As more children become diagnosed with mood disorders, more parents are speaking out about their struggles.
This fall, a small group of caregivers who for years had suffered alone in dealing with their children and grandchildren with mood disorders came together to support one another.
Facilitated by Lisa Ottenhoff, the confidential group meets the first Tuesday of each month from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 145 Capital Ave. N.E.
Afraid to reveal their children’s identities by using their names, all eight participants declined to be interviewed for this story.
But Ottenhoff said concern has been growing as increasing numbers of adolescents have been diagnosed with mood disorders, including severe forms of depression and bipolar disorder.
“It can be very overwhelming and a lot of people are struggling in thinking they’re the only ones going through this,” she said.
The National Institutes of Health reports the number of children diagnosed with bipolar disorder—a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks—has increased 40-fold from 1994 to 2003.
An estimated one in four youths has experienced a mental disorder in the prior 12 months, with anxiety being the most common, followed by behavioral disorders, mood disorders and substance abuse disorders, the NIH reports.
Dr. Paul Metler, clinical director of Battle Creek’s behavioral health agency Summit Pointe, said that locally he has seen anecdotal increases in not only mood disorders but the severity of all new mental disorder diagnoses.
Metler said parents sometimes mistake a mood disorder for the normal growing pains of adolescence. But perhaps because the stigma of mental illness has begun to subside, more children are stepping up to say, “‘No, I’m not doing well,’” he said.
Parents of children with mood disorders also are stepping forward, at least among their peers, to learn how to deal with kids who go to emotional extremes. Many of these children turn to drugs, alcohol, sexual promiscuity, suicidal thoughts, extreme risk taking and eventually police confrontations, Ottenhoff said.
“When you have a suicidal child it’s very scary,” she said. “This group provides a place where parents can come ... and connect with one another.”
The support group is open to any caregiver of a child, grandchild or adult dependant with a diagnosed disorder, Ottenhoff said.
Elizabeth Willis can be reached at 966-0684 or ewillis@gannett.com.
