I have friends, have had relatives who suffer/suffered with mental illness and I come into contact with people who are suffering with mental health issues in my work.
I will help as much as I can by being supportive and caring and offering physical help if appropriate and where I can. At work, this might mean allowing extra time to complete work and following up more if I know the person is having a problem. I try to be empathic too. As with any illness, I think it is important to be helpful and caring without being intrusive. It isn’t my place to tell people how they should manage their illness or to presume I know what is best for them. Equally, I can only do so much. It can be incredibly draining and frightening to be around someone with mental health problems.
I do think we need to be more supportive of those who are caregivers or who live with people with mental illness. A very close relative of mine was suicidal at a time when I was very young and had very young children and I was ill-equipped to manage the situation but there was nowhere I could go for help and I was their only support person. It was incredibly stressful and frightening. I think this has improved but I would be surprised if it has improved significantly. If we take care of those who are giving care and offering support, we help the person battling with mental illness too.
Here in Australia, there is a big push for more funding to be spent on mental health too. This is a huge improvement and I hope some of it will go in raising awareness and minimising the stigma that is still attached to suffering from a mental illness.
Personally, I try to keep in mind the phrase “there but for the grace of god, go I”. I do not believe in god, but I do believe I, like anyone else, could find myself suffering from a mental illness and I have experienced depression. It is the 21st century disease and those suffering with mental health issues deserve the same care and support as anyone with a physical health problem.