Times Boundaries Are Hard To Set With Family, But Important
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It should be a group effort
Everyone in the close network of friends and family should share the work of helping a loved one with mental health issues. You can’t be expected to be the only caretaker, so one boundary you may have to enforce, Jackson says, is telling other healthy family members that it’s their turn to step up.
“Make sure not just one person is taking care of the individual who is struggling. It’s a family effort,” she says. “That can mean saying, ‘Hey I can’t deal with this today. Sister/brother/mother can you deal with this today?” If your loved one with mental illness isn’t getting better, then caring for her might be a job the family takes on for the long term. When responsibilities are shared amongst each member, it becomes more manageable.
