Support for Loved OneS
Our relationships are extremely valuable and contribute to how your quality of life is experienced.
When a close relationship is having hardships, you may feel the strain of it in numerous facets of life. When you witness a loved one suffering, especially with untreated mental health and substance use concerns, it can be painful to see them decline. Whether you are a parent whose child is engaging in a substance to cope or having a friend live with chronic suicidality, the anxiety experienced in fear of them harming themselves impacts your functioning and emotional health. It can be extremely challenging to support someone who is not ready to access support themselves.
Although your ability to live a functioning life is not contingent on when your loved one is able to experience there’s. You are deserving of support through navigating the complexities of supporting a loved one through their most painful moments. Together, we can work towards living a balanced life while both providing support and honouring yourself is achieved.
What Do Symptoms Look Like?
Burn out
Feelings of chaos
Feelings of hopelessness
Persistent arguments
Depression
Emotion and physical exhaustion
Trust being ruptured
How I Can Help SupPort a Loved One
Through a combination of psychoeducation and therapeutic skills, you can learn to help navigate the difficulties of their symptoms while also taking care of yourself. Psychoeducation is the learning of new information about a concern you are wanting to know more of. For instance, if your loved one is experiencing substance use concerns in engaging with alcohol as a coping tool and you are unsure of what that looks like, how it develops, or how to support them through it, these sessions would be beneficial in understanding these concepts on a deeper level.
Ensuring that you are also taking care of your own needs is a priority. Supporting a loved one through their concerns is exhausting and burnout can be prevalent. Together, we can work towards creating healthy boundaries, imploring effective techniques to decrease guilt and shame, hopelessness, or any other concerns that are present for you through attachment-based therapies and cognitive based principles.
Support for Loved One’s Concerns in:
Mood disorders
Psychotic Disorders
Personality Disorders
Anxiety
Substance use
Behavioural addictions
Relationship dysfunction