What Do I Do If A Friend Or Family Member Resists Being Evaluated And Diagnosed For Depression?

— -- Question: What do I do if a friend or family member resists being evaluated and diagnosed for depression?

Answer: When a close friend or family member is resistant to getting evaluated and treated for depression, this can be an extremely painful and complex scenario.

What can you do as a friend or family member for such an individual? Well, you can begin by staying in very close touch with your loved one to make sure that they are not deteriorating to the point that they're becoming completely nonfunctional or suicidal. You might also strongly consider calling a doctor or a mental health professional to talk about how you might encourage or coax your friend or family member to come in for an evaluation as soon as possible.

In the very worse case scenarios, adults with depression who are resistant to evaluation may deteriorate to such a point that they're not able to take care of themselves at all, they may become acutely suicidal or even violent in their behavior. In those cases, it may be necessary to call an ambulance or call the police to bring that person into the hospital to be evaluated and stabilized.

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