Tag: anxiety
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Birthday Eves and World Mental Health Day
On this day 15 years ago there was so much I did not know. I certainly didn’t imagine that our every day would include my child living (thriving) with mental illness. And that means that somewhere out there this evening are other mothers, in other hospitals, waiting for their own baby to join the world…
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Our Invisible and Unwelcome Family Member
My son is living with anxiety and depression, but the entire family lives with the fallout caused by his anxiety and depression.
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Faces Behind the Statistics – World Mental Health Day 2019
Worldwide more than 300 million people of all ages live with depression. My 13year old son is one of those people, but he’s not a statistic and he’s not defined by his diagnosis. See the faces and know the stories behind the statistics. #WorldMentalHealthDay is a reminder that there are real people behind the statistics.…
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Pardon My Language
A few days back I had an epiphany of sorts…. You guys – it’s flat out brutal around here. The man child is an absolute wreck. The girl child is alternately hiding from the chaos in the house and inserting herself right into the middle. My husband has traveled for work more in the past…
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It’s Okay To Keep Walking Away…A Letter To My Middle School Aged Kids
Dear O & K, Yesterday, I watched you both walk away from me and toward your middle school. Together you walked for the first time toward a shared experience that is all yours and not at all mine. As you walked away I was reminded of another time I watched you walk away from me,…
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Life in Black & White – $2 Motivation
My son is back in a cycle where his anxiety is causing him to want to opt out of anything which takes him outside of the house. That includes school. This morning he dug in pretty firmly when it was time to head out the door to school – getting him there took lots of…
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Guest Post – A Little Broken, by Owen
I am excited and proud to share this guest post written by my son. He used a writing assignment for his 6th grade English Language Arts class as an opportunity to be brave and share a piece of himself with his teacher and class. And he has agreed to let me share his words with…
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Full Circle
This week, both of my kids are spending their mornings at cooking camp offered by a local cooking school. It’s actually the second time this summer that my daughter has been at the camp. She did a week early in the summer and loved it so much she asked to do another week. Toward the…
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Love, Faith, and Anxiety
Maundy Thursday is the day that Christians commemorate the gathering of Jesus and his disciples for the Last Supper. Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum, meaning commandment, in reference to Jesus’ teachings about a new commandment. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one…
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The “Aha” Moment
About 10 months ago, we made the decision to start my son on medication to help manage his anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. Since then the type of medication has changed, an additional medication has been added, and the dosage on both has been increased several times. It’s been a process. At the beginning of…