If you have been reading my blog, you know that recently I announced that I would be focusing my services on caregivers of those who are mentally ill. No matter what the situation, caregiving can be tough stuff, but I think that caring for those with mental illness can have some very specific challenges.
It can be hard to care for someone who physically looks ok – you don’t see any broken bones or wounds, and they may interact with the world in what would be considered a “normal” way. But, over time, you learn that there are wounds and scars, you just don’t physically see them. It can be so hard to empathize with them, however. “It’s all in his or her head.” “Why can’t they just snap out of it?” “He or she needs to stop pretending something is wrong.” “They just want attention.” These are all things I admit to saying about someone I love that has suffered from a mental illness, and there is guilt now from ever believing those things.
There are other factors, but caregiving for the mentally ill can be physically, socially, mentally, and spiritually draining. It can take away time to meet with friends, exercise, go to church, or many other activities that are important to you. It can frustrate you, make you cry, and make you angry.
My hope is that you can begin to look at your caregiving situation and see what you are missing that you really enjoy. Once you know that, it is time to start thinking about what is most important to you and how you can fit that into your life. That can certainly be hard to do, but you are already doing some hard stuff. Although you may doubt yourself, you are doing the best you can to take care of someone else. How do you turn that around and do your best to take care of yourself?