Effects of mental illness on the family

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Family life can be disrupted by the illness of a member. The stigma attached to mental illness often makes if difficult for the family and affected person to cope.

As with any other serious illness, emotional, social and financial problems can develop in a family that has a member affected by mental illness.

Emotions which the family may experience on diagnosis of a mental illness may be:

* Denial - “This can’t be true. This hasn’t happened in our family before.”
* Fear and anxiety - “What did we do to cause it?”
* Anger - “Does the doctor know what he’s talking about? How could fate allow this to happen?”
* Feelings of loss - “Our dreams and ambitions for our child are gone.”
* Helplessness - “There is nothing we can do.”

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Depression and sex   Generalized Anxiety Disorder   Phobia Overview   Hypothalamic- Pituitary- Adrenocortical and Sympathomedullary Hyperactivity   Using medications to treat depression   A Checklist for depression   Different schools of psychotherapy   How to Prevent a Relapse   The Effects Of Depression In The Workplace   Depression Is Nothing To ‘Tough-out’   Premenstrual dysphoric disorder   Electroconvulsive therapy effective?   Taking Care of Depression: A Primer   Depression, Bone Mass, and Osteoporosis   Depression and Other Illnesses

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