Mary Logan, MA is a personal coach who works with family members dealing with mental illness. Mary Logan focuses on wellness issues facing her clients as they enter a new role of caring for a family member with mental illness. You can sign up for her free 7-part e-course on staying well with boundaries at http://www.ucanthrive.com
If you are a family member who deals with another's mental illness, chances are your life can get very full and often confusing. I hope this article about healthy boundaries helps.
OK, so your life has changed. Things are a bit different after the diagnosis of a family member's illness. It could be a daughter with bi-polar, a husband with clinical depression or your own sudden experiences with panic disorder. These circumstances happen every year to millions of Americans and family members -- the "affected others" -- need to adjust and compensate for this new situation.
Presumably, if you are an affected other, you have the professional medical support you need to help your loved one. But you're realizing that still things do not work as smoothly as they did before. This is hard! Learning how to implement boundaries and raising your personal standards are good ways of "surviving" another's mental illness. Some things that used to be OK in your life suddenly are just too much. This is to be expected -- but not tolerated. Let's consider a typical problem that most people face at some time in their life: people who drop by your home without notice.
Some people don't mind drop-in traffic. However, at some point you may feel overwhelmed by this prospect since you are now dealing with the new challenges of a family member's mental illness. If you used to be fine with drop-in guests but now find them overwhelming, you may want to implement a new "boundary" to improve your life and reduce your stress.
Without boundaries, you're constantly tiptoeing around hoping your friend Suzy doesn't suddenly pop in to "dump" all her woes on you. Caring for and worrying about your own family member can be a 24/7 preoccupation
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Which Depression Medication is Right for You
- A Look at the Different Types of Depression
- Depression - Symptoms, Causes and Treatment Options
- Frequency of Depression in Migraine Headache
- Major Depression—the Joy Stealer: How to Reclaim your Life
- Types of Depression
- Treat Depression Before It Becomes Chronic
- Anti Depression is the Best Approach to Avoid Depression
Medifast Coupons – Why You Should Never Think About Spending Too Much
By: Jenny Jamison | 28/11/2009I have been sharing a lot of things about my experiences with Medifast for some time now and no reader has ever asked me if they can find a cheaper alternative that is similar with the Medifast diet plan. I can't really pinpoint the exact products you can take as an alternative, but here is some information that can be helpful.
The Truth About Medifast Diet and Ketosis: How Your Body Burns Its Own Fat
By: Jenny Jamison | 28/11/2009You may have already encountered some facts with regards to medifast diet and ketosis especially if you have been studying about medifast lately. It might sound scary seeing the term ketosis, and finding out the truth that your body is being deceived and it undergoes a metabolism of its own.
Cardio Exercise and Medifast Diet – How Much is Too Much
By: Jenny Jamison | 28/11/2009If you are already in the medifast diet, you may have been advised to couple your diet with cardio exercise. The dilemma is your metabolism is already rev’d in medifast, why overdo it?
What Everybody Should Know About Medifast and Exercise Combo
By: Jenny Jamison | 28/11/2009Regular exercise should always be paired up with any weight loss program including medifast. Medifast diet has been dubbed as the fast, simple and safe way of reducing your weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Couple that with exercise and you will get the most out of the program. Here you will discover how you can stay fit with medifast and exercise combo.
A Cost Effective Diet Plan - What You Can Get With Medifast Coupons
By: Jenny Jamison | 28/11/2009The first time I decided to start my weight loss journey, the primary factor I considered was the cost. I don’t want to just get into a program that is really expensive. I most certainly don’t want to end up with poor results and an empty pocket. Not until I found about medifast.com that I realized, “Hey, I can lose weight and be healthy at a very minimum cost!”
What You Should Achieve With the Help of Medifast.Com Diet Plan
By: Jenny Jamison | 28/11/2009Weight loss is all about perseverance and consistency. We need to persevere in order to achieve whatever it is that we are aiming for, in this case, weight loss. Once we have attained that goal, we have to be consistent with it so that we can maintain the weight that we have worked so hard for.
The Amazing Benefits of a Medifast Diet Breakfast Meal
By: Jenny Jamison | 28/11/2009Studies show that those people who eat breakfast are slimmer than those who don’t. Medifast surely understood this concept. This is how the medifast diet was developed. A healthy, hearty diet is very important to sustain the energy you need for one, busy day. Here you will find some varieties of the breakfast meal that they have so you may understand how these varieties taste like for you to choose better.
Break the Unhealthy Diet Cycle – How to Do it the Medifast Way
By: Jenny Jamison | 28/11/2009Switching from an unhealthy diet to a healthy one is a tough job. If you are one of the many people who are struggling to put off some weight probably for aesthetic or health reasons, you would have thought how hard it is.
Tips and a Strategy for Easy Goal Setting
By: Mary Logan | 09/10/2007 | Self ImprovementMost people dread the words "goal setting" but here are some tips and a strategy for making it easy and doable!
Do you Hide in the Closet and Then Wonder Why Mental Illness Has you in a Tizzy?
By: Mary Logan | 29/08/2007 | HealthIf you are a family member who deals with another
Are you Sabotaging your Life?
By: Mary Logan | 14/08/2007 | Self ImprovementAre you someone who easily gets distracted from your own life with the excitement of other's activities and projects? You might be your own worst enemy in getting what you want for YOUR life! Here are some practical steps to further your own agenda and stay focused on what you want.
Don’t Forget yourself When Caring for Someone With a Mood Disorder
By: Mary Logan | 26/02/2007 | Diseases & ConditionsIsolation and burnout of caregivers is something to guard against. Here are some helpful suggestions to stay well while caring for someone with mental illness.
Do you Send a "get Well" Card to Someone Struggling From Serious Depression?
By: Mary Logan | 12/02/2007 | AdviceOften times we treat mental illness differently from a medical problem. Why sending "get well" cards is not just for the physically sick.