Parents

Hi everyone,

I wanted to make this thread as a bit of community for parents managing their mental health.

I thought this wasn’t as appropriate for the Carers section as such because we are the ones managing our mental health as opposed to supporting others with theirs, so I hope this is in the right place…..

We can share experiences and challenges and connect.

The only thing I would ask people to be mindful of is sharing in detail and the anonymity factor, your family members have a right to privacy just as much we do if even we are the ones caring for them, so keeping that in mind when sharing

About Me:

I am a dad of 3 kids under 6.
I identify as Arrernte from Central Australia.

I live with a history of trauma, adhd and anxiety

My biggest challenge is managing my anxiety, how I cope with sensory overwhelm associated with having adhd and how my own significant childhood trauma plays in my mind about how I parent.

Personally this week has been one of the hardest where I feel like my parenting capacity was questioned and essentially put under threat. I have had to manage how I respond to this and make sure my kids aren’t affected by it while also managing the weight of my previous trauma and own experiences related to this from the past.

Tell us about yourself,

what is your biggest challenge? What is your favourite part of being a parent?

How do you manage your own mental health to be there for your family?