16-year-old son transforms mom’s ‘depression garden’ into stunning backyard oasis
Rochelle Linaker (@rochellelinaker), a mom and soon-to-be grandmother, shared a very personal look at how her mental health has affected the state of her garden — and how her children have helped transform her in more ways than one.
Now, much like the teen who performed an emotional haka on his mother’s graduation day, this son’s touching gesture for his mom is going viral.
Because Linaker’s daughter is pregnant and the family wanted to host a gender reveal garden party, the rest of her children, including her 16-year-old son, volunteered to tackle the job of cleaning up the outdoor space and get it party-ready.
The children pitched in with cutting overgrowth, power-washing the garden stones and walkway, clearing garbage, raking and even setting up a garden gazebo. And the transformation is nothing short of magical.
In the video, Linaker praises her children, and the gratitude can clearly be heard in her voice.
She is open about the fact that her depression and mental health have not allowed her to care for her outdoor space as she would have liked.
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America explains that depression can impact someone’s ability to care for themselves and their homes. Depression can also lead to:
A lack of interest in doing activities you once enjoyed
Feeling helpless and hopeless
Decreased energy
A change in daily behavior
People with depression may struggle to get help for their depression on their own, adds the Mayo Clinic, because the symptoms of the condition can take away that ability. That means that even doing things that could help someone’s depression can be a challenge when you are in a depressive state.
But as many people in the comment section noted, being open about the effects of depression can help others who are struggling too.
“Never be ashamed, mental health isn’t something to be ashamed of,” noted @sasha.louise21.
Linaker’s children’s efforts may have also helped pave the way for her to have another tool to combat depression.
As a 2017 National Institute of Health study notes, “green spaces” and outdoor places in nature are effective tools to combat depression and other mental health disorders.
The Harvard School of Health adds that simply spending time outside can help boost mental health, mood and even one’s physical health.
It also appears that Linaker and her family are already enjoying more outdoor time thanks to the children’s efforts. She posted another TikTok of the gender reveal party with the transformed garden.
The newly refreshed space showed partygoers having a great time and celebrating the young couple after they revealed the biological sex of their baby.
“You made my day so special,” commented her pregnant daughter Alice Mia (@_alicemiaxxx).
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