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Hi, good to see you again too, I have a few questions I want to ask you.
Go right ahead.
I have a friend who is depressed and wants to hurt herself.
Oh yes, unfortunately depression is a major mental health problem.
It is the most prevalent in the world. Did you know that 12 percent of men, and 25 percent of women have depression?
What about deaf people?
Well, there isn't much detailed research specific to deaf people,
but there have been a few studies done showing that deaf people experiencing isolation in social settings can have depression,
communication breakdowns with family and work, or difficulty finding jobs, or have had poor education,
or face barriers when seeking mental health services, problems finding interpreters,
all these can result in more depression.
Oh ok.
Actually, I have seen some new mums suffering post natal depression.
Some are doing fine, some are very up and down, having a rough time, some crazy!
Yes I understand, there are so many different symptoms of depression.
I try not to use the sign crazy, this is an old sign describing people with unusual or difficult behaviours that were hard to understand.
There is a better way of saying this - 'a person that has mental health issues'.
Sometimes what can happen is a person has a psychotic episode just for a temporary period.
There are many many other examples of depression: clinical depression (serious),
Dysthymia (quite serious ongoing depression), or post partum depression, affecting women after birth, can be serious.
SAD, depression from the weather which affects our emotions.
How do people experience depression?
There is a range of different ways, for example, someone might be feeling sad, uneasy, down,
have no excitement or motivation to get up and go in the mornings.
Or they feel hopeless, or feel empty, or they might have no interest in doing things.
Sometimes they could have thoughts about hurting (killing) themselves, or have physical pain that seems to go on. They are just a few examples.
Why do some people get depression and others not?
There are reasons why they get depression. Some ways people become depressed could be through
money problems, losing a job or finding it hard to get a job, or moving house, relationships with family and friends,
physical, *** or verbal abuse, traumatic memories, alcohol and drug abuse,
body changes like hormonal changes in women's bodies, sexuality, they face confusion whether they like a woman or man, ageing -- getting old and depressed, or grief like you lose someone you love.
Wow. I understand more now. So if I feel depressed, where would I go for help?
How do I get help, what should I do?
It's important you get help straight away, see your GP, with an interpreter straightaway.
It's important to get help straightaway to help you get better faster.
You can try different medications or counselling, they are two options you can try.
With medication, you can try different medications until you find one that is right for you.
With counselling, you need to find the right counsellor, someone who is professional
and can work with interpreters, or can sign.
How can counselling help?
Psychologists and counsellors have different ways of intervention, talking to help change thoughts,
explore our behaviours and try to make changes, and discuss those issues thoroughly with the client.
They really try to always be cooperating, helpful and collaborative
in exploring your issues to find the best way to manage your depression.
So if you want to know more about depression, you can check out two websites,
www.psychcentral.com, and not sure how it was spelt ... www.mindyourhead.com... ah I remember what it is called now.
On these two sites there are assessments/screenings where you can answer some questions
to get an idea if you may be depressed or not.
Fantastic, that's really good to know.
Is it true there are some counsellors out there who can sign? Can I trust them?
Yes there are a few signing counsellors popping up here and there.
Yes you can trust them, they follow confidentiality rules, they have been trained, done courses over time.
They know how to work with interpreters if needed,
if a deaf person was to come with a hearing family member, they can work well in this situation.
They have experience and knowledge of deaf people, their culture and their issues.
If you need to talk to us, contact us and we can talk more if you want.
Great, thank you.
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