Let's say you've already laid out the diagnosis and explained the treatment plan. Most of the details are often missed because there's this underlying process where folks have yet to process that their loved ones has a problem especially if it's a new onset.
Inspired by my recent case where a young man was about to take the board exams but he suddenly became manic which made his significant others become distress. For more context, I encourage you to read about Bipolar Mood Disorder and their Manic symptoms.
Anyway, the post isn't about the patient but the folks that are also affected by the news. Just imagine your family member or close friend acting all strange. You've seen how mental health problems happen to other people. You're not used to seeing their side of them. And they themselves probably didn't know they had a problem.
While I explain as clear and concise as I can about the prognosis and treatment, this one question with several ways to phrase always pops up and I would argue, it's probably the most important question that matters to folks
Are they going to be cured?
Cured is a strong word I personally avoid saying but more like treated. In the context of Bipolar Mood Disorders, it's a lifelong thing and most patients can still live a normal life provided they actually take their medications.
Sometimes it's not just the patient you have to mind but the people around the patient that have be taken cared of. If you don't lay out what's ahead, they would have different expectations like their patient just needs to take the meds for a while and then they're going to be fine 100%. It doesn't work like that at all.
I can see the heartache of a mom trying to understand why their kid suddenly develops the disorder. I can see the kid's concerned friends confused. I don't push the explanation and there's the emotional aspect of coping through the situation which these people have to go through. But once you get them onboard, it becomes easier to help the patient because now they understand what to do and expect.
But different folks take different times to process things. For some that are in denial that there's something wrong, they would just let the patient take the meds for a period and then once they get better, they become lost to follow up. And weeks, months to years down the line they come back with their patient who ended up far more worse on their relapse. The patient becomes harder to treat.
I take a lot of time sitting with the folks and emphasize how important it is to stick to the long term treatment plan. This is the only way to improve compliance because a relapse becomes a headache to treat and everyone just suffers even more the 2nd to the nth time.
Thanks for your time.