Dad struggling through a painful divorce shares a comforting letter from his daughter
"Hey dad, I know you are going through a hard time right now and I just want you to know that I will be here for you forever & always."

Depressed dad going through a divorce
Divorce is a terribly difficult process for families to go through. It can evoke feelings of despair, anxiety and loss. People also have to deal with emotional abandonment, the pain of being disconnected from children and financial stress.
Going through a divorce is so stressful that, according to the Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale, it is the second most stressful life event right after the death of a spouse.
A Reddit user with the username stefanfection shared a powerful letter his daughter wrote that's given him hope while going through a painful divorce. “I went through a divorce recently and have been having a rough time,” stefanfection wrote on the MadeMeSmile forum. “I woke up to this this morning, from my daughter. It also helps. I just gained custody of her.”
He uploaded a picture of a letter written by his daughter.
I went through a divorce recently and have been having a rough time. I woke up to this this morning, from my daughter. It also helps I just gained custody of her.
by u/stefanfection in MadeMeSmile
The letter reads:
"Hey dad, I know you are going through a hard time right now and I just want you to know that I will be here for you forever & always. I hope you become happy again because I would love to do a ton of fun things with you in the *summer* I love you tons & just remember that... I will always be here for you."
The post inspired people to send messages of support for the father. The most popular was from Icouldusesomerock, who wrote: “She loves you more than words can express. You’ve done a fine job sir keep it up.”
“Thank you, I try my best and so does she. It feels good to hear that from you,” stefanfection responded.
Some people who had lived through divorce took the opportunity to remind stefanfection that it’s not his daughter’s job to be his emotional caretaker. “Remember to tell her it is not her job to take care of you even as you appreciate just how much she loves you,” mmlperiwinkle wrote.
"As a child who lived with unhappy parents who let me become their emotional ‘caregiver’ (at the expense of my identity for a very long time), I found this pretty distressing to read. This seems sweet on the surface but letting a child feel responsible for a parent’s emotions is devastating to the child,” tofuandsardines wrote.
However, stefanfection was adamant that he hadn't placed any additional emotional burdens on his daughter and that they were undergoing therapy. “I have discussed this with her. We are going through therapy and getting all the necessary tools we need,” he wrote. “Although we do stuff together and I try to make it look like everything is the best, she can tell there is hurt. It's just life.”
Others chimed in to remind the father that there is plenty of time during summer vacation to do some epic things with his daughter. A group of Redditors exchanged lines from the theme song to “Phineas and Ferb.”
"There's a hundred and four days of summer vacation
And school comes along just to end it
So the annual problem for our generation
Is finding a good way to spend it
Like maybe
Building a rocket or fighting a mummy
Or climbing up the Eiffel Tower
Discovering something that doesn't exist
Or giving a monkey a shower"
The father’s post shows that even in the darkest times, there are wonderful people in this world who will help lead us to the light. In this case, it was his daughter. Even though no one knows how the situation will turn out, the dad seems to be doing the right thing by going to therapy with his daughter.
According to Psychology Today, up to 33% of children develop behavioral problems after their parents divorce. They can have academic challenges, mental health problems and engage in risky sexual behavior and substance use.
Clinical psychologist Patricia P. Martin tells Mass Live that parents and children should talk to mental health professionals while going through a divorce.
“This gives the children a neutral, supportive space to share the confusion, anger, sadness, frustrations they are feeling and to find constructive ways to deal with these emotions,” Martin told MassLive. “I recommend all children of divorce have at least two or three sessions with a mental health professional as a means of screening for problems as well as providing supportive education.”
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.