PSYCHIATRIC PATIENT AND THE BURDEN OF CAREGIVERS

Introduction: Caring for people with chronic mental illness is a difficult process with a host of negative effects on the mental and physical health of caregivers. Aim: Το explore  the physical and mental burden of caregivers in patients with mental illness. Methodology : A bibliographic research was performed in the electronic data base "pubmed" using the key-words: Caregivers' burden, social support, caregivers, mental disorders for the period 2008-19. Results : According to the literature, caregivers of people with mental disorders often have difficulty relating to ambivalent feelings about the patient and the disease and the disruption of personal relationships within the family. At the same time, the lack of leisure time on the part of caregivers, as well as the effects on their social and professional lives from the symptoms of the disease or repeated hospitalizations, lead to social stigma and social withdrawal. Successful treatment of caregivers requires both their psychosocial support and their encouragement for physical activity with the ultimate goal of improving quality of life. Conclusions: Caring for people with chronic mental illness is a difficult and time consuming process with various effects on the mental and physical health of caregivers. Recognition of their needs is considered necessary in terms of their physical and  mental health  and social well-being