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Mental Illness In the Family

How to Deal with Mental Illness Among Family and Friends

Jan 26, 2009 Kathy Schlossmacher

Mental Illness is much more pervasive in society that most people like to recognize. Traditionally a source of embarassment, people chose to hide from it.

For some in society mental illness was and is a source of shame. People prefer to hang on to their stereotypes of what mental illness looks like rather than be educated to the facts that each illness is different and holds a different threshold for recovery.

Many friends and family become so uncomfortable when one of their members develops a mental illness that they cut them off, so that the family and/or friends do not have to deal with it. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness reports on their website that 450 million people suffer from some sort of mental illness worldwide. NAMI also suggests that in addition to dealing with the pain of mental illness, sufferers also are forced to deal with prejudice, discrimination, fear, distrust and stereotyping.

What Should be Done

Families need to provide the first line of support for the mentally ill. Friends need to back up that support. On the website familydoctor.org one report writes that only 42% of Americans believe that a person suffering from a mental illness can ever be a functional member of society, holding a job and being responsible for himself. This is untrue. Many people with mental illnesses hold jobs, attend university, have and raise children and live a relatively normal life with the help of therapy and medication.

An important thing for family and friends to remember is to not define a person with a mental illness by that mental illness. Every feeling the person has is not symptom, every behavior that is not liked is not acting out. Mentally ill people have feelings, honest feelings not related to their diseases that need to be recognized.

It is also important to educate oneself and others about the illness involved and to openly discuss it. Mental illness should not be a source of shame for either the sufferers or their family and friends. Open communication can help the mentally ill and their family and friends to avoid misunderstandings and hurt feelings.

Recovery is a very individual thing, but the goal is always for the illness to cease being the defining factor in the sufferers’ lives and to allow those with a mental illness to lead a meaningful life. Part of that includes meaningful relationships that through knowledge and communication allow people with mental illnesses to be accepted by society on same level as their non-ill counterparts.

A Moral Issue

This is a moral issue. As a society we work to not tolerate discrimination and prejudice against those suffering from physical illness. Discrimination against people because of race, creed, gender, etc is no longer tolerated. How can a society that makes choices like this continue to discriminate against those with the mental illness? The solution is education and communication so that this type of prejudice like so many others can stop.

The copyright of the article Mental Illness In the Family in Mind/Body Fitness is owned by Kathy Schlossmacher. Permission to republish Mental Illness In the Family in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Symptoms of mental illness