My book Get it Done When You’re Depressed has a strategy on how to explain depression to the people in your life.
Here is an example:
When I’m depressed I have trouble deciding what to have for breakfast, what to wear and definitely don’t look forward to my day. Work is two to three times more difficult than usual. Time goes slowly and my brain tells me how worthless and unhappy I am all day. This happens because my brain is not functioning correctly. There is nothing really wrong with ‘me’. I hope you can understand that. But there is definitely something wrong with my brain. This is why I truly appreciate your help.
I tell my family and friends what I’m going through so that they can help me every time I get sick.
Julie
As someone whose best friend lives with bipolar disorder, I agree wholeheartedly with what you are saying. It is vital to both the person with illness and those who love, support and care for them, that they hold a “space” in which they feel safe to share and explore what they are feeling and how things are for them. That kind of honesty and openness isn’t always easy, it takes a good deal of trust, on both sides. But it helps *so* much. As a “well one” I can never truly know what it is like for my best friend. But being open with eachother means we are able to address things more realistically, and helps me to be there as effectively as possible.