The Problem With Perfect

As our What to Know Before They Go: Back To School series comes to an end, there's one more tough subject we have to tackle - teen suicide.

It's hard to imagine that a back-to-school series focused on how to support the teens in our lives has to include this topic. But the reality is clear. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 24 in the U.S. Nearly 20 percent of high school students report serious thoughts of suicide and 9 percent have made an attempt to take their lives, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Let that sink in. Two of every ten high schoolers have serious thoughts of suicide and nearly 1 in 10  have tried to complete it. 

Join us today as we tackle this difficult but necessary conversation that every parent, educator, and family member needs to hear. 


Special Guest: Lena McCain
Lena McCain is our Founder of Interfaith Bridge Counseling, where she now serves as  Clinical Director. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Mental Health: Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University.

Lena’s drive and passions lie in person-centered, liberation-based mental health, which she has spent the last 12 years studying with an emphasis on one’s exploration of personal growth, community healing, and multicultural values. Lena’s expertise in these areas and the therapeutic field reminds our community, teens, and young adults that you are not alone in their experience of life.

Show notes:
Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) - https://www.nami.org/Get-

Involved/Awareness-Events/Suicide-Prevention-Awareness-Month-(SPAM)
https://nami.org/Your-Journey/Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults/Kids/What-to-Look-For-
and-When-to-Act.

5 Healing Tips for YOUth – Suicide Prevention and Mental Wellness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtQ2tcUiVPU.

Lena’s website: Interfaithbridge.

On this week’s episode of What To Know Before They Go, the Back To School series, we
will be discussing the sensitive topics of adolescent and teen anxiety, depression,
perfectionism, and other mental health issues.

With school starting, we are hoping these discussions will assist parents, physicians, counselors, coaches, and communities in addressing the mental health needs of our teens and adolescents.

Do boys and girls experience mental health issues differently? How does social media
contribute to their mental health concerns? Are extracurricular activities contributing to perfectionism and stress?

Please join us as we address these issues and more.


Special Guest: Khara Croswaite Brindle, MA, LPC, ACS, CFT-I
Khara is the owner of Croswaite Counseling, PLLC and is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Financial Therapist-Level I who loves helping adult clients uncover hope in the face of stress and change, instead finding fulfillment and work-life balance. Khara enjoys working with young adults (18-25) and adults (25-55) experiencing anxiety, workaholism, perfectionism, self-esteem challenges, graduate school distress, and life transitions. Khara’s greatest joy is engaging driven entrepreneurs and perfectionists to move from workaholic to well-balanced with streamlined strategies in her Masterclass, workbook, and Amazon #1 Best Seller Perfectioneur, available in English and Spanish.

To access Khara's resources she refers to in the show or to contact her directly, go to:
https://croswaitecounselingpllc.com/

Show Notes/Additional Resources:

www.npr.org: Teens say social media is stressing them out. Here’s how to help them; May 17, 2023

www.npr.org: Want to understand your adolescent? Get to know their brain; May 23, 2023

www.wbur.org: The ‘manning up of boys begins in the cradle.’ But what boys really need is emotional support from their dads; June 15, 2023

Apps:
notOkay
Calm Harm
Clear Fear

Have you ever wondered what teenagers are thinking?

On this week’s episode of What To Know Before They Go – the Back To School series, we have the pleasure of interviewing three impressive students and hearing their suggestions for enhancing their educational experience. Their recommendations are for parents, teachers, and counselors who interact with students. In addition, they offer their responsibilities for being successful this school year.

They are the “real deal” and we are so grateful for their insight. We hope their transparency will help lend insight into the lives of the teenagers in your life and encourage you as you walk alongside them.

Special Guests:
Collin, High School Freshman
Kyra, High School Senior
Hudson, College Freshman

As the beginning of another school year quickly approaches, our latest series, What To Know Before They Go: How To Support Our Youth will address issues related to academics, disordered eating, anxiety, depression, and suicide - issues that plague an alarming number of teenagers. Each week we will interview experts in these areas to gain insight into these issues and to learn how to best support the struggling teens in our lives.

The statistics on disordered eating and eating disorders for adolescents are staggering;
The typical age at onset for 75% of this population is between 11 and 20 years of age.
Those who have been diagnosed with anorexia have a 10 times greater risk of dying compared to peers.
This is an epidemic that affects individuals, families, schools, and communities.

Please join us as we speak with Lauren Eisleben, LPC, a frequent guest on the podcast, to discuss these important issues and ways in which parents, teachers, counselors, and
communities can support individuals experiencing disordered eating.

Listeners, on this week’s episode of we will be discussing the sensitive and emotional topic of adolescent and teen eating disorders. The conversation may be triggering for those who have lost a loved one to anorexia or for those experiencing disordered eating. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Please call 988 for 24/7 support. 

Special Guest: Lauren Eisleben:
Lauren holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication and has worked as an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism for eight years. In December 2019, she graduated with a Master of Education degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Stephens College and specialized in emotion focused therapy (EFT).

As the beginning of another school year quickly approaches, our latest series, What To Know Before They Go: How To Support Our Youth will address issues related to academics, disordered eating, anxiety, depression, and suicide - issues that plague an alarming number of teenagers. Each week we will interview experts in these areas to gain insight about these issues and to learn how to best support the struggling teens in our lives.

This week, we kick off the series with Special Guest Nawassa Logan, a counselor in the Columbia (MO) Public School District. As the 2022-2023 school year ended, Nawassa wrote a social media post about entitlement, the lack of accountability, and other problems plaguing public education. Join us as she unpacks these issues and offers insights into how we can all work to improve the situation. 

