This week I want to give some guidance to parents whose children are dealing with mental health problems, how to approach them and help them cope. I think it is interesting to talk about it from my point of view, because the depression and eating disorders that I’ve had my family isn’t really aware of even now, since I never managed to tell them the truth. I was always too … [Read more...]
Supporting My Sister with Anxiety: What I’ve Learned
Personally, I have conflicting feelings about labelling mental health conditions. On the one hand, mental health conditions are health conditions - they have signs and symptoms, medications, and health risks. How can you expect to treat a health condition if it remains a nameless entity? What’s more, labelling it can offer a sense of closure and community - finally, you are … [Read more...]
Your Scars Don’t Define You: One Parent’s Story of Supporting Their Teen with Self-Injury
As we battled these last weeks through a particularly rough patch, I found myself thinking that it was time for me to revisit therapy again. Sometimes the skills fade or get sloppy, sometimes I forget to take care of myself, sometimes I just crave an outsider’s voice on our challenges. My family often struggles during the transition time from school to summer and summer to … [Read more...]
The Two Things Parents Can Do For Teens Right Now
This post is for the parents reading this who have a child dealing with a mental health issue and don’t know what to do. For parents, as your child grows up, you want your child to be happy and live a carefree, fulfilling life. But what do you do when your child is facing an eating disorder, anxiety, depression, or any other mental health issue? My parents were faced with this … [Read more...]
Self-Care for Parents?
Parents, raising teenager can be stressful. Many parents who are raising a teenager with a mental health issue forget to set aside some time for yourselves. Some parents reading this might be thinking that setting aside time for yourself isn’t really an option or that it’s unnecessary, however taking care of yourselves will allow you to help your teen even better. It is also … [Read more...]
Managing Medications: What’s a Parent To Do?
It’s been a few weeks, or months, or years, since your teenager began treatment with an SSRI, and she can’t--or won’t—describe what difference she senses, if any. She still feels debilitating anxiety at times, or has tough days when obsessive thoughts dog her. Yet you believe she’s better. Isn’t she? How does a parent evaluate from the outside looking in? This post … [Read more...]
Therapy Tips: Advice for Teens and Parents to Make Therapy a Smashing Success
Tips for Teens: You’ve made it this far. Chances are, if you’ve stumbled across this article, you are either considering or already in therapy. I just have to stop here for a second to say what an epic achievement you’ve already made. The fact that you are reading this article alone says great things about how far you have come. Seeking help is something to be proud. Trust … [Read more...]
What to Say (And What Not to Say) to Someone with a Mental Illness
Despite the prevalence of mental illness in our society, it’s still incredibly misjudged, and because there is such limited public understanding, there are countless myths and stereotypes penetrating our thoughts, behaviors, and discourse. The truth is, the way we talk about mental illness perpetuates stigma and negative stereotypes, and can be detrimental to those vulnerable … [Read more...]
Parenting a Teen with Mental Illness: A Parent’s Grief
What is the hardest thing about parenting children with mental illness? Some things are harder in the moment, while other things are harder to bear over time. For parents like myself whose struggling children do not respond to treatment and/or accommodations relatively quickly, ambiguous grief can be especially devastating. Precious childhoods are lost forever to endless … [Read more...]
Soiling The Nest – What a Parent Can Expect When Your Teen Goes Off to College
Look Out – Bumpy Road Ahead Congrats to your high school grad! He/she might be ready to head off for college – immediately – even though it’s only June. The feelings begin before graduation, of course. Not only will your teen be ready to go, but you may also be really ready for him/her to leave. It’s commonly referred to as “soiling the nest” and – yes – it's a real … [Read more...]
7 Ways To Support a Teen Coping with Mental Illness
As children grow up and out of their elementary school years, they begin the transitional state in life often associated with hormonal terrors and a variety of events that are rites of passage. That being said, a strained relationship with older family members - especially parental figures - is recognized as a common developmental experience. But what about instances where … [Read more...]
Think:Kids: An Overview of Group Parent Therapy Program
In light of Oprah’s 60 Minutes piece on trauma-informed care that ran on PBS March 11, 2018 (which I highly recommend), I wanted to share my family’s somewhat untypical experience with trauma, mental illness and the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) model. Childhood trauma such as sexual abuse or sudden death of a parent can increase a person’s vulnerability to mental … [Read more...]
Rejection From Every Direction: How to Manage College Application Anxiety
For any college-bound student the year leading up to the application deadlines is extremely stressful. On top of keeping up with classes, studying for entrance exams, and visiting colleges, students have the agonizing task of creating “the list” of schools to which they want to apply. For our anxious student, this time period caused her an enormous amount of fear, uncertainty, … [Read more...]
From The Desk Of An Anxious Young Adult: Understanding An Anxious Child
Since I learned to walk anxiety has followed me like a shadow. The pitter patter of baby feet could be too loud if I was not careful. I felt terrible when that shaky, wet, feeling of fear and pain twisted my family into promises I had yet to break, failures I had yet to make. I lived in fear of disappointing everyone. With support, understanding, and honesty my family has … [Read more...]
The Hardest Part About Parenting a Teen with Anxiety
I’m not writing to evoke your sympathy. I know that virtually all the contributors in this amazing community are teens. So what do I hope to get from this post? I would love for some parents to step up and start writing about the experiences with the anxiety in their teen’s life. Let’s talk about how to help her/him. Let’s ask the questions where the answers are not so obvious. … [Read more...]