Supporting Other Children in the Household
Siblings of people with mental illness often secretly share the guilt and fear their parents feel. When the fears and concerns of siblings are neglected, they may become resentful and even jealous of their ill family member. It is important to help siblings feel that they are not “forgotten,” since much of your time is sure to be consumed by managing the care of the person who is ill. Siblings of young adults with mental illness need special attention and support to deal with the many issues that will come up for them. A first step in helping other family member's process a sibling's illness is acknowledging that all family members are profoundly affected and that you cannot do anything to make this go away.
Some things parents can't do:
- Lessen the impact of the illness by not talking about it
- Shield the siblings from their own feelings
- Determine how each family member will cope
- Take away the stigma of mental illness that persists in our society
- Talk about your feelings and encourage your family members to express their feelings, too
- Learn as much as possible about the illness, and communicate what you know to your family
- Make sure the person with an illness does not become the axis around which all other family members revolve. This can be detrimental to the ill person, as well as to the other family members
- Read books and articles about the sibling experience with mental illness, and find age-appropriate information on mental illness for well family members
