Shrinking It Down: Mental Health Made Simple

Welcome back to Shrinking It Down – because mental health is anything but simple. What better way to launch Season 5 than by busting some mental health myths?

In this episode, co-hosts Dr. Gene Beresin and Dr. Khadijah Booth Watkins check in with each other after the summer break, and then share the facts on some common misconceptions about depression and anxiety, violent video games, "bad" parenting, and more.

Thanks for joining! We hope our conversation will help you to have yours.

Media List

• Gene Beresin, MD, MA
• Khadijah Booth Watkins, MD, MPH
• Mental Health Myths: BUSTED (MGH Clay Center)
• Myth Busters (Discovery+)
• 3-2-1 Contact (IMDB)
• When Teens Talk of Suicide: What You Need to Know (MGH Clay Center)
• Bipolar Disorder and the Arts: Mark Vonnegut’s Story (MGH Clay Center)
• What If My Child Has Depression? (MGH Clay Center)
• Game Reviews (Common Sense Media)
• What If My Child Has an Anxiety Disorder? (MGH Clay Center)
• Social-Emotionally Supporting Your Child In a Pandemic School Year (Canada Talks, Sirius XM)
• Exercise for Stress and Anxiety (Anxiety & Depression Association of America)
• Nutrition and Mental Health: It’s More Complicated Than You Think (MGH Clay Center)
• Anxiety to Agency: Empowering Kids to Address Climate Change (MGH Clay Center)

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Music by Gene Beresin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can six minutes of meditation really make a difference? Try it for yourself!

In this excerpt from our March 17 episode, "Medicating with Meditation?" Dr. Darshan Mehta leads us in a 6-minute meditation - right in the middle of our workday. Follow along to take a break in your own day, and share with someone else in your life.

Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH, is Medical Director of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine and Director of the Office for Well-Being at Massachusetts General Hospital. For more on the power of meditation to support mental health, physical health, and overall well-being, tune in to the full episode here:

Medicating With Meditation? The Power of Mind Body Medicine, featuring Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s our last episode of the season, but never fear – we're signing off with tips to last you the summer long. Today’s episode is all about sleep!

Sleep is so important to our overall health and well-being. So, very special guest Dr. Bernard Kinane, Director of the Pediatric Sleep Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, joins Gene and Khadijah to answer all of your questions about how to support kids in healthy sleep habits.

What are the most common sleep problems in toddlers and teens? Why is sleep hunger important for maintaining a healthy sleep schedule? What’s the most common sleep challenge for kids with mental health disorders, and how do help them? How does iron deficiency affect your baby’s sleep (and yours)? Can you make up for lost sleep? (The answer might surprise you!) And if your teen has gotten in the habit of staying up until 3am, what’s a realistic approach to get back to normal? Plus, tips to manage vacation/back-to-school sleep transitions. Dr. Kinane answers all this, and more. Don't skip this episode!

Thank you for joining in this conversation. Enjoy an emotionally healthy summer, and sleep well!

Media List (follow along with the conversation)

• Bernard Kinane, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital)
• Pediatric Sleep Disorders Program (Massachusetts General Hospital)
• The Importance of Sleep for Kids’ Emotional Well-being (MGH Clay Center)
• Changes in sleep patterns and disturbances in children and adolescents in Italy during the Covid-19 outbreak (Sleep Medicine)
• How Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome Affects Teenagers (verywell health)
• Obstructive Sleep Apnea (Brigham and Women’s Hospital)
• ADHD, Sleep, and Me: It’s Complicated (ADDitude Magazine)
• Autism linked to sleep problems and brain changes in infancy (SPECTRUM)
• Sleep: Let’s Talk About Older Kids and Teens (MGH Clay Center)
• Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Children (Pediatrics in Review)
• Video games, social media tied to shorter sleep for teens (Reuters)
• The Pandemic Is Still Here. That’s Bad for Coke and Pepsi Stock. (Barron’s)
• All That Blue Light Exposure Might Not Be Keeping You Awake After All (Men’s Journal)
• Can You Make up for Lost Sleep? (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences)
• 9 Tips to Help Toddlers to Sleep On Their Own (MGH Clay Center)
• Iron deficiency and sleep – A scoping review (Sleep Medicine Reviews)
• Parents Flocked to Vaccine Trials, Now Wait for Teen Jab Options (Bloomberg Law)

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Music by Gene Beresin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past year, the Clay Center has worked to support even more young people by translating our free, online resources for Spanish-speaking parents and caregivers. In this time, we’ve seen high readership on topics like emotionally supporting kids and teens during COVID-19, the importance of sleep for child mental health, and how to help young people manage anxiety and stress. 

