Mother fights mental health stigma - Daughter born with anxiety disorder and depression

[Guest guest]

http://www.northernlife.ca/mobile/displaymobilearticle.aspx?id=32866

" Finally, when Leah was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with chronic depression

and an anxiety disorder, “which they figure she was really born with,â€

said, and received help at a children's mental health agency in Windsor. "



Mother aims to dispel stigmas surrounding children's mental health



Caption: Hess (right) said finding help for her developmentally delayed

daughter Leah (left) was difficult when she was younger. As a result, Hess has

been trying to raise awareness of children's mental health issues and secure

more government funding to address the issue for many years. Photo supplied.

Hess speaks Feb. 9 in Sudbury

By: Heidi Ulrichsen - Sudbury Northern Life

These days, 29-year-old Leah Hess has a part-time filing job in an office,

spends her spare time taking aboriginal drumming lessons, and, according to her

mother, , is “an amazing young woman with a great sense of humour.â€

But raising Leah, a developmentally delayed young woman who has also suffered

from chronic depression and an anxiety disorder since childhood, was a long and

difficult process, said.

“It was pretty horrid when she was growing up,†said the Windsor woman, who

is a long-time advocate for children with mental illness.

is scheduled to speak about her experiences with Leah in Sudbury Feb. 9 at

7 p.m. at Gatchell School (located at 31 Tuddenham St.). The lecture was

organized by the Rainbow District School Board's parent involvement committee.

said she first noticed something different about Leah when the girl was

about three years old. Leah, the fourth of five children, wasn't meeting the

same developmental milestones as her brothers and sisters. She brought Leah to a

doctor, where she was tested for physical and mental delays.

Then, when Leah was five years old, her father committed suicide. said she

doesn't believe Leah's father's death had anything to do with her subsequent

mental health problems because she was too young, especially with her

developmental delay, to really understand what had happened.

said the girl's behaviour was always characterized by irrational fears.

She was terrified to go into the basement or go across the street to visit

neighbours she knew well.

When there was an upcoming field trip, she'd be “up for two or three weeks

before the field trips, and she'd imagine all sorts of horrid things like the

bus crashing, and she wouldn't want to go.â€

By the time Leah was eight or nine, she told her mother that she was hearing

voices telling her to kill herself.

“I remember one time being on the phone in the family room, and I could hear

her saying 'Go away, get away, get away.' When I excused myself from the

telephone and I went in (to the other room), she was standing in the corner,

backing away, batting things away,†said.

“I said 'What's wrong?' She said 'I need them to get away. I need them to stop

talking to me.' I said 'Who?' She said 'The voices that are telling me to kill

myself.' I said 'Where are they?' She said 'They're right here.' There was

nothing there. She was standing, facing the corner.â€

Getting help for Leah was difficult, her mother said.

She visited one psychiatrist with a suicide note her then 10-year-old daughter

had written, and the psychiatrist told her she thought Leah had been sexually

abused, while knew that wasn't the case.

“It was a real fight as a parent. What I did was I gathered champions around

me, who did believe what I was saying. There was a school social worker who said

to me 'Don't let people tell you she has a behaviour problem. Her behaviour is

connected to what is wrong inside her, so keep fighting.'â€

The stigma of mental illness was extremely isolating for the family, said.

She and her other children were afraid to have people over because Leah was so

unpredictable. Leah herself had no friends.

Finally, when Leah was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with chronic depression

and an anxiety disorder, “which they figure she was really born with,â€

said, and received help at a children's mental health agency in Windsor.

While things have gotten a lot better for the young woman over the years, she

still lives with her mother because she is afraid to be alone at night, and

occasionally talks about committing suicide.

“Sometimes she'll say to me, 'I'm just going to go and kill myself.' So we'll

sit and talk about that. I'll ask her 'What is your plan?' She doesn't have a

plan. 'Where are you going to do it?' She doesn't know where,†said.

“But if you talk to her and say 'If you did take your life, you wouldn't be

able to (go to your brother's wedding), you wouldn't be able to go with (your

worker to visit her family), and you wouldn't be able to play with (your

worker's) little baby. Every time she says it, I take it seriously, but we sit

down and talk about it. But she's not saying it like she said it before.â€

For many years, has been trying to raise awareness of children's mental

health issues and secure more government funding to address the issue.

