Families for Depression Awareness
For Mental Health Awareness Month, Families for Depression Awareness has launched #YouCareHelpShare, a campaign to provide education and encouragement to family caregivers. Through the distribution of caregiver education materials and a social media awareness campaign, we aim to help caregivers all across the U.S. get the support, information, and resources they need to be effective partners in care.
Care for Your Mind
For most people, Primary Care Providers are their most accessible health care professionals. PCPs (for example, general medicine or family physician, nurse practitioner) are the first line of care for a host of physical conditions and are frequently the first to diagnose and treat depression. Because PCPs are busy and not always attuned to mental health issues – especially as mental health disorders are often masked by physical complaints and discussion of concerns is stymied by stigma – it’s important for caregivers of people living with mood disorders to be educated about depression and prepared to advocate for the treatment that best fits their loved ones’ goals, preferences, and priorities.
Anita H. Clayton, M.D.
Chair, Department of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences
University of Virginia School of Medicine
The mental health care system is overburdened, so it’s a comfort to know that primary care providers are generally capable of starting a person’s depression treatment. In fact, about two-thirds of antidepressant prescriptions are written by primary care providers. If you’ve read the past several posts here on Care for Your Mind (see the list in resources below), you’ll know to communicate with your health care provider to decide on the treatment that is the best fit for you. In this post, Dr. Anita Clayton provides you with strategies and helps you set reasonable expectations for treatment.
Many of us spend time with families over the holidays, giving us a chance to catch up and check in. When a loved one with depression or bipolar disorder declines to join in the celebration, is behaving uncharacteristically, or is facing a challenging situation, it may rightfully raise concerns among the rest of the family. If you want to work together to help your loved one, we have a strategy to offer: the Family Action Plan.
You Care, Help Share During Mental Health Awareness Month Families for Depression Awareness
For Mental Health Awareness Month, Families for Depression Awareness has launched #YouCareHelpShare, a campaign to provide education and encouragement to family caregivers. Through the distribution of caregiver education materials and a social media awareness campaign, we aim to help caregivers all across the U.S. get the support, information, and resources they need to be effective partners in care.
The importance of caregivers
Caregivers of people with depression or bipolar disorder play a crucial role in their loved ones’ lives. Parents, spouses, siblings, and other close connections are pivotal in recognizing a problem, accessing care, and lending sup...
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