When Someone You Know Suffers From Mental Illness

Now that you have some tools to learn about mental illness and the resources available, you need to learn how to cope when mental illness hits close to home. Here are some tips for helping someone who suffers from mental illness.

Accept it.

You cannot cure a mental disorder for a family member. Despite your efforts, symptoms may get worse, or may improve. It is as hard for the individual to accept the disorder as it is for other family members. Separate the person from the disorder. Love the person, even if you hate the disorder. Separate medication side effects from the disorder/person. No one is to blame.

Take care of yourself.

If you can't care for yourself, you can't care for another. It is not OK for you to be neglected. You have needs & wants too. Don't forget your sense of humor. Survival-oriented response is often to shut down your emotional life. Resist this. Maintain your role as the sibling, child, or parent of the individual. Don't change your role. You are not alone. Sharing your thoughts and feelings with others in a support group is helpful and enlightening for many.

Use a lot of encouragement. Statements like the ones below can really help a person through a difficult time.

Phrases that display confidence: "I know you'll do fine." "I know you can handle it." "I trust you'll work it out." "You'll make it!"

Phrases that recognize effort and improvement: "Look at how much you accomplished so far." "You have done more than you realize." "If you look at your progress, you'll see that..." (be specific). "It took a lot of courage for you to follow through."

The tools above can make your experience with mental illness a less taxing one. For more suggestions and resources, please refer to the links on the host page of this article.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic