As someone who has depression and anxiety since a young a child, I used to write poetry in a book and hid it under my mattress, I once came home to my uncle reading it, when he saw me he said "that's F***ing depressing" I was mortified. I felt I had nobody to talk to, I didn't have friends and I was 10 years old. I always felt that nobody took me seriously, I would feel like there was a black hole inside I could not fill and adults told me to get over of it. As an adult it took me a long time to come to terms with it all, but I had a wonderful friend who supported me and gave me perspective. Finally I gained some insight and it is this: Different generations are taught, raised differently, and have a tool box... sometimes they don't have the right tools. If i could give advice. Listen to your child, try to understand or at least take their feelings seriously because feelings are real; regardless of whether they are warranted.

When I was young my parents got a divorce and it hit me hard. I struggled a lot and only ever spoke to my mom out of fear my dad would get mad at me so I spent a lot of time texting my mom. He got angry at me over that and installed a nanny app on my phone (monitors screen time, apps used, displays texts, etc.). Once that was there I didn’t text anyone and closed myself off. Those were the loneliest years of my life, I still suffer from it. Had my father let me be my own person and not gotten angry that I didn’t open up to him I might have talked more. Seriously, parents, spying on your kids is damn near the worst thing you can do.