This episode of "Navigating Mental Illness: Parents Stories" features Courtney, a mother who has been supporting her son through his mental health and substance abuse struggles. Courtney shares the journey of her son's development, the initial signs of trouble, his refusal to accept help, and the spiral into drug use and psychosis. Courtney candidl…

In this eye-opening episode of "Navigating Mental Illness: Parents Stories," we hear from Lila, a mother who shares her deeply personal journey with her son’s mental health challenges. Diagnosed early with Asperger's syndrome and later with bipolar disorder, Lila's son faced social and academic struggles despite his intellectual brilliance. Lila ta…

In this deeply moving episode of the "Navigating Mental Illness: Parents Stories" podcast, we sit down one mom (she chooses anonymity) as she shares the tumultuous experience of dealing with their son's severe mental illness. From terrifying moments of psychosis and emergency room visits to the challenges of balancing professional life and personal…

In this poignant episode of "Navigating Mental Illness: Parent Stories," we dive into the compelling journey of a family as they navigate the complexities of living with bipolar disorder. Joined by Renee and her son Jacob, listeners are taken through the challenges from Jacob's hyperactive childhood to the dark days of his young adulthood, marked b…

In this insightful episode, we sit down with Erica, a devoted mother who shares her journey navigating her son's bipolar disorder. From recognizing the initial symptoms to dealing with multiple hospitalizations, Erica provides a candid look into the challenges and coping strategies she has discovered along the way. She discusses the impact of medic…

In this powerful episode, we hear the story of Sue, a mother whose son has struggled with mental illness for over a decade. Sue shares the harrowing details of her son's journey, from a seemingly happy and successful teenager to someone battling bipolar and schizoaffective disorders. The podcast covers the family's encounters with the mental health…

Keywords: Mental illness Schizophrenia Hospitalization Caregiver stress Suicide prevention Healthcare system challenges Parental advocacy Episode Summary: In this powerful episode, we hear the deeply personal story of Rita, a mother whose 27-year-old daughter has been battling mental illness since the age of 17. Rita shares the harrowing journey of…

Mary describes feeling like she lives in a lighthouse, constantly needing to keep the light shining to prevent her daughter from hitting the rocks. This is a powerful analogy for the struggle of parenting a child dealing with addiction. The importance of maintaining faith, praying constantly, and trusting one's instincts as a parent is emphasized. …

Tina always loved running. She has done half and full marathons, but with her daughter’s mental illness, she is exhausted and has no energy to start running again. As a child, her daughter scratched a derogatory statement in the kitchen countertop and blamed it on her brother. Fast forward, she has two children out of wedlock, couch surf, has had r…

Melissa’s hadn’t even babysat prior to having her daughter. When at two she fought going to bed, she thought it was pretty normal. Not until she looked, did she realize it was way more intense. Melissa turned out to be an overachiever in school and was super active outside school, but she always had issues with keeping friends. Her struggles with r…

Sandra and her husband thought they would be empty nesters by now. They have grandchildren, ride bikes, fish, train dogs and support a son with a mental illness. While he has improved his situation, he is still dependent on his parents. Sandra has spent the time trying to udnerstand her son's condition. For example, when he draws a house, he starts…

Deb and her son had to wait a 1 1/2 years to see a psychiatrist in the remote area of Canada she lives. That is just one of the challenges she had to face to try and help her son. But as we have heard many times, she has stuck by him even during especially scary times when he was not stable. Like the time he called the paramedics saying she had a h…

Rebecca’s son is a handful, to put out mildly. He is smart and did well in school until he started having issues and then the challenges multiplied. She has had to: change schools, have him committed, take over his medical decisions, contact politicians in Mississippi to get him transferred back to Pennsylvania and a whole lot more. Rebecca is also…

Kate and Scott’s son had many diagnoses starting in the 7th grade including ODD and ADHD, Cognitive Distortion, Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression and Anxiety. As engaged parents, they worked hard to find services and worked with the school to advocate for him, but the challenges left them drained. They searched for answers and information…

Angie’s son is violent and so bad that she has had to have a gun on her nightstand to protect her and the rest of her family. Angie’s son’s violent outbursts started in grade school and so did her journey to understand and treat his illness. By Angie’s own admission her ability to support him is running out. She has bought him and provided insuranc…

