Stories
By sharing our knowledge and experiences, we can put an end to the myths and assumptions around parental mental illness. If you want to share your own story and help others find out more about parental mental illness, you can submit your blog or your vlog online through the Our Time website.
KidsTime Workshop visit
For me, visiting my first KidsTime Workshop in February 2018, the thing that struck me most was the sheer honesty with which the parents talked about their situation, and their concerns for their children.
Toxic stress vs chronic stress – what is the difference?
Toxic stress and chronic stress: these are very scary words, what do they mean? Let’s take them one at a time, stress is the tension between our capabilities and the demands on us, like an elastic band stretched between two poles.
Being myself
Children of parents with a mental illness often come to school from very chaotic homes where they are hyper-alert and very stressed. They keep the problem hidden because they do not want anyone to know due to stigma and shame and they do not identify as carers because they are fearful of interventions that they see as making matters worse.
Stress and how our workshops can offer respite
We all need some stress in order to get us out of bed in the morning and life is full of opportunities to experience stress, from the demands of school, to friendships and sometimes the home environment.
Ensuring the environment in which a child can thrive is supported not just supportive – an educational challenge
Today I went to a large secondary school in north London to discuss how we might follow up and raise awareness of parental mental illness, and its impact on students, among the staff.
We need to be more hopeful when it comes to mental health
Yesterday, I spent the afternoon at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, Michael Rutter Centre for Children and Families. There I met two very impressive people who have been working with and researching families who are coping with mental illness.
Dear friends
Over the years, Our Time – the multi-family programme for families coping with mental illness, loved by children and parents alike – has been a consistent and invaluable source of support for us three and our families.
Response to the Children’s Commissioner’s Report in the Guardian October 2017
I read the report of the argument between Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner, and Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, in the Guardian on Saturday, with dismay.
World Mental Health Day – Stories of survival
I now spend much of my working day thinking about a hidden issue, but one that has enormous implications for society, and particularly children and young people.
Back to school: Respite, relief or reason to worry?
We speak to our CEO, Dympna about the reality faced by many young people returning to school in 2020.
