Family Support in Mental Illness

Family Support in Mental IllnessFamily is an important and inevitable mapping of an individual and its uninterrupted presence gives us a psychological accommodate and courage to courageously deal with all kind of trouble.It provides a strong and long lasting shelter to a soul and all(prenominal) one looks toward his family for primary care. Although familys role is necessary in physical illness that in psychiatric illness it has an undeniable and imperative part in treatment exercise and it is indeed one of the affable health promoting practice. So we can say that family plays an integral role in alleviating the significance of moral illness because only medical intervention is ineffective.The support of family for an individual with cordial illness is crucial in Asian Indian culture. The troth of the family is so imperative, that frequently it becomes a prerequisite of seeking help for psychiatric illness (Stanhope, 2002 as cited in Cook Tarnovetskaia, 2008). Studies hav e concluded that the rate of recovery from schizophrenia is great and mortality of people with schizophrenia is lower in the developing world than in the developed countries and the key positive factor that rent that change is the involvement of families in the course of treatment (Warner, 2009).Lets view this aspect in a sense that what difference it will make if family is not confused in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses in cases where people living alone without any family support during the course of their illness. Maladaptive parental behavior is associated with an increased stake in offspring for anxiety, depression, disruptive personality, and substance use disorders during late adolescence and early adulthood. (Ajit Avasthi,2010)Childhood exposure to parental verbal aggression is associated, by itself, with moderate to bouffant effects on measures of dissociation, irritability, depression and anger-hostility.According to studies, lack of family and social relations hip cause homelessness and badly effect the quality of life (Pinikahana, Happell, Hope Keks,2009). . This causes too much defeat to the uncomplaining and instead of reducing psychical illness it enhances much pain and graveling to the diligent. Thus it has been found that when family support is absent the severity in the psychical disorder keep increasing and any sort of medication often failed to produce good result. Resultantly family support is very vital and has a big violation to a patient suffering from mental illness..Families have valuable information and copeledge more or less their relatives. They also have expertise, acquired through sometimes painful experience.They know about approaches that work and those that do not. Consumers, service providers and families benet greatly when family members are involved as full partners in the care and support of people with mental health and addiction problems. When family support is not provided to an individual suffering from a mental illness, he endures a lot of setbacks and it has a direct impact on him. Mostly he confused about his parents changed behavior and feels embarrassing for being in the affected persons company.A 50 years old male patient Noor Ali Hussain was in Nizari Senior Citizen, suffering from mental illness for the last ten years. The patient has a history of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and odd behavior. On clinical day, I interviewed him about his family history. He told me that his family leaves in America and they have leftover him in senior citizen. Moreover, he explained that his family doesnt come to meet him, they just recollect him only on some special occasion. He stated that he feels happy when he talk to family and he want to live with them. However his family doesnt take him with them to America because he is illiterate and aged.Further stated family told him that we are busy in our work no one is here to take care of you and left me in senior citizen . After carefully assessing this pathetic situation I decided to choose this topic that is family support in mental illness. In my patient multiple disorders were present and in such cases family support is very important in rehabilitation and recovery of mental illness. But, in my patient case, unfortunately the family support ceased to exist.Care giving literature has illustrated that the prominent role in the provision of support for individuals with mental illness falls on family members, especially on women (Saunders 2003, Zauszniewski et al. 2008, Huang et al. 2009). deduction linking caring for a member with mental illness to increased levels of burden for the family caregiver is compelling and consistent. Family caregivers have widely identified burden as any individual whose presence and performance aroused either fear or shame must be burdensome and could not be living at heart a supportive environment (Thompson Doll 1982, p. 380).Studies have concluded that mostly peop le consider taking care of a mentally ill person as a burden. The family care giving burden framework best define my patient case because it distinguishes between the objective and subjective burden (Hoening and Hamilton,1996). documental burden emerge in the form of disruption in everyday life in the kinsfolk, financial constraint, breakdown in daily activities and social interaction and these are observe by the caregiver. Subjective burden are the caregivers feelings, attitude and emotions that reflects that he carries a burden(Bull, 1990 Hoening Hamilton,1966 MaurinBoyd, 1990 Reinhard, 1994). Therefore it is necessary to minimize the sense of burden mat by caregivers. Some strategies and interventions that could be help when families are involved in order to promote mental health are discussed briefly.Skilled Training and health Management(STHM) intervention was developed with the aim of enhancing independent functioning and health care outcomes for older adults with SMI (p rimarily schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and bipolar disorder) (Bartels et al., 2004).moreover HM consisted of health care preventive measures to identify and reminder acute and chronic medical problems. Moreover family interventions should focus on expanding training to patient and key relatives about mental illness recovery, skills training, task sharing of household and self-care. A positive change in these areas is likely to improve the quality of life of people with mental illness and their families.Other effective strategies include discussion, debrief session and family therapy that are good practices to involve family in care. Family therapy is also useful Psychotherapy that teaches families and their members to resolve the issue effectively and improve their understanding. According to psychiatric mental health nursing book(2006) Psychoeducation family therapy has been more successful in treatment of patient with schizophrenia and it reduces long term hospitalization as w ell(Dixon, 2001). According to psychiatric mental nursing book(2006),Self-help group are best position to help clients and families find additional support and information.Family support in mental illness cant be ignored and it has a lasting role in the recovery of a mentally disorder individual. But sometime family considers burden and feels embarrassed and frustrated. In such crucial time, I think nurse can play a positive role by educating and counseling the family and his close relative about the intensity of the case and teach them strategies and skill to tackle the issue. By concluding, it can be said that family is an important source in promoting mental health but at the same time it is also necessary for the care professional to avoid commenting any mistake which may restrain the family from their beloved one who suffer from mental illness.Lastly, through assessing the identified framework and effective strategies we can play a role in alleviating the burden of mental illne ss that may bring a positive change in the patient who is diagnosed with mental illness. The prerequisite to promote mental health is to deal the patient holistically and make family involvement in treatment an integral part.