Topic Tuesday // Talking to your parents about your mental health // Tues. 5 June 7pm AEST

[JessieB]

@mindboggle18

It worked!! It also helped me a lot too. She was able to break it down for me in a way that I could understand.

The way I saw it was, if my child was going through something that they couldn't tell me, I would 100% support them seeking help from a family member.

We are all human beings and we are not perfect. You not wanting to tell your parents doesn't make you a "scaredy cat". Thats normal. There is a lot of us that feel that way or have felt that way in the past.

Of course you don't want to seem like a failure - But having a mental illness is not failing. Not at all.

[HayleyC]

Q: What are some strategies that you have used to help?

I find that, even though it was super anxiety provoking, just being honest about how you're feeling and what you're going through helps. For me, it's easier to talk about issues over text or the phone as in person can bee too much when talking about MH. After you've spoken over the internet, I find it's easier to talk to the person face-to-face.

[JessieB]

@HayleyC That is a great strategy 

[mindboggle18]

@JessieB

Awesomeness that gives me a lot more confidence in asking, and now knowing that someone else has done the same thing = golden.

I may start using her as a go between. I think I'll give the communication board a go as well. Just to have something that will easily identify to my family if I'm going good or bad.... it's just up to me to accept the help. But so often they ask "how can we help?" And I have no idea, so might find some fact sheets and see if they help

[Gina-Bell]

@HayleyC that's a great strategy to text rather than talk when it's something so sensitive. Thanks for sharing.

And that is so true @JessieB! Reaching out to someone else does not in any way make you a scaredy cat - as you said @mindboggle18 , your parents can feel part of the "problem" and so it makes sense that speaking to them is anxiety provoking. 

Getting support is really important, and it doesn't necessarily matter where it comes from as long as it's with someone who you trust, and is safe and supportive. 

Thats great to hear you're going to give these things a go @mindboggle18! Do you have ideas about where to get fact sheet and info to share? 

Let us know if you need any info as I have some up my sleeve 

[Gina-Bell]

All of these tips have been so insightful. 

I think the other thing to remember, is to plan out your communication. 

We have a little infograph (we love them over at ReachOut) that goes through this: 

[NikNik]

Hi everyone!

Just letting you all know we have about 15 mins left.

Time flies!

It's been really fascinating reading about everyone's own experience so far 🙂

[JessieB]

And finally, 

Where to get help? (For kids and their parents)

It can be quite overwhelming when seeking support from the community. There are many different organisations that offer different programs and strategies in regards to living with a mental illness.

When I was younger and first going through my mental illness, I didn’t know how to bring up the subject to my parents. I was a young teenage girl and I figured my parents response would be “you’re a teenager, get over it”.  This definitely made it harder to communicate with my parents.

Doing a simple “Google” search about seeking help for mental illness will bring up over 200,000 results. So there is help out there, it’s just trying to source the right help for you.

Now, 200,000 results can be very overwhelming – and it took some researching and talking with other people to identify which help would be more suitable for me.

Below is a list of organisations that I have used since been a young girl. Each one of these has helped me navigate my way through life, as well as giving me the tools to communicate what’s going on in my head to my family and friends so I could receive the help and support that I needed.

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 (visit website for more content)

Kids Helpline is a free, private and confidential, telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25 in Australia.

You can either call their hotline or chat using the web. They also have great information for kids and their parents.

Lifeline: 13 11 14 (or chat online)

Lifeline provides all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to online, phone and face-to-face crisis support and suicide prevention services.

Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467

Online counselling, telephone & video services for suicide prevention, helping anyone affected by suicidal thoughts.

SANE Australia: 1800 187 263

National mental health charity working to support Australians affected by complex mental illness including schizophrenia, bipolar, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD and severe depression and anxiety. Providing SANE forums, helpline, helpline chat and helpline email.

Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636 (Or chat online)

Works to raise awareness of depression, anxiety and suicide prevention, reduce the stigma surrounding these issues and to encourage people to seek support when they need it.

Local GP

A doctor (GP) is a good place to start for most mental health conditions. They can provide treatment or refer you to other mental health services.

Q: Has anyone got another organisation that has helped them to add to this list?

[Gina-Bell]

Thanks for sharing that @JessieB .

It's very true that it can be overwhelming to know where to get help. 

I think as we 've been discussing opening up to parents, kids, or other people in our life tonight, I would encourage people to work out a bit of a plan with their support person (who ever it is) around what next in terms of support. Get someone on your team help you to nagivate this sometimes overwhelming space!

Every person's recovery, and support plan is going to look very different according to your situation, your needs, and what works for you! 

For some people, a big mental health support might be their dance class, a chess club, a community centre, a gym, a church or other religious centre.. or any number of places! 

I think as has been reflected by a few people tonight, the value of a community (in this case an online community) is massive in terms of mental health support. 

[microp]

@JessieB I got one to add!

For those out there struggling with addiction and live in Sydney, check out Odyssey House at www.odysseyhouse.org.au. Those kind souls have helped me through a really tough time. To those outside of the Sydney area, I believe they only have a setup in Sydney but could be wrong!