If a friend or family member came down with the flu or broke a bone, you’d probably know exactly how to respond. Would you know how to help someone with mental health issues? You can’t diagnose or cure them, but you can play an essential role in keeping them safe and connecting them with the care they need.
How Can You Help Someone Struggling with Mental Health Issues?
There’s no simple answer to questions about how to help someone with mental health issues. The right course of action can vary depending on a range of factors, including the disorder or symptoms the person has been experiencing and the nature of your relationship with them.
In most cases, though, the following tips can help you make a positive difference:
- Educate yourself: The more you learn about the disorder that has been affecting your friend or family member, the better prepared you’ll be to provide meaningful assistance. If your loved one hasn’t been diagnosed with a mental health condition, you can still learn a lot by researching the symptoms they have been exhibiting.
- Research treatment options: Mental health treatment is not a one-size-fits-all experience. When your loved one is ready to get help, your knowledge of the many options that are available to them can save them a world of time and frustration. Also, conducting this research before your loved one agrees to enter treatment allows you to carefully consider all options instead of feeling rushed to pick a program.
- Offer practical support: Do they need help with childcare? Would cooking a few meals for them each week eliminate some stress from their life? Have worries about transportation been preventing them from seeking outpatient treatment? Identify specific challenges that they’re experiencing, then find a way to offer tangible assistance.
- Get help from friends or family: Supporting a loved one with mental health issues is a big responsibility to take on by yourself. If possible, recruit a few of your loved one’s close friends or trusted family members to help you.
- Take care of yourself: When you’re close to someone who has mental health issues, you are going to be impacted by what they’re going through. And you can’t provide the best support if you’re neglecting your own needs. You may want to consider speaking with a therapist or counselor to help you process your experiences and maintain your own mental health.
How to Talk to Someone About Their Mental Health
Talking to someone about their mental health struggles can be difficult, but it’s necessary. Here are a few suggestions for how to have a healthy and productive discussion:
- Choose the right environment: Find a distraction-free setting where your loved one can feel safe and comfortable. Also, be sure you have the time to engage in a long conversation. If they open up to you about what they’ve been dealing with, the last thing you want to do is rush them or have to cut the conversation short.
- Lead with compassion: Be sure your friend or family member understands that your reason for this conversation is because you care about them.
- Be specific, but not accusatory: Talk about what you’ve observed, but focus on how your loved one has been affected, not how they have impacted you or anyone else. There’s a big difference between “you’ve seemed really sad the last few times we’ve all gotten together” and “you ruined the get-together because you were in such a lousy mood.”
- Listen: Talking with your loved one should be a conversation, not a lecture. No matter how much you know about the disorder they have been living with, no one can describe their experience better than them. Also, their willingness or hesitance to talk – or to consider treatment – can help you determine which steps to take next.
- Share what you’ve learned: If your loved one welcomes this conversation and acknowledges that they need help, let them know what you’ve found out about their treatment options. In addition to giving them information they can use, this is another way to demonstrate the depth of your concern and your willingness to help them.
- Keep the lines of communication open: Don’t expect everything to be resolved in one chat, and don’t push your loved one to take immediate action if they’re not ready. No matter how well or poorly this first conversation goes, there may need to be many more before they get the help they need.
Free Mental Health Resources You Can Offer Someone With a Mental Illness
When you’re looking for mental health information or support online, it’s extremely important to consider the source of that info or support. Here are a few links to sites and pages that are managed by reputable, trusted organizations:
Crisis intervention:
Suicide prevention organizations:
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
- The Jason Foundation (Youth Suicide Prevention)
- The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ Youth Suicide Prevention)
General mental health information:
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
Advocacy and support organizations focused on specific mental health disorders:
- Anxiety & Depression Association of American (ADAA)
- Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)
- International Bipolar Foundation (IBF)
- International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)
- National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders (ANAD)
- National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
- Postpartum Support International (PSI)
- Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance (S&PAA)
- U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD
What if Someone Refuses Help for Their Mental Health?
As we alluded to earlier in this post, there’s a chance that your loved one may resist your suggestions about getting help. Though this may be frustrating, that doesn’t mean it’s time to give up. Here are a few suggestions for how you can continue to help:
- Remember that they’re still the same person you’ve always known. Mental health disorders can affect how a person thinks, feels, and acts – but they don’t fundamentally change who a person is.
- Continue to include them in gatherings or activities. They may not be willing or able to participate in everything, but you don’t want them to feel like they’re being shunned because of their current struggles.
- Be proactive without being pushy. Don’t be afraid to ask them how they’re feeling. Their mental health status shouldn’t be the sole focus of your time together, but you also don’t want to ignore their struggles. Invite them to talk about how they’re doing and respect their decisions regarding how much or how little they feel like divulging.
- Consult with experts. Some of the organizations we listed in the previous section may be able to offer guidance on how to help someone with mental health issues who has been refusing to get help.
Contact Montare About Our Treatment Options in Arizona and California
When your loved one is ready to get treatment, Montare Behavioral Health is here to help.
Our network of mental health treatment centers includes multiple facilities throughout Southern California and Arizona. Each center is a safe and supportive place where your loved one can receive personalized care from a team of experienced and compassionate professionals.
To learn more about how we can help your loved one or to schedule a free assessment for them, please visit our Contact page or call us today.
Published: 12/11/2024
