From NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)

• 1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year
• 1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a MH disorder each year
• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 10-14

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In 2020

• Among U.S. adolescents (aged 12-17) - 3 million had serious thoughts of suicide

• Among U.S. young adults (aged 18-25) - 3.8 million had serious thoughts of suicide

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Steps to help

Importance of identifying our emotions

• The mere act of being able to identify our emotions increases our ability to regulate those emotions in the moment and moving forward
• Avoiding our emotions or ignoring the reality of mental health has consequences
• When we hide there is separation and a lack of proper resources. When we are vulnerable, there is closeness and opportunities for support.

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Validation + Curiosity

Example of INVALIDATION:

Parent (P): You’re late!

Teen (T): I’m so tired. I was up late trying to finish homework so I’ll just skip my second period and make up the work later. If I go now, I won’t be able to focus anyway.

P: If you hadn’t been on your phone procrastinating then you wouldn’t have had to stay up late. You’re not skipping another class period.

T: (no response)

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Example of VALIDATION:

Parent (P): You’re late!

Teen (T): I’m so tired. I was up late trying to finish homework so I’ll just skip my second period and make up the work later. If I go now, I won’t be able to focus anyway.

P: I can see you’re really tired. It sounds like you were up pretty late getting homework done. What do you feel that was about?

T: Yeah, I was overwhelmed with everything and I know this year really counts. I wanted to get started earlier but I just couldn’t focus.

‍P: That must have felt really frustrating to have so much to do but feel overwhelmed and unable to focus.

T: Yeah, it’s super annoying and now I’m even more behind.

P: Let’s go ahead and get you to school today and when you’re home let’s talk more about what could help you feel less overwhelmed.

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Introspection

We need to be able to increase our own tolerance for hearing difficult information and asking ourselves hard questions

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