On today’s episode of Shrinking It Down, Gene and Khadijah welcome special guest Dr. Angel Caraballo for a conversation about the unique mental health challenges impacting Latinx and Hispanic families. From his experience as a child and adolescent psychiatrist and also as a parent, Dr. Carraballo help us to think more about ways to address stigma and other barriers to accessing mental health care within Latinx communities. 

Thank you for joining in this conversation. Do you have a question or comment about supporting the mental health of Latinx children and teens? We’d love to know. Write to us! 

Media List 

• Angel Caraballo, MD  
• ‘This is trauma’: Latino children face mental health struggles during pandemic (KOLD News 13) 
• Self-care for psychologists during the COVID-19 outbreak (American Psychological Association) 
• 10 Consejos de Cuidado Personal para Padres (MGH Clay Center) 
• 10 Self-Care Tips for Parents (MGH Clay Center) 
• Migrant children are often their parents’ translators – and it can lead to ill health (The Conversation) 
• The Power of Community Health During COVID-19: A Look at Chelsea, Massachusetts, featuring Mary Lyons-Hunter, PsyD – Shrinking It Down (MGH Clay Center) 
• Conciencia del Estrés: Cómo Pueden Los Padres Ayudar A Sus Hijos Con El Estrés (MGH Clay Center) 
• Stress Awareness: How Parents Can Help Their Children With Stress (English) 
• La salud mental de su hijo: bienestar mental en ninos en edad escolar (NY Project TEACH) 
• La salud mental de su hijo: bienestar mental en la adolescencia (NY Project TEACH) 
• What Their Writing Told Me: The Taboo of Mental Illness In the Hispanic Community (MGH Clay Center) 
• Desarrollar el bienestar mental en los niños: lo que los padres pueden hacer (MGH Clay Center) 
• Building Mental Wellness in Children: What Parents Can Do (MGH Clay Center) 
• Understanding Mental Illness in the Latinx Community (Al Día News) 
• Tackling Racism Internally to Better Serve Our Communities – A Closer Look at Mass General’s 10-Point Plan, featuring Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH (MGH Clay Center) 
• It's More Important Than Ever To Remove the Stigma Around Latinx Mental Health (Oprah Daily) 
• Amid rise in hate attacks against Asian Americans, mental health expert provides advice on how to cope (ABC7 Eyewitness News) 
• UMass Hockey Wins National Championship (University of Massachusetts Amherst) 
• J&J Vaccine and Blood Clots: The Risks, if Any, Are Very Low (The New York Times) 
• Clay Center En Español (MGH Clay Center) 
•  

Music by Gene Beresin

Episode edited by Joshua Eng

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coming into April, Autism Awareness Month, we’ve noticed more families coming to our website with questions about high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Some are seeking guidance on challenges families face, some wanting to learn more about behaviors stereotypically associated with ASD, and others wondering what happened to the Asperger’s diagnosis.  

On today’s episode of “Shrinking It Down,” we welcome special guest Dr. Robyn Thom, a psychiatrist at the Lurie Center for Autism at the Massachusetts General Hospital, for a conversation about challenges for kids and teens with ASD, including with social relationships and repetitive behaviors. She also shares guidance on seeking evaluation and treatment for kids with ASD, as well as the importance of early disclosure about their diagnosis. 

Thank you for joining in this conversation. Do you have a question or comment about high-functioning ASD? We’d love to know. Write to us! 

Media List 

• Robyn Thom, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital) 
• Lurie Center for Autism (Massachusetts General Hospital)  
• Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things (Official Trailer) (YouTube) 
• Vancouver, Canada (City of Vancouver) 
• What Is Autism Spectrum? (MGH Clay Center)  
• DSM-5 Autism Spectrum Disorder (DSM-5)
• DSM-5: What Happened to Asperger’s? (MGH Clay Center) 
• The Enduring Power of Asperger's, Even as a Non-Diagnosis (Wired) 
• Blunt and Nuanced: The Pain of High Functioning Autism (MGH Clay Center) 
• Boston Legal (IMDB) 
• Atypical (IMDB) 
• The Good Doctor (IMDB) 
• What Are the Different Types of Evaluations? (MGH Clay Center) 
• Genetic Testing for Autism  (Autism Speaks) 
• A medical condition or just a difference? The question roils autism community (Washington Post) 
• Welcome to Holland (National Down Syndrome Society) 
• Medical Conditions Associated with Autism (Autism Speaks) 
• Guide for Parents of Asian/Asian American Adolescents (MGH Center for Cross-Cultural Student Emotional Wellness) 

Music by Gene Beresin

Episode edited by Joshua Eng

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everyone has been hit hard mentally and emotionally during the pandemic, but there’s growing research to suggest that young adults – that special 18-24 age group – are suffering more than we might think. GenZ and Millennials had already been flagged as possibly the loneliest generation, even before COVID-19. Now many are faced with increased social isolation and a devastating economy at a time when, developmentally, they should be building independence and identity through higher education or work.

