It’s ok to hate depression. Depression’s a jerk. But hating depression, at least in my experience, won’t help. When Depression first showed up at our door, I actually felt sorry for her. I told my daughter, “It’s ok, let her in. There’s plenty of room here.” I made up a bed and assured her we’d… Read More Lesson #11: It’s ok to hate depression
How to prevent suicide on university campuses is once again in the news after another University of Toronto student was found dead in the atrium of the Bahen Centre for Information Technology. Having nearly lost my own daughter to depression at age 13, and with her university years a short skip away, the news hit… Read More In the news: How to prevent suicide on university campuses
There’s a learning curve to managing antidepressants in your teenager’s life. Things I hadn’t considered until I was faced with them. If you read Lesson #7, you’ll know I wasn’t immediately sold on antidepressants for my thirteen year old daughter. Almost as soon as I got my head around it, I found a brand new… Read More Lesson #10: There’s a learning curve to antidepressants
As a parent, it’s important to know what to do if you think you spot signs of depression in your teenager, because depression left untreated can get worse. Equally important, in the early stages, common teenage behaviour can aggrevate the illness. If you read Lesson #1: How to Spot Signs of Depression in Teenagers, you’ll… Read More Lesson #9: What to do if you spot signs of depression in your teenager
Bell, I think we need to talk. You don’t know me, but you know my daughter. She’s the 1 in 5 in Canada with mental illness. Part of the 12% of girls under the age of 18 who has experienced a major depressive disorder. You don’t know me, because as the mom of a teenager… Read More In the news: #BellLetsTalk
What to do while waiting for help is one of the most important lessons to learn in parenting depression, because it’s on you, the parent. Whatever happens, however easy or difficult it is to lead your child to safety, it’s on you to keep going. I am so fortunate with a family doctor and means… Read More Lesson #8: What to do while waiting for help to help
There’s a lot of debate about antidepressants for teenagers. So how do you know, as a parent, if your teenager needs antidepressants for their depression. One on the one hand, doctors will tell you that antidepressants, combined with psychotherapy, is a very effective treatment for clinical depression. On the other, studies show that antidepressants may… Read More Lesson #7: How do you know if your teenager needs antidepressants
Pixana, a virtual reality (VR) solutions provider, and Limbix, a company that uses VR therapy in healthcare announced they’re teaming up to develop interactive VR therapy to help teens better understand and cope with depression and anxiety.
Parenting a teenager with major depression is an exercise in learning to parent through fear. To be fair, I guess all parents feel afraid for their children. I remember when my husband and I left the hospital with our brand new daughter, less than 24 hours old. We were amazed they let us leave. Didn’t… Read More Lesson #6: Learning to parent through fear
In July 2018, Apple introduced tools to monitor and limit screen time as part of the iOS 12 update. (To be fair, so, too, did Google on their Android P system, but we’re a family of Apple users.) If you read my post on smartphones, you’ll know I struggle with restricting my kids’ screen time.… Read More In the news: Apple introduces tools to limit screen time
