I used to feel terrible for bringing my beautiful children into the world – not because I do not want them, I wanted them so very much and still do; my life would not be complete without them. This feeling was because I had brought children into this world when I was struggling with depression and anxiety; depression and anxiety that were consuming me and, in my mind, made me a horrible excuse for a mother.
My husband and I have always tried to be very open and honest with our children, giving them age-appropriate explanations and talking candidly about any topic. Mental health is one of them. We have explained that sometimes depression or anxiety can make people act differently to how they really want, and that those people still need to have friends too. We have openly talked about my hospital admission with them, and the need for me to take medications. We explained in detail about how your brain can change when you have been sad for a long time.
When our young son started to have anxious feelings and depressive thoughts of his own, he was aware of how they were affecting his actions and felt comfortable to talk to us about them – moreover, because of my own mental health problems, we knew what kind of help to get him, and where to seek it from.\
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