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Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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Speaker 1: Lauren vocal bomb here. I just wanted to let you

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Speaker 1: know this episode deals with the topics of depression and suicide.

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Speaker 1: So if you're not up for that today, go ahead

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Speaker 1: and skip it. And Hey, take care of yourself, okay.

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Speaker 1: During the publicity that attended the recent suicides of Anthony

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Speaker 1: Bourdain and Kate Spade, people were urged to reach out

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Speaker 1: to loved ones they suspect are coping with depression. There's

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Speaker 1: good reason for this nudge. A more than sixteen million

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Speaker 1: American adults experienced major depression, with only thirty five of

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Speaker 1: those affected turning to a mental health professional for treatment.

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Speaker 1: Effective treatment can lead to partial or complete remission and

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Speaker 1: thus a vastly improved quality of life. But one of

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Speaker 1: the tricky things about depression is that it can prevent

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Speaker 1: people from getting help. Still, despite these numbers, a lot

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Speaker 1: of people are confused or anxious about how to handle

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Speaker 1: a potentially depressed loved one. How can you tell if

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Speaker 1: someone is really depressed and how exactly should you approach

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Speaker 1: the person? What if they get mad at Eve for asking?

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Speaker 1: Although a lot of variables are at play, and it's

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Speaker 1: impossible to predict a reaction. Experts insist that it's always

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Speaker 1: better to make a true and caring effort. We spoke

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Speaker 1: with Matt Onorado, director of social work and an adjunct

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Speaker 1: clinical assistant professor at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical

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Speaker 1: Center's Harding Hospital. He said, a people who contemplates suicide

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Speaker 1: are ambivalent up to the end. They want the pain

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Speaker 1: to end, and if there was some other way to

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Speaker 1: end the pain then kill themselves, they would take that.

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Speaker 1: There's always hope. You make a small gesture of hey,

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Speaker 1: I'm here if you need me, and that could stop

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Speaker 1: someone a week later from trying to kill themselves. The

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Speaker 1: small things we do make a huge impact. So how

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Speaker 1: do you know if someone is dealing with depression? Almost

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Speaker 1: all of us get the blues at some point, feeling

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Speaker 1: down about our lives or ourselves. The difference with depression

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Speaker 1: is that this feeling does not lift and is not

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Speaker 1: improved by spending time with friends or taking part in

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Speaker 1: fun activities. Some fairly well known symptoms of depression include

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Speaker 1: sa nous and loss of interest in hobbies enjoyed in

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Speaker 1: the past, weight gain or weight loss, trouble sleeping, or

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Speaker 1: excessive sleep, difficulty concentrating, and suicidal thoughts or comments. A

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Speaker 1: general irribility is a lesser known and often overlooked symptom.

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Speaker 1: Verbal statements of feeling empty or worthless are also important

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Speaker 1: to note, as well as physical symptoms like pain, fatigue, headaches,

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Speaker 1: or stomach aches. If any of these symptoms last more

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Speaker 1: than two weeks and interfere with the person's life functioning

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Speaker 1: in some way, it's probably not just the blues. Like

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Speaker 1: any serious illness, depression needs to be treated to get better.

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Speaker 1: A lot of people are scared to approach loved what

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Speaker 1: about depression or suicide, whether it's because they don't want

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Speaker 1: to offend the person, are afraid to make the situation

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Speaker 1: to real, or are worried that they'll get yelled at.

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Speaker 1: We also spoke with Dr Katherine Burnett, Assistant professor at

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Speaker 1: the School of Social Work at Two Lane University, via email.

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Speaker 1: She said any time a sensitive issue is brought up,

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Speaker 1: the potential for defensiveness or anger is there. She also

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Speaker 1: noted that you're not necessarily in for a fight though quote.

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Speaker 1: Everyone responds differently, and many people may be relieved to

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Speaker 1: talk about their struggles, especially if a non judgmental and

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Speaker 1: sensitive approach is taken. In the event that the person

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Speaker 1: does react unhappily, it can be helpful to be open

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Speaker 1: and direct about your emotional response. Therapists suggest saying something

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Speaker 1: like I understand you're going through a lot, but when

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Speaker 1: you snap at me, it makes me feel sad. There's

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Speaker 1: no guarantee that one talk will result in action, and

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Speaker 1: that's okay, Burnett said. Sometimes if a friend seems to

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Speaker 1: blow you off, you can affirm that you just care

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Speaker 1: about them and are there if they ever want to talk.

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Speaker 1: Your friend may not respond immediately, but your care may

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Speaker 1: have left an opening for future conversations. When you do

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Speaker 1: initiate the conversation, calmly express concern, then let them do

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Speaker 1: a lot of the talking. Listen first, hold off on

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Speaker 1: any problem solving or suggestions. It might sound silly, but

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Speaker 1: us listening to a person's experience of depression can help

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Speaker 1: them validate that experience for themselves once they've had their say.

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Speaker 1: Therapists recommend asking probing questions like how bad does the

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Speaker 1: sket Does it ever get worse than what you're telling me?

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Speaker 1: Are you aware of having a lot of guilt or shame?

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Speaker 1: Just avoid saying things like look on the bright side,

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Speaker 1: or it's not that bad, or even something like when

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Speaker 1: I was depressed, once I started walking every day and

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Speaker 1: I got better. Remember that depression is a systemic illness.

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Speaker 1: It can affect a person's whole body and being, so

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Speaker 1: it needs treatment tailored for every individual person. It may

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Speaker 1: take time, but hopefully they'll come to the conclusion that

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Speaker 1: their depression can be treated. There are lots of options

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Speaker 1: depending on how severe the situation is. If the person

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Speaker 1: is suicidal, there are services that offer twenty four hour

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Speaker 1: access to trained professionals and other resources. In the US,

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Speaker 1: try looking up the National Alliance on Mental Illness or

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Speaker 1: Mental Health America, or the Suicide Prevention Lifeline or the

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Speaker 1: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Some services are free,

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Speaker 1: and there are federally funded outpatient and inpatient programs available

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Speaker 1: to folks without insurance, with payment based on sliding scale

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Speaker 1: according to income. If the situation is less urgent, talk

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Speaker 1: to your friend about what option they might be most

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Speaker 1: comfortable with. This could start with a trip to the

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Speaker 1: family doctor, particularly if your friend doesn't want to see

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Speaker 1: a therapist. After all, primary care doctors are also able

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Speaker 1: to rule out any other medical cause like thyroid problems

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Speaker 1: or anemia. They can screen for depression, prescribe medications, and

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Speaker 1: refer patients to mental health professionals. Many employee assistance programs

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Speaker 1: offer free or reduced cost counseling sessions to staff and

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Speaker 1: family members, so be sure to check your specific plan

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Speaker 1: for counseling and other resources. Onorato said, I think culturally

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Speaker 1: we're becoming in America more comfortable talking about mental health, depression,

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Speaker 1: and suicide. People are being more open and knowing that

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Speaker 1: there is help out there, that you won't be judged

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Speaker 1: and are not alone. Today's episode was written by Alia

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Speaker 1: Hoyt and produced by Tyler Clang for iHeartMedia and How

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Speaker 1: Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of other topics,

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Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com