{"id":6147,"date":"2024-10-12T15:43:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-12T15:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/how-can-i-help-my-daughter-whos-depressed\/"},"modified":"2024-10-12T15:43:56","modified_gmt":"2024-10-12T15:43:56","slug":"how-can-i-help-my-daughter-whos-depressed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=6147","title":{"rendered":"How Can I Help My Daughter Who’s Depressed?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dear Penny,<\/span><\/p>\n

My 35-year-old daughter is unemployed. She failed out of a graduate program two years ago after working on it for 10 years, and says she has been too depressed to work. She didn\u2019t work during grad school, and in the time since, she had one job for about seven months and quit because she hated it.<\/span><\/p>\n

I gave her financial support and she also used up an inheritance of about $500,000. I am reluctant to provide further support until she\u2019s willing to work or (if she\u2019s so disabled by her depression) to apply for disability. However, now she is mooching off an older sister and not speaking to me because I have insisted she get a job. She says she\u2019ll either kill herself or live in a car when she has to leave her sister\u2019s place. The sister set a deadline that is now four months away. I am panicking and don\u2019t know what to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 At the End of My Rope<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Dear End,<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry for the situation your family is going through. Mental health is a challenging issue and can be difficult on those with mental health concerns and those who care for them.<\/p>\n

To support your daughter through mental illness, listen when she shares what she\u2019s experiencing, take her seriously when she talks about things like depression and suicide, and, above all, remember she has to make her own decisions. The National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) shares resources for supporting a loved one, with the reminder that \u201csupport is not control.\u201d \u201cWe can support and encourage our family members. We can\u2019t, however, make their treatment decisions for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

(We shared some mental health resources privately when the letter came in, and we\u2019ll share those at the bottom of this column, as well.)<\/p>\n

A person is only eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance<\/a> (SSDI) benefits if they\u2019ve previously worked a job covered by Social Security. The program usually comes with a five-month waiting period, and the agency\u2019s definition of \u201cdisabled\u201d is quite strict. Filing a claim would likely require a medical diagnosis of depression and an extensive history of treatment, either of which may or may not be right for your daughter.<\/p>\n

Neither you nor your older daughter need to feel obligated to provide financial support if you don\u2019t feel able or you don\u2019t feel like it\u2019s the best way to help your daughter. If you want to help in other ways, here are some resources you can guide her toward:\n<\/p>\n

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5 Companies That Send People Money When They\u2019re Asked Nicely<\/h3>\n

When you log into your bank account, how do your savings look? Probably not as good as you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings. But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?<\/p>\n

Ask one of these companies to help\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n