She has done everything from giving lectures about the topic across the country,

to sitting on numerous committees.

Until recently, she was a member of the Board of Children’s Mental Health

Ontario. She was also a member of the Consumer Advocate Network and the Advisory

Council, standing committees of the Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth

Mental Health.

She continues to serve on the Family Care Advisory Committee for the Mental

Health Commission of Canada.

In 2003, she also participated in a project called the Quilt of Honour, which

features the stories of nine young people with mental illness, including Leah,

on a quilt.

Four of the young people featured on the quilt had already committed suicide at

the time it was made, and another young man featured on the quilt committed

suicide last year at the age of 20, she said.

said when she speaks to the parents of other young people with mental

illness, she gives them several pieces of advice.

She tells them not to give up, and continue to try to find their child the help

they need. She tells them to nurture a relationship with the child's teacher and

other supportive professionals so they can work together to help the child.

Last of all, she tells them to “love your child for who they are, not for what

you want them to be.â€

© 2009 tian Media Group

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://www.northernlife.ca/mobile/displaymobilearticle.aspx?id=32866

" Finally, when Leah was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with chronic depression

and an anxiety disorder, “which they figure she was really born with,â€

said, and received help at a children's mental health agency in Windsor. "



Mother aims to dispel stigmas surrounding children's mental health



Caption: Hess (right) said finding help for her developmentally delayed

daughter Leah (left) was difficult when she was younger. As a result, Hess has

been trying to raise awareness of children's mental health issues and secure

more government funding to address the issue for many years. Photo supplied.

Hess speaks Feb. 9 in Sudbury

By: Heidi Ulrichsen - Sudbury Northern Life

These days, 29-year-old Leah Hess has a part-time filing job in an office,

spends her spare time taking aboriginal drumming lessons, and, according to her

mother, , is “an amazing young woman with a great sense of humour.â€

But raising Leah, a developmentally delayed young woman who has also suffered

from chronic depression and an anxiety disorder since childhood, was a long and

difficult process, said.

“It was pretty horrid when she was growing up,†said the Windsor woman, who

is a long-time advocate for children with mental illness.

is scheduled to speak about her experiences with Leah in Sudbury Feb. 9 at

7 p.m. at Gatchell School (located at 31 Tuddenham St.). The lecture was

organized by the Rainbow District School Board's parent involvement committee.

said she first noticed something different about Leah when the girl was

about three years old. Leah, the fourth of five children, wasn't meeting the

same developmental milestones as her brothers and sisters. She brought Leah to a

doctor, where she was tested for physical and mental delays.

Then, when Leah was five years old, her father committed suicide. said she

doesn't believe Leah's father's death had anything to do with her subsequent

mental health problems because she was too young, especially with her

developmental delay, to really understand what had happened.

said the girl's behaviour was always characterized by irrational fears.

She was terrified to go into the basement or go across the street to visit

neighbours she knew well.

When there was an upcoming field trip, she'd be “up for two or three weeks

before the field trips, and she'd imagine all sorts of horrid things like the

bus crashing, and she wouldn't want to go.â€

By the time Leah was eight or nine, she told her mother that she was hearing

voices telling her to kill herself.

“I remember one time being on the phone in the family room, and I could hear

her saying 'Go away, get away, get away.' When I excused myself from the

telephone and I went in (to the other room), she was standing in the corner,

backing away, batting things away,†said.

“I said 'What's wrong?' She said 'I need them to get away. I need them to stop

talking to me.' I said 'Who?' She said 'The voices that are telling me to kill

myself.' I said 'Where are they?' She said 'They're right here.' There was

nothing there. She was standing, facing the corner.â€

Getting help for Leah was difficult, her mother said.

She visited one psychiatrist with a suicide note her then 10-year-old daughter

had written, and the psychiatrist told her she thought Leah had been sexually

abused, while knew that wasn't the case.

“It was a real fight as a parent. What I did was I gathered champions around

me, who did believe what I was saying. There was a school social worker who said

to me 'Don't let people tell you she has a behaviour problem. Her behaviour is

connected to what is wrong inside her, so keep fighting.'â€

The stigma of mental illness was extremely isolating for the family, said.

