Every year, tens of thousands of teenagers struggle with thoughts of depression, deep sadness, isolation, suicide, stress, and feelings of helplessness. And sadly, too often the parents of these teens are the last to learn about this and sometimes too late to take action. In this episode, Dr. Graham speaks with Dr. Elliot Kallen. Elliot brings 25 years of leadership and management experience from the business sector to his role at A Brighter Day, a non-profit charity that helps spread awareness about depression and suicide prevention for teens and parents. He co-founded A Brighter Day in 2016 with his wife Tammy after the loss of their son Jake, to support young adults in their transition to adulthood and to help prevent teen suicide. Together they discussed the mindset of suicidal teens in a post-covid world, the warning signs of suicidal ideation, the problems of isolation from bullying and social media, parental tips to improve communication with their family, and the various charity programs that assist teens in crisis. You don't need to see the light at the end of the tunnel to know that it's there. You just haven't walked far enough yet. You just may need someone to walk a little bit further with you.
If you are a parent or teen in crisis, you can text BRIGHTER to 741741 and connect with a counselor and get immediate help. Learn more:
https://abrighterday.info/741741-crisis-text-line-talk-to-someone-now/For more information about A Brighter Day, please visit:
https://abrighterday.infoTo download then Parent Survival Toolkit, please visit:
https://abrighterday.info/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Parent-Resource-Toolkit.pdfTo download the Teen Suicide Toolkit, please visit:
https://abrighterday.info/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Teen-Survival-Toolkit-7.pdfFor more information on A Brighter Day charity gala on November 10th, please visit:
https://abrighterday.info/virtual-gala-event/