What are good depression support groups in Boston?

This article will discuss what are good support groups for people with depression that live in Boston, and how people can join them. For that, the article will explain what depression is, and how support groups can help people going through depression.

What are good depression support groups in Boston?

When looking online for depression support groups in Boston, one may realize that there are a lot of options to decide from. One of them is the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. They offer through their website (https://dbsaboston.org) a monthly schedule of their activities.

This organization, which is a non-profit one, was created in 1985 and it is still working. Once you get into their website, you can look up the monthly schedule and decide what you want to take part in. They offer online encounters with meditation and support groups in which people can just drop by.  

Along with that, they are constantly developing new groups focused on other necessities. They offer special events, like one on the weekend that is related to mindfulness. The organization works through the volunteer work of its professionals, and with the donation, they receive from the people.

Another place that offers support groups for people with depression is the National Alliance of Mental Health (https://namimass.org). This organization, founded in 1982 was created to give voice to people with mental health conditions. 

They offer many types of support groups. They have groups that are led by peers that are going through the same experience.

In others, the group is led by a facilitator from the organization. They have a program called NAMI Peer-to-Peer, in which people enter for an 8-week process to get a hold of their condition. A person can choose one of them and join in. 

The Massachusetts General Hospital also has a support group for people dealing with depression. In it, they offer an 8-week program to help people create skills to cope better with depression, and how it impacts the person’s life. For this process, they also use meditation and mindfulness as a way to improve the person’s condition. 

This group is formed 3 times a year, and to know when it will happen next, you should get in touch with the hospital through the number 781-485-6100. But before discussing the benefits of support groups when dealing with depression, let’s understand what depression is.

What is depression? 

Depression is a mental illness that causes the person to feel intense sadness. Not only that, it can make people lose interest even in things they used to love. Not only that, it can make you lose purpose, feel empty, guilty, and ashamed. 

It can make you have trouble focusing, and feel less energetic, and hopeless. Depression affects the person’s eating and sleeping patterns, and it can make you more irritable, and isolated. Going through this causes your self-esteem to go down, as well as your sense of self-worth.

To some people, depression can cause them to consider harming themselves. But not only that, in some cases, it can make people think of death, and even experience suicidal thoughts. Even though those are the most common symptoms of depression, it is usually experienced in particular ways by each person.

For a person to be considered depressed, they need to experience its symptoms intensely for more than 2 weeks. As for what causes depression, it is a multi-factor condition. It can happen due to a chemical imbalance in the person’s brain. 

But not only that, it may be related to genetics. Meaning that when a person has a history of depression in their family, they have a higher chance of developing it. 

Aside from that, depression is related to the environment, and if a person is going through a traumatic event, such as a breakup, or the loss of a loved one, they can go through depression.

Now that you know more about depression, let’s understand what are the benefits of a support group for people with depression.

How can support groups help people with depression? 

As time has passed, groups have become more often used in treating mental health conditions. They can be run by a facilitator, that is not always a mental health professional. At other times, the facilitator will be someone with a degree related to mental health, and in others, it can be a peer support group.

When that is the case, people that are going through the same thing reunite and discuss how it has been. In all of those cases, there seems to be a great benefit of support groups that are put in touch with people that are going through similar things as you are. 

This is extremely important for people with depression. The condition can cause them to get so isolated from others, that having people around, and even more, people that can relate to what they are going through can be a huge benefit.

Aside from that, sharing experiences allows them to think of new possibilities and create new strategies to cope with depression and navigate the emotions and behaviors around it better. 

It helps the person to learn more about depression, and through it, some people may even realize they have experienced it before, or when they got depressed.

Many of the groups also offer support to the family members of people with depression. And this is extremely positive. Mental health is still surrounded by a lot of stigmas, and many family members might not know how to act or help when someone around them is depressed.

So having a space to discuss what is helpful to people with depression, and what is not, what are behaviors that can make them feel pressured, and even cause them to isolate more, is important. Creating this huge chain of support may make depression a little less scary, and dealing with it can become a lot easier.

But to some people joining a support group may not be so easy. They can feel ashamed of talking about themselves, or their feelings. There can be a fear of being judged, or even of being excluded from yet another place since this is common when you are depressed. 

It might be important to try and be a part of a support group. But keep in mind that as with anything related to mental health, the conditions are all very particular. If you feel the support group is not the right fit for you, don’t give up looking for treatment. There are other options you can look for.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): What are good depression support groups in Boston? 

Does depression have a cure?

No, depression doesn’t have a cure. Rather than that, depression goes into remission. It is impossible to say that once a person feels better about depression, they will never experience another depressive episode again. This happens because depression has a genetic factor to it, which can’t be changed with treatment.

But one shouldn’t feel discouraged about that. Keep in mind that once your depression goes into remission you won’t experience its symptoms, and you will be able to feel joy, and get your interest back in things. 

What is important, once your condition starts to improve, is that you keep taking care of your physical and mental health. Always have as a priority to care about them as it can be a way to prevent you from facing a relapse of depression.

What are suicidal thoughts? 

Suicidal thoughts, also known as suicidal ideation, are thoughts people have considering ending their own life. It can happen in two ways, one a more passive one, in which the person experiences fleeting thoughts about ending their life. 

In this, they don’t have a concrete plan on how to do it. They may just consider how it would be to not be alive, what others may feel, and how it would be to not feel the suffering anymore. But the other form of suicidal thought is a more active one. The person thinks about how, when, and where they would attempt to end their lives.

This is the most dangerous form of suicidal thoughts because in an impulsive moment the person can act on it. When a person is experiencing suicidal thoughts they will become more agitated, have insomnia, and start giving away their belonging or saying goodbye to people.

Along with that, they may start to show a lot of curiosity around violent events, death, and even suicide itself. 

How can I help my daughter who is depressed? 

If your daughter is depressed, the first thing you can do is talk to them. Show your support in a caring way. Let her know you are present but don’t get in that line of thought that you will fix things. Know that sometimes people with depression just want to talk about how they feel. 

What you can do, when you see there is a chance for that, is offer them help to look for professional support, which can be extremely positive. When depressed, she may have a lot less energy, and it might be hard to focus on doing things, so help with that when you can. Be present, and hopefully with the treatment she will get better soon.

How can I help someone that is having suicidal thoughts? 

The first thing you can do for someone that is having suicidal thoughts is to have an open conversation with them. Since suicide is covered as taboo, they may have trouble saying what they are feeling. So asking them will allow them to say their mind.

When they share their thoughts, let them know you are present. You should be close to them, be it physically or even in a digital way. If you understand that they have been actively planning suicide, try to set with the rest of his support network away si they are not left alone.

You may also want to take away things they can use to harm themselves and get in touch with the professional that is caring for them. With that support and treatment, things can change and they can abandon that idea.

What are the forms of depression?

Depression can happen in a mild form, which is usually less intense, and only lasts a few weeks. It can be moderate, in which the symptoms can have some impact on the person’s life. 

Another form is major depression, which has a huge impact on the person, making it hard even the simplest of things such as getting out of bed. And there is persistent depression that can go on for about 5 years, in which the person swings from mild and major depression manifestations.

Conclusion 

This article showed what are good support groups for people with depression in Boston, and how people can join them. Aside from that, the article explained what depression is, and how support groups can help people with depression.

If you have any questions or comments about this article, feel free to write them in the section below.

References

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