I need help telling my younger siblings!

[Crpe]

Hello, I'm Crépe and I'm suffering depression. My parents know, and im thankful of all the support i have. My mum and I think it would be best if my younger siblings knew that i have depression.

One is only two years younger than i am and will probably understand, however the other is 8 years old.

I need help, so does anyone have advice for telling younger siblings?

(I really hope im posting this correctly,this is my first time on this forum. >.< )

[trustlife]

Hi Crépe, thanks for the post.

I'm never really a fan of people announcing to others their affliction with depression. It can be good if you're going to get the right response and support. I guess you'll be able to make that call. With the 8 year old, my 2 cents worth would be to leave it for the moment.

Why I'm not a fan is because sometimes (not always) people can strengthen their mind set that they have depression and it can become that more difficult to drop. Does that make sense? With the 8 year old, by all means tell him when you have it well and truly beaten!!

[james1]

Hi Crépe,

That's a really difficult situation to be in. I'm no expert on these and I don't think there's a right answer.

My two experiences in this are:
1. I was told about mum's depression when I was about 15 and to be honest, I didn't know what to do with the information. If anything, it made me more wary of telling her things because I wanted to protect her from feeling more sad. I appreciated that she told me, but I just didn't know what to do.

2. I've tried telling friends about my depression and it feels nice to unload that, but I also feel guilty about burdening them. And I know they're trying to help, but I can sense that it kind of becomes that white elephant that you're obliged to talk about and that can be really uncomfortable. I've avoided telling my sister for this very reason.

I'm not sure about your particular situation. I think trustlife made a good point that sometimes when you tell people about your depression, that can make it worse. But at the same time, you might feel like you have to reach out because you can't and shouldn't need to suffer in silence.

I think it's worth asking yourself: what do I want from telling them? What do I expect from them? Can I tell someone else instead and get the same thing back?

I've actually found it easier and even more reassuring to talk to people I'm not as close with. I don't have to worry about whether they'll think I'm "just that depressed guy" forever, and they're also not as emotionally involved.