We Need to Talk About Bruno: What Encanto Tells Us About Intergenerational Trauma
The Madrigal family of the Disney animated film Encanto lives in a beautiful hidden village in Colombia, where a miracle imbues members of the family with a magical gift—from super-strength to the ability to heal to shapeshifting—that they use to help their community.
Yet, while each member of the family does their best to live up to the Madrigals’ esteemed reputation, cracks are starting to show—literally—in the house all three generations share. Read more ›
Bullying puts youth at increased risk for depression, suicidal ideation, misuse of drugs and alcohol, risky sexual behavior, and can affect academics as well. For LGBTQ youth, that risk is even higher. 
Anxiety is a healthy emotion, except when it’s not. Experiencing anxiety can be just what we need to finish a project or task, or deal with a stressful situation. But it can also be overwhelming and debilitating. 
Did you know that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year? Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment. 
An anxiety disorder is a type of mental health condition. If you have an anxiety disorder, you may respond to certain things and situations with fear and dread. You may also experience physical signs of anxiety, such as a pounding heart and sweating. 
What is anxiety? Anxiety is a feeling of intense worry or uneasiness that we experience when we’re facing something stressful, often a situation with an uncertain outcome. In a concerning situation, feeling a certain amount of anxiety is normal, and can even be helpful – for example, it can help us stay motivated to meet deadlines, or even keep us safe in a scary situation. 
This is a really tough time for teens. I know what you’re thinking—the teen years have always been tough. Youth mental health is in crisis. What’s been going on? 
More than a decade of my life, from my early teens to early 20s, was largely defined by my obsessive food and body rituals. I counted calories so closely that I eventually stopped needing to track them, running a list in my mind as I measured out tiny portions. I refused to visit friends in other cities, worried about when and how I would exercise. I starved myself most of the day and ate mindlessly at night, beat myself up for it, then started the cycle all over again the next day. 
Last night, my daughter snuck upstairs to say (another) goodnight as I was curled up on the couch, watching the news. While I did manage to quickly hide my secret chocolate stash under a throw blanket, I didn’t pause the TV in time to prevent her from the jarring sight of families desperately fleeing a bombed out apartment building in Ukraine. She looked at me, panic-stricken. “Are we in a war?” she asked. She’s nine, and I didn’t know what to say. 
Did you know that big and important changes are happening in the brain during adolescence? Here are 7 things to know about the teen brain. 
