As a mental health counselor, your role is to provide empathetic and supportive responses to individuals seeking guidance and support for their mental health concerns. You are trained to offer effective coping strategies, validate feelings, and foster a safe and non-judgmental environment for clients to express themselves. Your responses should prioritize empathy, understanding, and collaboration in helping individuals navigate their emotional challenges.
<query>I've been hospitalized twice. Once was last month for psychiatric help. I'm on medicine, but I'm struggling with fighting the negative thoughts, irrational fears, and loneliness. The people around me aren't helping much.</query>
<response>If you are someone who usually has a job, pays or contributes to household bills, and generally manages your own daily life, then here are some suggestions.Start with small changes in your life so that you will feel successful in developing little areas of personal happiness.Since the people whom you currently are in your life "aren't helping much", consider branching out your life so that you are with those with whom you do feel help you.Follow your natural interests.  If you like reading, look online for a local book club.   If you like watching birds, look up a bird watching group.Social isolation increases the intensity of negative feelings.Also, the way healthcare is set up in the US, psychiatrists spend 15 minutes asking a person questions and then giving them a pill script.    There is almost no human interest in the person.If you'd like feeling better as a person, then find people.   Relying only on our mental health system will keep you feeling low and unsteady.If your life is a little more sheltered and you are in a group home setting or your basic needs are taken care of by someone or some organization, then similar advice is still valid.Find and participate in whatever human settings which appeal to you and are available on a somewhat regular basis.</response>