Asking Family for Mental Health Help

Experiencing mental health struggles can be overwhelming and scary. Facing mental health struggles alone can be even more frightening. Asking for mental health help requires strength and bravery, but it also has the potential to bring in needed support.

Ideally, a person can reach out to their family for help when experiencing a mental health struggle. Still, even asking family for help can require courage and energy. Asking to schedule time to talk to family can be a first step (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, n.d.). Once a time is set, it can help to plan the discussion (Jacobson, 2023; National Alliance on Mental Illness, n.d.). Individuals might want to write down their story to share their experiences (Fristad, n.d.). If sharing aloud seems too difficult, writing a letter is another option to share struggles and ask for help (Mental Health America, n.d.b.). It can help to use, “I” statements so that family members know this is a personal experience, and not something about them (Tanzini, 2023). If family members do struggle to accept one’s experience, it can help to remind oneself that the emotions of others are not one’s responsibility (Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania). What is the person’s responsibility is to ask for help needed.

What should an individual say in a conversation about mental health? Sharing feelings is a good place to start (Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, n.d.). Individuals who want help should specifically ask for it, and if needed, ask repeatedly (Ehmke, 2025). Sometimes it is hard for family members to hear about the struggles of their loved ones. They need to hear more than once to truly process the information. If individuals know what resources they need, they should communicate those “explicitly” (Kim, 2023). Individuals who do not know what resources they need can ask family members to explore possible next steps with them (National Alliance on Mental Illness, n.d.). The input of close friends and family can be helpful in determining what resources are best.

Asking for mental health help is never easy, but it is necessary. Hopefully, family members will receive the request for help and support the person. If family members are unable or unwilling to help, it is beneficial to look for other trusted supports. Mental health is important!