Living with Someone with a Mental Illness

Mental illness is pervasive; it touches the lives of all those surrounding it. Millions of families are affected by mental health disorders each year. Caring for and supporting someone with a mental illness can be challenging, frustrating, and confusing. Because of this, it is important to take the necessary steps to care for yourself as you continue to care for others. Afterall, Jesus does command us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Counseling can help you develop the knowledge, skills, and patience necessary to thrive during your journey as a caregiver. Learn more about the emotional and spiritual needs of caregivers here.

Did You Know?

• 1 in 5 people will experience a mental illness at some point during their lifetime.
• Nearly 60% of adults with a mental illness did not receive any form of mental health services during the previous year.
• Family caregivers can experience high levels of stress, self-blame, substance abuse, and depressive symptoms.
• Family-based interventions are effective in reducing relapse rates and in increasing the mental health of the caregivers.
• Through adjustment of their goals and use of effective coping strategies, family caregivers can experience high levels of well-being.

Common symptoms experienced by those who live with a person who has a mental illness: 
Excessive stress, worry, insomnia, guilt, depression, anger outbursts, anxiety, and self-blame.

How We Can Help:
If you live with someone who has mental illness and/or serve as their caregiver, counseling can help you effectively identify and cope with stress, understand the importance of self-care and how to implement it in your life, and provide support for you as you support your loved one. Counseling can also help you identify and clarify boundaries, develop new strategies for holistic self-care, and ease the stress of caring for someone with a mental illness.

 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9)

Recommended Resources:
National Alliance on Mental Illness (nami.org): NAMI is a mental health organization devoted to supporting those afflicted with mental illness and their families. NAMI offers support groups, resources, education, and more.

When Someone You Love has a Mental Illness: A Handbook for Family, Friends, and Caregivers by Rebecca Woolis. This handbook offers practical advice for the daily and long-term challenges of living with and caring for a person with a mental illness.

How You Can Survive When They’re Depressed: Living and Coping with Depression Fallout by Anne Sheffield. This book explores the perspective of those closest to sufferers of depression and provides a voice for the struggle of loving someone with depression.