Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness

Culture Series / 1 Season

Follow the journeys of more than 20 young Americans from all over the country and all walks of life, who have struggled with thoughts and feelings that have troubled—and, at times—overwhelmed them. Ken Burns' Hiding in Plain Sight presents an unstinting look at the seemingly insurmountable obstacles faced by those who live with mental disorders and the hope that many have found after that storm.

Get Cascade PBS Passport to watch

What Sane Person Thinks Self-Harm Will Stop the Pain?

1m 42s

“What sane person would think that hurting themselves would stop the pain?” Leah and Billie share their experiences with self harm in "Ken Burns Presents Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness," a film by Ewers Brothers Productions. On demand now on PBS.

Meet Billie

48s / TV-PG

“The day I went to school with pink hair, my car ended up getting vandalized, and someone wrote 'queer' on the back windshield.” Billie opens up about their excitement to express themself through fashion and how the lack of acceptance impacted their mental health.

Meet Ava

56s

Meet Ava, who struggled with online bullying and felt lost since she couldn’t seem to escape the abuse. “It gets to me. And your mind is just dark. You don't want to go anywhere besides your bed. I was feeling so lost in my thoughts. I had no idea what was going on.”

Meet Ana

58s / TV-PG

“It broke my heart. I just felt like it was my fault.” At a young age Anna’s parents divorced and Anna still struggles with separation #anxiety from her mother. “I track her on my phone. I’ve just got to know where she is at all times.”

Meet Angel

1m 2s / TV-PG

"I keep up an image of myself in a way that I want to be seen as a good kid ... I didn't want to really talk about my feelings because I didn't want people to look at me in a different light," shares Angel, who was recently diagnosed with PTSD.

Meet Amethyst

51s

“My teenage years have been very hectic. I'm easily agitated by things and it ends up making me lose any sense of impulse control,” shares Amethyst, whose mental health was impacted by her father’s battle with cancer when she was younger.

Justin Describes What Living With Schizophrenia Feels Like

2m 20s / TV-PG

“Imagine if you couldn’t tell the difference between what was really happening in your life, and what was happening in your mind. You’d feel that everything you knew was a lie.” Justin describes what living with schizophrenia feels like.

Parenting

2m 7s / TV-PG

"You're trying to navigate a system that isn't quite a system and that isn't funded or configured in a way that provides easy access for you to get your children the help that they need." Dr. Sarah Vinson describes what it's often like when parents seek emergency medical help for a young child who is having a mental health crisis.

Billie Describes Their Eating Disorder

58s

Billie recalls how their eating disorder caused them to pass out in a bathroom stall at school. "I wanted to just sort of shrink up and freeze, and be smaller. And not be noticed by people."

Kevin Describes The Psychotic Episode That Led To His Arrest

2m 3s / TV-PG

“When I was sick, everything was black and white, good versus evil. It didn't feel like reality. It felt like a fever dream or something.” Kevin describes the psychotic episode that led to his arrest.

Lucas Went from Good Student to Being Paralyzed by Anxiety

1m / TV-PG

Lucas describes how he went from being a good student in middle school to becoming socially paralyzed by anxiety in high school. “If something was out of place when I woke up, like a strand of hair… I’d just lock myself in my room and say, ‘I can’t go.’”

Psychosis

1m 10s / TV-PG

“I started to see things that weren't there. I became very paranoid, delusional about people following me, people out to kill me.” Justin discusses the drug-induced psychosis he experienced, and how continued to have psychotic episodes even after he stopped taking drugs.

Overdose

1m 15s / TV-PG

“I overdosed on Xanax in school. My parents told me, ‘you're gonna be sent to a residential facility for 30 days.’” Lydia talks about the behavior that led to her getting “gooned” at a rehab facility.

Performance Anxiety

50s / TV-PG

Anna describes the thoughts that would run through her head when she took tests in school. “I’m going to fail this. I’m never going to get into college. I’m never going to have a good life.”

Anxiety: Feeling Different

39s / TV-PG

Maclayn explains how simple, everyday interactions sparked pronounced feelings of sadness and anxiety in him as early as the third grade. “Random things that just happened throughout my day. Things like if somebody smiled at me and I didn't smile back. I just started feeling different from all my other friends and like, my crowd.”

Supported by