Guide for Parents of Troubled Youth | Red Rock Canyon School

Parents looking to understand mental illnesses afflicting their troubled youth will receive pertinent information from the guide provided by the Red Rock Canyon School. Often mental illnesses go undetected due to parents' lack of awareness of the different characteristics that surround mental illnesses. Red Rock Canyon School describes certain characteristics that surrounds mental illnesses and how it affects the youth. Parents are often reluctant to address these issues due their inability to seperate the facts of mental illnesses from the myths.


What Is Mental Illness?

Mental illnesses and mental disorders are not terms easily defined. Misunderstandings lead to misuse and abuse of the terminology and help reinforce myths and even prevent people from getting help when it is really needed.

In general, mental illness refers to clinically significant patterns of behavioural or emotional functioning that are associated with some level or distress, suffering (pain, death), or impairment in one or more areas of functioning (eg., school, work, social and family interactions). At the basis of this impairment is a behavioural, psychological, or biological dysfunction, or a combination of these.

Myths and facts

A number of myths surrounds youth mental illnesses. Society can go a long way to destigmatizing mental illnesses by having a better understanding of the mental health issues.

myth: People with a mental illness are psycho, dangerous and have to be locked away.

fact: Many individuals with a mental illness can have difficulty coping with day to day living. When in great distress, such individuals are at greater risk of harming themselves than others.

myth: People with a mental illness never get better.

fact: With the right kind of help, many people with a mental illness do recover and go on to lead healthy, productive, and satisfying lives.

myth: Only crazy people see shrinks.

fact: People of all ages and all walks of life seek help from a variety of mental health professionals including psychiatrists. Seeking out and accepting help are signs of coping and of preventing situations from getting worse.

myth: If you talk about suicide, you won't attempt it.

fact: Suicidal comments have to be taken seriously as they often lead to plans, attempts, or completions.