How to deal with non understanding family and friends

I'm the opposite i have family and friends who all support me. I discuss my mental health willingly and anyone who has a problem I'll just highlight their ignorance with a smile on my face

Yeah main thing is keep talking about mental health with whoever you feel comfortable with :) 

My Gp is very Suppotive,Well we have 3 GPs in my surgery & they are all lovely I can talk to any of them! As for talking to my family,I have tried! & they just tell me I"m liar & a hyepcondic!  or it is all imaged! My GP was willing to have a family meeting for us to talk about things,I said it would be waste of his time! The only person is my mum & even she said it would be a waste of time! It huts me that they say these things! All they ever do is pick holes in me! & that makes my depression worse! My brother has his own mental health issues & so I can"t talk to him about things. Plus I look after my mum, which I enjoy doing but is hard having to do everything & sort out All her appoitments as well as my own! & the family tell me all the time What a crap job! I"m doing! which I know is rubbish even the Gp tells me, how good a job I"m doing! They never help with enything! & when mum had cellutis they said it was my Fault! one of my sisters phoned social services & told them we couldn"t cope! the GP was really angery! I am trained to work with the elderly & worked in care homes for 5 years.

Ah dear, so i am not alone then with family and friend issues, thank you for sharing, most days i do feel on my own :/ 

Sometimes due to the age of "family", especially if they are elderly they are of the generation that "mental issues" should be brushed under the carpet and not discussed. The retort from my now ex in laws regarding the behaviour of their son when a GP diagnosed him as being "psychotic + delusional" was; "Well I don't know were he got that from". 

There are those of the attitude that you need to " pull yourself together; you have everything" 

All this mounts down to is ignorance. It must be hard for a parent to acknowledge that their child is ill. Perhaps they don't know howto handle it or perhaps they may feel that it is their fault?

When depressed it is easy to be negative to how others perceive us. 

No one should be made to feel guilty about being ill. Big hugs to all those  unfortunate to be in the above situations. x

Groovychic; Don't let anyone make you feel bad about all that you do for your mum. Hold your head high as at least you are doing all that you can. It is so easy to find fault in others but your sisters need to look deep at themselves instead of putting you down. Perhaps they are jealous of you and so to put you down and find fault is all a part of this jealousy. Obviously,you are doing a fantastic job in the view of your GP. It must be so hard for you but keep up the good work, stay strong but make sure that you are taking time out for "you".

Depression can make us extra sensitive. Don't allow yourself to accept their criticism of behaviour ; that is their problem so don't make it yours. This group is excellent for getting that support that you need; so keep communicating.

I wish you well. Take Care x

No Haze you are not alone in this matter, people go on about family being so important, but all mine has let me down! Thanks itgetsbetter, I Know you are right I lernt this in CBT,It is so hard to put into pratice! I am getting better at it all the time! As for them being Jealous my mum has said them same thing,so maybe you are both right! My sister said you get more money than me & I have to nearly kill myself to get it! mum said about all my health issues! I have alot, it"s no wonder I have anxity & Drepression! I know I am not belived by my family! I am a worryer & my health plays on mind all the time, it"s so hard to switch off from it! As I have 2 serious health issues & lots of other minor ones! sometimes I feel like I"m in a nightmare & I will never wake from it! I have my 40th party & a wedding to look foward to so life isn"t all bad! 

I think it sometimes boils down to the fact that mental illness is a invisible illness.As people cannot see whats wrong they cannot get htere heads around it.

I wish you all well.

Esma

Thanks keep talking about it all :) Take care everyone :) 

Reading all these posts. i feel like i am not the only one who has family that just don't care how you feel. Although it is somewhat comforting, it still doesn't help. 

You can't pick your family, however i do pick my friends the few i have with a fine tooth comb. 

Keep smiling all of you. we are all here for each other and that is a light at the end of the tunnel.