Love is vital in recovering from serious mental illness

When we are sick in our minds, we have this punishing sense of how terrible we are, even if we often can't point to a specific crime. We are appalled by, and unforgiving of, who we are.

In this situation, a loving companion can make all the difference. They don't try to pe...

When mentally ill, we may want to return again and again to the subject that should normally have been dealt with.

However, the loving response is to take the worry as seriously as possible and address it head-on without scoffing or denying the scale of the concern.

A loving companion looking after a mentally sick friend doesn't care very much about what other people may think. They don't care if they are in a minority when loving us.

We are not loved for anything we have done, but simply because we exist.

The mentally ill person is continually worried about ongoing and limitless torment. What if someone wants to take them away? What if the voices in their head never go away?

The loving companion does their best to quieten the panic. They present the future as unkno...

Many mental traumas are the result of abandonment, and the neglect has thrown us off balance ever since. We may find it hard to depend on others.

A loving companion is ready to fight to earn our trust. We may try to incite despair and frustration and say some awful things to a carer we lov...