A survey of 2,200 members last year by the National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association placed nearly equal value on information and social support. The survey also found that support groups helped people who struggle with their treatment plans to stay the course.
Social support serves a variety of purposes besides aiding compliance.
The consequences of manic or depressive episodes, or a depressed way of living, can be devastating. Can't Give You, spoke to an overflow audience. His message is that many depressives maintain habits of mind, feelings, and behavior that keep them depressed, and that new habits must be substituted to undo depression. In the face of pessimism, it is important to remember that change is possible. Social support can help by challenging self-defeating beliefs that the future must be bleak.