Mental Health Tips | Healthinformtip

Living with someone with mental illness

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Tips to Help a Person with a Mental Illness
Tips to help you live with someone with a mental illness
Help and resources
Description

Mental illness does not only affect people who have it. It can also upset members of their entourage.

If you live with someone with a mental illness, get mental health tips you may experience different emotions, such as anxiety, anger, shame, sadness. You may also feel helpless when faced with the situation. Each person reacts differently. For example :

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some parents may experience guilt over their child's illness;

What are the 5 signs of mental illness?

family members may wonder if the disease is inherited;
those around you may worry and wonder about the new responsibilities they will have to assume.
These reactions are completely normal. However, if you are in distress, do not wait until you are in a crisis to act. Find out now what you can do and what resources are available when needed.

Tips to Help a Person with a Mental Illness
If you want to help someone with mental illness, you can follow these tips:

Get informed
Develop helping attitudes towards the affected person
Say what you think positively
Encourage the person to seek help if needed
Get informed
To feel confident and better understand the illness from which the person is suffering, you can for example:

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read books, documents or articles on the subject;
listen to programs on the subject;
attend conferences or training activities;
participate in meetings with support groups for family members of people with mental illness.
Develop helping attitudes towards the affected person
Several attitudes can help you establish or maintain a good relationship with the person affected, for example:

Show her that you can put yourself in her place and understand what she is going through. Avoid lecturing him or dictating what you would do for him.

Praise her for all the positive changes she brings to her life, such as changes in attitude or behavior.
Be patient. Remember that sometimes the road to recovery can be long and difficult.

Say what you think positively

What causes mental illness?
When you want to say what you think about the person with mental illness, use your own feelings to tell them about your opinions or reactions. Speak to him using the "I" rather than the "you". This is the secret of good communication. This will make the person less likely to react by denying or defending themselves. For example, you can say to him, "I worry that you are still in your room and that you are almost not eating anymore, I am sad for what is happening to you" rather than "You are almost not eating anymore, you always stay in your room, what do you think will happen to you? "

Encourage the person to seek help if needed

A person with mental illness can sometimes experience periods of instability on the path to recovery. If necessary, encourage her to consult self-help groups or organizations and associations related to mental health. She can get information, help, and support there.

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If the person refuses, be patient and stay tuned to understand the reasons for their refusal. Continue to encourage him. Offer to accompany him, it could help him decide.

However, you and others around you may notice that the person has reactions and behaviors that seem abnormal to you. This could be a sign that the person needs to see a doctor.

Here are some examples of changes you may notice in the person:

she isolates herself more and more in her room or elsewhere;
she has sleep or appetite disturbances;
she uses alcohol or drugs;
she has difficulty expressing herself or has difficulty concentrating;
she seems absent to you (her gaze is empty);
she says that she is being persecuted by a group of people without being able to prove it;
she thinks you can read her mind or she hears voices that you cannot perceive.
See the Help and Resources section for the resources available to you.

Tips to help you live with someone with a mental illness

Living with someone with a mental illness is not always easy. Here are some tips to help you live better in this situation:

Express your emotions
Take care of yourself
Fix one problem at a time
Respect your limits and get help if needed

Express your emotions

People close to an affected person experience emotions such as anger, shame, and guilt. These are normal reactions, which deserve to be expressed. Avoid building resentment. Try to find people who can listen to whom you can share your feelings without constraint or guilt. For example, it could be good friends or a support organization for relatives of people with mental illness.

Take care of yourself

Your physical and mental health is important. Being healthy will help you stay balanced and live better with the person with mental illness. Follow the advice to maintain good mental health.

Fix one problem at a time

Living with someone who has a mental illness can be problematic and cause some interpersonal conflict. If you are in this situation, avoid trying to solve all the problems you are experiencing at the same time. Rather tackle the problems one at a time and try to find a simple solution for each. The more solutions you find, the more you will feel in control of the situation. There are always solutions. Trust yourself.



If necessary, get information and support from helpful resources. You will also be able to meet other people there who are in the same situation as you or who have already been. Talking with these people could help you better understand your feelings and allow you to learn about other people's solutions.

Help and resources

Information and support resources
Resources are available for families, friends, and family members of people with mental illness. These resources offer help or more information on mental health: