It’s not easy to find mental health care. Opening up to your friends and family about how you’ve been battling with your mental health may be even tougher. Starting the dialogue, on the other hand, has a number of possible advantages, the most important of which is enhanced family support and reassurance. This extra support could make a tremendous impact if you’re suffering from anxiety or despair.

Unfortunately, societal stigmas have made it difficult for people suffering from mental illness to get help. In an ideal world we should all be proactive in watching out for one another. Even well-intentioned family members or friends fail to check in, sometimes due to a lack of knowledge of mental health issues, and other times due to their own anxieties and life challenges.

However, if you’re willing to start a conversation with your loved ones about your problems, try these subtle ways to talk to friends and family about mental health and help them understand and support you better.

Environment Matters

It’s not simple to open up. If you decide to talk to your friends or family about how you’ve been dealing with mental health concerns, you should do it in a setting that seems as natural to you as possible. There are a few things to keep in mind while you express your problems:

Location: Ensure that you and anyone you select to open up can access the place you specify. You may choose the area in which you are the centre of attention without it being too noisy. Taking these elements into account in advance may help to limit unneeded distractions or interruptions.

Privacy: Consider also how privately you want to have this debate. For some, it should be very controlled and silent, which means it can be most convenient anywhere in a home. For others who are more concerned about negative answers from their loved ones, a public space may be considered like a local park or in a picnic zone close by.

Timing is Everything: Make sure you have sufficient time in the setting to open up and possibly allow your family to remember to answer and ask questions. If you have limited time in any place that you choose, the conversation will be pressured and stressed.

Now that you’ve set the perfect environment, let’s address the elephant in the room…

How to do you broach the subject?

Speaking Up

It’s frightening to take the risk of being vunerable.  It is important to be mindful that this can open you up, to receive far more support from people. You will show the importance of the topic if you take your time and speak from your experience.

Don’t Sugar Coat It

It is necessary to communicate  specifically about the impact on your life of your mental health difficulties.

Being direct, though difficult helps remove the desire of others (who can be less aware) to talk clichéd or to minimise your comments about mental health.

How Do You Need Them To Help You

It can be difficult to know what your “ask” is before you start the conversation, but thinking about your goal ahead of time will help you acquire the aid you need.

Do you want them to offer you more emotional support? Simply listen to you without interrupting or offering advice? It could be as simple as asking them to assist you with co-payments for your therapy or medicine. The options are limitless.

Knowing what you want to get out of the talk can provide structure and direction, which can be both grounding and healing.