It takes a long time, but you’ll eventually get to the point where you learn to not engage because it just makes things worse.
And, it’s very hard to not get swept up in whatever’s going on with them - to stop taking it personally or feeling the need to “fix” everything.
The Dr Amador “I’m not sick, I don’t need help” book that is recommended here to help people who lack insight has some great pointers that I’ve used to diffuse some situations.
I can’t follow the LEAP method it teaches exactly, but the active listening does help calm my son down. I don’t know if it will work with everything.
And, I apologize a lot without actually accepting blame or feeling any kind of guilt.
I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m sorry I don’t remember that. I’m sorry - I’ll try to do better. I’m sorry - I didn’t know.
When he’s more stable, there’s much less of that and sometimes he apologizes.
Anyway, the book is short & very practical. Some people have better luck with it than others - it’s a real struggle for me. And, there are videos on this site & on the net. Maybe it’ll help you out.
I’ll see if I can find a thread with links to the video & point you guys to it.
EDIT: My son refuses treatment for mental illness. How do you help? - #3 by SzAdmin