Mental health… a topic that many dads don’t want to discuss, yet is so vital to us being the best dads we can be! Let’s face it, we all have baggage and the difference between us handing that baggage down to our children (or not) is our ability to be brutally honest with ourselves about our shortcomings. We aren’t the quickest to go to the doctor for check-ups and other things we need to get in for visits for, and so getting a mental health check-up really ain’t happening. Even a much needed one. We’ll go when the wife says, “I can’t do this anymore. We need to see a counselor,” but we often put it off until forced to deal with ourselves. Again, usually when others are sick of dealing with us. Yet, we’ll go see a coach for our golf swing, our running form, etc. I think you get the message!
With that said, I’d like you to get to know the latest addition to the DadsTalking.com family, Sam Louie. He is a Counselor and Life Coach who offers a unique spiritual and therapeutic approach to dealing with a variety of mental health issues. He also happens to have a heart for, and specializes in, men’s issues and has joined us to help you get a clearer idea of the things you’re dealing with. You know, some help. That four letter word that some of us aren’t to quick to use… even when we need to. So, here’s the deal, you can email AskSam at sam at dadstalking dot com with your questions and he’ll be answering them here in a regular column. If you’d like to remain anonymous, please include that information in your email and we’ll make sure that when your Q&A is posted, your identity isn’t. He’s written a great post here on why he became a therapist and I’m sure his own honesty with his journey will help you to be at ease about asking for help in yours. So, ask away! It’s important for us to be Dads Talking about our own issues and mental health.
I’d definitely like to submit that the mental health & well being of daddy (and mommy!) have a TON to do with one’s effectiveness and success as a parent.
I just wrote an article on this here, with respect to work burnout affecting one’s ability to parent, but all told – all areas of one’s life are interconnected in some way. And it all will show up on your ability to handle your kids, if there’s some problem you’ve got in life – an upset, something you’re really down about, something about which you are constantly irritable, etc.
There are all manner of tactics and approaches to parenting, but I definitely think that all of them, by nature, must start with making the parents themselves stable & happy – as they’re the ones doing the parenting.
Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.