Tag: teen mental health
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The Wheels on the Bus
The wheels on that bus go round and round, setting my kid apart as “other” in a way we never wanted. We always felt (hoped) that the resources available in the mainstream school programs combined with the resources we access outside of school would be enough. And they were, until they weren’t.
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Thoughts on Afters and Nexts 2.0
Tomorrow is the last day of the 2021-2022 school year. The kids will say peace out to 9th and 10th grades by lunchtime, and by dinnertime the eldest will also be officially discharged from the outpatient mental heath program that has been that child’s only extracurricular activity since March. To say the least, June 16,…
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Strange Symmetry and “Stepping Down”
April 5, 2022, 6 years deep into treatment for depression and an anxiety disorder, and just one month into a partial hospitalization program to treat a crisis point in their mental health; my eldest child was officially “stepped down” from the full day program to the afternoon program.
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Thoughts on Afters and Nexts
So here’s the thing….if you ask me how I am right now, I will probably answer honestly that I am perpetually exhausted, frustrated by school and insurance systems that make it nearly impossible to get a teenager critical mental health treatment, frightened for my struggling child, worried that my other child is uncomfortable in our…
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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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Social Distancing Week 2…The Next Right Thing
Friday, March 27, 2020…2:37pm We’re at the end of week two. Shortly after I posted last Friday, we got word that our school district extended remote learning until at least May 4th. So we are looking at a minimum of 5 more weeks – but my gut is telling me they may not physically return to…
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Social Distancing Week 1…Adjust and Readjust
Friday, March 20, 2020…1:06pm It’s been a week since our school district made the announcement that students would be remote learning until at least March 27th. This week has been both the longest one ever and the shortest one ever. I would say the same thing about each day of the past week, and each…
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Make a Wish – Part 2
In the first part of this post, I talked about World Mental Health Day and how the significance of that date was different for me this year, as my son was about to turn 13. That was yesterday. Now we’re at today, and suddenly I have a teenager living in my house – a teenager…
We're All A Little Broken 