Stressed Out

This month is Stress Awareness Month.  Its aim is to “raise awareness of the causes and cures for our modern-day stress epidemic.“  Families and carers of people with enduring mental illnesses are often prone to anxiety and stress.   According to the Mental Health Foundation, some 71% of carers have poor mental or physical health.

Carers and families often worry about the person they are looking after.   If they are unpredictable in their behaviour, it can be difficult to understand.   Dealing with it is a real challenge.   Elderly parents of someone who has an enduring mental illness face another worry; what will happen to our loved one when we pass on?

It is often difficult to know who to turn to or where to get help.   A lack of support can worsen the feeling of isolation that many carers and families experience.

Conversations with someone who is mentally ill can be very challenging.   For example, what do we say to someone who is self-harming or threatening suicide?   Whether or not we have said the right thing in such a situation can be a real source of anxiety.

Constant worry and anxiety can be overwhelming and very stressful.   This impacts on the mental health of family members and carers in an extremely detrimental way.

Dealing with mental health professionals can be a further source of stress.   It is vital that carers or family members are listened to properly by doctors and mental health teams.   They know the individual best and can often provide valuable information that might otherwise be missed.

A mental illness can be a very difficult thing to understand.   So too is the behaviour that sometimes goes with it.   Many carers and families struggle to comprehend if it is not properly explained to them.   It is therefore important that they are given the right support and information.

A person with a mental illness also often experiences anxiety and stress.   Being on a mental health ward can be bewildering and traumatic.   This is especially true if someone is admitted to a psychiatric hospital or unit that is hundreds of miles away from their home.

It is important that doctors and mental health professionals listen properly to someone who has a mental illness.   Not being listened to adds further worry and stress for the person concerned.   It can also be the difference between getting the right medication and treatment or not.

Sometimes the police become involved with someone who is mentally ill.   This is incredibly stressful for both the person concerned and their family or carer.   Ideally, they should be properly supported by trained mental health professionals as soon as possible.   Sadly this is still too often not the case.

Carers and families of those who are mentally ill should not be left isolated and stranded, struggling to cope, and full of worry and stress.   Unfortunately, they still too often are.   They deserve much better.

Some useful information can be found on the Carers Trust website.   This includes a section on how to get local support.   Further help is available on the Rethink Mental Illness website, and the Mind website.