OK , so your loved one is struggling with a mood disorder, mental illness, panic attacks or other emotional illness. What is a caregiver or caring person to do? Well, second on the list after supporting your loved one to seek help and begin to recover is YOU. That's right, your mental health may be in jeopardy living with a person with mental illness issues.
This is no time to be superman or superwoman. There will be ups and downs to the illness, or there may be a quick recovery. In any case you will be looking toward living in an environment of increased stress and anxiety, which could lead YOU to suffer from emotional illness. So here are a few tips to keep focused. Go ahead toggle over to your calendar and put one or two of them in as a "reoccurring " appointment. Don't simply read this blog entry and agree with me, take a simple action today, right now.......I'm watching :)
1. Find ways to deal with or manage your stress. We all have stressful lives but we can manage stress better. Notice when you are feeling overwhelmed and call a "time out". Go out to dinner, get a massage, go visit a friend or exercise.
2. There is strength in numbers. You may feel better if you share your situation with others going through similar things.
3. Allow yourself to accept support . This is often overlooked by caregivers. You are not the only person who can take care of a situation and until you allow others to help and sometimes even reach out and ask for help, you will be alone in your situation. In order to stay healthy yourself you must practice reaching out and allowing others to support you.
4. Mental illness of a family member often causes underlying feelings to surface. Consider doing activities which will allow you to connect with who you are, what makes you happy. Balance this with things which maybe you cannot change. Journaling is one way to be outwardly introspective. Many people have benefited from putting feelings down on paper.
5. Finally, if you are able to ----- volunteer! Now I know you are sitting there thinking that's the last thing you want to add to an already stressful life, BUT, many people report feeling a real sense of purpose and meaning when they become involved in community projects or church activities etc.
So if you are finding your caring role in a state of perpetual cycles without real movement try some of these things to support YOU while living with another's mental illness. Taking care of yourself will only add to your ability to care for someone else.
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