As with any other serious illness, emotional, social and financial problems can develop in a family that has a member affected by mental illness.

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Emotions which the family may experience on diagnosis of a mental illness may be:

• Denial - “This can’t be true. This hasn’t happened in our family before.”
• Fear and anxiety - “What did we do to cause it?”
• Anger - “Does the doctor know what he’s talking about? How could fate allow this to happen?”
• Feelings of loss - “Our dreams and ambitions for our child are gone.”
• Helplessness - “There is nothing we can do.”

Information supplied by Cape Support for Mental Health, a support group for friends and families of people with serious mental illnesses. They can be contacted at (021) 671 1573.

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