Individuals with Mental Disorders. How to Live with Them, Communicate, and Help. Diagnoses, Clinical Cases, Assistance

The lives of people suffering from mental disorders are complex and sometimes unbearable. But help is needed not only for them but also for their close circle. Those who have suffered psychological traumas and severe upheavals—these people are strange and unpredictable, sometimes remarkable in their intellect, yet so different from us. Regardless of their desire and will, they draw into their orbit of communication not only doctors but also relatives, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and neighbors, who, by a twisted fate, are doomed to years of interaction with the ill. How to communicate with the sick, how to help them, how to lend a shoulder without getting burned oneself—these difficult questions are the focus of this book. It will teach relatives and friends how to correctly react to behaviors and symptoms that may seem strange and frightening to the unknowing, create new ways of communication, soberly assess situations, help to see the person in a different light, and learn to stop taking the manifestations of their illness personally, as well as free them from false feelings of guilt and helplessness. The book provides a comprehensive picture of various disorders (PTSD, depressions, addictions, dementias, epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia, etc.) for proper understanding by unprepared individuals and offers advice and instructions on overcoming current problems, as well as predicting the future.