The Importance of Caregiver Support
May is Mental Health Awareness month. The good news is that more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of good mental health. Seeking help to improve mental health or to treat mental illness is becoming more acceptable. Celebrities often speak up about their mental health challenges. Political leaders seek treatment without giving up their office or ruining their reputations. Employers are not allowed to discriminate against workers with mental health issues. Stigmas are slowly fading. Yet often families and caregivers for those with mental illness often still feel isolated. Even though they may not be shunned by friends when talking about their care giving experiences, they still may find that not everyone really understands the difficulty of navigating the recovery process with their loved one. Caregivers find that treating mental illness is often complicated by finding the right medications, the right psychological interventions, and that the path to independent functioning is long and circuitous.
Support groups can be immensely helpful in breaking that isolation. These groups provide an opportunity to connect with others who can truly understand what you are experiencing. Often they include members who have loved ones at different stages of recovery and can give hope to those in the early stages. For those coping with issues related to more advanced recovery, they can feel good about helping others with their experiences and be reminded of the progress that their loved one has made. A supportive community can be a lifeline for family members
Support groups can be a place to vent pent-up frustrations. Expressing anger and disappointments with others who understand can be a great relief. What a great feeling when you share your anger, your disappointments, or your sadness with someone who really understands or “gets” what you are facing. Experiencing empathy from others in a similar situation can be an important a step toward your healing process.
A good support group, though, needs to be more than a place to vent if you want to continue to move forward in your growth and knowledge as a caregiver. Learning from one another and finding new resources can be just as important or perhaps even more important. Sharing ideas, references, resources, and even brainstorming or problem- solving can be immensely helpful too. A supportive community should provide empathy, hope, and knowledge.
Both NAMI Family to Family ( www.nami.org ) and The CureSZ Foundation( www.curesz.org ) offer programs that families have found supportive. In addition, if anyone is interested in being part of a Facebook community for families coping with schizophrenia, please contact me through my website: www.lindasnow-griffinphd.com . I would like to establish a Facebook community that offers a chance for caregivers to offer one another empathy, support, and resources.