Category Archives: Parenting

Depression in the Eyes of Our Youth

As a board certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, I treat youth with depression almost every day. Major Depressive Disorder, the medical term for clinical depression, is a debilitating illness that affects 12.5% of US youth aged 12 to 17 according to the National Institute of Mental Health. This means that, in 2015, 3 million teens had experienced at least one major depressive episode. The signs and symptoms of depression include sad mood and/or irritability crying spells too much or too little sleep weight loss or weight gain secondary to changes in appetite worthless and hopeless feelings fatigue difficulty concentrating thoughts of […]

Taming the Mood Monster: The Curious Chameleon

August 2, 2017 0 comments Children's Mental Health, Parenting Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Dr. Leesha, Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox, harvesting hope, Mental Health, Mental Illness Education, Parenting, Psychiatrist Dr. Leesha

A chameleon possesses the unique ability to change the color of its skin. Color change aids in camouflage, heat regulation, and light absorption; but, a chameleon also changes its color in response to its mood. Brightly colored male chameleons more easily attract females while a chameleon donning black coloring may be stressed. Similarly, youth with anxiety behave differently depending on the child and the setting. This is why I often refer to anxiety as the “the great imitator.” We all have the image of an anxious kid – fretful, pacing, and pensive. He asks 20 questions while biting his fingers […]

Taming the Mood Monster: Gloomy, Blue Eeyore

July 25, 2017 0 comments Children's Mental Health, Mental Health, Parenting Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Mental Health, Mental Illness Education, Parenting, Psychiatrist Dr. Leesha

Many of us recall watching Winnie the Pooh as children. The best of friends, Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Tigger, and Eeyore live together in the Hundred Acre Wood. Each character is unique – hunny-loving Pooh, fretful Piglet, persnickety Rabbit, winsome and buoyant Tigger, and gloomy, blue Eeyore. Always sad with his head hung low, Eeyore expects the worst, thinks very little of himself, and struggles to enjoy his friends or his life. Sometimes our children fall into a bit of a funk. Much like us, they have bad days too. Even in their youth, they face a myriad of challenges such as […]

Taming the Mood Monster: The Fiery Dragon

July 12, 2017 0 comments Children's Mental Health, Mental Health, Parenting Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Dr. Leesha, Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox, Parenting, Psychiatrist Dr. Leesha

Anger. We all recognize this strong emotion. Clenched fists, stomping feet, loud and harsh words, and a menacing gaze – I envision a wrathful dragon spewing fire that destroys everything in its path. Sometimes anger even manifests as physically aggressive behavior or destruction of property. Many children find managing their anger quite difficult, particularly if they have a psychiatric diagnosis like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Even children without mental disorders struggle with temper outbursts. My 6-year-old son is especially prone to such outbursts. While he is all things wonderful most of the time, he is […]

Demystifying Psychiatric Hospitalization

June 12, 2017 0 comments Children's Mental Health, Mental Health, Parenting Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Dr. Leesha, Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox, Mental Health, Mental Illness Education, Parenting Dr. Leesha

What We Know 1 in 5 youth ages 13 – 18 have or will have a serious mental illness 50% of all life-time cases of mental illness begin by the age of 14 Almost 80% of youth with mental illness do not receive treatment Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for youth aged 15 – 24 90% of those who committed suicide had an underlying mental illness Rate of psychiatric hospitalization for youth are on the rise – nearly 10% of pediatric hospitalizations across the US were for a primary mental health diagnosis in 2009 Common reasons for […]

Bullying – 10 Facts to Know

May 31, 2017 0 comments Children's Mental Health, Mental Health, Parenting Dr. Leesha, Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox, Parenting, Psychiatrist Dr. Leesha

1) Bullying is a defined as unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that is repetitive, involves a real or perceived power imbalance, and is designed to cause fear, distress or harm 2) There are 4 types of bullying – verbal, social, physical, and cyberbullying 3) Verbal bullying – saying or writing mean things, name calling, teasing, making inappropriate sexual comments 4) Social bullying – designed to malign a child’s reputation or negatively impact peer relationships, intentionally leaving someone out, telling other peers not to be friends with someone, spreading rumors 5) Physical bullying – pushing, hitting, kicking, intentionally breaking someone’s […]

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