What to do with an Unsopportive Friend or loved one after Disclosing your Mental Illness to them?7/20/2016
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Being diagnosed with a Mental Illness is not easy for anyone. But what can be even harder is disclosing their illness to friends and family. There are two ways it could go, they could be supportive or they won't be supportive. It can be even harder if they aren't support of your illness and don't do anything to help. So how do you help someone battling a Mental Illness? There is a lot you can do to help them.
Educate yourself on their diagnoses whether it's PTSD, Bipolar, Depression, Anxiety etc. Learn about the medications they take and look out for side effects that can happen. It's important to be understanding, patient, and to listen. This is hard enough for them to handle and they will have good and bad days, the road to recovery is a hard one but with help from friends and other loved ones they can do it. Seeking out resources is another way that will help them and will show them that you care. Going to treatment is not bad, seeing a therapist is not bad, medication is not bad. Look at resources that can help them in the healing process and you have to understand that not everything will work for them. It's going to be trial and error but the most important thing is to be there for them in the healing process. Reassure them they are making the right decision towards a healthier and better life. Here are some links to look into to help your loved one or friend in their to recovery. The most important thing is to be there for them, be patient, understand, and be willing to listen even if they just need to vent. http://psychcentral.com/lib/15-ways-to-support-a-loved-one-with-serious-mental-illness/ http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/serious-mental-illness.aspx http://www.cmha.ca/mental_health/family-support-common-questions/#.V4WmM45fuT8 Having a good social support system is crucial for anyone and everyone especially those that are diagnosed with a mental illness. One of the hardest parts of recovery is having a good support system because you will discover those who you think were you're friend will abandon you in your time of need. From my own experience, I can tell that the hardest thing was learning that some people aren't your true friends and because of ignorance, stigma, and other things they will only bring you down. You have to be the one to distance yourself and sometimes that can be difficult. But, you have to understand that is not a flaw on you but on the other person. If you're diagnosed with a mental illness, one thing someone who cares for you will try to be as understanding as possible but a person who isn't will think differently of you. That's the hardest part for anyone to learn. They can become toxic and you have the power to cut them out of your life. You don't owe them any explanation. It's your life and and you have to do what makes you happy emotionally, physically, and mentally.
Finding a good support system is hard but it's worth it. It's taken years for to find people who will support and help me through my rough days. I've had to cut people out of my life because they were only bringing me down and causing me more anxiety and making me feel guilty for having a mental illness. Now that I've learned that it's perfectly acceptable to cut negative people out of my life, I no longer feel bad about doing it. You can't make excuses for someone that treats you like crap because in the end you're only going to cause yourself more pain. Having people that support you during your recovery is very important and crucial in one's recovery. It's not easy to admit that you have a mental illness because of the stigma attached to it but you will learn that you're not alone and there is hope and help. Having a good support system will help you in the healing process. It takes time but it's worth it to have people that lift you up and help you through the hard days. Having a Mental Illness is hard enough to deal with but there is hope, help, and in the end you will find that everything you battled with help you become a stronger, wiser, and more compassionate person. When I was first diagnosed, I didn't really know what to do, how to get more help, how to deal with having a mental illness and other battles that I was going to face. I was overwhelmed and struggled a lot during my journey and I still struggle day to day.
But, what I have learned is that battling through this has made me realize that the journey to recovery is a hard one and will test you and even push you to your limit but in the end you have to fight. Why? Because each and everyone of you means something in our society, we can learn from each other and the different experiences that we all have. Each of us have different battles that we face and each of us have different ways of dealing with the battles we face. I went from medication to medication and struggled to find the right one for me because I was still experiencing Anxiety and Panic. I couldn't understand why I was still dealing these struggles because I was told the medication would make me feel less Anxiety and Panic. Some days it was too much to deal with and the medication wasn't working and I was upset and didn't understand. Talking it out didn't help and neither did the therapy techniques help me in the process. In early June, I was finally given Xanax which I had never tried but I was willing to try anything that would help me function more as a human. I have seen a huge difference since being put on Xanax, I haven't experienced much Anxiety and when I do, I'm able to calm down and write down my thoughts and work through them. I have found something that works for me and helps me day to day when battling my demons that cause me to overthink and question everything that I do or have done. What works for me may not work for someone else. Battling the demons that are inside your mind every day is difficult enough, we need more compassion and more openness from others and especially more understanding that each of us are different and we all struggle. Battling my demons every day is hard enough and some days are more exhausting than others but I pull through because I have a story to tell and I want to be a voice for others. This is why I do what I do. |
AuthorHey! I'm Megan and this is my blog! Hope you enjoy it!!! :) Archives
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