by Frankie Barrios

Created on: March 20, 2009

What is depression, really? Basically depression can be paralleled with terms such as despair, melancholy, sadness, gloominess, misery, hopelessness and dejection, to name some of the most common provisos with which one generally associates depression. If one family member displays any of these conditions continuously day in and day out, does this affect other family members? You bet it does.

Besides all of the above common terms associated with depression, I personally also associate depression with another term, "elusive". Why then, elusive? Because depression is hard to pin down, vague and obscure. It is for these reasons that often a person suffering from depression does not recognize the fact that they are actually in a state of depression. Many of us describe this stage as "being in denial". However the denial is actually most likely a denial of their state of emotions and attitudes, not actually a denial of the state of depression itself. In order to deny being in a depressed state, one must first recognize and accept that their present state of mind (emotions, attitudes, behaviors) constitutes being in a state of depression. This is what makes depression so perplexing.

On the other hand, you have those who clearly recognize that their change in behavior, attitude and emotions are signs of depression, but refuse to do anything about it. These people are also in denial. However their denial represents a refusal to accept help in overcoming this terrible disease. These are the people who think they can overcome it without professional treatment. Sometimes this is true, but more often it is not. Professional or medical treatment is most likely the best course of action however this "treatment" does not necessarily have to involve mind-altering drugs. There are many varying approaches used by professionals to treat depression.

So how does all of this affect a depressed person's family? First and foremost, depression acts as a thief. Depression steals the sheer presence of a loved one (in their true-self state) from the family nucleus. It is almost as if the family member becomes an outsider, looking in at what used to be "family" through frosted (not clear) glass. No longer is the loved one interested in the activities of the family. He likely becomes introverted and isolated. He withdraws his attention and confines himself in his own "new" world that has now become his only existence. He generally performs only mundane activities like eating, drinking and

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