This Is for the Parents Who Are Tired of Pretending They’re Fine

Why I Built the MentorWell Parent Circle

”I’m fine.”

This isn’t a teen’s response when asked “How are you doing?”. This is a parent’s response when they have an emotionally struggling teen. Eerily similar to the response their struggling teen would utter if asked.

After listening to more than 2,000 parents who felt alone, this was a common response. And it wasn’t because they were fine. There is so much shame, isolation and loneliness when a parent is dealing with this.

Parents feel judged, both as a parent, and if they’re working, as an employee.

I never planned to build a community. Then, I realized parents needed one. A place to connect with other parents going through the struggle of a teenager. Depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, grief, addiction all carry a huge weight of pain.

This started in conversations. Quiet ones. Often late at night. Usually private messages. Sometimes phone calls where a parent lowered their voice, even though no one else was in the room.

Over time, the stories began to sound familiar.

Different families. Same weight.

I went through this same challenging period with Maddie, a decade earlier. Silence and shame were the antagonist. Until we lost her to suicide.

We’ve come a long way. But have we really?

Parents would start by apologizing.
“I don’t even know why I’m telling you this.”
“I should be able to handle this.”
“Other parents have it worse.”

Then the truth would come out.

They felt like they were failing.
They did not know who to talk to.
They were scared for their child.
They were exhausted and still expected to function.

Many carried shame. Deep shame.
Because they cared so much and still felt lost.

What parents kept telling me was not about parenting techniques.

It was about loneliness.

Parenting a struggling child isolates you. Friends mean well, but advice comes fast. Schools focus on performance. Work expects consistency. Family members do not always understand the day to day stress.

So parents learn to keep it together.
They smile.
They show up.
They suffer quietly.

What I heard most often after someone finally opened up was this.
“I’ve never said that out loud before.”

Advice was never the answer.

Most parents are drowning in tips, articles, and opinions. What they are missing is a place where they do not have to explain themselves. A place where they can say, this is hard, and not be met with judgment or solutions.

They need space.
They need to feel understood.
They need to hear, ‘you are not alone.’

That is what I wanted to build.

The MentorWell Parent Circle is parents supporting parents. No pressure to post. No expectation to share more than you want. Honest conversations in real time. Wins that feel small to the outside world but huge at home. Fears that finally have somewhere safe to land. Experts and resources when they help, not when they are overwhelmed.

I have seen what happens when parents feel safe.

Relief shows up first.
Then clarity.
Then steadiness.

Mostly because they are no longer carrying it alone.

I named it the MentorWell Parent Circle for a reason.

A well is a place you return to. A place to draw strength. A place to pause and reconnect with yourself when you feel depleted.

This was never built as a product.

It was built as a response.

An invitation to parents who are tired of holding everything together in silence. A reminder that asking for support does not mean you have failed. It means you are paying attention. Your needs require attention when you’re dealing with a struggling teen. When your teen struggles, you struggle too.

If this resonates with you, you are exactly who this space is for.