How My Family Helped Me Through Mental Health Challenges

Daily writing prompt

Describe a positive thing a family member has done for you.

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Family Is Everything

It’s hard to pinpoint just one thing my family has done for me because they’ve done so much. Through every phase of my life, their support has been a constant. My parents, especially, have been my quiet saviors, helping in more ways than I think they’ll ever truly know.

Truth is that they’ve always been my crutch, my go-to for support when I need a little comforting. My parents instilled so many positive traits in me. It took some time to recognize them. However, they were truly wonderful for raising me with such dignity and grace.

Hidden Struggles

I was always a shy, quiet girl—the one in the corner, observing more than participating. For most of my life, mental health wasn’t something I thought about. I didn’t realize I had underlying diagnoses. Neither did my family. Like many women, I masked my symptoms well.

They never took me to see a psychologist or therapist—maybe I was too shy to ask. But what they did do was show up. Every soccer game, every choir recital, every night spent helping with schoolwork. My dad and I fought the good fight with math. Though it ended in tears, all mine, he never gave up on me. Sorry, Dad. I know that wasn’t easy.

Once I finally got my diagnoses, I felt like a new me. A person who saw themselves for the first time with fresh lenses. I struggled with blurry vision for years. Then I finally got glasses and realized, “Oh—that’s what the world’s supposed to look like.” 

I was able to understand and realize that I had been raw dogging life for far too long. Now, with proper medication and knowledge, I finally feel free and I’ve been thriving. 

The Right Support

And when I told my family? They didn’t flinch. There was no judgment. No disappointment. Just love. In fact, their response was, “That actually makes a lot of sense.” Not as a jab, but as a moment of understanding. They didn’t know much about mental health, but they listened. They learned. They cared. And that means the world to me.

Family doesn’t always have to say the right thing or understand everything right away.  Sometimes, the greatest gift is just simply being there, with love, patience, and open arms.  I’m so incredibly grateful and luck to have that kind of support. 

“Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.”

David Ogden Stiers as Jumba in Lilo & Stitch