Thanks so much for sharing Shannon. I can only imagine how difficult this has been. I will certainly be mentioning this to my daughters, and working on rewarding openess. Great to hear about your son's friends/

Your last paragraph is very powerful. Your son is lucky to have amazing parents and friends.
Does he understand that having such strong friendships with great people must reflect his own worth? I know self-esteem is not logical but so many people don't have friendships like that in their lives.

Thank you for sharing this with such warmth and candor, Shannon. I will keep you all in my thoughts.

It isn't easy to love someone with a mental illness (as many of us here know), but love is love. Given the opportunity, we love.

The lesson I take from having been given that opportunity? I refuse the stigma. Shannon, thank you for helping make that commitment a reality; thank you, especially, for doing so right now.