It’s Not a Race, It’s a Marathon! Families Living with a Young Adult Suffering from Mental Illness

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore families’ perceptions of everyday life when living with a young adult suffering from mental illness. Findings include: 1) Families balance between letting go and enabling the young adult to become independent while remaining close to help him/her complete education, work and have a social life. 2) Young adults try to deal with symptoms of mental illness by themselves and not be a burden, although longing for family members to understand them and the situation. 3) Healthcare professionals still hold back information although young adults have consented to giving family members insight.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.