| The inner experience
of a person who is mentally ill is deeply painful and
frequently difficult for others to comprehend...
Of course, none of us ever knows exactly what is going
on in anyone else's head. But as we communicate with
others, we take for granted that we can make some safe
assumptions about others' inner worlds based on how
our own minds process sensations and information, sort
through experience, make meaning, and make judgments.
Mental illness, however, changes the very nature of
your loved one's inner world, making it a painful and
sometimes terrifying place. No longer can you make easy
assumptions about what's going on in his or her inner
experience and no longer can you easily trace the inner
motivations for the behaviors he or she exhibits. Often,
caregivers find themselves saddened and frustrated by
the difficulty of comprehending "what's going on
in there?"
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Worlds Apart
Reflecting on your responses to the reality
3 checklist, how it has been for you to be faced
with the reality that your loved one experiences
the world so very differently from you?
How have you coped in the past with the difficulty
of comprehending "what's going on in there?"
How have you coped with the difficulty of knowing
that your relative is living in a place that
is so often painful and scary?
What have you tried that has helped "bridge
the gap" between your inner world and your
loved one's? Are there times when it works better
than others?
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