No two sibling relationships are the same. Some may not see theirs very often, while others see them all the time and share the same room. Some only have one, while others have enough to count on both hands. There are some who may hate a sibling, while others see a sibling as their best friend (and honestly, a lot of us feel both of these feelings towards one at the same time). Continue reading How Siblings Can Affect Mental Health
What is the first thing that parents consider in a good school for their kids? SAT scores? AP classes? The percentage of graduates that get into good colleges?
Actually, it’s safety. This includes school fights, bullying, and other forms of violence, but also the school culture around things like racial diversity and mental health. There is no one school environment that can fit all kids, but a more negative school environment can cause lifelong consequences to children’s mental health. Continue reading Can Going to a Different School Impact Your Child’s Mental Health?
The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by one in our team of fantastic SOVA Ambassadors—these are young people who help create meaningful blog posts from adolescents’ perspectives.
In her book The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron states that humans are naturally creative beings – we have an innate desire to express ourselves and seek beauty in our surroundings. Visual art, music, literature, and performances have been a part of the human experience for thousands of years, and they offer incredible benefits for both creators and consumers. Art therapy has been used in mental health treatment because it gives patients a medium for expressing the thoughts and emotions that might be hard to verbalize, and it allows them to discover new things about themselves. Continue reading Art and Healing
Starting a conversation can be difficult. Sometimes – especially when you’re close to someone – it can feel like the easiest thing in the world. All sorts of conversations can begin simply by sharing a meme, tagging someone in something that reminds you of them, or even just by saying “what’s up?”
The social media boom over the past few years has given a space for minority and marginalized groups – especially young people – to diversify their social networks. For those who feel like the people they usually talk to face-to-face aren’t diverse or simply don’t understand what they’re going through, the Internet and social media are ways for them to find those who are similar to them and feel that they are not alone in their identity. Continue reading QPOC and Social Media
The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by one in our team of fantastic SOVA Ambassadors—these are young people who help create meaningful blog posts from adolescents’ perspectives.
Everyone has their outlet to getting stress out. For many, it’s exercise. For others, it’s music. But my suggestion is entirely different. Based off my personal experience, I suggest genealogy. Continue reading A Hobby to Help with Bad Feelings
More than 1 in 7 kids in the US between the ages of 6 and 18 (7.7 million children, to be exact) have a mental health disorder as of 2016, and nearly half of them are not getting treatment. Mental health issues, if not addressed while still young, can result in detrimental physical, social, and worsening mental health consequences, and difficulties transitioning into adulthood.
Unfortunately, this is not something new. Continue reading Providing Mental Health Services
The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by one in our team of fantastic SOVA Ambassadors—these are young people who help create meaningful blog posts from adolescents’ perspectives.
Oh once upon a time,
There was a sad, sad girl
Too scared of heights to climb
As wind and thoughts would whirl.
She thought to let life pass
Was not a waste at all
For if you speak in class,
You can’t shrink quite as small
The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by one in our team of fantastic SOVA Ambassadors—these are young people who help create meaningful blog posts from adolescents’ perspectives.
Last week, we talked about the Momo Challenge how it made sense that some parents were concerned about it. Even though it was a hoax, many feared that people online were taking advantage about how often children and adolescents use the Internet to an extreme.
Continue reading Why do so many people participate in social media challenges?