I’ve been on mental health leave for months and haven’t told my parents... Ifeel awful about keeping it from them. But it's to protect myself.

Hey everyone,

I’ve been on mental health leave from work for a number of months now. I haven’t told my parents because honestly… they’d probably lose it. They don’t really believe in mental health they’ve always had a “just get on with it” mindset. In their eyes, unless you’ve physically broken a bone, you should be at work.

The thing is, my mum offered to pick me up after work with my son in the car (she picks him up from my ex and brings him to me it’s just easier that way). So now I’ll have to pretend I’ve been at work, wear my uniform, and meet her like usual.

I feel really conflicted. On one hand, my GP says I’m doing the right thing by keeping boundaries and focusing on recovery. On the other, it feels like I’m living a lie, especially when I’m literally dressing up like I’ve just finished work.

Has anyone else dealt with this kind of situation? How did you handle family who don’t “believe” in mental health struggles without making things worse? Am I in the wrong for keeping it from them?