Mom's compassionate response to daughter’s anxiety attack evokes conversations about mental health

A viral video making the rounds of the internet this week has prompted online discussions about mental health issues and how loved ones respond to them. The video—the origin of which isn't evident as of now—took off on Twitter after it was shared by @kingsrush on Saturday and has since been viewed nearly 170,000 times and retweeted more than 24,000 times. According to the Twitter user's description of the 36-second clip, it allegedly shows a mother laying down in the rain to help her daughter get through a panic attack.

"The girl in blue was having an anxiety attack. She called her mom, when her mom arrived she found her laying on the driveway in the rain. Instead of getting mad she gets down held her daughter's hand and laid with her... in the rain... until her anxiety passed. This is true love," @kingsrush wrote. While most of the responses to the video were empathetic and overall positive, some folks who may be unfamiliar with mental health struggles suggested that the mom in the video is "enabling" their child's "issues" and that the daughter should not have made a public display of her anxiety attack.

"Hear me out. You can love your child and support them inside, out of the rain. You don't have to belittle them to get out of the rain," wrote one Twitter user. Another commented, "Helping someone with low mental health achieve stronger mental health is true love. The mother is being an enabler to her issues. The mother has issues herself wearing a mask in the car and probably shows signs of anxiety as well. Disconnect from these feelings and think." Meanwhile, a third critic stated: "When I was young nobody did this for us. You know why? Because we weren't pampered, oversensitive snowflakes, so we didn't get anxiety attacks."

@kingsrush and other Twitter users were quick to address such comments and explain that different people have different ways of coping with whatever mental health struggles they might be battling. "Anxiety disorders are not addictions. There's no 'enabling.' There's treatment but it's not 100%. Holding someone's hand while they have a heart attack is not enabling heart disease. It's comforting which can calm the heart. Same thing is happening here," wrote @MistyLaneVintag. "There are times [during anxiety attacks] when you literally cannot move and have trouble processing anything. Sometimes being in the open and just the calm of the rain takes the edge off. Mostly, though, you can't move. Don't judge please," commented @colleennewton16.

"Having anxiety, sometimes you just need someone to ride the waves with you until the storm passes. To know that they are there and you are not alone. To be reminded that while it feels real and so scary, you are safe and loved," explained @thegreatoness. Meanwhile, Twitter user @ChrisBarbozaPR praised the mom in the video by sharing his own experience with anxiety. "I had my first panic attack earlier this year. It was extremely unsettling because there was no one there. I didn't want to move. I felt like I was dying. What a great mother. More of this compassion and support in the world please," he commented. 

Here are some more tweets discussing mental health issues and the incredible power of a loved one's support while battling them: