Things that Should Not be Done when Helping Teen Depression Victims


Experts opine that when humans try to help each other, elegance may be missing or there may be a sense of awkwardness. This may all the more be ‘visible’ when you try to help an adolescent suffering from teen depression. If you know what should not be done while helping a young person with this problem, you can certainly do better.

Talking About You Instead Of Listening To Them

When you deal with a teen with depression problem, you should stop talking about your experiences or the similar problems you have faced, though they may not be depression-related. Of course, the rule of refraining from talking about yourself without allowing others to speak applies even when you talk to normal people. But it is all the more important when you converse with a person with teen depression. You should instead allow the person to talk and listen attentively.

Giving Meaningless Or Useless Advice Just For The Sake Of Uttering Something

It is not necessary that you should say something when the person affected by teen depression speaks. You can nod or give short replies. But there are people who may come out with useless or worthless advice because they think that they have to speak something. This may irritate the affected person more than what they feel if you remain silent.

Forcing Them To Accept Your Help Though It Is A Wrong One

The main point is that you may not know much about teen depression and therefore, the help you may decide to offer to the affected person may be wrong also. You should not force the person to accept the help despite the fact that you are not certain of its efficacy. But if you are certain that the help you offer may be of some value to them, you can extend it in a different form so that the person does not feel that you are doing it as a charity.

Pronouncing That Their Problem Is Solved Is Wrong

Again, you may not know fully about their problem and therefore, you cannot suddenly wear the garb of an expert and pronounce that their problem is solved. You must realize that teen depression problem does not vanish just like that. The problem may remain with the adolescent for a prolonged time and therefore, you should be ready to offer your moral support for a protracted period, if at all you wish to be of help. Declaring suddenly that the problem of the person is solved and walking away is not the right thing to do.

Not Being Aware When To Withdraw From The Scene

If you come to know that your help may be meaningless or may no more be effective, you should not hesitate to back off. If you continue to involve yourself with the teen depression problem of the person, you may be harming your cause and that of your family members. So, you should know when to sever the help-lines. If you think that this is unethical and continue to involve yourself with the person’s problem, that is worth being called as an insane decision.

If you keep these points in mind, you can refrain from doing those things that should not be done while helping teen depression victims.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *