I took several unplanned but much needed weeks off from writing and posting for this blog.  I’ve had a lot going on (okay, mainly just my cat’s illness) so when I had free time I chose to spend it relaxing rather than writing.  I also felt like I had a lack of inspiration and didn’t know what direction to go. The good news is that I have a new list of ideas and am excited to jump back in.  I will, however, be switching to an every other week format posting on Mondays at 11am.

For this first post back, I actually want to share a segment from a podcast I listen to.  Just Between Us is hosted by best friends, Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn. Allison and Gaby are both very open about their struggles with mental health, Allison has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Gaby has bipolar 2 (like me!).  In this episode they interview Allison’s mother about what it was like to raise a child with a severe mental illness. Allison’s OCD started when she was just four years old, and as you will hear in the podcast, at onset her illness was extremely severe.

If you click on the cover art or episode title below you will be taken to a different website (Pocket Casts) where the episode will be queued to start at the time in the podcast that the interview begins.  If you have your own podcast app you would prefer to use, you can start the episode at 24:11.

Moving In, Allison’s Mom and Weddings w/ Ruth Raskin

I’m curious what experience, if any, my readers have with childhood mental illness.  Has it been hard to get treatment? What emotional toll did it take on the family? What advice would you give others?