Navigating Mental Illness: Parents Stories

Season 3 of Navigating Mental Illness: Parents Stories is on the way!!! Here's just a few of the highlights from the many folks that shared their stories. There are parents dealing with their child's: schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and bipolar diagnosis and some have substance abuse disorders. Some of the parents report have post traumtaic stress disorder after some of the more difficult times...

Christa's daughter excelled as a child. She was ahead in her classes and adjusted well after a move and even made the cheer team.     In 2010, her life took a turn in college when she thought her professor was sending her secret messages. Christa tried to understand what was happening and like many parents, it took time.     Now she is helping to raise her daughter's two children, getting ready to...

Lisa Jo Barr had her first manic epsiode as a young adult. Since then she has struggled through drugs, several relationships and jobs, while trying the learn as much as she could about her condition. Fast forward to now, she coaches adults with similiar mental health issues and has published a book on her fascinating journey from struggling to giving back to the community.  This episode is for par...

As several on our show have discovered, their child's mental health challenges are tied to some form of trauma. Jen's daughter was molested as a child and it manifested as bouts of depression, suicidal thoughts and cutting.   Jen was never a helicopter parent, she trusted her daughter to share when she needed help. Jen also trusted the mental health professionals to work through her daughter's iss...

Mary lives in faraway Hong Kong and her son was well ahead of his milestones. He could say words at 6 months, has an IQ in the 140s and knows more than 5 languages.   Then in his teens, he started to isolate and became more argumentative. Then he decided he didn't want to go to school (during COVID). He knew something wasn't right right and started down a long road of trying to diagnose and find t...

Lori noticed the change in her son when he started to use marijuana regularly. Over time she and her husband disagreed with how to handle things — so she moved out.   This episode is for you if you struggle with setting boundaries and living a life, given many complex and challenging situations!

Claudia has taken many paths to find solutions for her daughter's bipolar disorder. She tried letting her live at home, admitted her to hospitals, sent her to a program in Utah, and let her attend college. Nothing seemed to work, and she was getting more and more frustrated.   She started understanding her reactions were not helping her daughter, so she sought help for herself. She went to therapy...

Things started out fine for Julia and her son. After remarrying and finding stability with good friends, Julia youngest son was in a stable home. However, once he got to high school, drugs came into the picture and worsen the more times he was treated. Over time, Julia set strong boundaries to protect herself and the rest of her family, including her grandson. If you are a parent that struggles wi...

Marie is a gentle soul that has had a tough time with her daughter. As a single mom, she has had to develop the skills to help her daughter and stay healthy herself. This episode is a great way to learn about how the mental health and court system can team with you as a parent. Also, parents can learn how to interact with your child in a way that acknowledges her feelings and supports a more trust...

For parents, understanding your child with a mental illness is complex and often painful. For Danielle Aubin, parenting is learning how to let go. She has let go of old notions of "good parenting" and created an environment free of shame and natural consequences.   In this episode, Danielle shares practical parenting tips that can change your relationship with your child as well as your relationsh...

Irene Barton grew up in a small town in South Carolina mill town where she learned about community and faith. Irene brings that community building and faith to Cobb Collaborative helps families in Cobb County, Georgia to connect with resources they need including mental health training events as well as a podcast (link below). https://www.cobbcollaborative.org/category/news/podcast https://www.cob...

Kirsten Book is back and she brings her passion for helping young people with eating disorders and their families. Her background makes her uniquely qualified to speak on this topic. Kirsten has had her own challenges with body image and eating disorders.  By listening to this episode you will learn what to consider as a parent, how to take care of yourself, the importance of spirituality and more...

Kirsten Book, the psychiatric nurse practitioner, is back with some rules on how to share information with your child's caregivers and how caregivers decide what they can share. Turns out the rules are different in each state for different situations. Kirsten also talks about the process of skill development in your child's life and how sometiomes parents undermine that process! Not easy, but impo...

Samatha loves helping people and serving the community. Working at Cobb County Georgia has given her the ability to do both. Now she trains new recurits to learn to empathize and have the best chance for a positive outcome when someone is struggling with a mental illness.  In this episode, Samatha shares practicle tips that 911 uses to assess a situation and all the questions you will have to answ...

Parenting a child with a mental illness can be tough, but Catherine has found peace in the good times and learned how to survive the springtime pychosis that is a part of her son's life. After 4 years of her son's mental illness, she has learned who to share her struggles with, how to maintain a relationship with her son and husband and what joy feels like again.  We hope you will be inspired by C...

Linda and her husband adopted 2 siblings who had mental health illness almost from the start. After 20 years of navigating the mental health and legal systems in Pennsylvania, she has learned a whole bunch. From therapy to meds to trusts, Linda has many tips that will help you and your family.  

Kirsten Book treats the whole patient. As a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, she  develops a relationship with her patients first, work with them through the inevitable medication changes and comes up with ways to create a team to best serve their needs. She also suggests parents get therapy and allowing children/young adults to experience the consequences of their actions. Laura and Bill enjoyed t...

Kim Frye gets involved in parent's lives at their lowest point. Maybe you had to call the police when things are getting out of hand at home, and then your son or daughter is charged and on the way to jail, not the hospital. Now you are in crisis and your child is sleeping in a jail without medical care. You need a lawyer and Kim knows how to navigate the complicated system. In this episode, Kim g...

Part 2 of Natalie's story picks up with her bringing up her son. When he was young, he had temper tantrums which turned into withdraing as he grew. Natalie found a church and worked on herself. As her son grew, he excelled in school and seemingly doing well in other areas. He was liked and things seemed to be easy for him. After some delusions, Natalie admitted her son to the hospital and has not...

This is part 1 of Natalie's story. This episode is a little different, as Natalie talks about her upbringing up to the birth of her oldest son, the one who has a mental illness.  Natlie's upbringing was challenging and all her expereinces will help understand her son's story coming in part 2.

Thanksgiving was different this year. Dawn was surrounded by her family, but one important person was missing. Her son has a mental illness, and he refused to see her. Join us to hear the story of a loving parent who lives with the uncertainty and frustration of life with a mentally ill child. Dawn has found a way to keep going and to see joy in life even through the tears.  

Sandie was so upset when she learned of her son's struggles with mental illness, she closed out the Google search results. She has come a long way since then, both supporting her son and finding peace in her own life. She is looking forward to advocating and sharing her story to help others in the near future. 

Devorah decided to foster and then adopt two sons into her Jewish family. When mental health challenges became too much she left her life in New York and started a new life in Israel. It hasn't been easy, but it has been a rewarding experience. 

Wendy's daugther C's challenges started early. She lost her dad, struggled with insomnia and was so tired that Wendy had to drag her to school. C's life was never easy and her mental health declined as she got older. The one consistent thing is: her mom was always there for her and continued to support her through all of it. Wendy learned skills that helped her maintain her relationship with her d...

Melissa son has struggled throughout his life. Melissa and her husband tried every avenue that was available at the time and always came up short. From the schools, to health care professionals to his jobs, Melissa's son couldn't find the best comnbination that would help him. So Melissa gave up her time and attention to keep her son as safe as she could. Now nearing her retirement age, she wants...