From Our Editors
This book introduces a program for living and coping with the
effects of depression fallout and concentrates on the needs of the
family and friends of people suffering from depression. Drawing on
examples from her personal life, Anne Sheffield
defines where one's responsibility for a clinically depressed
person begins and ends. How You Can Survive When
They're Depressed presents readers with advice for
handling emotional stress on a daily basis and demonstrates how to
create boundaries and regaining control.
From the Publisher
Each year more than 17 million Americans suffer from a depressive
illness, yet few suffer in solitude. How You Can Survive
When They''re Depressed explores depression from the
perspective of those who are closest to the sufferers of this
prevalent disorder--spouses, parents, children, and lovers--and
gives the successful coping strategies of many people who live with
a clinical depressive or manic-depressive and often suffer in
silence, believing their own problems have no claim to
attention.
Depression fallout is the emotional toll on the depressive''s
family and close friends who are unaware of their own stressful
reactions and needs. Sheffield outlines the five stages of
depression fallout: confusion, self-doubt, demoralization, anger,
and finally, the desire to escape. Many people will find relief in
the knowledge that their self-blame, guilt, sadness, and resentment
are a natural result of living with a depressed person.
Sheffield brings together many real-life examples from the
pioneering support group she attends at Beth Israel Medical Center
of how people with depression fallout have learned to cope. From
setting boundaries to maintaining an outside social life, she gives
practical tactics for handling the challenges and emotional
stresses on a day-to-day basis.
About the Author
Anne Sheffield is the daughter of a depressive. She has worked as a scientist at the Population and Development Program of the Battelle Memorial Institute and has run her own consulting firm. For more information on depression fallout, visit the author''s Web site: depressionfallout.com.