Kathy son is 34 years old and living at home. Hospitalized around 15 times and does not do well on his own. However, given her macular degeneration diagnosis, she was determined to take an RV trip, knowing that her son would probably contact her. She went and he did need her, but he managed to keep safe and she went away. Kathy has done her best to…

Rosali’s daughter mental health challenges started at an early age. She was diagnosed with mental illness (high cyclic bipolar and borderline personality disorder) at age 13. After a suicide attempt, Rosali worked to get her counseling help. In another hurdle for Rosali, Washington State age of consent is 12 for a parent to not receive medical info…

Welcome to Season 3!!! We created a fun, new logo and 20 episodes recorded! We feel like we are starting out again, like Jen, out first episode’s mom. Jen has many questions and is learning the difficulties of a parent dealing with these with issues on her own, since her husband shocking suicide in 2018. Losing his dad, one of Jen’s son started dow…

Season 3 of Navigating Mental Illness: Parents Stories is on the way!!! Here's just a few of the highlights from the many folks that shared their stories. There are parents dealing with their child's: schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and bipolar diagnosis and some have substance abuse disorders. Some of the parents report have post traumtaic stre…

Part 2 of Amy and John sitting down with Gary Leake! Great continuation of Marietta stories!

Amy and John sat down with Gary Leake, owner of Johnnie MacCracken's Celtic Firehouse Pub, located on the Marietta Square! Gary remiminsced about the history of Marietta, as well as how he got started in the bar business! Fascinating stories to listen to and this is only Part 1!!

Christa’s daughter excelled as a child. She was ahead in her classes and adjusted well after a move and even made the cheer team. In 2010, her life took a turn in college when she thought her professor was sending her secret messages. Christa tried to understand what was happening and like many parents, it took time. Now she is helping to raise her…

Amy and John sit down with newly retired Marietta Chief of Police, Marty Ferrell and Marietta Police Public Information Officer, Chuck McPhilamy. They discuss the police deparmtment's culture, need for more officers and their favorite events on the Marietta Square. They discuss all the great opportunities the department has for their officers.…

Amy and John sat down with Brent Rittersdorf, Realtor and Motivational Speaker. He discusses his time in the Marietta Business Association, his cohosting N.O.W. and his newest journey, 10 for 10! It's an awesome and uplifting, but thought provoking episode! Enjoy!

Lisa Jo Barr had her first manic epsiode as a young adult. Since then she has struggled through drugs, several relationships and jobs, while trying the learn as much as she could about her condition. Fast forward to now, she coaches adults with similiar mental health issues and has published a book on her fascinating journey from struggling to givi…

As several on our show have discovered, their child’s mental health challenges are tied to some form of trauma. Jen’s daughter was molested as a child and it manifested as bouts of depression, suicidal thoughts and cutting. Jen was never a helicopter parent, she trusted her daughter to share when she needed help. Jen also trusted the mental health …

Mary lives in faraway Hong Kong and her son was well ahead of his milestones. He could say words at 6 months, has an IQ in the 140s and knows more than 5 languages. Then in his teens, he started to isolate and became more argumentative. Then he decided he didn’t want to go to school (during COVID). He knew something wasn’t right right and started d…

Lori noticed the change in her son when he started to use marijuana regularly. Over time she and her husband disagreed with how to handle things — so she moved out. This episode is for you if you struggle with setting boundaries and living a life, given many complex and challenging situations!By Bill Nowicki and Laura Graham

Amy and John sat down with Matt from Marietta Melt Yard in this interview. Matt discussed his families Marietta history, his background in music in a band and how he makes Food Fun at his restaurant, Marietta Melt Yard on Whitlock Ave! Give it a listen and enjoy!

Claudia has taken many paths to find solutions for her daughter’s bipolar disorder. She tried letting her live at home, admitted her to hospitals, sent her to a program in Utah, and let her attend college. Nothing seemed to work, and she was getting more and more frustrated. She started understanding her reactions were not helping her daughter, so …

Amy and John sat down with Shikera Cook in this episode. Shak, as she is loving known in the community, spoke about a lot of history from where she grew up in Marietta, Mentoring for Leadership program and Girls, Inc. This is a fantastic interview with a wonderful community leader!

