Growing up in North Andover, Mass., in the 1950s, John Broderick spent his childhood playing with friends, doing homework, watching television, and having dinner with his parents before going to bed – a simple childhood.
The retired Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court learned how different lives are for today’s youth after speaking to more than 100,000 students about mental health while traveling across New England.
“They have so many pressures and so many stressors in their lives,” Broderick said, pointing to the rigorous schedules that children have of extracurricular coursework, sports practice, and tutoring. “We are changing childhood in the United States; we are professionalizing childhood.”
There’s more to it than just the pressure to succeed and be the best of the best. Technology also plays a part. It has undoubtedly made life easier, but Broderick said it has also diminished personal connection.
“I grew up in an eyeball-to-eyeball world which in my view is where social-emotional growth comes from,” said Broderick. “It doesn’t come from a screen.”
His book, Backroads and Highways: My Journey to Discovery on Mental Health, released in August is the outcome of six years of conversations with New England middle and high school students about their mental health concerns.
In the first half of the book, he writes about sensitive conversations he had with children about their mental health and how it affected him, and the second half recounts his family’s very public mental health journey.
Broderick was not always an advocate for mental health. But a fateful day in 2002 when he was assaulted by his son, Christian, served as a wake-up call. His son suffered from depression and panic attacks for nearly 20 years but received no treatment or medication until he served time in prison.
As the family began to heal, Broderick made it his mission to educate children and teenagers on how to identify the signs of mental illness and how to seek help. In 2016, he founded R.E.A.C.T, a mental health awareness campaign with Dartmouth Health that provides guidance and resources for students in Vermont and New Hampshire to deal with emotional distress.
Looking back, Broderick realizes he failed to recognize one of the warning signs of depression with his son – withdrawal. Christian excelled at drawing, and his parents assumed that sitting in his room for extended periods of time to draw was usual for an artist.
Now, at every mental health talk, he informs people on the five warning signs of a mental health illness – withdrawal, agitation, hopelessness, a decline in personal care, and change in personality – to ensure that parents, guardians, and other adults who support children’s well-being do not make the same mistake he did.
Broderick’s interactions with children and their confiding in him about their mental health felt more like he was learning than imparting. It didn’t matter how many people were in the room when he talked because everyone could relate to the topic in one way or another.
“It opened my eyes and made me realize how ignorant I had been and how misinformed I’ve been about the nature, scope and extent of mental health in America,” said Broderick.
In writing the book, Broderick wants to reach parents with busy lifestyles or fear of discussing mental health with their children. Through his experiences, he learned that social and cultural stressors have exacerbated depression in children.
“It’s not like people were just tougher back in my childhood,” said Broderick. “It would have been tougher if they had grown up in this time with these expectations and the virtual world.”
Broderick said he would continue to speak about mental health because it’s helped him grow and made him impatient for change in the culture and healthcare system. He urges the state to look at legislation pertaining to mental health and engage with insurance departments regarding reimbursement rates for mental health providers.
“We will never have a mental health system until we’re willing to have the awkward moment of disclosure,” said Broderick, who encourages individuals to open up and communicate rather than hide and pretend.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.
Veterans: Veterans and their loved ones can call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, chat online, or send a text message to 838255 to receive confidential support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Support for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals is available.
Crisis Text Line: Free, 24/7 support for those in crisis. Text 741741 from anywhere in the U.S. to text with a trained Crisis Counselor.
Trans Lifeline: Call 1-877-565-8860 for a hotline staffed by transgender people for transgender people. Trans Lifeline volunteers are ready to respond to whatever support needs community members might have.
Disaster Distress Helpline: Call 1-800-985-5990 for a 24/7 national hotline dedicated to providing crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster.
The Trevor Project: A national 24-hour, toll free confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth. If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgment-free place to talk, call 1-866-488-7386.
The LGBT National Help Center: Call 1-888-843-4564. Open to callers of all ages. Provides peer counseling, information, and local resources.
