I do think a large amount of attitude to mental health and trauma is generational. My mum had bipolar disorder and was hospitalised on and off during her life , and I remember hearing my grandparents talk about it like it was some big shameful secret , especially when she was on medication . My grandad especially had the attitude that nothing that my mum was going through could be as bad as what he’d seen/experienced during the war so why was she making a fuss , which was ironic considering a lot of her ( and my) childhood trauma came from him and his coping mechanisms.
My dad supported her as much as he could , but still doesn’t really know how to respond helpfully to mental health stuff . I opened up to him recently about struggling and how the state of my home was making things even worse and his response was to keep chipping away and to keep my head up
which was not at all helpful. But at the same time , I know that was his way of trying to be supportive .
I was lucky ( not sure if that’s the right word) because when i went into care full time, my social worker pushed to get me counselling , partially because they were trying to get me to disclose more stuff to build a criminal case against my grandad but mainly to try and help me . I know plenty of people who would have benefited so much from therapy during their formative years who are only just now accessing support , after decades of internalising stuff . Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a bit of a mess mental health wise but it’s pretty much “ just” the bog standard spicy brain burnout kind these days