‘Please find hope’: How these young people made it through their times of darkness
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"This is Normal" is a new podcast from USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. We talk to young people about their own mental health challenges — and how they got through them. Because talking about this stuff makes us all feel a little less alone.
Listen in the player below, or subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts.
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Bonus episode: Live stories
In this bonus episode to our first season, we share stories told by young people at our live events across Wisconsin.
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Email us at thisisnormal@gannett.com.
Episode 6: Nick
Nick Becker's dad died by suicide a few days before Nick turned 5 years old. He has only a few memories of him. But he knows his father struggled with bipolar disorder — the same disease Nick, now 25, has struggled with since he was a teenager. Today Nick is a poet and a spoken word performer who uses his art to talk about mental health — and the importance of talking about mental health.
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Email us at thisisnormal@gannett.com.
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Episode 5: Jesse
Jesse Pennington-Cross has Tourette's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. She's 12 years old, and her family has struggled to find help for her, at one point trying an intensive behavioral modification program that involved having Jesse wear a timer on her ankle. It made her miserable, and her family too.
"It was heartbreaking," her mother said, "to realize I've been treating my child kind of like a trainable dog."
Today, they're trying a new approach. They call it "radical acceptance."
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Email us at thisisnormal@gannett.com.
Episode 4: Isaiah
Lunch was always the worst for Isaiah Donaldson when he was depressed. He lived in fear of not finding a place in the cafeteria. He knew he was struggling, but he didn't want to bother his mom with it. Finally a friend reached out, and it changed his life.
RELATED: When he was depressed, a friend reached out. Now he wants to help end teen suicide.
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Email us at thisisnormal@gannett.com.
Episode 3: Erica
Erica Williams-Clark lost her cousin, Na’imah, to suicide in January 2017. She still thinks about her every day, and the loss has shaped her own decision to pursue a career in mental health.
RELATED:Why did a 13-year-old quarterback and aspiring engineer take her own life?
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Email us at thisisnormal@gannett.com.
Episode 2: Haley
When she was 14, Haley Olson’s stepfather held her family at knifepoint. She’s dealt with PTSD and anxiety in the years since. But she's also worked on healing, and got involved with a youth group that took her all the way to Tanzania.
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Episode 1: Karlee
The day her life changed was the day it nearly ended. Then Karlee Gross got help
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The show is part of our Kids in Crisis series on youth mental health. Find more at postcrescent.com/kidsincrisis.
If you have feedback or a story to share, email thisisnormal@gannett.com.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER: Our newsletter will get you the latest news on youth mental health in Wisconsin in your inbox. Sign up here.