How to Talk About Mental Health With Your Loved Ones
Learn how to talk about inner emotional struggles with loved ones. Mental health professional Khushboo Agarwal (Pune, India) shares insights and tips.
MENTAL HEALTHRELATIONSHIPS
Khushboo- Psychologist
6/4/20251 min read
When you're struggling with emotional pain, stress, or internal chaos, it can feel nearly impossible to find the words to explain it to the people closest to you. But bottling it up often makes the burden heavier.
Mental health struggles—like anxiety, mood swings, or constant overthinking—can be invisible, but their impact is real. You might look “fine” on the outside while battling exhaustion, panic, or numbness within. Trying to mask this distress can cause more isolation, shame, or even resentment in relationships.
Opening up starts with acknowledging your experience as valid. You don’t need a diagnosis or a perfect explanation. Try saying something simple like, “Lately, I’ve been feeling off, and I’m not sure how to talk about it—but I’d like to try.”
Choose someone you trust—someone who won’t rush to fix things but will sit with your words. Let them know what kind of support you need: just to be heard, a hug, or help finding a therapist. Vulnerability can feel risky, but silence often costs more.
If you're on the other side of the conversation, listen with presence. Don’t minimize or problem-solve. Just saying, “That sounds really hard—I’m here” is powerful.
Sharing inner struggles doesn’t make you weak—it makes connection possible. And connection, more than anything, softens the weight of what we carry inside.