She and her other children were afraid to have people over because Leah was so

unpredictable. Leah herself had no friends.

Finally, when Leah was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with chronic depression

and an anxiety disorder, “which they figure she was really born with,â€

said, and received help at a children's mental health agency in Windsor.

While things have gotten a lot better for the young woman over the years, she

still lives with her mother because she is afraid to be alone at night, and

occasionally talks about committing suicide.

“Sometimes she'll say to me, 'I'm just going to go and kill myself.' So we'll

sit and talk about that. I'll ask her 'What is your plan?' She doesn't have a

plan. 'Where are you going to do it?' She doesn't know where,†said.

“But if you talk to her and say 'If you did take your life, you wouldn't be

able to (go to your brother's wedding), you wouldn't be able to go with (your

worker to visit her family), and you wouldn't be able to play with (your

worker's) little baby. Every time she says it, I take it seriously, but we sit

down and talk about it. But she's not saying it like she said it before.â€

For many years, has been trying to raise awareness of children's mental

health issues and secure more government funding to address the issue.

She has done everything from giving lectures about the topic across the country,

to sitting on numerous committees.

Until recently, she was a member of the Board of Children’s Mental Health

Ontario. She was also a member of the Consumer Advocate Network and the Advisory

Council, standing committees of the Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth

Mental Health.

She continues to serve on the Family Care Advisory Committee for the Mental

Health Commission of Canada.

In 2003, she also participated in a project called the Quilt of Honour, which

features the stories of nine young people with mental illness, including Leah,

on a quilt.

Four of the young people featured on the quilt had already committed suicide at

the time it was made, and another young man featured on the quilt committed

suicide last year at the age of 20, she said.

said when she speaks to the parents of other young people with mental

illness, she gives them several pieces of advice.

She tells them not to give up, and continue to try to find their child the help

they need. She tells them to nurture a relationship with the child's teacher and

other supportive professionals so they can work together to help the child.

Last of all, she tells them to “love your child for who they are, not for what

you want them to be.â€

© 2009 tian Media Group

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://www.northernlife.ca/mobile/displaymobilearticle.aspx?id=32866

" Finally, when Leah was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with chronic depression

and an anxiety disorder, “which they figure she was really born with,â€

said, and received help at a children's mental health agency in Windsor. "



Mother aims to dispel stigmas surrounding children's mental health



Caption: Hess (right) said finding help for her developmentally delayed

daughter Leah (left) was difficult when she was younger. As a result, Hess has

been trying to raise awareness of children's mental health issues and secure

more government funding to address the issue for many years. Photo supplied.

Hess speaks Feb. 9 in Sudbury

By: Heidi Ulrichsen - Sudbury Northern Life

These days, 29-year-old Leah Hess has a part-time filing job in an office,

spends her spare time taking aboriginal drumming lessons, and, according to her

mother, , is “an amazing young woman with a great sense of humour.â€

But raising Leah, a developmentally delayed young woman who has also suffered

from chronic depression and an anxiety disorder since childhood, was a long and

difficult process, said.

“It was pretty horrid when she was growing up,†said the Windsor woman, who

is a long-time advocate for children with mental illness.

is scheduled to speak about her experiences with Leah in Sudbury Feb. 9 at

7 p.m. at Gatchell School (located at 31 Tuddenham St.). The lecture was

organized by the Rainbow District School Board's parent involvement committee.

said she first noticed something different about Leah when the girl was

about three years old. Leah, the fourth of five children, wasn't meeting the

same developmental milestones as her brothers and sisters. She brought Leah to a

doctor, where she was tested for physical and mental delays.

Then, when Leah was five years old, her father committed suicide. said she

doesn't believe Leah's father's death had anything to do with her subsequent

mental health problems because she was too young, especially with her

developmental delay, to really understand what had happened.

said the girl's behaviour was always characterized by irrational fears.

She was terrified to go into the basement or go across the street to visit

neighbours she knew well.

When there was an upcoming field trip, she'd be “up for two or three weeks

before the field trips, and she'd imagine all sorts of horrid things like the

bus crashing, and she wouldn't want to go.â€

By the time Leah was eight or nine, she told her mother that she was hearing

voices telling her to kill herself.

