What A Person with Mental Illness Needs
What they need:
A shoulder to cry on
A person to lean on
A person(s) to listen to them
Words of encouragement
Support when seeking professional help
Advice and kind guidance
Understanding and empathy
Support when taking medication
Patience and compassion
Information, tips and tricks for helping themselves cope
A friend they know is there – a call or text or visit away when they’re overwhelmed
Education (for them and for others to understand them better)
Therapy options that aren’t limited
Support groups for likeminded people
To be told they’re ill, they have an illness, but they are NOT their illness
Given alternative/ holistic healing methods to try for themselves – yoga, meditation, aromatherapy, acupuncture, massage, etc.
A self care routine that’s there for them, a people to support them with this routine – reading, walking outside, baths, time out, naps, body care, decluttering, exercise, etc.
Given a potential way out, and given reminders that help is there, coping is possible, and life can be lived
What they don’t need:
“You’ll be fine.”
“Are you trying to get better?”
“It’s just in your head.”
“You’re being weak and dramatic.”
To be told they’re seeking attention
To be told to get over it
To be called crazy
To be shunned
For friends to forget about them
For people to baby them and patronise them
“You need to be on meds.”
“You shouldn’t take medication.”
Your judgment
Your ridicule
For you to add to their suffering
Impatience and frustration
Misunderstanding, ignorance, and assumptions
You to be afraid of them
“You’re too emotional”
“You’re insane. You should be hospitalised.”
To be told they’re not ill. That it’s not a real illness or problem.
A shoulder to cry on
A person to lean on
A person(s) to listen to them
Words of encouragement
Support when seeking professional help
Advice and kind guidance
Understanding and empathy
Support when taking medication
Patience and compassion
Information, tips and tricks for helping themselves cope
A friend they know is there – a call or text or visit away when they’re overwhelmed
Education (for them and for others to understand them better)
Therapy options that aren’t limited
Support groups for likeminded people
To be told they’re ill, they have an illness, but they are NOT their illness
Given alternative/ holistic healing methods to try for themselves – yoga, meditation, aromatherapy, acupuncture, massage, etc.
A self care routine that’s there for them, a people to support them with this routine – reading, walking outside, baths, time out, naps, body care, decluttering, exercise, etc.
Given a potential way out, and given reminders that help is there, coping is possible, and life can be lived
What they don’t need:
“You’ll be fine.”
“Are you trying to get better?”
“It’s just in your head.”
“You’re being weak and dramatic.”
To be told they’re seeking attention
To be told to get over it
To be called crazy
To be shunned
For friends to forget about them
For people to baby them and patronise them
“You need to be on meds.”
“You shouldn’t take medication.”
Your judgment
Your ridicule
For you to add to their suffering
Impatience and frustration
Misunderstanding, ignorance, and assumptions
You to be afraid of them
“You’re too emotional”
“You’re insane. You should be hospitalised.”
To be told they’re not ill. That it’s not a real illness or problem.
If you need any help in bettering your mental health, or better coping with anxiety, depression, and stress, then my book “You’re As Mad As I Am” may be for you. Check it out here, and download a free sample to see what it’s all about.
If you want to hire me to write about mental health (or other), then don’t hesitate to get in touch!
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