Accessibility Tools
www.sane.org
Helpline 1800 187 263
It is possible for people living with mental health issues to access the right types of treatment and supports, and live a full and meaningful life. But recovery can include ups and downs.
Family members, friends, and other carers often provide a range of emotional and practical supports to people living with mental health issues. Supporting someone in this role can be demanding, stressful, and even exhausting at times:
Burnout is the state of feeling emotionally and physically exhausted due to being exposed to excessive and prolonged periods of stress.
When families, friends, and carers are exposed to these periods, it’s common to experience signs and symptoms such as:
Many of these symptoms are also similar to experiences of depression in a depressive episode and can feel just as overwhelming. If you or someone you know are experiencing these symptoms, it’s important to act now and prevent the effects of burnout becoming worse.
When supporting someone else, it’s important for families, friends, and carers to look after themselves, too. A range of self-care strategies can help prevent burnout, or reduce its impact:
It can be difficult to know how best to support a person who is experiencing mental health issues. Most people receive no formal training in this role, and learn as they go. While everyone is different, some of these strategies might be helpful to improve relationships and have a healthy mindset:
Families, friends and carers often prioritise the mental wellbeing of the people they support. While it is great to support others, it is impossible to care for others when reserves are low. Sometimes speaking with a GP, psychologist, counsellor, or other mental health professional can help re-frame the negative view developed during burnout. They can help families, friends and carers manage symptoms of burnout, assist in setting up and implementing boundaries, and help develop skills and knowledge to support them in the caring role. For this reason, it is important for families, friends, and carers to sometimes put themselves first. This can be an extremely hard thing to do but it can make a world of difference.
Every person will need to find what works for them and it’s normal for this to take time. Effective support is available for families, friends, and carers.
SANE is for people with recurring, persistent or complex mental health issues and trauma, and for their families, friends and communities.
At SANE you can choose from a range of free support services, including counselling, community forums, peer support and groups, information and resources. Visit www.sane.org to learn more, or contact us on 1800 18 SANE.