Depression in Dubai – Ask Your Doctor

Depression Specialist Diana – Austrian Counselor & Psychologist – answers a patient’s question regarding Depression. ‘Ask Your Doctor’ is a GNC Facebook initiative that gives our fans the possibility to get their questions answered by our professionals; for free.

Dear Diana,

My wife is down since a couple of weeks, lost weight and sleeps more than normal. So I am afraid that she is suffering from a depression. It’s not that she is crying all day long but she is obviously dealing with a lack of motivation. I already tried to take her to a doctor but without success. How can I convince her to see a specialist?

Yours,
Tim*

 

Dear Tim,

Your question on how to convince your wife to see a specialist is an important issue. It opens the topic on the freedom of the patient to decide whether or not to seek treatment even if needed. We are aware that treatments only ‘work’ when persons agree to have them. However, one need to be careful not to leave someone alone dealing by itself in its own distress on the basis that this person needs to take its own decision before being helped.

It often happens that a person denies having problems for several reasons: for not feeling of being weak, because she perceives her symptoms as isolated difficulties and do not admit that their multitude is worrying; or because she knows but is afraid of it – to talk about it is to recognize and accept it.  And still, until today, it is difficult for many people to recognize that they might suffer from depression.

A general practitioner or any doctor who your wife trusts can in this case play an important role. The physician can trigger her in an empathic way to talk about her difficulties, dedramatize things and convince her, if required, of the need of treatment that must not necessary involve medication – often a talk therapy is enough.

Best wishes,

Diana Nahas


*Names are changed due to confidentiality reasons

© GNC, German Neuroscience Center Dubai (Neurology, Psychiatry, Psychology, Counseling, Dubai, UAE)