For Those of You Who Sought Help: How to Ask my Mom for Therapy?

I told my mom that I was having too many panick attacks and that it was affecting my school work, she took me to the doctor and the doctor recommended it.

I never really opened up to my parents either. They only took me when it got really apparent that something horrible was going on--full on breakdowns every week.

If it is the stigma of having a mental illness that makes it hard to open up to them, like maybe they will respond badly to the idea of you having one, then maybe you can simply say you need to see a doctor? Perhaps you don't have to specify about whatright away.

If it does come up, you can emphasize how debilitating your symptoms are, and how they are affecting your daily life. You can emphasize that you need help and that doesn't make you broken--appeal to their sense of empathy to help you. Assertive statements like: "I'm not broken, but I need help and I hope you can understand that."

However, if you are afraid to ask your mom to bring you to therapy, there are other ways to go about getting help. Are there any mental health resources for youth in your area? Sometimes you can do self-referrals for them.

As well, you can talk to your family doctor. You do not need parental permission to receive therapy, for most countries. Mental health information is treated like any other health issue--even if you are a youth, it is private and confidential.