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Mental health problems are common and knowing someone with one is even more common. However, it can be dif­ficult to recognize a mental health problem in a friend, family member, or col­league, and know what to do if they are unwell. Common mental health problems include depression, anxiety dis­orders (such as panic disorder or social phobia), and sub­stance abuse or dependence.

Do you suspect a loved one may have a mental health problem? Are you afraid of saying the wrong thing? Should you ‘force’ them to seek help from a health pro­fes­sional? What about if they are feeling suicidal?

Although people often know a lot about physical health problems, many don’t know much about mental ill­nesses or how to be sup­portive. Your support is important because people may be afraid to ask for help from loved ones in case they receive a negative reaction. Seeking help early can lessen the impact of the problem and can prevent other problems from occurring. In order to teach members of the public how to help someone with a mental health problem, a team of researchers developed the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) program.

The program has spread to 15 countries, and teaches the symptoms, causes and treatments for mental dis­orders, as well as what actions to take to help someone who may have a mental disorder. These actions do not replace the help from a pro­fes­sional, but are similar to physical first aid given before an ambulance arrives. The program covers what to do for a variety of mental dis­orders, including depression, panic attacks, psy­chosis, problem drinking, eating dis­orders, and self-​​harm.

MHFA has these tips for helping a loved one you suspect has depression:

• talk to them about how they are feeling at a time and place where you both feel comfortable
• let them know that you are con­cerned and want to help
• listen to them without inter­rupting and don’t be judgmental
• give them information about depression and provide hope for recovery
• ask them if they need help to manage how they are feeling, and if so, discuss options for pro­fes­sional help
• Don’t say things like “you don’t seem that bad to me”, or “you just need to get your act together” and don’t blame them for their depression

Printable guidelines on how to help someone with a mental health problem can be down­loaded from the MHFA Aus­tralia website.

Amy Morgan is a PhD can­didate from the Uni­versity of Mel­bourne, Aus­tralia. She has pub­lished 20 peer-​​reviewed papers in mental health and is the creator of Mood Memos http://www.moodmemos.com.
amy@moodmemos.com
Mood Memos are free emails with info and advice to help improve mild depression symptoms. Visit the website today to start receiving Mood Memos.

This article was ori­ginally pub­lished on www.HypnotherapyClinic.info by Con­sultant Clinical Hyp­no­therapist & Pys­cho­therapist Noel Bradford –

As a pro­fes­sional therapist Noel help people with everything that you would expect including giving up smoking, con­trolling their weight, dealing with fears and phobias. However his services go far beyond this and encompass things that affect everyone at some time in their life, such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, stress, and low self esteem.

He  also has detailed spe­cialist training in several areas including but not limitted to Irrittable Bowel Syndrome and Pyscho­sexual matters that affect men such as Errectile Dys­function and Pre­mature Ejac­u­lation as well as those affecting women such as Hyper Desire Disorder, Vaginisums, and Dys­pareunia.

Ori­ginally posted 2010-​​03-​​06 10:07:02.