The Isolation of Families With Mental Illness

I can't think of anything more painful or more heart wrenching than that of the day to day life of a parent of a child with a serious mental illness. This is not to diminish the pain of parents of children with medical illnesses or of parents who have lost a child, but it is different. The isolation is palpable. The acceptance and sympathy is not universal. There is still, in this day and age, shame and the perception of failure. Yes, there are wonderful support groups and caring and knowledgeable doctors, but at the end of the day parents of children with mental illness are alone. Marriages are tested, siblings are adversely affected and families are held hostage by the disorders. Life becomes a constant calendar of doctor, psychiatrist and therapy appointments. Many families find themselves in financial ruin.

It seems there is always one step forward and two steps back. There is the medication roller coaster which once on, seems impossible to get off. There is the guilt and sleepless nights worrying if the decision to medicate is the right one and what the side effects may be, not only now, but in the future.

Here is an article posted today in the Los Angeles Times

Parents Cope With Schizophrenic Child

Mentioned in this article is the lack of services available for these children and their parents. Respite care is not offered, long term hospitalization is not offered and many specializing psychiatrists do not take insurance. It truly is a sad state of affairs when our healthcare system cannot accommodate these children and their families.

Having a child with a mental illness is a challenging and difficult experience. It takes a strong and special parent to deal with the daily uncertainty.

Being the parent of a child with a mental illness can also be the most rewarding and life altering. Little successes become major triumphs. Priorities become clear. Parents develop a bond that most spouses will never know. There is true understanding of unconditional love. And when the war is won, there is no better victory.

The road for these families is long but the reward at the end is great.