LEARN Archives - Page 31 of 56

Bullet Journaling Beyond Organization

In the past few years, using a bullet journal in lieu of a planner has boomed in popularity, particularly among adolescents. This is partly due to social media sites such as Instagram, tumblr, and YouTube (often found under the #bujo hashtag), where people can turn to for ideas and where to start, if not an aesthetic to hopefully achieve. They’re colorful, creative, and an opportunity for people to have their journal truly be a reflection of them. Continue reading Bullet Journaling Beyond Organization

How Schools Train to Recognize Mental Health Symptoms

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Yesterday’s post discussed the worrying lack of resources available for communities when it comes to treating adolescent mental health. The question is thus asked: is there any way that these communities can still help? Continue reading How Schools Train to Recognize Mental Health Symptoms

The Inaccessibility of Mental Health Help

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According to The Guardian, adolescents across the pond are having an extremely difficult time accessing facilities to help with the mental health treatment they need. The majority of children and adolescents with severe mental health issues in England have to travel more than 100 miles away from home to stay in these facilities due to bed shortages in the those closer to them.

Continue reading The Inaccessibility of Mental Health Help

Depression Naps

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As one of the more notable symptoms of depression, napping or sleeping for long periods of time can suck time out of the day. Naps during the day mean that the time to do other things is lost, and doing so can make you unable to sleep at night, which makes you tired the next day, and repeat.

Continue reading Depression Naps

Preparing for Gloomy Days

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Though mental health doesn’t take vacation days like school does, there’s just something about the end of summer that makes times a little more difficult. Of course, there’s returning back to school, but it could also be how it’s the final stretch of intense heat and humidity, and people have almost literally reached their boiling point. There’s the pressure to take advantage of those last few full days of freedom, or the anticipatory anxiety of the 180 that’s taking place in schedules.

Continue reading Preparing for Gloomy Days

Using Loud Music to Relax

black and white people musician guitarist rock band music man guy concert — Gavin Whitner via MusicOomph

The setting may feel all too familiar. Your child locks themselves in their room, blasting music at full volume, shutting themselves off from everything else and everyone and surrounding themselves with noise. The genres can vary: maybe they prefer the sound of electric guitars and banging drums, bass-boosted beats, someone screaming, or maybe all of the above.

If the music your child prefers tends to be on the louder side, listening to it can help during times when their depression and anxiety just won’t be quiet. A study conducted showed that those who like listening to “extreme” music when angry does not increase that anger, but instead helps to stabilize them. Continue reading Using Loud Music to Relax

Resistance Training Exercises and 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.

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Being physically active is one way to help improve your mental health. In my first ever post almost a year ago (eek!), I talked about different ways to get motivated to be physically active. Generally, it was known that aerobic exercise — A.K.A. cardio exercises like jogging, cycling, and swimming — can help to reduce depressive symptoms. However, not much was known about the relationship of depression with resistance training, the types of exercise that require you to work against a force that resists your movement (for example, weight lifting).

Continue reading Resistance Training Exercises and Mental Health

What Is Depression?

If a doctor or medical professional tells you that your child may be depressed, what does that really mean? The trouble with depression is it’s not a rash—it’s hard to “see”—although in research, brain studies can show how the brain can look different in someone who is depressed. So then how does a doctor know that’s what’s wrong?

Continue reading What Is Depression?

Is It Okay To Vent?

Venting is a way of verbally airing one’s frustrations with others. It can be super emotional and intense. And depending on the way you handle it, venting might feel like a ton of bricks was taken off your chest, or it might be unpleasant and hurtful.

So is it okay to vent? And if so, when and how?

Continue reading Is It Okay To Vent?

Negotiating Relapse

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.

recoverytrajectory Recovery from mental illness is not always a straight line in an upward trajectory. In fact, the path to recovery is almost never straight and easy. There isn’t necessarily even a discernible end goal—a point that you’ll reach when you can say, “I’m done recovering.”

Everybody struggles with relapse. I’ve had small relapses that are simply bumps on the road, but I’ve also had relapses that I’d categorize as huge, staggering roadblocks. Each and every one of these has taught me more about myself.

A few things I’ve learned in my journey of recovery:

Continue reading Negotiating Relapse