Managing a health condition isn’t always about the body alone. The mind and body are intimately linked, and so what affects one can often affect the other. Going through a tragic and traumatic life experience can often harm us more than we had imagined while suffering an injury can often be more traumatic and stress-inducing than we had known.
Assisting a relative’s mental health during a time like this can be tough. Not only do you have to be a rock, a caregiver, and a friend, but also a cheerleader and someone who can inspire them when they feel they have no motivation left.
Of course, if your relative is suffering a mental health emergency, having them attended to by a doctor can be essential. But on top of that, knowing how to keep them treading water while at home is important to. Let’s discuss how you might do that:
Words of Encouragement Do Count
As the incredible transformational service OnlyMiracles has proven, often being someone’s advocate, standing by them during the tough times and believing everyone deserves a chance can help a person, even if they’re struggling, bloom like a flower. The way to do this involves being persistent and dropping in words of encouragement, while also helping them make good on the inspiration you help provide. That’s not to say you’re responsible for the whole journey, but just having someone who believes in you around can often make a massive, profound difference to someone’s thinking and emotional capacity.
Share Challenges Together
As anyone who has experienced addiction in their family knows, when the person who is affected heals, the entire social group heals with them. That’s why sharing challenges together can be helpful. If your relative messages you letting you know that they’re close to relapsing, being present, helping to alternate their activities, and keeping them focused can really assist. It’s work of course, and you shouldn’t ever blame yourself for any issues, but being that person to count on can potentially help someone through a rough patch. Perhaps you may be offered the same courtesy in a different context later on down the line. It’s a wonderful thing to provide someone.
No Judgement or Dismissals
It’s hard to say, but mental health still has something of a stigma attached. For instance, distracting or intrusive thoughts can be a very real aspect of someone’s mental health journey, but if they feel afraid to tell you, you won’t be able to help them react. While you may refer your loved one to someone who is better and professionally equipped to help, making sure they can come to you with anything is a huge part of assisting their mental, and by that extension physical health. For instance, if a relative doesn’t fear your judgment if they admit suffering from post-partum depression, they won’t have to hide from you and try to keep up the “perfect image” parent instead. Ultimately, this helps the health and wellbeing of everyone involved, because you can only work on problems if they’re vocalized.
With this advice, you’re sure to be the rock you want to be for your loved one, even during harsh times.
