Welcome to the Attention Deficit Disorder Expert Podcast series by Attitude Magazine.

Hello, my name is Annie Rogers and I'm the General Manager here at Attitude.

Thank you for joining this event today called Mental Health Out Loud.

There's a new type of conversation where the editors of Attitude, along with some leading experts in the field of ADHD and mental health, will speak out loud about the topics that are still too often kept quiet and hidden.

Today, we are here to discuss what are arguably the two greatest threats facing our children today, gun violence and a sweeping mental health crisis.

These threats are pervasive and alarming in the United States, which is where Attitude is based, but today's conversation is not meant for parents in America alone.

With help from our esteemed expert, we will talk today about the worries weighing heavily on the minds of caregivers around the globe.

Specifically, we'll talk about secondary, vicarious trauma facing kids today, as well as anxiety, numbness, and how to navigate all of the above.

Without a trivializing our kids' fears, be exacerbating their fears and or see straight up lying to them.

Today's conversation is about youth mental health. We will talk about the ways that our kids' psychological well-being has been compromised today.

We will not be talking about mental illness as a cause for school shootings.

According to the National Council for Behavioral Health, mental illness is responsible for just 4% of violent acts committed in the United States.

Instead, research shows that individuals with mental health conditions are more likely to be the victims of interpersonal violence than the perpetrators of it.

Helping us navigate this very nuanced and important conversation today on mental health is an esteemed friend and contributor to Attitude, Dr. Sharon Sailing.

Aside from authoring Attitude's Summer Issue Cover Story on Perfectionism, and a positive parenting column on Shame in Kids with ADHD, Sharon is a clinical psychologist, an author of the award-winning book, What Your ADHD Child Wishes You New,

working together to empower kids for success in school and life, and she's the creator of the ADHD Solution Deck.

She specializes in working with children, teens, and emerging adults, as well as families living with ADHD, anxiety, learning differences, high functioning autism, choice exceptionality, and mental health issues.

In her work as a clinical psychologist and educator, Clinician and Consultant, Sharon assists in guiding families and adults toward effective communication in closer connection.

She lectures and facilitates workshops internationally on topics such as ADHD, anxiety, and the teen brain.

Sharon's a regular contributor to Attitude Mag dot com and psychology today dot com among others. She's a featured expert on mass appeal on W W L P TV and a part time lecture at the Smith School for Social Work.

You can learn more about her at dr Sharon Sailing at dot com, sorry.

And let's see, before we start our conversation, I have just a few housekeeping items, those of you tuned into this live events may submit your questions for Sharon at any time, just navigate to the text box under the video player.

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