Leader Note: Ask participants to suggest some feelings they have experienced. Process Note: • Write feelings down on pad as people suggest them. CO 1 suggest some of these words to keep the process moving.
• Use list below for “coaching”: Denial; Fear; Guilt
Shame; Anger; Rage
Sorrow; Grief
Isolation
Disruption of family relationships
Confusion
Exhaustion of spirit and resources
Frustration
Difficulty accepting the illness
Depression
Sleeplessness
Apprehension about the future
What separates us from a lot of traditional thinking in the mental health field is this: we believe these reactions are perfectly normal responses, given the catastrophes we are trying to adjust to (just look at all the traumatic emotions up on the board)! We believe that we have a right to our feelings, and that we need to understand and express them. So let's spend some time learning about the predictable stages of our emotional reactions to mental illness. Leader Note: Position Chart 1: Stages of Emotional Response so everyone can see it.
You all recognize that mental illness has had an enormous impact on your lives. What you may don’t know is that you tend to respond to this trauma in characteristic and predictable ways. Many family members and family member professionals have written about this “emotional response cycle” we all go through. It is such an important aspect of our course that we will go over it now in some detail. CO 2 Read bold print to indicate that Handout #4 follows the lecture.
Leader Note: Direct class to Handout 4: Predictable Stages so group can
follow lecture. If you will look at your handout, you'll see there are 9 separate stages of emotional reactions involved in coming to terms with mental illness in a family member. We've made a chart of this process, which we will be referring to throughout the course. Let's go through the 9 emotional responses first, and then return to the “needs” in each stage. Leader Note: Read the titles and descriptions of the 9 stages of emotional response from the handout. Return to the lecture below to read “points.”
NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program 11/02 | 10