The adolescent years are often the time when mental illnesses first appear. Yet they are not always easy to spot, especially when a child has gone off to university and college and is living away from home for the first time.
The stories of undergraduates Brownyn Loucks and David Klein in the first instalment of the Globe and Mail's Breaking Through series showed how debilitating depression, anxiety and eating disorders can be in youths and young adults. In the cases of these two students, the future looks bright - but only because a diagnosis was made and action taken.
Do you have questions about your own or your child's mental health? Dr. Stanley Kutcher was online earlier for a live discussion. You can replay the discussion by clicking on the link below.
Dr. Kutcher, MD, FRCPC, is an expert in adolescent mental health and a national and international leader in mental health research, advocacy, training, policy, and health services innovation. He is chair of Dalhousie University's Department of Psychiatry and the Director of its World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Mental Health.
In his role with the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health, Dr. Kutcher works to build awareness and knowledge about mental health in young people through the development of a program that addresses adolescent mental health promotion, education and research.
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