FAQs for carers
What do I do when I notice “there is something not quite right” with one of my loved ones or friends?
This is the toughest question to answer. If you find that someone close is showing strange symptoms or behavior or actually tells you that they are depressed, they really need to see a psychiatrist. To find one, ask your local doctor. The tricky part is to convince the person to go and see a psychiatrist. You will most definitely be confronted with a lot of resistance. Here are some points to consider and explain to the person:
· Mental illness, whether it is depression, bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia, is a chemical issue with your brain. Despite all the complex thoughts and feelings related to all these illnesses, they are in the end just a physical problem and can be treated with medication, the same way you would treat any other physical disease. Would you keep ignoring it if you had a heart disease, diabetes or cancer?
· Initially, one of the most sensitive issues is that the person is worried everybody, or even anybody, is going to find out that they are seeing a psychiatrist. Promise to keep it quiet and make sure to tell no one. If you want the person to trust you, you must make sure not to break the trust. You will often find later that they relax about this issue and they themselves start telling people around them about their treatment.
· Take your relative or friend to his/her first appointment, partly to support them but also to make sure they don’t change their mind at the last minute. You also want to make sure they don't pretend everything is ok.
What if the person refuses to go or is too disconnected with reality to make any decision?
When someone is seriously mentally ill and incapable of making a rational decision, you will have to make it for them. It is not a matter for discussion. For example, a schizophrenic may be extremely manipulative and will promise they will get the problem under control or try to convince you it is not a problem. At some stage, you must act as a carer and take them to a psychiatric ward or a psychiatrist.
What is the difference between a psychiatrist/psychiatry and a psychologist/psychology?
A psychiatrist is a medically trained doctor who is specialised in mental illness. They will diagnose the illness and prescribe medication. A psychologist is trained in various kinds of psycho-analysis. They will try to solve problems through discussion.
Can psychology help?
Since mental illness is a physical illness, psychology won’t help. Mentally ill patients can talk for hours about their inner feelings and problems but nothing is resolved because the brain is not in a state to actually process and release the feelings. Once the brain is settled on medication and the patient is more functional and can have a rational discussion, psychology may be helpful in sorting out some personal problems. However, I highly recommend for Christians to find a good biblically based counselor, since Godly counsel is based on divine truth about who we are, whereas most psychological counseling is based on self.
Is mental illness a spiritual issue?
Most likely, since every problem has a spiritual aspect to it. However, it is highly recommended to start with
1. The physical: find a good psychiatrist to diagnose the person and get the patient settled on medication. Then they will be much easier to handle because their mind will function more rationally.
2. When the person is settled, find a good counselor.
For Christians:
Are mentally ill people possessed by evil spirits?
Although a mentally ill patient may very well be possessed, it is highly recommended not to focus on it too much. It may freak out an already very vulnerable person. The last thing they need is being told they are possessed by an evil spirit.
Jesus set some very disturbed people free from evil spirits and they were healed instantly. Can we as Christians do this?
If it is led by the Holy Spirit, it is definitely possible. I have done it myself. However, I have also seen some Christians scream and threaten poor mentally ill patients trying to free them from evil spirits. All that happened was that the patients became extremely upset and in fact were worse off for the experience. The key is to be gentle. In the end, if a patient continuously feeds his or her own mind with scripture and prays, eventually evil spirits will not be able to withstand the light of Christ and will have to leave.