Mental Illness: A Support Guide for Families and Friends

Mental illness can be overwhelming—not only for the person suffering with the condition, but also for family, friends and caregivers. When a mental illness occurs in a family, as it did for Stephen Jacobs in 2005, it can be devastating. Some of the questions he had to answer were: •How can I best support my ill family member?•I am feeling overwhelmed myself; how am I going to cope with this? •What is going to happen to my family, my career, my finances, my life? •How can I make effective decisions that I may be required to make? •What am I to do with all the anger, guilt, and depression that I feel? •How can I begin to regroup and start building a life again? •Who has the answer to any of these questions?From precisely that place of confusion—with a feeling of being totally overwhelmed—his journey back to wholeness began. This book is the culmination of not only several years of research, but decades of self development work. It brings the best practices of personal therapy and deep spiritual insight to bear on one of life’s most complex and difficult challenges. The reader will learn how to answer all of the above questions within their current situation. There are 17 exercises—one after each chapter—which will transform your understanding of your situation. This book will help you feel more empowered, more confident, and will begin to move you toward joy and peace. Stephen Jacobs invites you to join him in the journey that he himself took—the journey back to wholeness.