Can people with mental health struggles be good parents?
in Psychology & Therapy ·
Look, you can be a fantastic parent or a total disaster—it doesn't depend on anxiety or social phobias. If you give your kid enough love, warmth, and support, you’re doing a great job. But here's the catch—how much love and warmth can you actually pour into them if you're constantly living within your own limitations? Honestly, you probably aren't even giving enough of that love and warmth to yourself.
That person who gave you that opinion—and I sincerely hope you haven't turned it into a core belief—claiming everything is set in stone and nothing can change? They are bad news for you. If that was supposed to be your therapist, my advice is to walk away immediately and find someone else; anyone who believes that simply cannot help you.
From what I've seen, anxiety and social phobia are definitely fixable. They aren't some incurable disease that needs medical treatment—they're just learned behaviors triggered by life experiences. I'd say they're there for a reason—they're your defense mechanisms reacting to things you've gone through.
I really want to encourage you to find a real therapist who can help you break free from that anxiety and those phobias—because once you have your freedom back, you can provide more freedom to your child too. By escaping that "prison," you'll end up loving yourself more—and the more you love yourself, the more love you'll pass on to others, especially your kid.
You claim you can give your child 100% of your love, and I believe you're being honest. But is that truly your absolute limit? Or maybe that 100% could grow even higher if you finally broke through your own internal barriers? Just think about it.
My advice? Deal with this stuff as soon as possible—not because anxiety or phobias will make you a bad mother, but because you're already doubting yourself. You're already convinced you'll be a bad parent and you're living in fear of passing down exactly what you're struggling with right now.
Less limitations means more freedom—more freedom means more choices—and more choices lead to better decisions.
That person who gave you that opinion—and I sincerely hope you haven't turned it into a core belief—claiming everything is set in stone and nothing can change? They are bad news for you. If that was supposed to be your therapist, my advice is to walk away immediately and find someone else; anyone who believes that simply cannot help you.
From what I've seen, anxiety and social phobia are definitely fixable. They aren't some incurable disease that needs medical treatment—they're just learned behaviors triggered by life experiences. I'd say they're there for a reason—they're your defense mechanisms reacting to things you've gone through.
I really want to encourage you to find a real therapist who can help you break free from that anxiety and those phobias—because once you have your freedom back, you can provide more freedom to your child too. By escaping that "prison," you'll end up loving yourself more—and the more you love yourself, the more love you'll pass on to others, especially your kid.
You claim you can give your child 100% of your love, and I believe you're being honest. But is that truly your absolute limit? Or maybe that 100% could grow even higher if you finally broke through your own internal barriers? Just think about it.
My advice? Deal with this stuff as soon as possible—not because anxiety or phobias will make you a bad mother, but because you're already doubting yourself. You're already convinced you'll be a bad parent and you're living in fear of passing down exactly what you're struggling with right now.
Less limitations means more freedom—more freedom means more choices—and more choices lead to better decisions.