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Familial fears

Unknown userMember26 Jan 2019, 12:41 am AEDT

Familial fears

Hi everyone! Once again I’m very new to this (only my second post) so please forgive any informalities, anything I might say that seems offensive or any misuse of terminology, this whole space is very fresh to me and I am still getting used to it!

I recently posted about some fears I was having concerning my mental health, for which I received great amounts of support for from fellow users here. All of these messages of support offer the same idea, see a gp and seek help if it is concerning. So that what I have decided I will do!

This is where my “issues” come into play. Part of the reason for seeking a gp’s help is for the fact of me being terribly afraid to talk to people about what’s going on in my head as I know they will think it’s all a Facade and be angry or worse, laugh in my face.

Now I need some help! Seeing as I’m still underage (very soon not to be), I would need a parent or guardian to take me to my gp in order to be referred to a psychiatrist if needed. The thing is though that no one in my family is very mental health aware. We all know about mental illnesses, but because no one we personally know and care about has ever been diagnosed it never really came up in conversation. I’m very unsure of how to broach the subject with my family of seeking support and possibly therapy.

As a family we have had therapy before (related to extended issues) but there was never any conversation about why we should be doing it.

What I really want to know is how did any of you guys out there ever get to a point of being able to talk to your families about issues like mental illness?

(Apologies for the long post, I tend to ramble a bit 😬)

Any advice helps! 😁

3 replies

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In response to: Familial fears

CheerBearSenior Contributor26 Jan 2019, 6:47 am AEDT

Re: Familial fears

Hey @Former-Member. It's nice to meet you 🙂

I just read the other thread you started and think it is great that you have decided to see a GP. That's a big step which can feel really scary but will hopefully be really helpful!

With regard to the question above about talking to your family about mental health issues, I think back to when I was younger and how scary that idea was and can relate to your uncertainty and fears. I struggled in silence for a long time before anyone in my family knew and I found the secrecy (and shame which seemed to grow in that silence) very hard. It wasn't until I was older with my own kids that anyone found out I wasn't coping as well as I appeared to be. Unfortunately it took for me to reach the point where things were very bad and I ended up in hospital for it to come about. It was like I'd completely had enough of everything and life just stopped for me which came as a huge surprise and shock to my family who initially didn't cope well, probably because of the shock. I really wish I'd spoken to people close to me before it got to that, though I realise it wasn't something I felt I could do. Now they're aware of what goes on for me I find things easier with them in this way. I don't have to keep things secret so much anymore and I have, at times, been able to lean on them earlier than the 'total meltdown point' I reached.

I wonder what it might be like for you to start the conversation with your family by saying something fairly vague like that you've been feeling as if something isn't right inside and you'd like some support with that? That may lead to questions that open the conversation more for you and maybe allow to be more specific.

Another option might be to ask professional supports you might speak with to help you have the conversation with your family too. Often doctors can be really great at explaining things to family who might otherwise not completely understand.

I don't think you need parental consent to visit a doctor though maybe there are other reasons you need to wait. You could make contact with headspace who support 12-25 year olds. I'm sure they would be very understanding of the difficulties young people face in accessing support and from my understanding they have mental health professionals (including clinicians) at their centres. One more is ReachOut. They're an online mental health organisation specifically for younger people.

I hope some of that helps and really hope you are able to find some support with what you're experiencing soon. It sounds like you're taking some awesome steps to get there!

In response to: Re: Familial fears

Unknown userMember26 Jan 2019, 12:44 pm AEDT

Re: Familial fears

@CheerBear Thank you so much for your kind words! It’s been a struggle but here’s hoping I can open up to those around me soon! 😁

In response to: Familial fears

BryanaCampSenior Contributor26 Jan 2019, 2:20 pm AEDT

Re: Familial fears

hi @Former-Member,

my family kept telling me that I needed to see a psychiastrist, not just a gp.

I was so offended and stuborne that I did not see either a gp or psychiatrist for years - how dare they?

Then I finally saw a psychiatrist and then things started to happen. I got onto anti-psychitic medications and so on. Then finally I was able to have any relationsihps with my family.

Now, after 12 months of being on anti-psychotic medication and having relationships with my family members, I am at the point where I can ask, "is this family member able to ask me the benefits of beings of medications or just table to deal with the benefits of me being on medication??? "

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