I can mirror this sentiment from my own experiences. My mom discovered the value of mental health professionals at the same time I got over being dismissive of the effectiveness of the solutions provided by modern medicine when it comes to mental health.

I can't blame my parents obviously, they are amazing people with their own problems and probably in the 99th percentile when it comes to what people wish for in a good parent. It's just that they had the same mindset as many people of their generation. Psychology/Medication are dismissed or not even thought of as a solution. My mom had a difficult childhood and after starting to experience night terrors in her early 50s she went to seek help and the transformation has been nothing short of amazing.

As for my own difficulties, from 16 to 25 years old my philosophy for dealing with my problems and growing was to take time whenever I could for introspection. Even if things in my life weren't going as I wanted them to go, one thing that could keep me moving forward was bettering myself by reflecting on my actions and thoughts. Meanwhile I was unknowingly crippled by a growing anxiety when it came to my studies and I wasn't the best at sharing what I felt either.

I had always been considered exceptionally bright and gifted and I absolutely loved learning but slowly it seemed to get harder and harder to stay on track when doing school work. The subject matter was easy but actually getting myself to start do to the work was like having to climb a mountain before opening your books. My brain was tired before I ever started. I kept taking full time semesters at university and dropping half my classes because I couldn't keep up. The more this dragged on, the worse I felt about it.

Finally I went to see my doctor and explained how I felt. I told him my brain felt like a steam locomotive and that it took an immense effort to get it moving. He was extremely helpful and made me try Methylphenidate to start. It was like having the fog cleared from my brain, suddenly I felt as I had felt all of my childhood. I was excited to learn, to work and even to wake up in the morning knowing the kind of productive days I could have. Last semester was the first time in years that I've completed a full time course load (with a 4.0 gpa, a nice improvement is an understatement).

"guilt-ridden academic life" is the right way to describe it. I felt horrible about it but I couldn't get myself to quit trying even without knowing what exactly was holding me back. I felt the heartbreak too and actual tears of joy as the feeling of saudade went away and I realized I had "found" my old self again.

This dragged on way more than I thought it would but overall I'm happy knowing that I will be sensitized to how mental health problems can affect your life and your overall happiness. Hopefully if my (future) child is experiencing difficulties, I'll be able to identify it and get them the help they need.

Edit: I'd just like to add that I initially felt uncomfortable with the idea of medication. Why? Because so many students nowadays abuse prescription medication without having symptoms and it made me feel like I was lying to myself about needing it and that I was actually just not working hard enough.