Ep. 21: Coping With the Sudden Death of a Sibling at 17 - Gina Lee Lyons

Gina Lee Lyons had a perfectly normal childhood until her Dad left her Mum when she was 12. That started a chain of events including the family losing their home, and her brother spending time in a category A prison [https://pod.co/teenage-kicks-podcast/becky-freeman-on-having-a-dad-in-prison]. When she was 17, Gina's older brother was killed suddenly in a car accident. We talk about how Gina's mum gradually became an alcoholic [https://pod.co/teenage-kicks-podcast/danielle-on-being-a-young-carer-for-her-alcoholic-mum], and how Gina herself "got through" those years, without really dealing with her own despair, or processing any of the ordeals she'd suffered at such a young age. I was struck by how strong Gina was as a teenager, and actually, how strong all of us are capable of being when faced with terrible situations that just need to be dealt with. But it was clear, as Gina details in this episode, that pushing problems aside doesn't stop them hurting us - it just means we end up addressing them later in life. Gina is now a mum of two young children, but when I talked to her she was in the middle of penning a comedy screenplay about her life, as part of her job in TV production and comedy scriptwriting. We talked about how a dark sense of humour helped all her family to get through some very difficult moments, but that all of them had to deal with their emotions on a deeper level eventually. Useful Links * Information on intellectual CBT [https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/about-cbt/] * Help and advice for families of prisoners [https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAjwm_P5BRAhEiwAwRzSO8lpN1wUBy-Y7MRuoxUMyfzX_JyTjvVdT4GzV4gMtENk5JG4riJIuxoCsQYQAvD_BwE] * Bereavement support services [https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-services/Bereavement%20support/LocationSearch/314] * Al-Anon [https://www.al-anonuk.org.uk/how-do-i-get-help/] - Support for people living with an alcoholic Where to find Gina * Gina Lyons professional page [https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/gina-lyons] * Twitter [https://twitter.com/GinaLyons] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/ginalyonstv/] More teen mental health resources There are lots more episodes of the Teenage Kicks podcast – do have a browse and see if I've covered anything else you might find useful. And if you have a suggestion of something you'd like to see talked about on the podcast please do email me on [email protected] I have loads more fabulous guests coming up to help families navigate some of the most complicated – but wonderful – teenage parenting years. I've also got some posts on the blog that might help parents with other teenage parenting dilemmas, so do pop over to Actually Mummy [https://www.actuallymummy.co.uk/] if you fancy a read. Thank you so much for listening! Subscribe [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/teenage-kicks-podcast/id1501488455] now to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear all my new episodes. I'll be talking to some fabulous guests about difficult things that happened to them as teenagers - including losing a parent, becoming a young carer, and being hospitalised with mental health problems - and how they overcame things to move on with their lives. I'd love it if you'd rate and review the podcast on iTunes too - it would really help other people to find it. You can also find more from me on parenti