In this episode of Shrinking It Down, Gene and Khadijah share insights from their clinical practice on navigating these unique challenges, including ways to help young adults maintain their sense of purpose despite everything else they can’t control.

Thank you for joining in this conversation. Do you a question or comment about supporting young adults during Covid? We'd love to know. Write to us!

Media List (Follow along with the conversation)

• Here’s How the COVID Lockdown Impacted College Students’ Mental Health (NBC 10 Boston – excerpt in audio)
• Pandemic’s mental health burden heaviest among young adults (ABC News)
• 5 Tips for Parents Who Have Their Young Adults Back Home (Moms)
• Managing Family Conflict During Covid – Shrinking It Down (MGH Clay Center)
• The Challenges of First-Generation College Students (MGH Clay Center)
• How to Help Young People Cope With Grief and Loss During COVID-19 (MGH Clay Center)
• How NCAA March Madness will look contained in Indianapolis (USA Today Sports)
• Miami’s South Beach confronts disastrous spring break (Associated Press)
• College Students of Color: Overcoming Racial Disparities and Discrimination (MGH Clay Center)
• International College Students: Challenges and Solutions (MGH Clay Center)
• COVID-19 related job insecurity linked to young adult mental health burden (Healio)
• Self-Care In College (YouTube – MGH Clay Center)
• 'No one is sure what to expect': Schools, colleges add more counseling services to address student mental health (EdSource)
• Educators are key in protecting student mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic (Brookings)
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT): A Closer Look (MGH Clay Center)
• Where to Turn (MGH Clay Center)
• #wecanmanagethis (Twitter)
• Atlanta shooting and the legacy of misogyny and racism against Asian women (ABC News)
• Guide for Parents of Asian/Asian American Adolescents (William James College)
• Another Shooting – An Important Moment to Comfort and Talk With Our Kids (MGH Clay Center)
• How Do We Heal From Here? A Guide for Families and Our Nation (MGH Clay Center)

If you or someone you know is in distress and needs support, connect with a crisis counselor 24/7:

• Call 1-800-273-8255 (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline)
• Text “HOME” to 741741 (US/Canada). UK: text 85258. Ireland: text 50808. (Crisis Text Line)

Music by Gene Beresin

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of Shrinking It Down, Gene and Khadijah welcome special guest Dr. Darshan Mehta, Medical Director of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine of Massachusetts General Hospital, to talk about something we could all use more of: Meditation. This past year has brought on new stressors and anxieties for families, on top of those they were already managing. So, what about treating this stress with a healthy dose of meditation?

Meditation is a practice that can help to decrease stress levels, increase calmness and clarity, and improve our physical health. Whether you’ve tried meditation before and are interested in the science behind how it works, or you’re looking for tips on how to start, Dr. Mehta walks through it all. Plus, he guides Gene and Khadijah through a “mini” meditation to demonstrate how even just a few minutes of focus can make a big difference.

Thank you for joining in this meditation! Do you have a question about mind body practices, or something you’d like to share? We’d love to know. Write to us!

Media List

Follow along with the conversation.

• Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH (Massachusetts General Hospital)
• Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine (Massachusetts General Hospital)
• Office for Well-Being (Massachusetts General Hospital)
• I Am Not Your Negro (IMDB)
• Meditation and a relaxation technique to lower blood pressure (Harvard Health Publishing)
• Using the relaxation response to reduce stress (Harvard Health Publishing)
• Mindfulness: A Practical Guide Toward Personal Peace and Resilience (MGH Clay Center)
• Mind and Body Practices (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• What Mindfulness Does to Your Brain: The Science of Neuroplasticity (Real Simple)
• Can Meditation Change Your Genes? (Mindful)
• How Meditation Can Make You a Better Athlete (SHAPE)
• Mental Imaging (The Musicians Way)
• Your Smartwatch Is About to Become Your New Therapist (Best Health)
• Guided Relaxation Exercises (Benson-Henry Institute)
• Four Mini Relaxation Exercises (Massachusetts General Hospital)
• Psychosocial Vulnerabilities to Upper Respiratory Infectious Illness: Implications for Susceptibility to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Perspectives on Psychological Science)
• Psychological and Behavioral Predictors of Vaccine Efficacy: Considerations for COVID-19 (Perspectives on Psychological Science)
• CDC guidelines update: Face masks and fully-vaccinated people (NBC News)
• Missed Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview? How to rewatch the whole thing (CNET)
• H.R.7120 – George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (Congress.gov)
• The Positive Value of Conflict: There’s Great Power in Resolution (MGH Clay Center)

Music by Gene Beresin

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During COVID-19, many kids across the country have been doing most or all of their schooling online. But now, a year later, many communities are finally finding ways to bring kids back to school, in person. While it’s largely agreed on that in-person schooling is critical for child and teen positive mental health and social-emotional development, going back comes with its own concerns and a host of new anxieties for kids, parents, and teachers alike.

