May is Mental Health Month – Why It Is Important To Me

I get it, and I’m here with you. I hear all the same rhetoric about my son… What we need most as moms and as women is support. I know all that you face – the good the bad and the existence of our given lifestyle. You are good enough. We are good enough. Damn, we are great moms and our boys are so lucky to have us. Thank you for posting on Mental Health Day. We need to stick together.

So well written!   We have struggled with some mental health issues – not quite as severe as bipolar disorder, but it is tough.  The mom guilt is there even when everything is going great, it just compounds when there are struggles.  Hugs to you.

So sorry you’re dealing with so much, I actually know a lot about mental illness, my mother suffers with bipolar and she is also clinically categorized as schizophrenic, it was hard to deal with growing up, and I’ve noticed that I suffer from bouts of depression and some times awful unexpected anxiety, hubby has a family history of bipolar, so I am worried for my kids since it runs in both our families I think they are highly susceptible to having mental illnesses…..I’m sure you’re doing your best and you truly care about your son and all you can do is live him and hope that things turn out ok hugs to you Hun

I agree with tannawings, one of the best things I think we as a society can do is have open communication about mental illnesses.  I’m older too, and remember when “it just wasn’t done” to talk about anyone going to therapy or taking meds, and on the rare occasions it was, it was usually as a joke (like something from the Bob Newhart Show that I have to give credit for showing mental health professionals as caring and approachable).

Now, everyone knows someone or has someone in the family that has experience with some kind of mental illness.  Whether it’s genetic, environmental, lifelong or temporary, etc., and the more understanding we have the better we are and the better future generations will be.

Finally, I have to add that we are fortunate to live in a country where it’s not taboo, and where there are many different kinds of mental health professions, including pediatric specialists, there are still many places where that is not the case and I can only hope the more global we all get, the better things will get for people in those countries.

You have really had to deal with so much with your child.  It’s hard enough to manage your day to day life, but then you have people adding in their ignorant two cents.  I hope you are getting vent relief with your readers here.  Let those fingers fly when you need to do so.  Hugs.

We have “it” in our family background too. I say IT because it wasn’t talked about like it was 30-40  years ago when I remember it. My dad was put in a hospital for a while but for him they called it EXHAUSTION. Funny, how the same symptoms for a woman was just called crazy, neurotic, anxiety driven, etc.  After going through some depression myself, and having a handful of family also, it has been brought into the light from the shadows. Chemical imbalances, loss of sleep or poor diet beCAUSE of the depression/anxiety has been way more discussed and not BLAMING a person to CHOOSE to be this way. For me it started with family issues and then post partum depression. Medication was a big part of helping me, and I DO believe in that chemical relief for people….but I think for some that discussion at least in our family is to get an easy fix with an RX. For me, I know I had to go other routes too. Having discussion on an INdividual basis and not “cookie cutter cures” or treatment is so important. So glad you and your family got some help Robyn. So many suffer in silence. So many men, who try to “tough it out” and don’t say anything let it go unchecked til it is really overpowering. Often turning to self treatment with alcohol. Too many women trying to do it all and afraid to sound weak for not being that Superwoman at work, Supermom at home, or BOTH.  So much pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect…no wonder that this and our family history of mental illness is recipe for disaster. I always tell my kids it’s no difference than having diabetes or being born with epilepsy…any medical malady. It is just more “unseen” by others because it affects the brain, thinking, and mood, etc. NO one should have to be embarrassed of it, to feel guilty about it…but I do know it is not an easy card to be dealt in a family and it does affect the WHOLE family.   So hope things lighten up for your family Robyn. Just suffice to say that T has a whole future ahead of him…like your husband, he will have work, family, fun, and goals too. Teenage years coupled with ANY medical roadblock is tough. We know…

A healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body!  Thanks for sharing your story and reminding us all to…
” take a moment today, or as soon as you can, to give some support
to others you know who have a mental illness or those that are the
caretakers of them!”