How Loved Ones Can Support Mental Resilience: An Inside View

When someone close to us is struggling mentally, those around them often feel lost: how do you help without making things worse? Dr. Saulitis points to several key principles.

Don't strip away the person's humanity

One of the most powerful things a supporter can do is continue to see their loved one as a person — not merely as a diagnosis or a set of alarming behaviours. The moment we mentally "write someone off" — label them, turn away, stop treating them as an equal — we forfeit our ability to help. Illness gains the upper hand precisely when healthy people stop reaching toward those who are unwell.

Empathy is strength, not weakness

In our culture, the ability to feel with another person is often read as a sign of weakness. Dr. Saulitis is direct about this: the willingness to genuinely empathise is itself an expression of mental health. It is what keeps us on the right side of the line — seeing a human being rather than a "case" or a threat.

Illness is not the final word on a person

A mental disorder changes a person's behaviour, but it does not erase who they are. For loved ones, this is a crucial distinction: what they witness are manifestations of illness, not an irreversible verdict on the person's character. That understanding reduces anger, fear, and the impulse to withdraw — and creates the space in which genuine support becomes possible.

Your own mental health is part of the picture

Dr. Saulitis warns: if you find yourself feeling that your loved one is "no longer a person" to you, that is a signal that you yourself are depleted. The boundary between a healthy and an unhealthy inner state runs exactly here — as long as you can still see the person, you have the inner resources to help. The moment that capacity disappears, it is time to take care of yourself first.