When your child feels anxious, some things that are not challenges to others can seem like huge mountains for them. You might feel like it is something they just need to snap out of but no matter what you say, you can’t seem to calm them down. They are upset and their body language shows it. It is too much for both of you to handle so you push it aside to think about later.
August is upon us and that time of the year is quickly approaching! Stores are already advertising “back-to-school” sales on all the products to prepare you and your family for the new school year. However, what does your mental tool kit look like with this latest transition?
More than one in four children experience bullying in a year.
And now the first ever emoji created for a social cause is trying to help prevent it.
The other day I was in the university bakery and someone started to have a panic attack. Once you are practicing medicine for a while, telling between “sick” and “not sick” becomes an instinct. It means you know by pure observation how much to worry that someone is in a life-threatening situation. If you are talking and screaming, I know you are breathing very well. If you are holding yourself up on the counter and your cheeks are flushed, I know you have good strength and enough blood flow going to your muscles, skin, and brain. I know not to worry.
The problem was that other people not in medicine should not know that, yet everyone (almost all young college students) stood around staring and ignoring this person as he screamed for water. I looked around for water but before I saw it, a young woman quickly brought over a bottle. I told the young person having the attack I was a doctor and to take some deep breaths and sit on the floor. He said, “Its OK, I get panic attacks. I’m feeling better,” and his cheeks started to lighten. The young woman said, “I have anxiety too!”
Did you know the number one cause of death to teenagers is car crashes? Some studies show that texting is a big part of that problem.
But it’s not just teens – it’s parents and adults too! Take a look at this video from ABC News showing some video of actual car crashes that happen with texting.
Continue reading Texting and Driving with Apple’s newest iOS 11 feature
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness in America. The condition affects 40 million adults in the United States. That’s 18 percent of the U.S. population!!
However, despite this, people with anxiety disorders still live with the stigma that is often associated with invisible conditions. The Mighty asked their readers what living with Anxiety was like, and how they tackled living with it. It is important for you to know that you are not alone in this journey and you are not isolated. One of the reasons we have the SOVA website is to connect you with a supportive community and resources to help you with your journey.
We often write, and you may hear, about “self-care.” However, this may leave you wondering: How do I “do” self care? Plus, there are a lot of ways that life gets in the way of self-care. For example: I am busy! Getting a massage takes time and money! I don’t know where to start!
Well, you’re not alone. Self-care can look like so many different things, and can be different for different people. Try to keep in mind that what works for one person may not work for another. With that in mind, here’s a list of ideas to get you started!
The five signs of suffering are:
Someone may exhibit one or more signs when they are suffering.
Perhaps you’ve experienced these yourself or have noticed these in your child, or a friend or relative. Suffering can come to us in many ways – perhaps a close friend or relative has moved away or died, or perhaps mental illness makes life difficult on a day-to-day basis. Being aware of these 5 signs can be a helpful way to realize when you need to seek help your child seek professional advice or counseling.
When you hear the phrase “self-love,” what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? How do you feel when thinking about this? What makes you want to practice self-love? What makes you feel like you can’t practice it enough?
In February 2015, national-award winning performance poet and author, Caira Lee, stood in front of a large crowd as she delivered a speech at Shaker Heights High School (SHHS). She opened the speech with a live performance, standing and delivering one of her poems to the audience. In this poem, she states what she would say to her fifteen-year-old self.
“I really have a lot of respect for you. ‘Cause time waits for no colored girl.”
As an adult, Lee now finds loving herself, as a woman of color, one of the hardest, yet simplest of tasks and she gives all the credit to her own religious practice of “radical self love.” She asked “What is radical self-love?” and explains that it’s when an individual comes to realize that the body and its flaws are assets that don’t need fixing and are advantages that one should build their life around and gain from. To Lee, it means:
“Looking in the mirror once a week and saying, ‘I am the most important person in the world, to me. I accept that person. I admire that person. And I will do everything in my power to see that person’s dreams come true.”
While the concept of “loving oneself” seems simple enough to grasp, it isn’t. Because we are systematically taught to dislike ourselves, to believe that we aren’t able to acquire anything and everything we wish to have – through the practice of vigorous work and repetition, and, as a person of color, it’s quite common to grow up in environments where one isn’t pushed to believe in their own positive mindset and kind self-talk.
