Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out the meaning of self-care experiences of family members of mentally ill patients and describe its essential structure.Methods: The Giorgi's phenomenological research methodology was used. Six families participated in this study. In-depth individual interviews were used to collect data from October to December in 2021.Results: Five clusters of themes were identified. They were “Selfless life”, “Life on shaky grounds”, “Attempts to escape from the suffering”, “Moving forward on self-care path”, and “Happiness blooming in being together”.Conclusion: The findings suggest that mental health care professionals should provide educational programs to enable families of patients with mental illness to recognize the necessity for self-care and discover ways to take care of themselves. In addition, it is necessary to develop policies to expand patient management services at mental health welfare centers so that families of patients with mental illness can secure time for self-care.