Moderator ★, Author at WiseSOVA

The Right and Wrong Times to Open Up

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.

I have made a big change in the past few months. I have limited how often I vent to people and also who I vent to. Up until recently, I was an open book to quite a few friends. As soon as I would start feeling down, I would pick up my phone and shoot them a text to let them know how I was feeling. I worked on impulse, and never took a second to consider the consequences of it. Continue reading The Right and Wrong Times to Open Up

What do Adolescents Think about Their Mental Health?

As rates in adolescent mental illnesses have risen, the question also arises: are teens and young adults aware of this situation? These are the youths being diagnosed and showing symptoms of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, but do they think it’s something that only affects them as individuals, or are they noticing these patterns with their peers? What do adolescents consider to be the main problems with their age group? Continue reading What do Adolescents Think about Their Mental Health?

Rise Above

Some people try to explain

The way the world works,

Some people hide away

And don’t embrace their quirks.

But if you live everyday

In constant fear of pain

Then you’re just wasting your stay,

Better to play the game Continue reading Rise Above

Weekend Reads: What is Hysteria?

March is Women’s History Month, with today specifically being International Women’s Day. This is to pay tribute to and learn more about women and the history of women’s rights, as well as honor the movements that women are participating in today to make the world a better place in the future. Regardless of race, sexuality, class, and gender identity, women have made great strides and efforts to do more with the opportunities they’ve had available to them.

Continue reading Weekend Reads: What is Hysteria?

Mental Health Access and Awareness in Schools

In an article featured in a blog post from a few weeks ago, Corey Hirsch says, “If I had a magic wand, my biggest wish would be that, a year from now, there would be mental health awareness classes in schools […] across North America. Every single kid should be equipped with a basic knowledge about anxiety, depression, OCD and other mental health issues. To treat these things like they don’t exist is unacceptable.”

Continue reading Mental Health Access and Awareness in Schools

Reflections

The blog post includes mentions of suicide and verbal and physical abuse. Please read with caution if any of these items triggers or upsets you.

February 21, 2018 was the day I survived my suicide attempt. February 21, 2019 was a very emotional day for me as I began to reflect on the progress I made within the past year. To display my reflections, I wrote an essay about my journey: Continue reading Reflections

Spring is in the Air…Eventually

Winter can feel like it drags on forever, especially when it’s not your favorite time of year. The season is known for not only being not-so-popular, but one that’s harder on mental health given the cold, early sunsets, and barren nature.

Continue reading Spring is in the Air…Eventually

An App to Consider: Oak

We talked about the benefits to deep breathing and how it can clear your mind earlier this week on Monday. Although the steps are incredibly simple (deep breath in, hold, breathe out, repeat), you can try different patterns and lengths of time, and may need some assistance with it. You may also want a source of some background noise instead of searching “calming sounds” online and hoping for the best.

Continue reading An App to Consider: Oak