Effects of Mental Disorders on Family, Friends, and Co-workers

Updated: May 26, 2022

An obstacle to diagnosis and treatment is the stigma associated with being labeled as mentally ill or with an adverse addictive disorder. This perceived disgrace affects the sufferer, family, and friends alike. They’re often in denial or experience anxiety, fear, anger, shame, financial strain, and desperation—not knowing what to do or where to turn to get help.

Mental illness gets a bad rap. Some people associate mental illness with serial killers like Ted Bundy or mass murderers such as the Aurora Theater Shooter James Holmes. They often expect all mentally ill people to be violent. One mother wouldn’t let her daughter spend the night at our house, saying “Her mother is mentally ill and she might kill you!” It’s true that when the behavior is extreme, erratic, or psychotic the patient can be dangerous to themselves or others. This is why it’s so important to educate the patient, family, friends, public, and law enforcement about the warning signals, signs, and symptoms of mental illness. Early diagnosis and intervention is key.

There are a number of online resources about how mental illnesses and disorders interrupt the normal activities and interrelationships with family, friends and others. These are but a few.