Mental Health Awareness Month: Resources for Kids, Youth, and Families
I can’t believe we’re half way through May, already. I don’t know about you, but May has been crushingly busy and summer is looming with its hope and hard. It’s a perfect time for a conversation about Mental Health Awareness Month.
I have two previous posts about Mental Health, especially of note, a round-up of resources I recommend personally.
This year, however, I wanted to share resources for mental health awareness for kids, youth, and families. This year, I have had more and more friends with children who have personally had mental health challenges or who have been touched by the mental health challenges of others. One of my kids already has a friend/classmate who is at risk for self-harm, and we’re not in middle school yet.
Do any quick Google search, and you’ll find statistics and facts like these:
“Mental health issues can affect anyone. In 2020, about:
One in 5 American adults experienced a mental health condition in a given year
One in 6 young people have experienced a major depressive episode
One in 20 Americans have lived with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression
Additionally, suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. In fact, it was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-24.
Half of all mental health disorders show first signs before a person turns 14-years-old, and three-quarters of mental health disorders begin before age 24.
Unfortunately, only half of children and adolescents with diagnosable mental health conditions receive the treatment they need. Early mental health support can help a child before problems interfere with other developmental needs.”
There are a myriad of organizations that are working on this important issue and a myriad of resources. For the sake of this faith formation blog, my hope is always to curate and report what my family and I have found helpful in the hopes that a personal recommendation can help with the overwhelming amount of possibilities. Here’s what I would share with you, if you and I were having tea:
Our family got this “Little Spot of Feelings” set a few years ago for Christmas, and there are many iterations that include books and/or plushies. We love how it has a poster with a whole chart full of emotions, not just the ones pictured here. When our kids were younger, they liked to make houses for the little feelings people. This went well with learning about internal family systems and handling hard working parts of ourselves who were well-intentioned but sometimes disruptive. My favorite moment was when my daughter was cradling “anxiety.” It was a beautiful picture of caring tenderly for our sometimes undesirable emotions instead of squashing them, hiding them, or allowing them to take over.
It’s Okay by Wendy O-Leary is the kind of book I wish I had as a child, and that I’m so thankful exists for my children. If my friend MaryBeth is reading this, she’ll cheer for the introduction of mindful self-compassion to kids. This book normalizes hard feelings, as well as giving words to kids to repeat for comfort.
The free (you do have to create an account) course from Jenna Riersma called “Moving Toward Your Child’s Anxiety” was a game- changer for our family when one of our kids was experiencing overwhelming anxiety. It helped us as parents to get curious about what was going on inside of us and what was going on in our kiddo. It helps you understand types of feelings like exiles (tender parts of us in pain), firefighters (parts that react when we feel pain) and managers (parts of us that try to avoid or control pain), and how these show up (and react to those) in our kids.
Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango is a novel-in-verse stunner that is an amazing introduction to grief, anxiety, depression, and PTSD through the eyes of a 7th grade Latina girl. It is a great conversation starter about asking for help when you need it, dealing with cultural and generational views about mental health, and how family and friends can talk about difficult emotions instead of pretending they don’t exist. For heavy topics, it is in turns also funny, sweet and hopeful.
YOU GUYS. This video, “Talking Mental Health” is the most delightful, creative, under-six-minutes introduction for our kids and families about how to begin conversations about our emotional wellbeing. Imagine Bluey voices with artistic animations plus great information and the story of a kiddo who struggled through to wellness. *Chefs Kiss*
FAITH BASED: “Telling the Whole Story: Mental Health and the Resiliency of Youth” is a short reflection published by the Anabaptist Disabilities Network. It reminds me that families and church family can be both a preventative and responsive force in the lives of youth, giving us hope in the midst of sobering statistics.
One of the reasons our family stayed at Immanuel was the fact that folks brought us meals when they barely knew us while I was struggling intensely with insomnia, anxiety and overwhelming emotions. I love this short reflection (FAITH BASED), also from Anabaptist Disabilities Network, “Mental health of children and youth, “ by Lora Nafziger. In it, the author encourages churches to provide “relational respite” like our family received, as well as challenging churches to share about mental health during children’s times and with congregants in general.
Porter’s Gate’s Sanctuary Songs album (FAITH BASED) is one of my favorites. The entire volume is dedicated to songs about mental health and faith. It’s a balm for those of us who have struggled with overwhelming thoughts and feelings, and would be accessible for youth as well.
Finally, one FAITH BASED resource I have not read but would like to is this one: Mental Health and the Church: A Ministry Handbook for Including Children and Adults with ADHD, Anxiety, Mood Disorders, and Other Common Mental Health Conditions. I’m intrigued by the premise:
The model is based upon recognition of seven barriers to church attendance and assimilation resulting from mental illness: stigma, anxiety, self-control, differences in social communication and sensory processing, social isolation and past experiences of church. Seven broad inclusion strategies are presented for helping persons of all ages with common mental health conditions and their families to fully participate in all of the ministries offered by the local church. The book is also designed to be a useful resource for parents, grandparents and spouses interested in promoting the spiritual growth of loved ones with mental illness.
As someone who has been deeply hurt by well-meaning Christians because of stigma and who struggled with church attendance at my most difficult season, I’d love to learn more how to break down barriers so that those like me can be welcomed more fully into our already welcoming church family.
This May, I hope you take the time to learn one small way you can support those with mental health challenges, especially kids and youth who are growing up in a complex and chaotic world. MAY we continue to work to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the minds of those he dearly loves. I’d love to know what resources you have found to support the mental health of children, youth and families. Where are you finding wisdom and practical help these days?
