Journeying with our kiddos and teens through mental health issues isn’t easy. What do you do as a parent when your child is sinking?
Brave Tribe
Connie Jakab founded the Brave Parents Institute for the moments where everyone ends up in tears. Where you are afraid to tell anyone because of the judgement you know will follow. You are not alone. We are in this together. The Brave P arents Institute is about breaking down the walls of guilt and shame in parenting and building up a community of support and strategy.
Connie excels at vulnerability. She knows being a parent is hard.
Her oldest son is not doing well. He is at the point where he can’t even get out of bed. He is so depressed and anxious right now. Connie writes, “I even took him to a movie last weekend and we couldn’t stay through the whole thing because he was so stressed. It’s been a hard week journeying with him through some very dark thoughts.”
I wanted to share this with you because journeying through mental health issues ISN’T EASY! The great news is that we know what to do. Just in case you’re at a loss with your kids being STUCK, here’s what I’ve been doing, am doing, and will be doing.
Hope
1. Crying a lot – getting my emotions out. This seems so unfair for him to suffer! I have fought too hard, too long for him. I told him: “I will never stop fighting for you and reminding you who you are.”
2. Booked an appointment with the doctor: my son has grown a LOT over the last 4 months. Sometimes these quick spiral downwards is because the meds need to be adjusted to a weight gain due to height etc.
3. Connected immediately with his village: his school teacher, his school psychologist and I are all on the same team discussing best ways forward at this point. He is surrounded.
4. Book a session with Shelly our amazing counsellor to make sure I am covered as well.
This is Hard
5. Saying “this is hard” A LOT. I will NOT say “I can’t”.
6. Making sure he has time for friends who make him feel safe.
Sitting with him IN his questions. I don’t have answers but I’m leaning in. We sat and watched a lot of movies this weekend. He knows we have his back.
7. Rally the tribe – that’s my Brave Parent Institute parents! What a gift they are for me to share and know I have a village of support.
8. When everything hits the fan – bring them closer (whatever that looks like for your kids), rally the village, and hold on for dear life knowing YES THIS IS HARD but you can do hard things.
Keep Being Brave
If you’re in a struggle I would love to have you a part of our Be A New Parent By Friday challenge TOMORROW. I’ve had to become a new parent in the last 5 years to be able to walk my son through his mental health journey. Join me and my team giving you all the tools you need right now to navigate. This week will feature 5 FREE webinars daily with our:
– Brave Parent Counsellor
– self care coach
– connection coach
– early childhood coach
– health coach
We have tools that work. Your family doesn’t need to suffer alone.
Let’s change the game for our kids.
Hope grows here. You’ll find stories that inspire, build faith, and offer lasting purpose.
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