Reachout story
Denise’s Reachout story: A mother’s perspective
Do mother’s and fathers stop being parental as the children grow into adulthood? In the case of Denise (not real name), she was stressed and concerned about her 40 yr. old son. He often seemed stressed, and self-absorbed, holding troubling concerns about his relationship, his children and his financial situation. He was also very unhappy with his career situation. Up to now, her efforts to reach out to him had been received with a lukewarm response. “Don’t worry mum, I’ll be right,” despite the signs indicating otherwise.
A friend of Denise’s new about MISA and suggested she contact MISA. So Denise contacted the office and expressed her main concern:
“How do I get my son to get help, when he is hurting, but doesn’t want to ask for help?”
(a concern held by many family members of men in distress)
Denise had a long conversation with a MISA intake worker about his question. Who suggested a few options for Denise, some a little unusual in nature. For example, if he is afraid to say he isn’t coping, perhaps frame it as career counselling opportunity, that was a legitimate issue for him to address and perhaps less confronting to talk about. Fortunately for Denise this worked, and he is now accessing support, so MISA encourages family members and friends to reachout on behalf of men as Denise did.
