The following article recently published by iBelieve is very near and dear to my heart. As the youth mental health crisis continues to grow, no doubt more parents will be able to relate with the what I’m sharing below. Also, I’m very thankful to those who were willing to be interviewed and share this part of their journey with me as well as with you.
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The November darkness closed in, but the flames in the fireplace flickered warmly. The candles on the table in the restaurant glowed with a soothing light. I was meeting one of my dearest friends for dinner and I was relieved to be out of the house and have a night to myself.
“How are you doing?” she asked innocently.
“I’m—not really—um, doing that well,” I faltered, eyes suddenly filling with tears.
“What’s going on?” my friend asked in concern reaching out to take my hand.
I described the disorienting family situation we’d suddenly been plunged into for the past two months. Sometimes it felt like we were barely going to make it to the end of the day. We had returned from vacation at the beach and had begun the school year with high hopes. But one of my children had had a sudden onset of disorienting emotional and physical behaviors that had landed us in the pediatrician’s office and eventually, sitting on a sofa across from a psychiatrist.
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