Our child was a straight A student in a highly competitive college prep school. We never imaged she would encounter serious mental health challenges that would also involve substance abuse as well as self harm / suicidal ideation. My dirty little secret about mental health is that I was raised to believe you just needed to “toughen up” and that those who couldn’t and had mental health issues would always be someone else’s child or brother or parent. Never did I think they might be one of our own family members… much less my own high achieving child. My humble suggestion based on life experience: never assume mental health is the other person’s problem…. and if you find yourself touched by it, know you are NOT alone. That’s where ShineTogether is playing such a critical role. So many people are being impacted by mental health issues in their families, but they assume it must be rare and they are alone. ShineTogether (“ST”) helps shatter that pernicious modern myth. ST not only helps open your eyes to seeing you are not alone, it offers vetted resources to navigate the complex medical treatment landscape and community with real people just like us who have wisdom from having gone through this painful journey. Doug
Parent Stories
