Teenage Suicide & Depression with Elliot Kallen

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently declared adolescent mental health a national emergency, as rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts continue to skyrocket. The pandemic brought this serious issue to the forefront, but this uptick started years before COVID arrived on the scene.  

Sadly, and too often, the parents of these teens are the last to learn about their child's mental health struggles—and often too late to take action.

In this episode, I’m joined by Elliot Kallen, the Co-Founder and President of A Brighter Day, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing suicide by helping teens manage their depression and stress. Elliot is going to teach us what warning signs to look for and what we can do to protect our teens from the number one preventable cause of death.

Key Takeaways

• Warning signs: drastic change in behavior patterns (sleep habits, eating, socializing) 
• Redefine what failure means to remove implicit stress
• What we want for our child may not align with who they are and what they need.
• What parents can do: Listen!
• Cell phones create a highlight reel of everyone else’s life. Makes it seem like everyone else has a better life than they do. They feel like a victim
• Make dinner a cell phone free environment - for EVERYONE -- and talk.
• Ask questions: What are their favorite classes and why? Favorite activity and why?
• To make room for all the things we pack into our child’s life to ensure they succeed is often at the expense of the most important thing - time to build a connection with us.
• You can’t depend on the schools to care for your child’s mental health. They don’t have the training or the bandwidth. You need to take it into your own hands.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Text "BRIGHTER" to 741741 for 24/7 mental health support
• Parent Survival Toolkit and a Teen Survival Toolkit
• Dr. Cam’s Top 10 Secrets for Raising Teens

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