There’s no doubt that mental illness is nothing we should take lightly. Whether a person is dealing with depression or bipolar disorder, a person going through one of these illnesses needs a strong support system. They need someone who will be there for them. How will a strong support system benefit that person? What types of support systems a person could turn to? Could they find this group of people themselves? Let’s examine these questions in this post.
They Will Help You Cope with your Illness
A person coping with any mental illness needs a strong support system to help them cope with their condition. It will be hard to do this alone. However, this group of people must have an ill person’s best interests at heart. They must not take advantage of the person or use them. If you have a peer like that in your life, you must distance yourself from them. Be around genuine people who are going to encourage and motivate you.
Different Types of Support System
I was looking at an article recently and it shared a list of different types of support systems. These are emotional support, informational support, and instrumental support. Emotional support is founded within the people you love, informational involves support from public programs or medical facilities, and instrumental support could be similar to emotional or it could involve a person in your social network.
Sometimes this person could fill all three roles. Sometimes they could fill only one of these roles. Whatever roles this person fills in helping you cope with your condition, this person has to be doing a good job in fulfilling it.
Be Proactive about Finding Support
Besides having the right support system around you, you need to figure out if you have enough people with you. This involves taking action in choosing their associates wisely. Also, if you don’t have a supportive group helping you now, you owe it to yourself to find them. It’s very vital to be hands-on about your mental health care.
Mental illness is rampant now more than ever, especially during this pandemic crisis. Without a strong support system, a person dealing with this will be in trouble. So if you know someone dealing with depression, bipolar disorder, or any other illness, take the initiative to be that support help they need.
I’ve also put together a PDF list of “5 Encouraging Words” for those dealing with a condition like a mental illness. You can sign up to get this list here. As always, like, share, or leave a comment about this post below.
