Tag Archives: Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox

You are NOT CRAZY

0 comments Healthy Living, Mental Health , , , , , ,

The dreaded “C” word … No one wants to see a psychiatrist or therapist for fear that he or she will be deemed crazy. Even the Merriam-Webster dictionary app defines the word “crazy” within its stigmatizing framework as one who is “not mentally sound: marked by thought or action that lacks reason.” But I am here to tell you that I don’t treat crazy people. I treat children and adults struggling with profound sadness and despair, paralyzing anxiety, difficulties at school or on their job, in the aftermath of devastating trauma, or reeling from failed relationships. Sometimes the individuals I treat suffer […]

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Taming the Mood Monster: The Curious Chameleon

0 comments Children's Mental Health, Parenting , , , , , , , ,

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 […]

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Taming the Mood Monster: The Fiery Dragon

0 comments Children's Mental Health, Mental Health, Parenting , , , , ,

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 […]

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Celebrating Humanity

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Personally, the year 2016 marked a year of milestones for me. Two were pretty big.  I turned the big “4-0,” and I saw the manifestation of my hopes and dreams embodied through the formation of my mental health education and consulting company. But 2016 has also been very painful. Our home was vandalized, our garage doors spray painted with hate-filled symbols. Students at my children’s elementary school were told that they would be made slaves and that a wall would be built to separate them from others once Donald Trump was elected president. The barrage of hate rhetoric and disturbing, violent images […]

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Lies Women Tell

0 comments Women's Mental Healthl , , , ,

We’ve all heard them, catchphrases that we recite to ourselves and to each other to motivate, inspire, and encourage us.  These slogans seem especially helpful when we are feeling overwhelmed and filled with doubt; but, they simply aren’t true. Let’s examine a few of these mistruths. 1) You can have it all This is something I have struggled with for years – juggling my roles as a wife, mother, full-time physician and medical director, and budding entrepreneur. I used to believe that I could have it all if I simply outlined my goals, made lists, prioritized my tasks, and managed my time […]

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Demystifying Psychiatric Hospitalization

0 comments Children's Mental Health, Mental Health, Parenting , , , , , ,

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 […]

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