How Parental Depression Can Affect The Family
Your first step out of depression would, of course, be to seek out a good family therapist.
When a person is afflicted with depression, not only the person, but even the people around him or her suffer. Depression is a serious and one of the most common mental health diseases that affects people across all age groups. When parents suffer from depression their illness has a negative impact on their families and it’s the children who suffer the most. There have been considerable amounts of research that have concluded that a parent’s mental health is linked to a child’s development. Parents who suffer from depression are often not able to be there for their spouse or children and their negative outlook and behaviour debilitates the family’s foundation. A lot of times we are not mindful enough to see the kind of impact that our words and actions have on our growing children. Which leads to complications in their development. For most cases of depression therapy is your best bet at coping and having a normal family life again.
Signs that you are going through depression and need help
You can’t seem to fall asleep or wake up on time. Most nights you toss and turn through a good part of the night and/or you don’t seem to be able to get out of bed in the mornings.
If you are a working parent and you haven’t been able to focus on your work or family like you once did.
You avoid spending time with your family and have become a recluse for no apparent reason.
Your spouse and kids feel like they cannot rely on you because of your lack of involvement in the family. You feel like you have not been fulfilling your responsibilities towards your family.
There has been a sudden change in your eating habits - either you have lost your appetite, or you’ve been binging on food and snacks.
You’ve been indulging in thoughts about self-harm and/or suicide.
You have become snappy with your children and spouse and have been having emotional outbursts.
Here’s how depression affects your children and family’s life
Your lack of involvement in your child’s life results in them resenting you.
It’s a parent’s responsibility to be their child’s support system. When you are constantly having emotional breakdowns, are always anxious or do not get out of bed, a child who sees their parent in a state like this is left scarred. Children could often end up blaming themselves for your emotional state resulting in more problems.
Your first step out of depression would, of course, be to seek out a good family therapist. They will focus on not only helping you out of your depression but will also address how you can function better with your family and cope with day to day domestic issues.
Another great option along with therapy can be a depression support group - where parents who are or have been a victim of depression help others understand it better by sharing their experiences.
