I have spent the last sixteen years working with family and friends who support someone with mental health problems. Supporting someone with their mental health can be challenging particularly for those carers who support someone with psychosis.
Psychosis covers a range of mental health problems where people have hallucinations, delusions, paranoia and mood swings. This means that someone’s behaviour can be unpredictable. Some examples include, the carer being told that they have poisoned the person’s food, the television is spying on them and reporting all the movements back to MI5. This is just an example of what caring for someone with psychosis could be like.
Not surprisingly carers can be scared in this situation and try to research what is happening to their loved one. All sorts of information can be found online, some accurate and some not. Reading these articles can be alarming. In response to this, we have developed a short course at Carers Leeds to help you learn more about psychosis and how you can support the person you care for and yourself. This new course will cover:
- What is psychosis?
- What is it like to have psychosis?
- How do I support someone with psychosis?
- How can I look after myself?
This three week course starts tomorrow and full details can be found here. If you would like further information, you can e-mail me or call me on 07985 259 144.
Elaine Wilkes, Mental Health & Learning Disability Team Leader
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