Ways to treat a Person/Friend with Mental Illness
Mental health is an important part of a person’s life. People often neglect this aspect of their lives. There have been several cases around the world through several years regarding mental health-related issues.
One must address these mental health-related issues seriously, and if someone sees another person having a mental health problem, they need to help them as well.
But, first things first, before asking ‘how do you help someone with a mental health issue,’ one must ask ‘whether that person has mental health-related issues or not.’ One must differentiate between a person having mental health issues and a person who does not.
There in this article, we shall discuss what the signs of having mental health-related issues are and how you, as an individual, can help another person deal with them.
Mental Health Disorder Signs:
Mental health problems are pretty standard. They are brought forth by several different factors.
Sometimes, a person facing mental health-related lives in denial and does not take proper care of themselves. Sometimes these people also don’t know what type of mental disorder they are in.
People have different lives. They have to face hardship in their own ways. Sometimes, these people may be going through a tough time, but a different person will have no way of knowing whether they have mental health problems.
A person must know what not to say to someone with mental illness. One must respond sensitively to a mentally issued person rather than finding out whether they have it or not.
Specific symptoms are common for different mental health disorders. One must also keep in mind that no two are the same, i.e. a different person behaves differently.
For knowing or finding out a person’s mental health, one must keep an eye on the person’s behavior and mood.
The following are the behavior or mood of the person facing mental health-related issues.
1. People Facing Depression
- Low Confidence
- Loss Of Appetite
- Loss Of Interest In Typical Day To Day Activities
- Most Of The Time Tearful, Nervous, Or Irritated
- Acting Suicidal
- Lack Of Energy And Always Gets Tired
2. People Facing Anxiety
- Difficulty In Concentrating
- Avoiding Certain Situations
- Irritated
- Quickly Started By Familiar Sounds
- Looks Turn Pale And Tensed
3. People Facing Panic Attacks
- All the signs of anxiety
- Sudden sensation of fear that gradually becomes intense
- Rapid breathing
- Increased sweating
- Feeling of extreme heat or extreme cold
- Feeling sick of faint
4. People Facing Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Stressing out on repetitive thoughts
- Feeling of repeating their actions to feel less anxious and stop their obsessive thoughts in their minds.
How to help such a person by modern treatment for mental illness?
If you know a person who is facing some of the above-stated problems, you must do something to help them. There are a number of ways you can help such people.
The best possible way is to talk to that person regarding their mental health. If you know and feel that your friend, neighbor, family member, or any other person is having a mental health issue.
It is vital to go to that person and, before that, think about what to say to someone with mental illness. It is crucial that you do not wait for the situation to get direr.
Hoping and waiting for the day that the person will come seeking help will lead you to lose some of the valuable time for giving them support.
Talking to a person is the most common step one takes when they know that the other person is going through some problems.
This is the best way one can find out what the problem is, what they can do on their behalf, etc. This is one of the best ways of modern treatment for mental illness.
One must keep in some things when they are approaching to talk to a person who is facing mental health issues.
The following are such tips and criteria one must follow.
- For talking to a person regarding mental health, you must listen to that person openly and provide a non-judgmental space.
- The best answer to the question ‘how you can help your friend with mental illness’ is to hear out all the things they had to say. It would be best if you always allowed the person to lead the conversation at their own speed. Pressurizing them to say something they are not comfortable saying must always be avoided.
- It is also important that you do not rush to a conclusion. Second-guessing your feelings also falls in the category of what not to say to someone facing mental illness.
- One must also ask questions that are open-minded. It is crucial that you ask questions that do imply that the person is feeling down or anything. It is also crucial that you don’t ask too many questions.
- After listening, it comes your chance to advise. It is vital that you advise him/her to take care of their body. Ask that person to exercise, maintain a proper diet, etc. and then later ask whether these helped them or not.
- Also, it is important that you repeat what they have just talked to you about. This is essential and falls under what to say to someone with mental illness. It ensures that person that you have listened to him and that you understood how they felt.
- Lastly, advise them to seek professional help. The professionals are experts in their job and know the modern treatments for mental illness.
Conclusion:
Mental health-related issues are a serious problem. If you have a friend, it is crucial that you think about helping your friend with mental illness.
This article talked about mental health-related issues and one way through which you can deal with such. One such way is talking to the person openly regarding their mental health.
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