OBJECTIVE: To be acquainted with the stress over families living with psychic disorder. METHODS: This is a qualitative research, with a hermeneutic-dialectic approach. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with ten family members of mentally ill persons in a Psychosocial Attention center and on their homes. Gathered data was grouped in themes for later analysis. RESULTS: We identified the presence of three overload types: financial overload, related to medicine and consultation spending; attention overload, because it's the responsibility of a single individual; physical and emotional overload, represented by tension and anxiety. CONCLUSION: The need for attention of the family of the mentally ill is evidenced. Once the the coping strategies are grasped, it can become a therapeutical and resocializing space.
Family relations; Family; Mental disorders; Mental health