hello, I think when a parent tells you that they have depression, you feel helpless all of a sudden, because they have been there for you since birth, helping you along the way, through thick and thin, helping you overcome all those obstacles in life that you weren't able to confront on your own, but when it happens now your support base has broken down.
This can be an awkward situation for you because now you're the person who your parent has to rely on for support, a complete circle has taken place, where everything they used to do isn't happening any longer.
There is so much information on this site to read, but perhaps if you click on 'Get Support' and scroll down where you can download publications or if you want you can order them from BB, I'm only saying this so that you will become a little knowledgeable on what depression means and how it affects people, but remember your parent may have been struggling for a great deal of time, but hiding it from you.
At the moment you may not be told too much, and that's what does happen, and what they may do is sleep most of the day, and everything else that they used to do won't necessarily happen any longer, that's what depression does, it's a powerful illness that makes them be non responsive.
You have to try and organise an appointment with the doctor, where they may need to be encouraged and the doctor could quite possibly prescribe medication, some type of antidepressant (AD) but side-effects could happen, sometimes it's until their body starts to accept this new drug, but it will take about 4- 6 weeks before they start to work, if the side -effects are extreme then it's back to the doctors.
There is so much more to discuss, but as I'm running out of space, I'll leave it, but please get back to us. Geoff.
