build up support systems where you
need them.
Support from family and friends has
meant a decrease in hospital stays,
something Watson attributes to the
ability to have “home hospitalizations.”
She believes that preventing hospital
stays as much as possible, and having
individuals be able to stay in their
homes during periods of crisis is far
better for them.
Acknowledging that while there are
times when patients need to be in the
care of doctors, nurses and intensive
care, to build up support systems so that
it isn’t always required is an important
way of treating those in mental health
crisis. “To be at home with people
who love me unconditionally is huge,
knowing you don’t have to go through
the whole process of being somewhere
where, although you are being cared for
in a clinical sense, you might not have
that sense of being with people that
love and care for you. We have to build
up support systems so people can do
that.”
14
Watson also credits her involvement
with CMHA - Calgary as an important
part of the process. Her mother
developed an early relationship with
the organization, while Watson became
involved later. “Family members need
support to provide the support,” she
maintains, so that they can know how
to be helpful, and to identify what is not
helpful. More importantly, Watson says,
family members need that support so
that they themselves don’t become ill in
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