Untreated Parents Do Not Have A Conversation About Mental Health

Everyone struggles with mental health at some point in their lives. Between 20%-30% of adolescents experience a major depressive episode at least once before adulthood (Schwarz). Those that do experience it are also more likely to experience it more than once. It isn’t this
“scary beast” that only affects a select few. It is not bad. It is not taboo. It needs to be talked about, or it can get worse. Parents shouldn’t be afraid to have a conversation about mental health with their children. The severity of mental health can vary. While a child may not have a severe mental health issue, the severity of the issue could become dangerous in the future. Without proper help, a kid’s mental health can worsen with time. As Schwarz states, “Untreated …show more content…
They need to have a serious and real talk with their children. Perhaps a parent might think that it’s the child’s responsibility to tell the parent what he or she wants. I think it is actually the responsibility of both the child and the parent to talk about mental health, and they both should feel comfortable in doing so. A child might not want to talk to his or her parents about their mental health because he or she might think that their parents would not listen. Many parents should try “…not to stigmatise teens as attention seekers, or melodramatic, in case there’s an underlying issue” (Parkinson). If parents talk to their children, their children will likely feel more comfortable confronting them with a mental health concern. Then they can assist their children like I mentioned earlier which can help build trust between the parent and the child. This trust allows for a healthier relationship that will assist in many other issues such as the child confiding in their parent for other emotional issues. When I think of parents who ignore and invalidate their child, I think of my friend Dana’s parents. Dana has ADD, suffers from self-harm, has been emotionally and physically abused, and has reoccurring nightmares. She told her parents, and even suggested seeing a therapist. Her parents refused because they believed that God could help, and that it wasn’t a real problem. In a recent article from The …show more content…
Whether a child has a small problem or a dangerous disorder, their parents should talk to them about mental health, and assist him or her with getting help. Mental health shouldn’t be treated as something that will go away by itself, because it is not. It takes effort and trust to help maintain mental health disorders, and parents shouldn’t be afraid to talk about issues that can harm their