Few things have more of an impact on our lifelong mental health than our upbringing and home life. Whatever happens in our formative years sets us up for everything else to come, although for most of us, this ends up being far from perfect.

In adulthood, this can often turn into a conversation between you and your therapist, if you’re fortunate enough to have the resources. But what about the people that raised you? Parents and responsible adults play an instrumental part in our upbringings and the problems that can come with them, but this doesn’t always mean that they choose to address that.

This is part of the reason that @ellaevans00 got taken by surprise recently, after realizing that her dad was behaving a lot differently to how she was used to. After visiting for the weekend, she was taken aback to find that he had started therapy and even wanted the pair of them to communicate their emotions via a «feeling pillow». Sharing her bewilderment on social media, some people applauded her father’s commitment to change, and others wished that maybe their parents could do the same. It’s not an easy process, that’s for sure, although it’s always good to see someone start it.