—
First off, thanks to everyone who participated on our weekly group Mental Health & Wellness call last night. We had a great conversation about respecting the mental health of others and, as usual, we shared and learned.
We started the conversation off by discussing the holidays and what to do when you have family members with mental illnesses. Chances are that we all have someone in our family, even if it’s our extended family, that suffers from depression, anxiety or something else.
We determined that one of the main causes of lack of respect for the mentally ill is a lack of understanding.
Chances are that we also have someone(s) in our family who will instigate, whether intentional or not and that instigation may or may not come with a bit of liquid courage backing them up.
One person on the call said they have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to respecting others at their family gatherings. At the first sign of trouble, the verbal warnings start and that can be a good thing if the people involved are willing to listen and behave.
I shared a story of one Christmas Eve when we had about twenty-five people coming over to our house to celebrate. My significant other at the time dealt with mental issues and that particular night was not a good night for her. Her condition was known to most in attendance and as guests arrived I quiety let them know that she was having a bad night and to please keep that in mind as they interacted with her.
As a group, we came to the conclusion that this was a good way to handle the situation as it gave people a heads up and in the end made for a much more peaceful gathering.
We determined that a lot of the reasons people don’t respect the mental health of others is simply from a lack of understanding. They don’t know how to deal with whatever the situation is that’s thrown in front of them and often don’t react correctly.
It’s not that they don’t want to act correctly, but they haven’t learned how to act and react around the person with the mental illness. This tells me that education among family members is important. Someone close to the person with the illness needs to let the others know how to deal with the person in question
Being compassionate is also a big key to respecting the mental health of others. When people are dealing with mental illness, whether something as common as depression and anxiety or autism to something more complex like bi-polar, multiple personality disorder or other diseases or disorders.
Mental illnesses are often hidden from view at first, but often after the person with the illness begins to interact, we can often get a sense that something is off. That’s the tough part about interacting with those who suffer mental illness.
It’s also important to understand that the person with the illness often knows that they have the illness, though not always. I’m high-functioning autistic with two big sides of anxiety and depression. I know what I’m dealing with and in my fifty-three years, I’ve learned some ways to deal with group situations such as holidays. Sometimes that means I stay home and simply tell the host that I’m not feeling up to attending but that I really appreciate the invite.
There are also situations, such as company events or other non-family events where others have no clue about your mental illness, though some may have a clue.
One person on the call was in such a situation where they were at a table with others and someone started talking sort of incoherently and saying odd things. It seemed obvious to the others at the table that something was off and the person on the call didn’t know the person in question, which made it uncomfortable.
In a situation like that the best move is to wait for an opening and politely excuse yourself to get out of the situation. While this may seem cruel, it’s really not. Removing yourself from the situation may be the best thing for you.
Situations involving mental illness are tough because, as mentioned earlier, it’s generally a hidden illness and hard to identify, but chances are good that the person suffering from the mental illness will notice the efforts of those that respect their situation and will be appreciative of it.
What about you and your family? Do you have stories? Tips? Ideas? Share them with us in the comments below or better yet, submit your story to the Good Men Project for publication!
—
RSVP for Mental Wellness Calls
Join the Mental Wellness FACEBOOK GROUP here.
—
Photo credit: Photo courtesy Pixabay
—