Crystal Layland

Parents, Educators, Coaches of teens who are showing early signs of mental illness often do not recognize it for what it is. They can be baffled and frustrated when seemingly normal, everyday conversations suddenly become derailed and often find themselves in a mental battle arguing reality from fiction. What they need to understand is, sometimes these troubling behaviors are not something teenagers can simply “grow out of”. In fact, many of the challenging, aggressive, and argumentative behavior in teens may be a sign of mental illness.  If your intuition is telling you something is not quite right, listen up. Crystal tells her story as a single mother watching the rise and sudden crash of her beautiful son. Without a single clue that mental illness would be in the cards, his abrupt behavioral changes were excused as normal disobedience from a teenager. Her message includes insight on how to turn grief, confusion and isolation into compassion, hope and inspiration.