Understanding Mental Health and it’s Importance
To understand the role of family in mental health, it is crucial to first understand what mental health is. Mental health controls psychological, emotional, and social well-being. It influences the way we think, and react to things. It also determines how we manage stress, make decisions, and build and keep relationships. Mental health is one of the few things that shape a person from childhood to adulthood, so its importance cannot be overstated.
Family Dynamics and Mental Health
The type of relationships, communication, and interaction that transpires between members of a family is known as Family Dynamics. The manner in which family members influence each other, behave, and react, plays an important role in building the mental health of an individual.
Family as a Support System
Individuals who grow up in a healthy family environment can get the necessary support for their mental well-being. We will categorize this support into two types and further break it down with examples.
Emotional Support
This type of support is focused on showing empathy, comfort, and validation to an individual in various stages of their life. Emotional support can be subdivided into two stages;
- Early Stage: A child should have a good bond with their parents or caregivers in the early stages of their life, this will help build a healthy emotional and mental mindset. A child bred in an emotionally supportive home tends to develop confidence, self-resilience, and adaptive skills.
- Adulthood: As an adult, it is easier to keep stable mental health when you stay in a loving family environment than in a toxic one. Adults who have their family as emotional and/or financial support during their time of need, usually have better mental health outcomes.
Practical Support
Practical support is the actions and inaction taken by family members to support an individual battling with their mental health. It focuses on actions that can help an individual go through their daily activities, get the necessary help, and manage their mental health issues. This kind of support is very important in the recovery phase of mental health care. Here are some types of practical support for mental healthcare;
- Assisting with Daily Tasks: People with mental health challenges may find it hard to execute daily tasks due to conditions like depression and anxiety. Family members can help them with cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, driving them to their therapy sessions, and laundry.
- Providing Financial Assistance: People with mental health challenges may face financial difficulties when it comes to paying their health bills and handling other financial responsibilities. Family members can show practical support by opting to handle those bills or provide loans to these individuals. They can also help in researching subsidized health packages that would benefit the affected individuals.
- Managing Medication and Treatment Schedules: People managing their mental health conditions might find it difficult to keep up with their medications. Family members can ensure that the right doses are taken at the appointed time and that new ones are ordered when running low. They can also closely monitor these individuals for any symptoms or changes they might display, and notify their doctors and therapists.
The Impact of Family Relationships
Either negatively or positively, the impact of family relationships on mental health is very crucial. The quality of life, psychological development, emotional well-being, and mental health of an individual are usually shaped by the nature of the relationships they have with their family members. Let’s take a look at how family relationships can positively and negatively impact the mental health of individuals.
Positive Relationships
A relationship where respect, trust, empathy, and open communication are prioritized is a healthy one. This type of relationship is important in every family that wants to maintain good mental health. Some of the benefits of having a positive relationship in a family are;
- Emotional support.
- Coping mechanism.
- Sense of identity and belonging.
- Building resilience.
- Encouragement for help.
- Enhanced self–esteem.
- Reduced stress and anxiety.
Toxic Relationships
A relationship where there is manipulation, unhealthy communication, dishonesty, inequality, emotional abuse, oppression, and lack of expression is a toxic one and should be avoided. It is normal for relationships to have difficult moments, however, when it consistently becomes emotionally draining and physically damaging, it becomes a toxic relationship. Here are some characteristics of a toxic relationship;
- Abuse and neglect.
- Chronic conflicts and dysfunction.
- Toxic dynamics.
- Constant criticism.
- Unrealistic expectations.
- Manipulation and control.
- Generational pattern of mental illnesses.
- Dishonesty and lack of transparency.
- Disrespect of boundaries.
Challenges Families Face in Supporting Mental Health
Family members may face a lot of difficulties in supporting the mental health of an individual, however, this is an important role they should take seriously. There are challenges that will hinder family members from effectively supporting people with mental health challenges. Support like needed care, assistance, and understanding can seem impossible due to the presence of these challenges.