Things started out fine for Julia and her son. After remarrying and finding stability with good friends, Julia youngest son was in a stable home. However, once he got to high school, drugs came into the picture and worsen the more times he was treated. Over time, Julia set strong boundaries to protect herself and the rest of her family, including h…

Marie is a gentle soul that has had a tough time with her daughter. As a single mom, she has had to develop the skills to help her daughter and stay healthy herself. This episode is a great way to learn about how the mental health and court system can team with you as a parent. Also, parents can learn how to interact with your child in a way that a…

Amy and John sit down with Mentoring for Leadership founder and Dream Weaver, Beverly McAfee and Executive Director, Kristen Thompson. They discuss how this wonderful program got started, what they do and what their needs are. This is an excellent and informative interview, worth the listen!

Amy and John talk with Stephanie Coston in this episode. You may know her face, but we get to know her and everything she is involved with on the Marietta Square! Very interesting!!

In this episode, Amy and John sit down with Beth Graham. She talks about what it was like growing up in Marietta, teaching in Marietta and some differences between when she was growing up and now. It's a great get to know you episode! Enjoy!!

Thomas shares a bit about his pharmacy in Marietta, Ga, along with the many other things he is involved with. We discuss Thomas winning the Marietta Citizen of the Year, Dancing with the Stars and his community work with McKenna Farms!

Amy and John talk with Maggi Moss, from Marietta City's Parks and Rec Department to find out if it really is like the tv show, her favorite events, what event used to happen and doesn't anymore and much more!

Amy and John sit down with former Councilmember Philip Goldstein. They learn about his tenure on the Council, his family's history with Marietta and a lot more great facts about him!

For parents, understanding your child with a mental illness is complex and often painful. For Danielle Aubin, parenting is learning how to let go. She has let go of old notions of "good parenting" and created an environment free of shame and natural consequences. In this episode, Danielle shares practical parenting tips that can change your relatio…

Amy and John sit down with Tricia Patterson and learn more about her school, the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, how she became "all in", what she looks for in partners for her school and much more!

In this episode, Amy & John interview Bill Nowicki, creator of Marietta Stories. They find out what got him into podcasts, what his favorite episode was and why he is handing it over to them. He also explains what his next journey in podcasting is! Definitely worth a listen!

Irene Barton grew up in a small town in South Carolina mill town where she learned about community and faith. Irene brings that community building and faith to Cobb Collaborative helps families in Cobb County, Georgia to connect with resources they need including mental health training events as well as a podcast (link below). https://www.cobbcolla…

Amy Reed and John Silvey have taken over as hosts of the Marietta Stories Podcast and want to introduce themselves to you! They have some great interviews lined up with a twist at the end of each episode!

Kirsten Book is back and she brings her passion for helping young people with eating disorders and their families. Her background makes her uniquely qualified to speak on this topic. Kirsten has had her own challenges with body image and eating disorders. By listening to this episode you will learn what to consider as a parent, how to take care of …

Kirsten Book, the psychiatric nurse practitioner, is back with some rules on how to share information with your child's caregivers and how caregivers decide what they can share. Turns out the rules are different in each state for different situations. Kirsten also talks about the process of skill development in your child's life and how sometiomes …

Samatha loves helping people and serving the community. Working at Cobb County Georgia has given her the ability to do both. Now she trains new recurits to learn to empathize and have the best chance for a positive outcome when someone is struggling with a mental illness. In this episode, Samatha shares practicle tips that 911 uses to assess a situ…

Parenting a child with a mental illness can be tough, but Catherine has found peace in the good times and learned how to survive the springtime pychosis that is a part of her son's life. After 4 years of her son's mental illness, she has learned who to share her struggles with, how to maintain a relationship with her son and husband and what joy fe…

Linda and her husband adopted 2 siblings who had mental health illness almost from the start. After 20 years of navigating the mental health and legal systems in Pennsylvania, she has learned a whole bunch. From therapy to meds to trusts, Linda has many tips that will help you and your family.By Bill Nowicki & Laura Graham

Kirsten Book treats the whole patient. As a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, she develops a relationship with her patients first, work with them through the inevitable medication changes and comes up with ways to create a team to best serve their needs. She also suggests parents get therapy and allowing children/young adults to experience the conseq…