The surgeon general stresses the “urgent need” to provide parents with mental health support

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — We’ve heard a lot about children and mental health, but now the U.S. Surgeon General is emphasizing the urgent need to support parents and their mental health.

The surgeon general issued an advisory stating that parents have been more likely to report experiencing high levels of stress over the past decade.

The report also points out that the stress we feel as parents can directly impact our children.

Below, you’ll hear from some of the voices of those committed to erasing the stigma surrounding mental health.

Tara Burgess, Executive Director of EPIC, Every Parent Influences Children, Kimberly Kadziolka, Executive Director of Parent Western New York, and I hope parents understand that they are not alone in this fight. My name is Melinda DuBois. I am the executive director of Mental Health Advocates of Western New York.” These are just a few of the faces involved in removing the stigma surrounding mental health.

“We are seeing higher rates of depression and anxiety. The numbers have almost doubled in our community,” said Melinda DuBois, executive director of Mental Health Advocates of Western New York.

DuBois reacted after reading the surgeon general’s advice, saying, “I thought how important it was to focus on parents because we’ve been spending a lot of time lately talking about youth and the teen mental health crisis in our community, and we haven’t been focusing as much on parents.”

She wants parents to know there are many resources available.

“I just think about the mom I talked to last week who was struggling with her child’s mental health. When you have a child who is really struggling, it is extremely painful,” DuBois said.

The surgeon general said parents are also reporting increased stress related to financial worries and time demands.

“On top of raising children, paying for groceries, bullying, but now there’s the internet on top of that,” said Kimberly Kadziolka, executive director of Parent Western New York.

School safety is another stressor.

“You send your child to school and think they’ll come home, but too often across the United States, that’s not the case. We know that parents have been impacted by many stressors in recent years. Add the pandemic to this and you have, in a sense, a perfect storm of stress,” Kadziołka said.

Tara Burgess, executive director of EPIC, Every Parent Influences Children, has the following advice for parents.

“Give yourself some space and grace, because you’re probably doing a much better job than you think,” Burgess said. “You can take a step back and say OK, this is out of control at the moment and I need a few seconds to recover and regroup. You can take care of yourself. This is very important. It’s a mask on an airplane. You have to take care of yourself, if you don’t take care of yourself, you will never be good to your children.

If you are a parent or carer and need support, you can find resources at the links below: