Mental illness affects millions of American adults each year. Unfortunately, it also affects kids. About 13 percent of children ages 8-15 live with a severe mental health disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Musician Alanis Morissette knows this well: In an interview with Health magazine, she says her eating disorder reared its head when she was a teenager. So she started seeing a therapist at age 15 and says that "it was awesome."
In an apparent attempt to remove the stigma surrounding the idea of seeking help, she says she talks to her own children about therapy all the time. She tells them "therapy is where someone really helps you understand your heart, and your soul, and your mind, and your story, and your thoughts." She also encourages her children to tap into — rather than hide from — their own feelings. "I want to give them the feeling that they're not alone, that I'm right here, and they can feel it all the way through," Morissette says, adding: "I really think the earlier you get your family into therapy, the better."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for October 17Cartoons Friday's editorial cartoons include Tomahawk missile talk, the price of red meat, and the bestest boy reports from the Pentagon press room
-
The ‘swag gap’: are you better than your partner?In The Spotlight The viral terminology sheds light on power dynamics in modern relationships
-
Climate change is getting under our skinUnder the radar Skin conditions are worsening because of warming temperatures
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
