Dallas Morning News writer Tyra Damm is both a teacher and a parent.  She interviews Dallas area parents and teachers about what they expect from each other.  Parents and teachers share three important things so that kids have their best year ever.

There is a profound article by ESPN senior writer Jackie MacMullan on the NBA’s path  of forming a comprehensive mental health program. The courage of athletes to step out and share their mental health problems has led the NBA to hire a psychologist as their first director of mental health and wellness.  It took an All-Star like Kevin Love to share and reveal his anxiety and depression to help get them there.  He thought he was dying in the midst of a panic attack during a game last season.  He has recently opened up on NBC’s Today Show and other players have also started to share their struggles. This is a tremendous step toward advancing public awareness and eliminating mental health stigma.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for all the support, encouragement and funds to make our Overnight Walk a success!  After this Overnight Walk experience I have no doubt many lives will be saved and so many people given hope and resources who are affected by suicide.  It was a grueling 17 miles with Saturday being the hottest day of the year.  My daughter said I looked like I had already walked before we started!

Out of 1,541 participants I ranked 50th in individual fundraising. Our little 2 person team also ranked 52nd out of 338 total teams on Saturday.  We cannot thank you all enough for money donated and for those who came out to support us on Saturday!

My daughter, Reese and I are doing something incredible together! We’re participating in the Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk – an extraordinary event where participants from all over the country join together to walk 16-18 miles over the course of one night.

We’re fundraising to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  Proceeds will help those affected by suicide and mental health conditions by supporting research, advocacy, survivor resources, education, and awareness programs. AFSP has set a bold goal to reduce the suicide rate 20% by the year 2025, and we are proud to be part of that mission.

You can help us with a donation no matter how small (even $5 or $10) or share this with your friends and family. Thank you for your support in a cause we’re passionate about!  Together we can save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide.

Blessings,
Koy & Reese

Blue Cross Blue Shield reports a 33% increase in major depression diagnoses from 2013 to 2016 while Cigna reports that overall loneliness scores in America are alarmingly high.  The news is worse for young people!  Millennials have experienced a 47% increase and teenagers a 63% increase in major depression.  While there are likely multiple factors a 2017 study indicates night time usage of cell phones in teens can increase depression and anxiety and reduce self-esteem.  Psychologists suspect disrupted sleep is a big factor behind these emotional problems.  All of us need electronic curfews and as parents we should model this.  Younger people ages 18-22 were also surprisingly more likely to experience social isolation than older people ages 72 and older.  Loneliness evidently has the same impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes daily; more dangerous than obesity.

Bryan McMillan and family have turned their pain in to hope and support for grieving families.  Based in Southlake, Texas, Families with Holes, Inc., has but one important mission: to provide grieving families the network of professional, qualified support, comfort, and counseling they need to begin the journey back to living their own unique purpose.

Connor Williams bravely shares his story with NFL.com.  A thank you letter to his bullies.   I hope every child, teen, family, teacher and administrator can read his letter and collectively discuss how they can respond in their schools and community. His relationship with his Dad is equally moving and inspiring.

Spring Newsletter

Stories like these always make it easier for people especially boys or men to get help.   Depression is real and not a weakness.  Help is available and treatment works.

It’s no secret adolescence is the period of peak stress. Rachel Simmons writes a fantastic article in the NY Times about self-compassion for stressed out teens.  Unfortunately, anxiety and depression have skyrocketed in today’s teens.  Between 2012 and 2015 depression increased 50% in teen girls and college students experiencing overwhelming anxiety reached 62% in 2016.  Many adolescents attempt to motivate themselves to succeed with self-criticism; the idea of self-compassion is completely foreign. However, researchers analyzing studies of 7,000 teenagers with high levels of the self-compassion trait report lower levels of anxiety and depression.  Previously, researchers discovered self-compassion not only eases psychopathology in adults but bolsters motivation and high performance standards.  Self-compassion involves noticing one’s feelings without judgment, self-kindness or talking to one’s self in a soothing way and common humanity, or thinking about how others might be suffering similarly.  I don’t know about you but my teenager is going to get weekly lessons on self-compassion.