Let’s talk about two of the main challenges that family faces when giving mental health support:
Stigma and Misunderstanding
People with mental health challenges may face stigma from their family members. People tend to fear what they don’t understand and not understanding how mental health works can lead to stigmatization within the family. Members of the family might choose to avoid that person, causing them shame which in turn makes it difficult for them to seek professional help. Let’s list some of the impacts of stigma on families:
- Shame and silence: Family members may choose to avoid talking about the mental health condition of their loved ones as it could lead to being misjudged by the community or other family members.
- Misattribution and blame: Not understanding mental health challenges can make family members see it as just a personal weakness of the individual. A person speaking about their mental health might be told to “get over it” because the family believes it is due to lack of effort and overlook their debilitating condition.
Communication Barriers
Communication is one of the basic but effective support tools that family members can use when handling mental health challenges. Family members might not properly utilize this support tool as they may find it difficult to express themselves, show emotional support, and understand the needs of these individuals. Here are some common communication barriers in families dealing with mental health difficulties:
- Lack of Understanding: Communication barriers may arise due to a family’s lack of understanding of mental health. Family members who are not well informed about mental health challenges might ignore symptoms and see them as something else.
- Overbearing and overprotective communication: When trying to show support, some family members may excessively do it by being overprotective. Physical support is important but family members should learn to give individuals their private space where they can have some feeling of independence.
Coping with Mental illness
Family is the usually main source of support for everyone battling their mental health condition. Every family is unique, however, there are common ways that are similar in hopes families can cope with handling mental illness. Let’s highlight some of them:
- Providing emotional support
- Encouraging professional help
- Assisting with daily activities
- Creating a safe environment.
Stress on Family Members
As much as family members try to be a source of strength and support to their loved ones suffering from mental health challenges, the stress of managing it can be overwhelming. Providing support can put a strain on their finances, and emotions, and also affect them physically.
Balancing Support and Self-Care
Who takes care of the caregiver? This is an important aspect that needs proper attention. As family members handle the responsibilities of taking care of their loved ones with mental health challenges, they should endeavor to also monitor and take care of their health. Taking care of an individual with mental health issues can be physically and mentally demanding, so, self-care is important to keep them going with that task.
Strategies for Supporting Mental Health
There are several recommended strategies for supporting mental health development, let’s look at some common ones.
Open Communication
Encouraging family members to communicate about their challenges is an important step in supporting their mental health. Communication helps build bonds and make them feel accepted. Communication is not a one-sided affair, it takes good listening and understanding for proper communication. Here are some characteristics of a good open communication:
- Active listening: Family members should learn to listen, try to understand, and show compassion and encouragement before trying to seek solutions.
- Regular check-ins: Family members should regularly check on each other to know how they are coping (physically and mentally). This gives a warmth feeling knowing that there are people ready to listen and help when the need arises.
- Non-judgemental Environment: There should be a safe space where individuals can share how they feel, and disclose their struggles without the fear of being criticized or ignored. This will encourage loved ones to always share their struggles without hesitation.
Seeking Professional Help
Family support is very important, however, there are situations where that support is not enough, and professional help is required. In situations where the mental condition keeps deteriorating even after getting proper support from the family, professional help can make a significant difference. Here are some professional help that can be used:
- Therapy and counseling: personal or group therapy can help family members better understand mental health issues and prepare them to handle them properly.
- Mental health education: Families can learn about mental health through various learning and awareness programs. These programs will teach them how to identify symptoms, how to handle them early, where and when to seek treatment, and coping strategies.
Building Resilience
Resilience is the ability to recover from difficulties. Families can learn to build resilience that would help them cope with the aftereffects of mental health challenges. Here are some ways to build resilience in respect to mental health:
- Fostering Positive Relationships.
- Learning Healthy Coping Mechanisms.
- Encouraging Problem-Solving Skills.
Conclusion
The role of family in mental health is broad. Family’s actions and inactions can either help with treating mental health issues or further worsen them. It is important for every family member to know about mental health and their roles in managing it.
