I have a question not necessarily about OCD but about something I’ve noticed in regard to mental health and trying to get help from a parent(s). I’ve heard it happen many times with other people’s experiences and seen it depicted in media where someone is dealing with depression, mental health issues, is actually suicidal, etc whatever the reason, and they decide to go to a parent and reveal what is troubling them, and instead of helping and hearing them out, it’s usually met with a “you’re fine” “don’t talk like that nothing’s wrong with you” “it’s all in your head” “get over it” etc. I honestly don’t understand those responses. I assume parents want the best for their kids and to help them in any way they can, but when the issue is mental health related all of a sudden it’s not real and you’re fine. Why would you risk your child’s life and wellbeing and not at least have them see a professional or just sit and talk with them? Is it because of fear? Do they really just not care? Even if you don’t personally believe in care for mental health, your child has built up the courage to seek help from you and you won’t even try to help? Any explanations? I see it far too frequently

Idk as a teenager I was a red flag factory and my parents never did a damn thing to see if I was ok or get me any therapy, despite knowing I'd been bullied at school, by a childminder at a young age, and by my mother, that I had an eating disorder, and that I'd refused to go to school at all from age 15 or so. To this day instead of asking why I refused to go to school and what was wrong etc, he rants about how useless the school was about sending work home for me, which is exactly how he acted at the time. It's definitely a kind of willful ignorance, idk how conscious it is but clearly they have an issue of not wanting to acknowledge problems. My sister has always been a lot better at explicitly saying I'M SCREWED UP AND I NEED HELP SO SNAP OUT OF IT. It does hurt that both times I've had a diagnosis (PTSD, then OCD) their reaction to it was basically to say that I just think I have something, like they know better than both myself and my therapist or psychologist etc. Then I have to run them through the whole thing and stick it in front of their face, explain "hey the PTSD is kinda why I didn't get out of bed for 2 years" and "you know how I pace around all the time and have no friends and ask weird questions and sometimes panic about things happening which you think are ridiculous? OCD yo". All this denial and yet I get to hear about how I've not been able to start a successful middle class suburban life like my brother yet and I must just not be trying hard enough. I don't think they really put all these different things together to actually reflect on their attitude about it because that would involve admitting there are problems and they failed at various points. Much easier to just keep invalidating my experiences lol. God forbid I have a good period with less symptoms, because those mean it's DEF in my head ????? Oof this turned into a rant. My guess is similar to Bob's. For parents like this there is too much they'd have to acknowledge, including their own failures and baggage, if they actually admit you're not ok and engage with it.

I can relate to that even thought it was not that bad for me when I lived at my parents place. I somehow feel that my mom still kind of like "does not remember" i have had an ed and have ocd even though I have told her and she should be aware. It's kinda like I am on mute when I am talking to her about these type of things. Now i am 23 and on my own and me and my mom are not very close at all. Dad was the best even though he did not understand either but i feel that he still cared about me. In my family mental health was some kind of taboo I guess and I was so afraid that my parents would find out I saw a psychologist. I just hate this and I am so sorry if someones family or friends have reacted to their ocd this way.