Whew, it's been a busy year so far! Just now catching up with our blog posts? Check out our five most popular entries of the year to date. Please share your thoughts in the comments, and let us know which *you* like best! We'd love to hear from you. 

1. New Partnership to Help Teens With Depression
by Susan Resko, Executive Director

I just read about a Yale University study that shows stress can cause our brains to shrink.

Boy, am I in trouble!

The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, was based on brain imaging of more than 100 healthy subjects. Researchers discovered that stressful events reduced the volume of gray matter in a region of the brain that regulates emotions and essential physiological functions, including blood pressure and glucose levels. These structural changes could signal increased risk for ills such as depression and diabetes.

I have a radical suggestion for those days when you think you can’t bear another minute with your mood-disordered child: Do something fun with him or her.

It is SO important to laugh together. Good times can get you through the really bad stuff. Simple fun helps you to rediscover what you love most about your child. These moments can bolster your hope, just when you need it most.

I have just re-learned a very important lesson: If you need something, you have to speak up.

I live in a state where funding for mental health services has been cut and cut again. You probably do too. I’ve written letters to my governor and state representatives to urge funding for services to support these most vulnerable individuals, and I have even gotten a few responses. But my state is nearly bankrupt, and mailbags full of letters can’t change that reality.

Brace yourself! Transitions are tough for kids with mood disorders, and the fall return to school is one of the biggest transitions our kids face.

You may notice a spike in anxiety and irritability in the weeks before school begins, as anticipation builds. It can be nearly impossible to rouse our kids from bed and get them dressed, fed and out the door when nothing much is planned. All this is magnified for the momentous first days of school.

Success can be laughter around the dinner table, a peaceful evening and a good night’s sleep.  It can be executing the ordinary skills of daily living, like grocery shopping, washing laundry and taking out the trash.

Success is a quiet morning, a day of good health, and a day out of the hospital.  It is the companionable enjoyment of friends and family. It is witnessed in moments of independence, self-control and self-determination. It can be as simple as accepting a “no” and moving on.

Jean D. Meister,
Outgoing The Balanced Mind Foundation
Board President 

by Susan Resko, The Balanced Mind Foundation Executive Director

As parents of kids with serious disabilities, we worry. How will we afford treatment costs? What if our child cannot hold a steady job as an adult? How will he or she afford food, shelter, and medical care? If needed, will our child have access to supported housing and other services?

A few years ago, I was driving my middle child to school when she opened the car window to brush away the crumbs of her hurried breakfast. As her plastic plate tipped, she lost her grip and the plate soared away like a Frisbee.

My daughter looked over at me, shocked, and I began to roar with laughter. Then she began to laugh too, and an idea popped into my head: “This is who I am! I can laugh spontaneously!”

It is safe to say that my daughter was much more excited about her approaching 18^th birthday than I was.

For my daughter, the milestone marked adulthood under the law, with all the rights and responsibilities that come with majority. Turning 18 meant she could vote for president, sign contracts, choose where to live, and make decisions about her medical treatment. And, of course, get a tattoo.