How to Help a Person Who Has Mental Illness

Mental illness is slowly getting recognized as a serious problem, and people are becoming more aware of the problems that their loved ones are suffering. Mental illness is not caused by any external element, and it cannot be cured until the patient learns how to deal with it. It is still necessary to treat anyone with mental illness properly and involve with them emotionally in order to understand the root of their problem. There are certain ways how you can help a person who has a mental illness and offer them support through the tough times as mental illness has no fixed recovery date.

Have private conversations

If you want to discuss their problems, find a place which does not have a crowd around you as they might feel uncomfortable and distracted. Discuss their problems with them in privacy so they can trust you and be more open about what they are facing.

Do chase the answers

You need to be a better listener when they are sharing their thoughts. Avoid questioning them constantly and let them say how they feel. At this point, they do not want to get interviewed, so you only become a person that they can talk to rather answering questions.

Be open and direct about problems

Do not make up things in front of a mentally ill person. If you want to ask something, be direct, so they do not stress on what you meant by your question. Be to the point while talking to them to prevent any overthinking scenarios which can cause them panic.

Relate their problems to your own

Try to share your daily problems with them in order to relate to their problems. Be empathetic and feel their how they are feeling. At no point, will a mentally ill person will expect your sympathy. Try to keep the conversations where you both are facing similar problems in life so they can open up more about what is bothering them.

Learn about the illness

 Find out about the types of mental illnesses and figure out what problems they might be suffering from based on what they tell and the symptoms that you can observe. Not knowing about the types of mental illnesses can only raise misconceptions, and you may not be able to treat them the right way.

Be available to them

A person who suffers from mental illness starts losing trust over their family and friends. They feel isolated and fear that everyone is against them for made-up reasons. In such conditions, if that person calls you up to talk or comes at your place, it means that you are the only one he or she is comfortable sharing their problems with. Try to be available to them, so when they need help, they can rely on you.  

Types of Mental Health Problems

Knowing about mental illness is important these days in order to cope up with the problems with self and also aware others about what they are actually facing. Many people group all mental health problems under mental illness which make it hard for people with different illnesses define their problems. Here are some of the common mental health problems you should be confident in talking about or listening to.

Anxiety and panic attacks

People who have anxiety may respond to certain objects, people, or situations with fear and will have physical signs of anxiety or panic. Anxiety disorder in a person is diagnosed when the person is not able to control the response of any situation and when the anxiety interferes with the person’s normal functioning. Generalized anxiety, panic, phobias, social anxiety are some parts of anxiety that a person may suffer from.

Bipolar disorder

Also known as a mood disorder or affective disorder which can cause persistent sadness or overwhelming happiness. A person can fluctuate between extreme happiness and extreme sadness. Bipolar disorder can be diagnosed with depression, cyclothymic disorder, and irritation.

Psychotic disorders

The psychotic disorder causes distorted awareness about the surrounding and the confusion between reality and imaginations. People can hallucinate to sounds and images. They can hear voices and get deluded by what their brain grasps as true. Schizophrenia is a form of psychotic disorder which makes people hear voices that are conspiring against them. It this state they refuse to believe anything that is opposite to what their ill brain presumes despite contrary proofs.

Impulsive disorders

People who have a hard time controlling their impulses and are unable to resist the urges to do things which are affecting themselves. It is also known as addiction. Compulsive gambling, stealing, alcohol addiction, and drug abuse are common impulsive disorders. Due to such impulses, people slowly start becoming isolated and forget about their responsibilities and relationships.

Personality disorder

People who suffer from personality disorders have extreme personality traits which cause distress and problems to the person in work and social life. The thoughts and behaviour of the person also differ from the expectations of society. People who suffer from personality disorder are often looked as antisocial and face paranoia and also suffer from an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

OCD is commonly found in people with any mental illness and causes constant thoughts of fear which makes them perform certain rituals or routines to calm themselves down. OCD is caused by an uncontrollable obsession of an object or a person which makes them fear the consequences, and so they constantly try to protect themselves by taking the preventive measures that suit their brain.

Eating disorders

The eating disorder is caused by excessive emotions regarding weight and food, which can make a person pick some unhealthy habits. The feelings about food and their body shape can cause them to take extreme steps such as binge-eating and cause disorders like Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.