If your family or loved one suffers from a mental illness
This book will save him and you!

A guide for people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and major affective disorder, and their families.
This book, which compiles practical information gained through direct clinical treatment and counseling, covers basic symptoms as well as how to deal with more serious symptoms such as suicide and violence, how to get along with other family members, how to establish a cooperative relationship with doctors and medical institutions for treatment, and how to manage housing, work, and money, is considered the most sympathetic guide to patients.

A classic family guidebook brought back to print thanks to the support of parents who lost their son to mental illness!

This book, which was introduced to our country once before, is considered a hidden classic in the West.
It had been out of print for a long time, but was brought back into print after the parents of a son who had lost him to mental illness sponsored the full publication costs in the hope that such a tragedy would never happen again.


You need this book

In Korea, where the social stigma surrounding mental illness is particularly severe, patients and their families are often reluctant to receive the support they need, and instead try to hide their illness.
However, if you understand what mental illness is and know exactly what families and parents can and cannot do, you will see a small light along with a sense of relief.
Packed with information you can apply immediately in your daily life, this book will teach people with mental illness and their families how to live together, look forward to the future together, and find happiness together.

A hallucination is any sensory experience that is not caused by an external entity.
Hallucinations can occur in any of the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch.
Hearing sounds that aren't there, seeing things that aren't there, smelling odors that aren't there, or feeling bugs crawling up and down your arms without anything touching your skin.
The most important fact is that those who experience hallucinations feel the sensations as vividly real as if you were reading the words in this book.
--- p.41

Most people with mental illness live in constant fear of when their next episode will worsen.
Many things that are illogical and unreasonable are also frightening.
If you understand how illogical and unpredictable their inner world is, you can naturally understand their fear.
Most people with schizophrenia say that life is like a dream.
This is not a metaphor, it is literal.
If we recall the nightmares we have experienced, we may be able to vaguely understand.
There is no logic in dreams.
You can be enjoying a peaceful swim in the lake, but before you know it, you're being chased by an elephant on the street.
Time, space, and even one's own identity change without warning.
Because of this inner confusion, people with mental illness are unable to pay attention to those around them.
Sometimes, I can't even answer simple questions like, "How are you doing these days?"
Some people experience this condition occasionally, while others experience it much more frequently, but in any case, it is a life experience quite different from that of the average person.
--- p.48

The most important thing to remember is that results are more important than justification.
Some people accept medication or treatment for reasons just as irrational as those who refuse it.
Even so, it is better not to argue.
Whether you believe it will help you become a world-class athlete or simply take it as a sleeping pill, don't ask any questions.
Anyway, it would be great if you could take the medicine yourself.
Some people go to hospitals and participate in treatment programs thinking that they are helping the poor or that they are studying medical professionals themselves.
Don't argue with logic.
It is much more important to praise, encourage, and wish good results for those who seek treatment.
--- p.74

The relapse rate of schizophrenia is known to be approximately 70 percent when no treatment is administered.
This means that without any treatment, 7 out of 10 people will return to the hospital within a year.
Even if you only take antipsychotic medication, the relapse rate drops to 30 percent.
All other treatments, when administered alone, do not significantly reduce the relapse rate.
However, if you take medication and receive counseling, the relapse rate can be reduced to about 20 percent.
If you take medication and participate in a social rehabilitation program, you will achieve the best results, with the relapse rate dropping to around 10 percent.
Living with family members who are educated on how to manage a person with mental illness while taking medication can also reduce relapse rates to a similar degree.

--- p.83

For patients to effectively cope with mental illness, the most important thing is to have people around them who believe in them and never give up hope and confidence that they can live a fulfilling life.
In this environment, many people could have jobs, meaningful relationships, and live more independently.
While we cannot know exactly what the future holds for people with severe mental illness, if we can eliminate the social stigma and empower people to acknowledge their illness and access services and treatment, we can expect much better outcomes than we have today.
No one knows how much their lives could be improved if they were provided with better medicines and services every day in a more friendly environment.

--- p.90

The most important thing is to constantly remind ourselves that the person suffering is not a “mentally ill person,” but a “person with a mental illness.”
People who suffer from illness are also people.
They are emotional, hurt, easily lose themselves and wander.
I need someone who understands and loves me.
We easily label people as “patients” without realizing how much they can do for themselves.
Friends and family should try to overcome this tendency by considering people and illnesses separately.
Symptoms are caused by the disease, not the person.
You shouldn't think of a mother with bipolar disorder as a despicable person who gets angry easily, uses tricks, and ruins her family's life.
My mother is a victim of mental illness and has lost the ability to think clearly and act normally.

--- p.101

By definition, schizophrenia, major depression, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder are periodic illnesses.
It often means that the condition improves and worsens repeatedly without any clear reason.
If you keep this in mind, you will be much less likely to worry or feel guilty about things getting worse.
Although it varies from person to person, if you observe a person closely over time, you can usually identify characteristic traits.
If you have experienced several relapses and are aware of this pattern, you should intervene as early as possible.
Although it cannot prevent recurrence, it can minimize the duration and severity.
--- p.151

If the family itself cannot enjoy a prosperous life, the life of the person with mental illness cannot improve either.
Taking care of yourself means forgetting about the person with mental illness and doing something interesting.
Be sure to take time off from your patients and have separate interests, activities, and friends.
You have to know how to allow a certain distance.
If you can't do that, you can never provide love and support.
For a person with a mental illness to live life to the fullest, their caregivers must first live life to the fullest.
People with mental illness often seem unaware of what's going on around them, but they can easily sense changes in their emotional mood.
Very sensitive to the mood and overall condition of the guardian.
And in many cases, they feel guilty about the drastic changes in their family's lives because of their illness.
Even if you can't express these feelings in words, it's a great relief to see your family members living their lives with dignity.

--- p.195