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10 Tips For Talking To Your Parents About Your Mental Health

''Q: What do you do if you’ve tried and tried to talk to your parents about your depression and anxiety, but every time you get too nervous and end up saying everything is fine? I just get paralyzed with anxiety and I can’t seem to say anything. It’s been happening for about two years now and I just don’t know what to do anymore. I know I need help but I’m too scared to ask.

—Anonymous

Hey Anonymous! Thanks so much for asking. First all, you should know that you’re not alone. We received dozens of questions from people dealing with pretty much the same thing and for good reason — talking to your parents about this sort of thing is really hard.

To help answer your question, we talked to clinical psychologist and adolescent specialist Jerry Weichman, Ph.D., and clinical psychologist Jamie Howard, Ph.D., director of the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Center’s Trauma and Resilience Service at the Child Mind Institute.

Here are their tips...''

by Anna Borges