One on One with Coach Blu: Addressing Children's Mental HealthOne on One with Coach Blu: Addressing Children's Mental Health
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Coach Blu and Marissa talk about the impact of school shooting hoaxes on children's mental health and share practical ways parents can support anxious kids. The conversation ties trauma, communication and family connection into broader themes of addiction recovery and community care.
39:43•31 Mar 2023
Talking to Kids After School Shooting Hoaxes: Coach Blu on Fear, Family and Mental Health
Episode Overview
- Hoax school shooting calls can still create real trauma, triggering anxiety, panic and long-term stress responses in children and teenagers.
- Parents are urged to talk with their kids using open-ended questions, gently persisting past "I'm fine" to help them describe thoughts and feelings.
- Emotional safety at home, regular family time and a strong "home team" are key foundations for helping young people cope with a frightening world.
- Unprocessed fear can increase the risk of teens turning to substances to self-soothe, making early, honest conversations especially important for families in recovery.
- Access to mental health care is hampered by complex insurance systems, so communities and families need to prioritise support, empathy and connection wherever possible.
“"These days you don't just get to have the sex talk with your kids. You also have to have the death talk with your kids."”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety when their kids are facing a frightening world? This conversation with Coach Blu and athletic director Marissa zooms in on children's mental health after a series of hoax school shooting calls shook schools in Utah and other US states. The pair share, as parents themselves, what it was like receiving lockdown texts from their own children, describing the "horrifying amount of time" before learning it was a false alarm.
From there, they keep the focus firmly on students, teachers and families, steering away from political point-scoring and gun debates. As Coach Blu puts it bluntly, "The side is about the students." You'll hear them break down how even a hoax can trigger real anxiety, panic, sleep problems and long-term trauma, especially for young people already living with everyday stress.
They link this to increased risk of substance use, pointing to how easily teens can slide into using alcohol or drugs to self‑soothe after terrifying events. A big chunk of the chat is practical: how parents can actually talk to their kids about scary days like this.
They show how to move past shut-down answers like "I'm fine" with open questions such as "Tell me what it felt like" and encourage parents to keep gently asking until kids begin to open up. They stress family time, emotional safety at home, and noticing warning signs like headaches, stomach aches and irritability. The episode also shines a light on broken mental health systems, with Marissa describing the "ridiculous" hoops therapists jump through to get insurance approval.
Yet despite their frustration, both keep coming back to connection, empathy and simple acts of love — from honest conversations to something as small as taking the kids out for ice cream. If you're a parent, carer or anyone in recovery wondering how to support children in a scary, unpredictable climate, this one hits close to home and offers concrete ways to start talking today.
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