Introduction
It was winter 2014 when my fourteen-year-old daughter, Courtney, ran away from home. After an angst-filled family vacation, she snapped and rushed from the house in the middle of a family movie night. Not one to do anything by halves, Courtney fled in the middle of a raging snowstorm, after dark, in her socks. Fortunately, her older sister chased her down and hauled her back home. When they returned, less than twenty minutes later, relief flooded my veins.
Despite the feeling in the pit of my stomach that things were not right, I remember how tempted I was to normalize this event by unpausing the movie and pretending nothing had happened. At the same time, the sad undertone of reality leveled me. I knew Courtney needed help. Her depression and anxiety were no longer “typical teen angst,” and her symptoms weren’t going to just go away. More than anything, as my two beloved daughters stood in the foyer with snow whipping in behind them and puddles forming at their feet, I saw the worry in Courtney’s eyes and knew it mirrored my own. We feared the unknown. We were just landing in KrazyLand, and neither of us knew how long and winding this road would actually be.
Although I had essentially no personal experience of this journey at the time, it is a familiar one for many. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that seventeen percent of US youth experience a mental disorder. That means that over eight million young people and the people who love them would likely empathize with the tableau that played out that night in my foyer. With such a large community, why did I feel so alone?
As a licensed marriage and family therapist, I had spent decades in mental healthcare. Yet even with all of my professional knowledge and experience, navigating the long and painful road out of KrazyLand as a mom was the most difficult and important challenge of my life.
My hope is that The KrazyGirl (& Guy) Parent Survival Guide will act as a meaningful compass for anyone who has felt the way we did that terrible night. This easy-to-understand guidebook is the elusive roadmap out of KrazyLand for any parent who has stayed up until sunrise, searching the internet for help about their child’s severe mood swings, suicidal thoughts, or other concerning behaviors. Now on the other side of this long and painful journey, we are privileged to share everything we have learned to help anyone who struggles, whether personally affected or a loved one trying to help. Emotional freedom is not free, but it is available through knowledge and effort, and the results can exceed your wildest expectations.