This weekโs conversation goes straight to a place many parents and caregivers are terrified to say out loud.
What if loving my child is not enough to keep them safe?
That fear. That tightness in your chest. That moment when you realize there is no perfect plan, no magic sentence, no guaranteed fix.
There is only presence. There is only staying.
Todayโs episode is raw, honest, and deeply human. We are talking about anxiety, depression, self harm, suicidal thoughts, and what it truly looks like to walk beside a child through their darkest moments without losing yourself along the way.
๐ Episode drops Tuesday, December 16, 2025 at 3 AM ET ๐ง Jenn Robb on Supporting a Child Through Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts
Letโs get into it.
๐ Whatโs Up with G Rex & Dirty Skittles
From G Rex,
This weekend marked the end of our 2025 recordings, and I am sitting in a lot of gratitude and a lot of reflection.
Almost three years ago, Dirty Skittles and I had no idea where this podcast would lead. We just knew we wanted to change the way people talked about mental health. What we have built since then, the conversations, the guests, the community, still humbles me every single week.
This year brought some personal challenges behind the scenes, the kind that force you to slow down and really take inventory of what matters. As we head into the holidays, I am especially grateful to still be here. Around this time every year, I think about the 988 crisis counselor who helped me stay, and I am reminded that asking for help is not weakness. It is survival.
If the holidays are heavy for you, please hear this clearly. You are loved. You are wanted. You are needed. If you are in crisis or having suicidal thoughts, please reach out to someone. The world is better because you are alive, even if it does not feel that way right now.
On a lighter note, Dirty Skittles is holding it down in Marietta, where she recently informed me that forty degrees is freezing. I told her she is welcome to check back in when it is four degrees like it has been here in Upstate New York. Snow, cold, and all. I am deeply grateful for a warm home and the ability to work without having to leave it.
One last thing. We want to hear from you.
What holiday traditions do you have?
A special meal, a meaningful ritual, something that grounds you every year?
Reply and tell us. We would love to share listener traditions in next weekโs newsletter.
๐ Programming Note
For the week of Christmas and the week of New Yearโs, we will be releasing one episode per week. โ
We will return to our regular two episodes per week schedule starting the second week of January.
Please take that extra time for your people. We truly mean it.
๐ธ Grab Your Free $20 Wellness Credit from Maavee
We have partnered with Maavee, a wellness platform doing amazing things in mental health.
Thank you for supporting us and cheering us on. It truly means everything.
๐ฅ Special Shout Out to Women Supporting Women
๐ Meet Krista Dykes
Krista Dykes is the Founder and CEO of She Laughs Media, a boutique podcast booking and publicity agency dedicated to amplifying the voices of mission driven entrepreneurs, artists, authors, and experts.
With media contacts spanning national outlets and local press, Krista and her team specialize in strategic, faith rooted storytelling that connects clients with the audiences they are meant to serve. Founded on Proverbs 31:25, โShe laughs at the time to come,โ She Laughs Media blends integrity, creativity, white glove service, and serious media savvy to help clients build meaningful, lasting visibility.
โYouโre allowed to feel what you feel, just donโt stay stuck there.โ Jenn Robb
๐ Podcast Reflection Worksheet
Use this weekโs reflection worksheet to process what came up for you, whether you are a parent, a caregiver, or someone who once needed this kind of love.
This is one of those episodes that stays with you long after the conversation ends.
In this deeply moving discussion, Jenn Robb invites us into one of the most terrifying realities a parent can face, watching your child struggle with anxiety and depression that escalate into self harm and suicidal ideation. Jenn speaks with honesty and clarity about the early signs she noticed, the moments she questioned her own instincts, and the gut wrenching fear of realizing something was deeply wrong.
We talk about the pressure parents feel to fix everything, to say the right thing, to intervene perfectly, and how that instinct often comes from love mixed with fear. Jenn reframes strength in a way many parents have never heard before. Strength is restraint. Strength is listening without interrogating. Strength is knowing when to advocate loudly and when to sit quietly beside your child and simply say, โI am here.โ
This episode dives deep into advocacy within the mental health system, how many therapists it can take to find the right fit, why pushing back on overmedication matters, and how emotional safety can literally save lives. Jenn shares the story behind code words, simple phrases that mean โI need you, but I cannot talk right now,โ and explains why these small tools can create enormous shifts in trust and connection.
We also center the caregivers, the burnout, the guilt, the hyper vigilance, and the quiet ways parents lose themselves while trying to keep their child alive. Jenn reminds us that self care does not have to be extravagant to be lifesaving. Sometimes it is a shower. Sometimes it is a walk. Sometimes it is remembering that you matter too.
At its core, this episode is about presence over perfection, about loving fiercely without panic, and about raising children who know they can come to you with the hardest truths and still be met with safety.
