This excerpt comes from facilitator resources used in our BCSS Youth programs.
Our brains are message centres that send messages to different parts of our bodies. These messages give us feelings, tell our bodies to do things, and let us think. All these messages are meant for a particular place and are meant to go in a certain way. Chemicals from our brains carry these messages around in our bodies.
Our brains are kind of like post offices, because post offices are also message centers that send letters to our homes. The chemicals that carry the messages in our brains are kind of like postal workers who deliver the letters to our homes. Just like our brain messages, every letter is meant for a certain place.
What would happen if a postal worker tripped and fell one day when they were delivering their letters, and the letters spilt all over the ground? Some of the letters might get lost. And some of the addresses might get smudged so that the letters get delivered to the wrong place.
This is like what happens in the brain of someone with a mental illness. The chemicals that carry the messages can get out of balance (like the postal worker who trips and falls), and the messages can get mixed up or lost. When messages don’t go where they are supposed to, then feelings and thoughts get all mixed up.
People with mental illness are given medication to help make sure the messages get through. The medication helps balance the chemicals that deliver the messages. Medication is kind of like giving the postal worker a helper so that they don’t trip and fall.
Interested in learning more?
Kids and Teens in Control are support and educational groups for children and youth who have a loved one (e.g., parent, sibling, friend) with a mental illness or substance use disorder. The groups help youth better understand and cope with mental illness in their family.
Please note: Kids and Teens in Control are not counselling or therapy groups.