Emotional suffering is just as real as physical wounds. When it comes to mental health, however, the suffering is often lonely, deep, dark, and seemingly without end, in contrast to physical pain, where the injury is sometimes evident or physically and behaviorally communicated.
Mental illness is a severe problem that is only now getting the attention it deserves.
A significant stigma is still associated with mental illness, even though anyone can be affected. As a result of this bias, many people avoid getting help. In the United States, more than half of the population will experience mental illness at some point. Unfortunately, not everyone can get the assistance they require.
While there has been significant progress in society’s acceptance and understanding of mental diseases, more still needs to be done.
How can you help someone who is suffering?
Learn about mental illness
Understanding mental illness is the first step in addressing it. Self-help and psychology books and online videos about mental health can teach you more about mental illness.
There is a wide range of symptoms associated with mental illness. Still, some of the most prevalent ones are withdrawal from social activities, changes in sleeping, eating, and hygiene patterns, substance misuse, and suicidal thoughts.
The person’s life circumstances (such as the loss of a job or a loved one) should also be considered since they may have contributed to or worsened his mental illness.
Any of the above symptoms in a loved one requires medical attention.
What to ask them?
Even if it’s hard to start a conversation with the person you’re worried about, you shouldn’t put it off. Choose a time when neither of you is in a hurry, and you won’t be interrupted.
Ask them how they feel and how long they’ve felt that way to get them talking. Tell them that you’re ready to talk whenever they are. Please don’t put too much pressure on them to speak right away. Get ready for the possibility that someone close to you won’t want to communicate with you. Let them know you’re behind them. You should respect the person’s right to privacy and confidentiality unless you have a reason to think they are an immediate danger to themselves or others.
Asking about their health is a good way to show that you care about them. Make sure you understand what your loved one or friend is saying by asking questions if you need to. Saying “I just can’t take it anymore”, could signify that someone wants to kill themselves. Don’t ignore them. You should ask them, “When you say you don’t want to be here anymore, are you thinking about ending your life?” The other person may feel a lot better when they can talk about how they feel. You should listen carefully, not just to what they say, but also to how they say it. A person’s tone of voice and body language might reveal far more about their emotional condition than their words alone.
Things to avoid saying
It may seem obvious, but it’s worth saying again: it’s never helpful to tell someone with a mental illness to “pull yourself together.” Other examples include telling someone to “put a smile on their face” or “lighten up” to make them feel better about themselves when it’s clear they don’t or making fun of their situation. If you say something like, “You don’t seem that bad to me,” you might make them feel even more alone.
Try to understand and be impartial. Don’t talk down to them, look at them with too much pity, try to run their lives too closely, or try to protect them too much. Don’t argue with them or make fun of what they say. Instead, think of these answers as the best the person could do at the time.
Lastly, please don’t rush in to help them fix things. You can help even if all you do is listen. Sometimes that’s all that needs to be done.