๐งฉ From the Conversation
๐ฌ The heartbeat of this episode
At the heart of this conversation is a truth many parents are never given permission to believe.
You do not have to fix your child to love them well.
Jenn reminds us that when kids are struggling with anxiety, depression, self harm, or suicidal thoughts, the instinct to push, demand answers, or rush toward solutions often comes from fear, not failure. And while fear is understandable, safety is built through presence, not pressure.
This episode reframes what strength looks like in parenting. Strength is restraint. Strength is listening without interrogating. Strength is learning when to advocate fiercely and when to sit quietly and simply stay.
Jenn also names something many caregivers carry silently, the trauma of loving someone who wants to disappear. The exhaustion. The hyper vigilance. The way caregivers slowly erase themselves just to keep someone else alive. And she reminds us that caregivers matter too, that self care is not selfish, and that you cannot pour from an empty cup.
This conversation makes space for both truths, loving your child fiercely and loving yourself enough to survive the journey with them.
๐ซ A quote that stuck with us
โYouโre allowed to feel what you feel. We just canโt let you stay stuck there.โ โ Jenn Robb
๐๏ธ Real Talk from Us
โWhen Jenn talked about restraint as love, that hit me right in the chest. We are taught that good parents fix things. Hearing that staying calm and present can actually save a life felt like someone finally telling the truth.โ โ G Rex
โThis episode reminded me that being a good parent is not about having the answers. It is about being a safe place. Full stop.โ โ Dirty Skittles
๐ Reflection Prompts to Sit With
Where do you feel pressure to fix something that might only need presence? How do you respond when someone you love shuts down, with fear or with safety? What would restraint look like as an act of love in your life right now? In caring for others, where have you quietly disappeared from your own life?
๐ฑ Gentle Reminder
You are not failing because you cannot fix everything. You are not weak for feeling afraid. And loving someone through their darkest moments does not require perfection, it requires presence.
๐ค Meet Our Guest, Jenn Robb
Jenn Robb is a nurse practitioner with over twenty years of experience in functional and integrative medicine, an author, and the heart behind Warrior Mom Coaching. She is also the author of Warrior Mom Rising, A Momโs Battle Plan to Advocate, Overcome, and Thrive.
Jennโs work is not rooted in theory. It is rooted in lived experience.
She became a warrior mom when her daughter began struggling with severe anxiety and depression at a young age, a journey that eventually led to self harm and a near fatal suicide attempt. Navigating hospitals, therapists, psychiatrists, and systems that often fail families forced Jenn to become a fierce advocate, not just for her child, but for herself and countless other mothers walking the same road.
Through her coaching, writing, and speaking, Jenn supports moms who are balancing their childrenโs mental health challenges with their own exhaustion, fear, and burnout. She blends faith, practical tools, compassion, and tough love to help women move from survival mode into clarity, confidence, and even joy.
Jennโs message is simple and powerful. You are not failing. You are not weak. And you are not meant to just survive this. You are meant to thrive.
Trust your intuition, you usually know when something is wrong
You do not have to force conversations to show love
Advocacy often means pushing back
Safety matters more than perfect solutions
Caregivers need care too
โ โโ Actionable Steps
Create a code word for โI need you, but I canโt talkโ
Check in without pressure, presence over interrogation
If therapy is not working, try again
Take ten minutes today just for you
If the holidays feel heavy, reach out for support
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โ ๐ Listener Engagement
Did this episode hit home for you, as a parent, a caregiver, or someone who once needed this kind of love? Hit reply or tag us on Instagram at @grex_and_dirtyskittles. We would love to hear from you.
โญ Subscribe, Rate & Review
If this podcast has ever made you feel less alone, please consider rating and reviewing us on Apple or Spotify. Your reviews help these conversations reach the people who need them most.
โค๏ธ Closing Remarks
If you are reading this and your heart feels heavy, please pause for a moment and breathe.
This episode is not here to tell you that you are doing it wrong. It is not here to hand you a checklist or pretend there is a perfect way to love someone through mental illness. It is here to remind you that staying, even when you are scared, even when you are tired, even when you do not know what comes next, matters more than you realize.
If you are a parent lying awake at night, wondering if you said the right thing or missed a sign, we see you. If you are a caregiver holding it together on the outside while unraveling on the inside, we see you. And if you are the one who is struggling, the one who feels like a burden or believes everyone would be better off without you, please hear this clearly, you matter more than you know.
Love is not always loud. Sometimes it is quiet. Sometimes it is restraint. Sometimes it is choosing not to leave.
Wherever you are on this journey, you are not alone.
We are right here with you. Always.
G Rex and Dirty Skittles Changing the way we talk about mental health, one real conversation at a time
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G-Rex & Dirty Skittles
It's ok to be not ok, just make sure you're talking to someone
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