SEATTLE — Kristina Kuzmic doesn't like to be called brave, but that's what many people have told her after she and her son opened up about mental health and his struggles with depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
The author and comedian first gained popularity on social media after her videos about motherhood went viral, thanks to her honesty and humor. She's now on tour, using comedy to bring light to topics that are usually kept in the shadows.
"Because I just feel like if I have a platform, if I have an audience, I want to talk openly about the tough stuff in life. And I want to be super vulnerable about mental health," said Kuzmic.
Two years ago, she posted a video about her son Luka's battle with mental illness. It was a candid conversation between mother and son where he talked about suicidal thoughts and turning to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain.
"He ended up getting diagnosed with depression, and when he was 14. I flat out asked him if you ever thought about hurting yourself and he admitted he had suicidal thoughts and as a mother, your whole world crashes," said Kuzmic. "His depression often showed up as anger, so he would scream in my face, punch holes in the walls and he was hurting himself. He would punch tiles and his knuckles were bleeding. He was cutting at one point."
She's now written a book called "I Can Fix This" and in it, she shares heart-wrenching stories of her son in crisis and talks openly about her struggles, the mistakes she made and the lessons she learned as a parent helping her struggling teen.
"It makes me cry every time I hear that title. Because I was so desperate to just save my kid so I went into I can fix this mode. I'll get him the right doctor and the right therapist and we're going to fix this," said Kuzmic.
One of the biggest lessons she learned is to control less and connect more.
"A lot of times a kid will say to a parent, that they have thought about taking their life, and the parent will go no no no, you don't want to do that. You have a great life, look at all the things, but what you're doing is you're telling them the thing you're feeling is not real. You're invalidating them," explained Kuzmic. "Because now they feel even more alone in their struggles. She doesn't believe me, she doesn't think it's that bad. She thinks that just me looking around and seeing how grateful I am is going to take away this depression but that's not how it works."
Luka even writes a chapter in the book in which he talks about what he needed from his mom during his lowest moments.
Both of them believe that sharing their stories, will not only give people hope, but it will reduce the stigma and shame that surrounds mental health.
"Let's get to a point where it's not brave, where it's just normal to say hey I struggle with depression, 'Hey I have these thoughts. I have anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia,' whatever. Let's get to a point where it's not brave to admit we are human with human struggles," said Kuzmic.