It's tough! (And I can relate to you on the Irish cultural issues as well, since my mother is from Ireland and I grew up mainly around Irish people).
Mostly, it's a matter of getting them through the psychiatrist's door. Hearing, "I think you might be depressed" or "Why don't you go see someone" -- however you frame it -- is going to be tough to hear from a son. A therapist, though, knows how to ask the right questions, and since they're a neutral third party, they're much more likely to get a person to admit that there's a problem, and that the lost job may have been merely the catalyst for what is now a medical problem.
Depression is less and less stigmatized in the US (I don't know about the situation in Ireland). But in a sense, that doesn't matter. It's the person's own self-stigmatization that is the problem. They don't think they have a medical problem; they think they're worthless, sad, listless, and perhaps "crazy." Going to a psychiatrist will automatically mean that they are crazy.
I am not a mental health professional, but in my view, it's worth trying any trick you can think of to get them through the door. Maybe that means a group/family intervention (and maybe that means she's angry at the entire family for some period of time). Maybe it means cutting deals ("If you just make this one appointment, I'll never mention it again."). Maybe it means an emotional appeal ("Please, please do this for me.").
Whatever the case, extreme measures sometimes are necessary. Because -- and I don't mean to frighten you -- this is a deadly illness. People commit suicide every year because they see absolutely no reason to go on. A heartbreaking number of those people were suffering from a treatable condition.
Mostly, it's a matter of getting them through the psychiatrist's door. Hearing, "I think you might be depressed" or "Why don't you go see someone" -- however you frame it -- is going to be tough to hear from a son. A therapist, though, knows how to ask the right questions, and since they're a neutral third party, they're much more likely to get a person to admit that there's a problem, and that the lost job may have been merely the catalyst for what is now a medical problem.
Depression is less and less stigmatized in the US (I don't know about the situation in Ireland). But in a sense, that doesn't matter. It's the person's own self-stigmatization that is the problem. They don't think they have a medical problem; they think they're worthless, sad, listless, and perhaps "crazy." Going to a psychiatrist will automatically mean that they are crazy.
I am not a mental health professional, but in my view, it's worth trying any trick you can think of to get them through the door. Maybe that means a group/family intervention (and maybe that means she's angry at the entire family for some period of time). Maybe it means cutting deals ("If you just make this one appointment, I'll never mention it again."). Maybe it means an emotional appeal ("Please, please do this for me.").
Whatever the case, extreme measures sometimes are necessary. Because -- and I don't mean to frighten you -- this is a deadly illness. People commit suicide every year because they see absolutely no reason to go on. A heartbreaking number of those people were suffering from a treatable condition.