Thankful for You
Parenting Teens with Mental Health Challenges Together
As we wrap up Thanksgiving, I want to take a minute to say how grateful I am for you.
One of the best gifts of the past year has been YOU! I believe that time is one of our most precious resources. It means so much to me that you choose to spend your time with me in this space. During one of the biggest American consumption weekends of the year, I want you to know that your presence is such a gift.
For those who’ve read, liked or restacked posts, thank you!
For those who have commented, I’m grateful that you’ve shared your stories and perspective. Others have messaged through emails or social media. I’ve learned so much from you. I’m so encouraged by you all!
Here’s some comments from the past months that show what this community is about:
“We have struggled for years with our daughter - mental health and eating disorders. It has taken a toll on our family, our marriage, our friendships and me personally. Thank you for sharing and writing these posts - I find them immensely helpful.”
“Over the last 4 years, my teen was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and autism. Nothing about their teenage years looked like what I expected. There's been so much grief for me, for our family. Thank you for sharing your experiences.”
“Reading your post helps me to tabulate the ways that my neurodiverse daughters are succeeding since they moved out. Even though I would like to swoop in and do a bunch of things for them, I am seeing firm evidence that they are (slowly) making it on their own.”
“I’d like to thank you for using your platform to raise awareness and to foster compassionate understanding. Years ago, I spoke with my brother about how lost I felt trying to parent a child I didn’t understand. He, being a pastor and a compassionate, wise brother, said maybe God knew I would be the only mother who refused to give up on her son. How true this has been.”
I couldn’t do this without you. Thanks for all you bring to the table (pun intended).
If you’ve never introduced yourself here, we’d love to welcome you. Leave a comment and share a bit about yourself below.
An Opportunity to Be Generous
I don’t know about you, but it’s easy for our extended family to dive into early Christmas shopping or grab that long-awaited item that just happens to be on sale this weekend. I’m fielding texts from kind family members about gift ideas for my teens, while my teens shrug when I ask them to make a list. Except for Ellie, who became obsessed with Taylor Swift when she broke up with her boyfriend of two years. She made sure we knew about the Swiftie merch that would quickly disappear!
But as someone who also works for a nonprofit, I know the importance of Giving Tuesday. Since its start in 2012, Giving Tuesday (which is December 3, 2024) has become a time of incredible fundraising for nonprofits across America. Over the past two years, folks across the country generously donated a combined total of $3.1 billion to charities.1
I believe that giving to charity is both a joyful and important act. Giving changes us as we offer our resources to help others. Giving reminds us of how much we have in both tangible and intangible ways. By giving, we see ways that we can influence and impact others for good. Whether we can give a lot or a little, it blesses us. Some of us are stretched thin paying for medical bills for our teens and just aren’t able to give, which is fine.
In any case, I wanted to offer a few nonprofits which serve families of teens struggling with mental health, in case you’d enjoy making a difference. It goes without saying that there are many worthy organizations. I can only list a few here.
Organizations Which Support Teen Mental Health
F.E.A.S.T. (Families Empowered and Supporting the Treatment of Eating Disorders) is a global nonprofit serving thousands of families from 100 different countries around the world. They have incredible resources to guide parents in navigating their teen’s recovery. They describe themselves like this: “F.E.A.S.T. is about parents helping parents, about community and connection, about paying it forward, and about being there for families at a time when they need us most.”
National Eating Disorders Association works to advance research, community building and awareness to support the nearly 30 million people who will struggle with eating disorders in their lifetime. I’m impressed by their compassionate, hopeful approach and their wealth of resources to find providers, navigate insurance issues, and educate individuals and families.
National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. They also offer vast resources, including support groups, a helpline, and significant articles to support families in need. They even have resources specific to various groups, such as veterans, new moms, kids and teens, various identity groups, and families.
The Steve Fund - The Steve Fund is dedicated to supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color. While they provide impressive resources and skill-building for individuals and families, they are also working hard to shape educational, organizational and workplace environments to enhance the mental health of young people of color. They offer interactive workshops, free online courses, higher education consulting and more.
These nonprofits are ones that I’ve resonated with. If you have a favorite nonprofit that supports teens around mental health (or just in general), I’d love to hear about it!
As we begin the season of Advent, a season of waiting in hope, often in the midst of suffering and despair, may you find peace and offer peace to others.
Grateful for your companionship on the journey,
P.S. Before you go, please tap the little ♡. It offers “social proof” and lets others know there’s something useful here. Thanks!
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/what-is-givingtuesday-/7873891.html
Serena, I celebrate you for your courage in writing about the things you write about. I’m also on a different parenting journey than I ever expected to be on and honestly it has made me a better person. It takes courage to be up for the task. I agree with you that we have so much to give and so much to be grateful for! I appreciate your call to give backs
I admire you and I really admire your writing. I wish I had known you when I was raising my teens. I know God is the decider of all that, but I have learned so much from you. Thank you for making time to share your experiences with your readers.