What Is Different About This Site?
The information on how mental illness affects spouses and partners and how to deal with it is very limited. I feel we have unique difficulties to face -- losing the help and support of our partner, taking on additional responsibilities, having to parent alone, balancing our spouse's needs with needs of our family, and more -- sometimes, all on our own. I have tried to gather together resources that are particularly helpful for your welfare, as the spouse or partner of someone with a major mental illness.

Beacon Resources

• Caregivers Corner. This page contains regularly updated articles from partners on coping with the unique challenges we face.
  
  
• Parent's & Children's Place. If you have children and are wondering how to help them grow up in an often chaotic environment, this area offers suggestions from people who have grown up in families with mental illness, a pamphlet on how to explain mental illness to your child, and more.
  
  
• Spouses Stories. This is where we share our own stories of how we have experienced the mental illness of our partner. It is a combination of original stories and stories of others from the web.

Outside Resources
In these areas, I have carefully selected information from all over the web that is particularly helpful to those of us who are married to or in a serious relationship with a loved one experiencing a mental illness. This is not the usual list of mental health links. There are many good sites containing directories of this type. Instead, the information here is specifically directed at helping YOU cope better -- helping you handle crises and out of control behaviors, helping you reduce your own stress, tips on how to take care of yourself, where YOU can go to get help, and more.

Learn All You Can About Mental Illness

Knowing what to expect from your spouse, common behaviors and symptoms, capabilities and limitations, and relapse symptoms, can help you cope better.

 

Spouses Stories

You swing from feelings of compassion and concern to anger and then to guilt. Your feelings may seem so mixed up that you may wonder if this is "normal". Find out what others in similar situations are experiencing.

 

Tips To Help You Cope Better

There are things you can do for yourself and when dealing with your spouse to  make your life a little easier. You will find tips from people who are living with a mentally ill spouse as well as information from organizations that provide support for families.

 

Help For You

If you are having a hard time dealing with your own emotions, if you are angry, resentful, depressed, or overwhelmed, there is help available for you. In this section, I include some of the methods and tools that I have found helpful in dealing with my own emotional struggles.

 

Helpful Resources & Support

There are many good books and organizations that can help you along the way. Local mental health agencies, local chapters of national organizations, and local support groups can provide a great deal of help to you. Take advantage of the resources available in your area.

 

Helpful Links

There is a wealth of information on mental illness, support groups, and other helpful information on the web. This is a list of some of the best sites, organized by category.