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How to tell my mum I want professional help

milk___mad
Community Member
I have been dealing with some type of sadness (on and off) for at least 2 years. I have been denying that have had depression before but I typed it up and I realised that I might have it. After quarantine, I want to go see a therapist or something like that to try and help me, but I don't know how to break it to my mum.
She is really nice and supportive of me but I don't want to tell her. She has said a couple things to me (like it’s just my period) when I had told her the morning after I had a really horrible night that I don't think I'm worth anything. She has depression (she has medication for it) and I thought she would be more understanding of it. I love her and I push her away because I don't want her around to see how much of a failure I am. I just need a way to say I want to talk to a professional and not you about my feelings.
P.S. I don't think about self-harm or hurting myself in such a way, I just want to talk to a professional about my social anxiety and my harsh thoughts.
2 Replies 2

Rumples
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

Hi there milk._.mad,

Thank you so much for reaching out to us here at Beyond Blue tonight, you're so courageous. Please know that you're not alone in this struggle. I'm here for you, as well as a small army of wonderful, supportive people.

I'm so sorry you're feeling down. Depression is a terrible thing regardless of your age, it affects all ages. It sounds as though you might be self-diagnosing? Have you been to see your family GP yet? That would be the first thing to do. You don't need to wait until this CV19 thing is over, go tomorrow. They're are the best people to help you work out what might be wrong. Just because mum has depression, doesn't necessarily mean you may it as well. What you're feeling could be attributed to any number of things, so don't overthink this and get all worked up before you get the facts.

As for telling mum, most certainly keep talking to her and any other close friends or family members about how you're feeling. Talking quite often helps. Seeing mum's suffering from depression, you'll have to give her a bit more leeway as she could be currently dealing with her own issues and simply not telling you.

Come back to me with your thoughts, I'd love to hear from you.

Rumples xo

Asta_Pasta
Community Member

Hi milk._.mad,

Thanks for reaching out here. It takes a lot of courage to ask for help and you've done a great job starting here and asking for help. I hope you know you're not alone and that there are so many people willing to help you out.

It really sucks that you've been feeling like that lately. It's difficult to ask for help at first and accepting what you're going through. However, when you break through that first barrier of anxiety and worry about asking for help, things get easier.

It's awkward to bring up the topic most times, even with family and friends. If you want to talk to your mum about the things you've been experiencing, try making a time to talk to her where there could be no distractions. It's important to be able to talk without a sudden distraction throwing you both off.

If it's easier on you, slowly ease into the topic. You don't always have to rush right into it but taking your time and thinking about what you're going to say during the conversation can help out a lot with asking for help.

Please take it easy on yourself and your mum. Thanks again.