Skip to main content
Forums Home
Illustration of people sitting and standing

New here?

Chat with other people who 'Get it'

with health professionals in the background to make sure everything is safe and supportive.

Register

Have an account?
Login

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Our stories

Daigz22
Casual Contributor

A family member needs help

Hi. Im new to this site and been researching a family members mental ilness..

He has had phycosis for abt 5 years and been in and out of mental health facilities.. but now as he is no longer on a government plan to get injections he no longer has to take medication and is very erratic and always thinkng hes in a dream and every1 is against him..

Now we been told ther is nothing we can do unless he wants to be helped on his own terms.. but hiw do u help sum1.who doesnr thnk they have a problem.

And how am i meant to talk to some one with this condition. I dont want to upset him or think tbat im against him. Very hard subject

Any feedback br much appreciated thankyou

6 REPLIES 6

Re: A family member needs help

Hi,

It sounds like you are faced with a very difficult and challenging situation. I think you need to consider yourself in this situation. Are you Ok is what I guess I would ask first. It’s a fine line being able to communicate with someone and not be drawn into either defending reality or facilitating a belief without being seen as reinforcing and becoming part of the problem.

For me it took a long time to actually accept that I couldn’t fix the issue and I have had to realign my thinking (which was hard because I’m stubborn and proud) to work towards minimising what I could control or influence, and that may be a very small part and seem insignificant right now.

If you start from a place of love and you are consistent and you follow routine in your approach you can work towards what you can control or influence.

For me I work on developing trust, every day I work on this because I identified that as a major barrier to what I was trying to achieve, since then I’ve moved to influence other parts that my established trust opened up for me.

For me it’s not a battle it’s a series of very small steps.

 

I hope this helps

Re: A family member needs help

@Daigz22 Hi Daizz22 you are right there is nothing you can do unless the person is either a danger to themselves or someone else. Then steps can be taken. My family had to watch me crash and burn before  they could get me any help and that took roughly 18 months before I was admitted to hospital.

You can help by being there as a support but as Troy said dont burn yourself out in the process. You have to look after your own well being too. Also as Troy concluded it takes baby steps. Good luck. gp

 

Re: A family member needs help

Thanks for your replies.

Ita really hard as hes been in hospital a few times and got much been then slipped again.guess can call it.

Re: A family member needs help

Hi,

its really difficult situation to find somone who is close to you in so much pain.You want to help him but you are not able to do.I guess give him some more time and love as you already giving to him.

best of luck

Re: A family member needs help

Hi @Daigz22 Was just passing by and thought I'd drop in a link to a recent discussion we had on the forums around helping a loved one who doesn't want help. Hope there's something useful there. How's everything going for you?

Re: A family member needs help

@Troy. I am coming to similar conclusions with my partner.
Illustration of people sitting and standing

New here?

Chat with other people who 'Get it'

with health professionals in the background to make sure everything is safe and supportive.

Register

Have an account?
Login

For urgent assistance

 

Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia (NT), MIFA(NT) is a non-government organisation providing services for people living with a mental illness and their carer’s and families. 

 

Image credit to Louise Denton Photography

Contact

2/273 Bagot Rd,
Coconut Grove, NT 0810

PO Box 40556,
Casuarina NT 0811

P: (08) 8948 1051
Freecall: 1800 985 944 
F: (08) 8948 2473

Emailadmin@mifant.org.au   

Follow Us