Reply to Parents - please check in with your kids

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I suffered from extreme depression and anxiety in college, but I never would have brought it up with my parents. I had a suicide plan in place, but never acted on it.  I did drop out for the semester without their knowledge after I couldn't get myself out of my apartment for days on end. This was 20+ years ago, and depression was still pretty shameful to most people.  If I had had parents who could have had an open discussion with me about depression, stress and anxiety, I would have best responded to a direct approach.  Them telling me that that x% of college students suffer from anxiety and/or depression, maybe pointing out some of the signs and **arranging an appointment with a psychiatrist for me** to be evaluated if I acknowledged a problem.  It would have been important for them to have their plan of action in place, and resources available, because I might have shied away from the whole thing if given time to think and become embarrassed by it.  I lived with sometimes extreme clinical depression for 15 years before seeking help.  It can be REALLY hard to do on your own, especially when you're young.[/quote]

This is really good advice.  I felt my world was crumbling in college and called a suicide talk line.  It seemed so hard to get myself together at 19.  I told my parents all the things I was stressed out about - car troubles, no money, boyfriend problems, roommate problems, realizing I wasn't going to be able to pursue my dream career due to poor grades -  and they gave me a big talk about responsibility.  All I needed was a shoulder to cry on a bit, I was able to move on, but did way too much drinking along the way.  I really hope I can be there for my kids, not to helicopter but to make sure they don't feel alone and stressed.[/quote]

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