If you think you may be depressed, talk to a doctor or mental health professional about your symptoms. Find a supportive professional that you trust and with whom you feel comfortable. In most cases, depression is effectively treated with antidepressant medications, psychotherapy, or a combination of both, plus activities such as regular exercise, spirituality, supportive social interactions, and meditation.
Your Relationship with the Person with the Diagnosis
• Maintain open communication.
• When conversing, remove or turn off loud and distracting noises.
• Express love and appreciation, and also concerns and feelings of frustration. Don’ t let negative feelings transform into interfering resentments.
• Share special time together apart from caregiving tasks.
Medical, Financial, and Care Decisions
• Define and clarify issues, whether around family participation in caregiving, advance directives, or long-term care options.
• Devise steps for carrying out plans.
• When making decisions about giving hands-on care, ask if your decision promotes your loved one’ s independence: Do not confuse caring with doing.
Community Resources
• Physical and practical assistance and products
• Caregiving and disease-specific associations
• Educational materials and seminars
• Legal, such as Power of Attorney for Health Care
• Financial, such as disability assistance or medication assistance
• Professionals, such as specialist physicians, nurses, therapists, social workers, and clergy
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Conclusion
Once carepartners have identified their concerns, they can then more easily move on to a step-by-step plan.
In summary:
• Using the seven headings described above, rank your needs and concerns in priority order.
• Address your most pressing needs first. View the other categories with less urgency and plan to revisit them at a later date.
• Think about and jot down action steps that you can take.
• Discuss your ideas with people on your healthcare team and with those family and friends who are closest to you.
• Devise a step-by-step plan.
• Implement the steps— with help from others.