“I remember one time being on the phone in the family room, and I could hear

her saying 'Go away, get away, get away.' When I excused myself from the

telephone and I went in (to the other room), she was standing in the corner,

backing away, batting things away,†said.

“I said 'What's wrong?' She said 'I need them to get away. I need them to stop

talking to me.' I said 'Who?' She said 'The voices that are telling me to kill

myself.' I said 'Where are they?' She said 'They're right here.' There was

nothing there. She was standing, facing the corner.â€

Getting help for Leah was difficult, her mother said.

She visited one psychiatrist with a suicide note her then 10-year-old daughter

had written, and the psychiatrist told her she thought Leah had been sexually

abused, while knew that wasn't the case.

“It was a real fight as a parent. What I did was I gathered champions around

me, who did believe what I was saying. There was a school social worker who said

to me 'Don't let people tell you she has a behaviour problem. Her behaviour is

connected to what is wrong inside her, so keep fighting.'â€

The stigma of mental illness was extremely isolating for the family, said.

She and her other children were afraid to have people over because Leah was so

unpredictable. Leah herself had no friends.

Finally, when Leah was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with chronic depression

and an anxiety disorder, “which they figure she was really born with,â€

said, and received help at a children's mental health agency in Windsor.

While things have gotten a lot better for the young woman over the years, she

still lives with her mother because she is afraid to be alone at night, and

occasionally talks about committing suicide.

“Sometimes she'll say to me, 'I'm just going to go and kill myself.' So we'll

sit and talk about that. I'll ask her 'What is your plan?' She doesn't have a

plan. 'Where are you going to do it?' She doesn't know where,†said.

“But if you talk to her and say 'If you did take your life, you wouldn't be

able to (go to your brother's wedding), you wouldn't be able to go with (your

worker to visit her family), and you wouldn't be able to play with (your

worker's) little baby. Every time she says it, I take it seriously, but we sit

down and talk about it. But she's not saying it like she said it before.â€

For many years, has been trying to raise awareness of children's mental

health issues and secure more government funding to address the issue.

She has done everything from giving lectures about the topic across the country,

to sitting on numerous committees.

Until recently, she was a member of the Board of Children’s Mental Health

Ontario. She was also a member of the Consumer Advocate Network and the Advisory

Council, standing committees of the Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth

Mental Health.

She continues to serve on the Family Care Advisory Committee for the Mental

Health Commission of Canada.

In 2003, she also participated in a project called the Quilt of Honour, which

features the stories of nine young people with mental illness, including Leah,

on a quilt.

Four of the young people featured on the quilt had already committed suicide at

the time it was made, and another young man featured on the quilt committed

suicide last year at the age of 20, she said.

said when she speaks to the parents of other young people with mental

illness, she gives them several pieces of advice.

She tells them not to give up, and continue to try to find their child the help

they need. She tells them to nurture a relationship with the child's teacher and

other supportive professionals so they can work together to help the child.

Last of all, she tells them to “love your child for who they are, not for what

you want them to be.â€

© 2009 tian Media Group

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://www.northernlife.ca/mobile/displaymobilearticle.aspx?id=32866

" Finally, when Leah was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with chronic depression

and an anxiety disorder, “which they figure she was really born with,â€

said, and received help at a children's mental health agency in Windsor. "



Mother aims to dispel stigmas surrounding children's mental health



Caption: Hess (right) said finding help for her developmentally delayed

daughter Leah (left) was difficult when she was younger. As a result, Hess has

been trying to raise awareness of children's mental health issues and secure

more government funding to address the issue for many years. Photo supplied.

Hess speaks Feb. 9 in Sudbury

By: Heidi Ulrichsen - Sudbury Northern Life

These days, 29-year-old Leah Hess has a part-time filing job in an office,

spends her spare time taking aboriginal drumming lessons, and, according to her

mother, , is “an amazing young woman with a great sense of humour.â€

But raising Leah, a developmentally delayed young woman who has also suffered

from chronic depression and an anxiety disorder since childhood, was a long and

difficult process, said.