Special Guest: Nawassa Logan, LPC
Nawassa is the mother of three adult children with 23 years of experience as a school counselor. 

Finding joy in the midst of sadness, depression, grief, or just the everyday trials and tribulations of life can be hard. Remembering what delights you, brings a smile, or lifts your spirits can be difficult when life gets in the way. 

This week we are reflecting on a few of our favorite things, because sometimes, when we want more joy in our life, we have to dig deep and rekindle our love for things that bring us joy. Movies and books that we love. Bible verses that feed our soul. Scents that remind us of beautiful people and places.

Join us for this light-hearted conversation and then check out the attached questions in the show notes to make it easy for you to spend a little time reflecting on your favorite things, too!

EnJOY!


Show Notes:
Robin's Favorite Books: 
The Bible and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni



Denise's Favorite Books:
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
Man' s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Abrams
The Bible 

 


To Help you Find a Few of YOUR Favorite Things

I've always wanted to learn how to:

I'd love to travel to:

If I won the lottery I would buy:

When I was younger, I love to:

Favorite Disney movie:

Favorite flower:

I am the world's best:

A perfect day would include:

My favorite smell:

Favorite food:

Favorite musician/song:

A wise friend once said that getting older isn't for sissies. Boy, was she right!

Our culture tells us to do everything we can to slow down or diminish the process of aging. In the process, there are often conversations that go unsaid and emotions that go unprocessed. 

We pride ourselves on educating our daughters about womanhood and supporting young mothers. But who is educating and supporting women beyond those phases of life? Who is saying the hard things and explaining to women why we feel different and how sometimes our bodies are defying us?

Join us for this episode as we start the conversation with an enlightening discussion about six things we wish we had known about aging.

Jamie Hoos appeared to be a superwoman to the world. She dedicated herself to raising her five children with her husband, leading the women's ministry at her church, and managing a side job. Additionally, she had her own teaching ministry.

But inwardly, Jamie had never felt weaker. Battling an undiagnosed autoimmune disease and the normal aging process, Jamie began to find her life overwhelming. Physically she was exhausted. Emotionally, she was drained. 

Jamie was burnout.

Join us for a heartfelt episode featuring Jamie Hoos, where she shares her clinical understanding of burnout, how it manifested in her life, and how her faith played a crucial role in her path toward hope and healing.


SPECIAL GUEST: JAMIE HOOS

JAMIE IS A MINISTRY LEADER PASSIONATE ABOUT THE WORK OF CHRIST IN THE LOCAL CHURCH.  SHE HAS TAUGHT THE BIBLE FOR OVER A DECADE AND RECENTLY BEGAN DABBLING IN BOTH BLOGGING AND WRITING HER OWN CURRICULUM FOR WOMEN’S STUDIES.  OUT OF THE OVERFLOW OF GOD’S WORK IN HER LIFE, JAMIE CHALLENGES WOMEN TO PLACE THEIR HOPE IN GOD AS HE PURPOSES TO USE THEM IN THE LIVES OF THEIR FAMILIES, FRIENDS, CHURCH AND THE COMMUNITY.  SHE HOLDS A BA IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AND A GRADUATE CERTIFICATE OF WOMEN’S MINISTRY FROM THE NEW ORLEANS BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.  SHE LIVES WITH HER HUSBAND, ANDY, AND THEIR FIVE CHILDREN IN CENTRAL MISSOURI.

To learn more about Jamie, go to www.jamiehoos.com or follow Jamie at Jamie Hoos Teaching Ministries on Facebook.

It's been a big week for birthdays. First, Denise had one now so does America.

Ever wonder why we celebrate the birth of our country with fireworks? Or ever consider where all the fireworks are made? Or how they are made?

Join us for this episode full of surprising facts about the Fourth of July holiday - created to help you enjoy this time of reflection, refreshment, and relaxation.

Show Notes:
Want to make the cauliflower potato salad Denise raves about:
https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/cauliflower-potato-salad/

For more Fourth of July facts:
https://wallethub.com/blog/4th-of-july-facts/22075

For more from Denise, go to her blog Words To Live By at:
https://denisebickel.com/

To follow Robin on her training to ride in the Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer Ride, follow her on Facebook or donate at https://www.facebook.com/donate/231626943093960/1039910454086072/

No one gets married planning for it to fail, especially when you marry a pastor. But that's precisely what happened to Brandi Wilson after 20 years of marriage, two church plants, and three sons. 

Brandi Wilson’s new book, Better Than Okay: Finding Hope and Healing After Your Marriage Ends ( released by Bethany House on July 11, 2023), recounts how she confronted grief and heartache head-on and learned how to rise from the pain.

On this episode, we sit down with Brandi and discuss the grief and suffering of a marriage ended, dreams lost, and a future unknown.  Now six years after her husband left their church and marriage, Brandi shares how God helped her overcome her sorrow to emerge Better Than Okay.

Whether you're reeling from divorce or know someone who is, or are simply struggling to survive a season of suffering, Brandi will help you find hope for the future and guide you toward God's healing redemption. 

Special Guest:Brandi Wilson 
Brandi is an author, coach, and speaker who has been in leadership for more than a decade at Leading and Loving It, a non-profit created to empower women to love life and ministry. Brandi has helped plant two churches and is passionate about walking alongside single moms and divorced women as they navigate parenting and life. Brandi lives with her three sons in Nashville, TN.  For more, go lovebrandiwilson.com.

To learn more about Brandi's leadership conference: https://leadingandlovingit.com/