22q Minded

Supporting 22q families worldwide 💙
Clinical psychologists specialising in 22q-related syndromes and related conditions. Dr Linda Campbell & Dr Sasja Duijff

Coaching, training & resources for families & professionals. Local services in Australia & the Netherlands
www.22qminded.com

25/02/2026

You don’t need to wait for crisis to seek clarity.

If this month’s content has resonated, this is the next step.

On-demand webinar access is available now.

Join the live Q&A on 8 March.

You don’t need to wait for a crisis to seek clarity.

Link in bio (insta) or comments (fb).

21/02/2026

Clarity changes how families respond.

In this webinar, we explore:

• The mental health conditions most commonly associated with 22q — and how they present differently across ages
• The early behavioural changes that are often missed
• Practical steps for seeking assessment, communicating concerns, and navigating systems
• How to create emotionally safe environments that support wellbeing across the lifespan

This is not about fear.
It’s about informed, early, and confident support.

Recording available now.
Live Q&A — 8 March.

20/02/2026

Over the past few weeks, we’ve explored subtle signs, cumulative load, and the ways mental health can present differently in 22q.

Many families are left with the same question:

“Is this something I should be worried about?”

In The Hidden Struggles, we walk through:

• How anxiety, depression, OCD, and psychosis-risk can present differently across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood
• Early warning signs that are often overlooked — including withdrawal, increased irritability, or sudden drops in functioning
• What signals require monitoring, and what requires more urgent support

This is a compassionate, evidence-informed session designed to help you notice what others might miss — and respond early, effectively, and with confidence.

On-demand webinar available now.
Live Q&A — 8 March.

19/02/2026

Mental health isn’t fixed. It shifts as life changes.

New demands, health challenges, transitions, and cumulative stress can all affect how someone copes, whether they’re a child, adolescent, or adult with 22q.

If you’re noticing differences over time, your observations matter.

18/02/2026

Coping isn’t a personality trait. It’s dynamic.

When demands increase — biologically, psychologically, or socially — coping capacity can narrow.

That doesn’t mean someone is failing.
It often means the load has shifted.

Context matters.

14/02/2026

Mental health in 22q doesn’t exist in isolation.

It is shaped by biological factors, psychological patterns, and environmental demands — all interacting at once.

Fatigue, sleep, medical complexity, regulation differences, stress sensitivity, transitions, and misunderstanding can all add to the load someone is carrying.

When we see the full picture, distress often makes sense.

We’ve created a new free eBook, The Quiet Shifts: Noticing Mental Health Changes in 22q. 💙
If you’re already one of our 600+ newsletter subscribers, check your inbox for the download. If not, you can sign up on our website to receive your copy.

13/02/2026

Sometimes what looks like behaviour is actually distress.

In 22q, anxiety may appear as avoidance or shutdown.
Obsessive–compulsive difficulties may look like rigidity or repeated reassurance seeking.
Emotional overload may show up as irritability, meltdowns, or withdrawal.

When distress is misunderstood as behaviour, the response often misses what’s actually needed.

Looking beneath behaviour can change how we understand what’s happening.

If this feels familiar, you’re not alone in noticing it.

10/02/2026

Mental health conditions aren't always loud or obvious.

In 22q, it often shows up quietly, as exhaustion, withdrawal, irritability, repetitive questions or reduced coping capacity.

These experiences are easy to minimise because they don’t match what people expect mental health difficulties to look like.

But quiet struggles still matter.

09/02/2026

When mental health conditions don’t look the way you expect, it’s easy to miss what’s actually happening.

In 22q, mental health difficulties are most often shaped by anxiety, rather than psychosis. And that anxiety isn’t always expressed as obvious worry.

It may look like avoidance, irritability, withdrawal, or a strong need for control. Because it presents differently, it’s often misunderstood or overlooked.

Psychosis is part of the picture for some people with 22q, but it is not the whole story.

If this reframes what you’ve been told, you’re not alone.

06/02/2026

04/02/2026

Many parents, carers, and adults with 22q describe this moment.

Not dramatic.
Not obvious.
Just heavier, harder, or less manageable.

These early shifts are easy to doubt — especially when there’s no clear explanation.
But noticing change isn’t overreacting. It’s part of care.

02/02/2026

January has been about listening more closely.

Over the past month, we’ve been exploring something that often gets missed in 22q: the difference between talking and understanding.

Through posts, carousels, and weekly reels, we focused on receptive language, how meaning is taken in, especially in busy, emotional, or language-heavy moments.

We also shared the "Making Sense of Language" webinar,
which has now been purchased by more than 35 families,
and hosted a live Q&A where parents brought real, everyday questions.

What stayed with us most weren’t the slides, but the messages, comments, and DMs that followed.

So many parents told us:

“I thought this was behaviour… now I see it differently.”

“That explains why my child says yes, but nothing happens.”

“I feel relieved — and sad — at the same time.”

That mix of relief and grief makes sense.
This isn’t about blame.
It’s about finally having a clearer map.

One idea came up again and again:
👉 Understanding comes before behaviour.

When meaning doesn’t land in time, what we often see isn’t confusion, it’s shutdown, overwhelm, avoidance, or big emotions.

And when parents begin responding to that difference, the whole tone at home can start to shift.

The webinar remains available for families who want to explore this at their own pace.

As we move into February, we’ll be building directly on this foundation with a new focus on mental health and 22q,
looking at how language, stress, emotional regulation, and wellbeing are deeply connected.

If you’ve been following along quietly, thank you.
If January helped you feel a little less alone, that matters 🤍

Address

Maitland, NSW

Website

http://www.22qminded.au/, http://www.22qminded.nl/, http://www.22qminded.com/

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