Mom was horrified by her son’s Snapchat post—but what followed turned into a lesson neither of them expected
Seeing a kid go through mental health concerns can be really hard for a parent. However, for one mom, it was harder because her son was posting every detail of his forced hospitalizations and more on social media. At first, the woman, Coley Gallagher, was horrified about having to deal with her son's illness in the public eye and explaining things to relatives and friends. But a few years later, a realization totally changed her perspective about her son's posts on Snapchat and other social media, per Newsweek.
The woman saw a video of her 18-year-old son crying in his hospital room for the first time when her 13-year-old pointed it out to her. The woman was both emotional and embarrassed at what she was witnessing. "I'd just gotten off the phone with my husband, who'd spirited our 18-year-old to the emergency room. Our son hadn't been sleeping. Things he said made no sense. Doctors diagnosed him with psychosis, possibly drug-induced." The doctors had advised the family to admit the teen to a psychiatric hospital. But as he waited with his father, the 18-year-old posted several videos of his forced hospitalization. "These weird, offensive comms mortified his siblings. Concerned friends, both mine and his, counseled against him posting rambling, nonsensical monologues."
"When we get through this, I'm going to need you to help your brother clean up his socials," the woman told her daughter. But after four and a half years of treatment, the mom had stopped caring about what people thought of her son's social media posts. At some point, she convinced herself that there was really nothing that she could do about the situation. The mom also actively started looking out for the tiniest of positive things in the situation. "I've had to take heart that even though he was 2 ½ hours late getting to outpatient treatment, hey, he got there." Coley also started seeing her son's social media posts as an "early detection system." She got to know how her son was doing more readily because of the posts.
Another big factor was that the woman no longer had to hide her son's mental health struggles from her family or friends. "The biggest upside of my son being so public about his illness has been not having to hide its effects on me or our family." She added, "Feeling free to speak about what I've been through didn't make it easy, or enjoyable. It simply allowed others to help me bear my impossible load." The mom went on, "He started a special text chain with four of my closest friends and me, accusing me of terrible things. I texted each woman privately to apologize." She got understanding, prayers and love in return for her apology.
None of her friends isolated her, even after they saw the family's struggles. "That was less than a year ago, though it feels much longer. My son is doing better. His progress has been halting, but he's committed to his recovery and a better future." As her son was getting better, he was also staying off social media. "That’s probably a good thing, but I'll always be thankful for his bursts of social media oversharing — not for the posts themselves, but for the much-needed support they brought our family."
More on Amplify
Social psychologist reveals the primary reason behind degrading mental health of kids