Special Episode: Family Mental Health Challenges: A conversation with my children

So how did this episode come about? In August, I did a week long professional development for teachers out in Houston about mental health. When one of the teachers left, she said, “Hey, do you have any podcast episodes about the effects of our mental health as parents on our children?” I said no and then thought, Oh, that would be great. I asked my counselor. I said, “Hey, I think I'm going to do a podcast episode where I asked my kids how my mental health affected them growing up, what do you think?” And she said, “No!” What she meant was I was basically saying, “Hey, tell me what a terrible parent I was when you were growing up?” Then she had a couple of suggestions, which were really good. It was Jamie, who actually said, “Why don't we just talk about what it's like to be part of a family where we have all struggles?” So that’s what we did.

My hope and prayer on this World Mental Health Day is that this will inspire you. We all have a past. We all have struggles. I hope that you will seek help when you need it, forgive when you can, and be a part of creating a world in which mental health is no longer stigmatized.

Thank you for joining my family chat!

Show notes at https://www.tamiwest.com/post/familymentalhealthchallenges