“It was pretty horrid when she was growing up,†said the Windsor woman, who

is a long-time advocate for children with mental illness.

is scheduled to speak about her experiences with Leah in Sudbury Feb. 9 at

7 p.m. at Gatchell School (located at 31 Tuddenham St.). The lecture was

organized by the Rainbow District School Board's parent involvement committee.

said she first noticed something different about Leah when the girl was

about three years old. Leah, the fourth of five children, wasn't meeting the

same developmental milestones as her brothers and sisters. She brought Leah to a

doctor, where she was tested for physical and mental delays.

Then, when Leah was five years old, her father committed suicide. said she

doesn't believe Leah's father's death had anything to do with her subsequent

mental health problems because she was too young, especially with her

developmental delay, to really understand what had happened.

said the girl's behaviour was always characterized by irrational fears.

She was terrified to go into the basement or go across the street to visit

neighbours she knew well.

When there was an upcoming field trip, she'd be “up for two or three weeks

before the field trips, and she'd imagine all sorts of horrid things like the

bus crashing, and she wouldn't want to go.â€

By the time Leah was eight or nine, she told her mother that she was hearing

voices telling her to kill herself.

“I remember one time being on the phone in the family room, and I could hear

her saying 'Go away, get away, get away.' When I excused myself from the

telephone and I went in (to the other room), she was standing in the corner,

backing away, batting things away,†said.

“I said 'What's wrong?' She said 'I need them to get away. I need them to stop

talking to me.' I said 'Who?' She said 'The voices that are telling me to kill

myself.' I said 'Where are they?' She said 'They're right here.' There was

nothing there. She was standing, facing the corner.â€

Getting help for Leah was difficult, her mother said.

She visited one psychiatrist with a suicide note her then 10-year-old daughter

had written, and the psychiatrist told her she thought Leah had been sexually

abused, while knew that wasn't the case.

“It was a real fight as a parent. What I did was I gathered champions around

me, who did believe what I was saying. There was a school social worker who said

to me 'Don't let people tell you she has a behaviour problem. Her behaviour is

connected to what is wrong inside her, so keep fighting.'â€

The stigma of mental illness was extremely isolating for the family, said.

She and her other children were afraid to have people over because Leah was so

unpredictable. Leah herself had no friends.

Finally, when Leah was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with chronic depression

and an anxiety disorder, “which they figure she was really born with,â€

said, and received help at a children's mental health agency in Windsor.

While things have gotten a lot better for the young woman over the years, she

still lives with her mother because she is afraid to be alone at night, and

occasionally talks about committing suicide.

“Sometimes she'll say to me, 'I'm just going to go and kill myself.' So we'll

sit and talk about that. I'll ask her 'What is your plan?' She doesn't have a

plan. 'Where are you going to do it?' She doesn't know where,†said.

“But if you talk to her and say 'If you did take your life, you wouldn't be

able to (go to your brother's wedding), you wouldn't be able to go with (your

worker to visit her family), and you wouldn't be able to play with (your

worker's) little baby. Every time she says it, I take it seriously, but we sit

down and talk about it. But she's not saying it like she said it before.â€

For many years, has been trying to raise awareness of children's mental

health issues and secure more government funding to address the issue.

She has done everything from giving lectures about the topic across the country,

to sitting on numerous committees.

Until recently, she was a member of the Board of Children’s Mental Health

Ontario. She was also a member of the Consumer Advocate Network and the Advisory

Council, standing committees of the Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth

Mental Health.

She continues to serve on the Family Care Advisory Committee for the Mental

Health Commission of Canada.

In 2003, she also participated in a project called the Quilt of Honour, which

features the stories of nine young people with mental illness, including Leah,

on a quilt.

Four of the young people featured on the quilt had already committed suicide at

the time it was made, and another young man featured on the quilt committed

suicide last year at the age of 20, she said.

said when she speaks to the parents of other young people with mental

illness, she gives them several pieces of advice.

She tells them not to give up, and continue to try to find their child the help

they need. She tells them to nurture a relationship with the child's teacher and

other supportive professionals so they can work together to help the child.

Last of all, she tells them to “love your child for who they are, not for what

you want them to be.â€

© 2009 tian Media Group

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T