In this episode of Shrinking It Down, Gene and Khadijah share insights from their clinical practice as child psychiatrists on supporting the mental health of your family with some of these mid-year “back-to-school” challenges.

Thank you for joining in this conversation. Do you have anxieties or concerns about sending your kids back to school during Covid? We'd love to know. Write to us!

Media List (follow along with the conversation)

• More Schools Are Returning To In-Person Learning. How Do You Decide To Send Your Child Back? (Wisconsin Public Radio)
• K-12 School Operational Strategy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Coronavirus: Teens’ anxiety levels dropped during pandemic, study finds (BBC News)
• Going Back to School During COVID-19 Is a Struggle for Students, Teachers, and Parents (Teen Vogue)
• 7 Ways to Support Kids and Teens Through the Coronavirus Pandemic (MGH Clay Center)
• Should kids get a snow day? (The Weather Channel)
• Harvard EdCast: College Admissions During COVID (Harvard Graduate School of Education)
• Mental Wellness in School-Age Children (Project TEACH)
• Mental Wellness in the Teen Years (Project TEACH)
• How to Help Young People Cope With Grief and Loss During COVID-19 (MGH Clay Center)
• Is Remote Learning Causing A Mental Health Crisis Among Teens And Children? (WBEZ Chicago)
• What Families should Know About Suicide (MGH Clay Center)
• Supporting Your Family’s Emotional Health During COVID-19 (MGH Clay Center)
• The Nuts and Bolts of Telepsychiatry, featuring Janet Wozniak, MD (MGH Clay Center)
• Where To Turn (MGH Clay Center)
• How Do We Heal From Here? A Guide for Families and Our Nation (MGH Clay Center)

If you or someone you know is in distress and needs support, connect with a crisis counselor 24/7:

• Call 1-800-273-8255 (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline)
• Text “HOME” to 741741 (US/Canada). UK: text 85258. Ireland: text 50808. (Crisis Text Line)

Music by Gene Beresin

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Content Warning: Today’s episode is the second in a two-part series on teen relationship violence. It may be difficult for some of our listeners.  

When we look underneath a young person’s anger, or shame, or grief, there is often a hidden need that’s not being met. Learning how to identify and address these hidden needs is a skill we can all build over time. And doing this is a critical part of fostering healthier relationships and preventing tremendous pain to ourselves and to others. 

Last week on our podcast, we began a difficult, but important conversation about teen breakup violence through the lens of Lauren Dunne Astley’s story, an 18-year-old young woman who died at the hands of her former boyfriend. This week, Gene and Khadijah welcome a very special guest to continue the conversation – Malcolm Astley, Lauren’s father.

Based on much research over the years and his efforts through the Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Fund to develop violence prevention programming in schools, Malcolm helps us take a closer look at the concept of “at-risk emotions” in young people. What they are, the process it takes to recognize and unpack them, and how caring adults can help teens build the skills to respond to these emotions in a healthy way. 

Thank you for joining in this conversation. If you have a question or something you would like to share related to healthy teen relationships or teen relationship violence, please write to us.  

Media List 

Included below are more resources on relationship violence and today’s conversation.

• Teen Breakup Violence, Part I (MGH Clay Center)
• Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Fund (LDAMF Official website) 
• Escaping Breakup and Relationship Violence (LDAMF Foundation, YouTube) 
• Sudbury – Wayland – Lincoln – Domestic Violence Roundtable  
• Unexpected Childhood Death: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Surviving Siblings and Parents (Journal of Clinical Child Psychology) 
• Why Shame Sucks (Especially for Kids) and How You Can Stop It (HuffPost) 
• Shame in psychotherapy with adolescents (Journal of Child Psychotherapy) 
• Negative Emotions as Risk Factors for Self-Directed Violence and Intimate Partner Violence in Chinese College Students (Journal of Interpersonal Violence) 
• How to Respond to Teens’ ‘Emotional Eruptions’ (The Atlantic) 
• Discovering Who I Am: The Critical Role of Identity (MGH Clay Center) 
• 10 Tips On Helping Teen Boys Express Their Feelings (HuffPost) 
• The Trauma Felt In Teenage Breakups (MGH Clay Center) 
• “How Can I Help You Say Goodbye” (Patty Loveless, YouTube)   
• 10 Signs of an Unhealthy Relationship (One Love Foundation) 
• Lean On Me (Bill Withers, YouTube)  
• Cain and Abel: Violence, Shame and Jealousy (Pastoral Psychology) 
• "The Hill We Climb” (ABC News, YouTube) 

Music by Gene Beresin

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.