The Phenomenon of Social Isolation in the Severely Mentally Ill

Abstract

Mental health services should be provided which take into account the importance of human contact and social connection for people who live with SMI. Services can be offered which are designed to develop social skills, as well as to create opportunities for social connection and community involvement.

“An Ongoing Struggle With the Self and Illness”: Α Meta-Synthesis of the Studies of the Lived Experience of Severe Mental Illness

“…The social consequences of mental illness regarded damaged family, social and romantic relationships, and were highlighted as really painful. Indeed, there are data supporting that severely mentally ill persons experience difficulty in creating and maintaining interpersonal relationships (Forrester-Jones & Barnes, 2008;Hirschfeld et al, 2005;Linz & Sturm, 2013;McCann & Clark, 2004;Nyström & Nyström, 2007;Nyström et al, 2002). The reasons for that lie not only in the pathophysiology of severe mental illness but in the stigma and labeling as well.…”

“…Based on this, interventions aiming to social rehabilitation may need to transform their philosophy and adopt a more genuine towards social acceptance character (Drake & Whitley, 2014;Linz & Sturm, 2013;Mizock et al, 2014;Scheyett, DeLuca, & Morgan, 2013). This means that mental health care professionals need to enhance their empathic understanding and subsequently unconditional acceptance of mentally ill individuals, liberated from their preconceptions regarding mental illness (Cleary et al, 2012;Dilks et al, 2010).…”

Qualitative analysis of UK and USA open mental health Facebook groups for mental health support (Preprint)

“…By sharing personal experiences of their mental illness, Facebook users provided informational and emotional support to other group members that may not be available from the receivers own social network or professionals, in line with previous research [18,19,34]. This form of support may lead to increased feelings of connectedness for the receiver [67,78], and could potentially reduce feelings of social isolation [22][23][24]74], and may offer hope to people using Facebook for their mental illness [76], thus empowering them to seek help or take positive action. From the findings, it was noted that the UK sample tended to show a slightly higher level of self-disclosure.…”

“…In addition, the internet offers easy, instant 24/7 access to information, even when away from a computer if using a mobile device [21]. The lack of temporal barriers when using contemporary technologies may help to reduce feelings of social isolation, particularly for older people [22], those with depression [23], and those with mental illness [24].…”

Perspectives of a tailored lifestyle program for people with severe mental illness receiving housing support

“…Other factors that could obstruct healthy lifestyle habits within this group include a deficient knowledge of the benefits of living a healthier life, and a lack of support from the staff, which can manifest as negative attitudes . Finally, many people with SMI experience isolation and a lack of social relations in their daily life, and previous research indicates that social support is an important mediator for lifestyle change …”