Supporting a love one with mental illness

Charles angrily stormed out of the house after a heated argument with Betty. This was the second time the couple would be having a fight in just two months after their marriage and for thesame reason.

Betty is still insisting that Charles should quit his job and come stay with her at home. Afterall, her parents were so rich. She even offered to pay Charles double his salary every month as compensation. But Charles would never agree to this, infact he called it ridiculous. " A man has to work for his own money! He screamed at his wife

Betty absolutely saw no reason why her husband have to go out to work like other men when she and her unborn children already have all the things they will ever need. As a matter of fact, she was the one who paid for their five bedroom apartment located in a highbrow area in the city.

Charles was greeted with a rude shock when he returned home in the evening. Betty had completed shaved all her hair. Her eyes were so swollen that one could tell that she had been crying since morning.

" If you ever leave me alone in this house again, I swear I would kill myself".

Betty threatened her husband in a devilish voice before running to another bedroom where she continued to cry.

Charles was dumbfounded, he stared at the shut door for some minutes without knowing what to do . This was not the sweet and innocent Betty he used to know before marriage. What has happened to her? or has she been possessed by an evil spirit overnight? Alot of unanswered questions were running through his fearful mind.

After he had gotten a grip on himself, Charles called Alice and told her all about it and she promised to come see them immediately. Alice was Betty's best friend.

Alice arrived at the house with a little bag whose contents Charles suspected to be drugs. She headed straight to Betty's bedroom and requested the husband to allow them have some moments together. Two hours later, the two women came out holding each others hand. This time around, Betty's face was expressionless while Alice was the one crying.

" Betty have been suffering from a mental illness since she was 15years old", Alice said, in a sorrowful voice.

Charles couldn't believe what he just heard. As a matter of fact, he couldn't have imagine hearing this from Alice or any other person who would have help in resolving the dispute he was having with his wife lately..... But as unfortunate as it may sound, that was the truth.

Alice further confessed that she was actually Betty's therapist and they only became close friends overtime. She told him of Betty's struggles over the years. As a matter of fact, prior to thier marriage, Alice had adviced Betty to tell her fiancee about her condition. But Betty had been so scared, she thought Charles would leave her if he knew she was sick .

All these revelation pulled at the core of Charles soul and made him quite emotional. Ofcourse he loved Betty with with all his heart and she had never done or said anything bad to him even before they got married. Indeed she was a good person!

Her strange behaviors recently was because she had abruptly ceased using her drugs after she got married.

There and then, Charles vowed to remain loyal and stand by his wife till she "balance again" 😆 .... He comforted the two women and plead with them not to cry anymore.

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Without saying, the people surrounding a sick individual play a very important role in their recovery. The emotional struggles experienced by a mentally ill person is worse than the physical pain. Sometimes, they might feel that they are the cause of their illness and that nobody wants them or people would avoid them if they come to know about their condition. Demonstrating unwavering love, support and concern could be the best form of medication you could never give to them.

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Thanks for reading 😁💝