Hey, everyone.
So, my dad. A few years ago, he had a major breakdown. Something to know about my dad is that he's always been quite a stoic person, kind of old school, but overall a happy person. That's why when he had this breakdown, it was very jarring and alarming, and it really shook me up. Thankfully, he recovered, but not in the way hoped; he's never been the same. I'm still worried about him, but my impression is that, because of his old school personality, he is embarrassed about his breakdown, and therefore refuses to acknowledge it happened. Like I said, I'm still worried about him, and I'd like to be able to ask him if he's okay, but I feel he won't respond well to it.
Last night, I had a sudden panic attack. We were talking (about nothing in particular) when it happened, and so he asked if anything had upset me. I ended up saying something along the lines of, 'I'm just upset all the time', and he responded that he knew all about that. Now, I'm unsure whether he meant he knows all about my condition, or if he knows all about being upset all the time. I've been wondering now if I should have tried to push further to see if he wanted to talk about his own problems? Should I try to bring it up? I can't tell if this is him trying to reach out or if that's some wishful thinking on my part.
Regardless, I still really want to be able to talk to him about his breakdown, about his current mental health, etc. But I'm really just unsure how to approach it. It's real delicate. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. (:
