to her for advice, it'll make her feel like your (big?) sister again. And while she's around, why not go out for coffee (or hot chocolate? or Baileys in a shoe?(it is the holidays)), skating, etc. Something festive and playful you two can do together.
Yeah, we tend to offload probelms on each other anyway when she's home, perhps I'll make more an effort to do so over MSN when she's back in Uni. I don't catch up withher as much as I used to. And yes she's my older sister by 3 years, thus she's 20. She's also in the 3rd year of her degree which not only means that the pressure is building but also that time for fun is less as her firends are also feeling the pressure. She has said that she's been out very little lately. She does also have a boyfriend who she's going to see soon after Xmas.
We also tend to have a good laugh entirely randomly, and she does enjoy shopping with my sister.
We should talk. I have had my fair share of depression and many suicide type posts here at GTP.
I'll edit this later with my own story. It may help others to here some of what I have to say.
I've seen one or two of your depression posts in the past, you're one of the members I thought of when thinking of members who may be able to help from experience.
From the medical perspective. It is important to get the right medication and emotional support.
If your sis was only just put on meds, remember that it takes about 4 weeks for the meds to "kick in".
It is also really important to monitor patients on anti-depressants closely. Especially, younger patients. Younger patients start to feel just better enough, in a lot of cases, to do themselves harm.
She's 20 and as far as I know, no history of self harm. We're not a family that bottles things up, we've learnt from example, my parents have been married for 25 years so it seems to work. Also, as far as I know she's always had a good group of friends except for a short period at the end of comprehensive. So I'm sure she'll have the support away from home in university aswell as at home.
Don't treat her differently, just let her know that you're there if she needs you.
I know plenty about having anti-depressants that bite back, I was on Amitriptyline about 4 years ago (Christ, doesn't seem that long), how can I put it, I didn't react well to them. Thanks to my Mum though, I was stopped from taking them before it got really bad and we went back to the doctors.
Depression is a horrible thing, I think there's only one way to understand it and that's to have it, it can vary so much from person to person too.
Exige, just support her, people with depression often don't realise how important support from family is, I sure as hell didn't and without it, I'd have gone on a spiral down to the centre of the earth.
Like I've said a few times, it'll be difficult for us to personally monitor her, but she does have a good group of friends in uni. But yes, I'll keep my eye out for any changes on her infrequent trips back home.
Depression is a tough thing to deal with, it's to do with chemicals in your brain, it isn't psycological. She will probably benefit from support, if it was psycological then letting them sort it out themselves can be a good option, but proper depression isn't like that. If it's proper depression she'll have little to no control over how she's feeling.
Make sure she takes the medication, it will gradually restore the chemical balance in her brain and then she'll have to come off the medication slowly, not suddenly or she runs the risk of diving straight back into depression again.
I don't know whether it is pscyological and stress induced or a chemical problem. And again, onitoring will be difficult but I can check if she's confided in a university friend, I'm sure she has or will.
Oh, tricky one.
Since is psychological, you need to be really careful of how you interact. As already stated, treating her differently will be blindingly obvious. But then you also can't distance yourself.
All you can do really is offer support, but knowing you I don't think that will be a problem.
Please give her my best wishes.
👍
I shall do, she
does actually know who you are aswell
And thanks to all of you who've come forward, it's much appreciated. 👍
not that. I hate suicide. I too, have been there. It wasn't cool. Whatever you do, Don't give up on her.
