Stand Together Staff Interview Pt. 2

In the past few weeks, we’ve done a couple of blogs on the program Stand Together. We first discussed the work that the initiative does and then had the chance to sit down with the project coordinator, Danyelle for an interview. During the first part of the interview, Danyelle spoke about Stand Together and the work they do to combat stigma in schools. If you haven’t already, check out part one! During the second part of the interview, Danyelle spoke about her personal experience with mental illness. Danyelle has a dual-diagnosis (two diagnoses that often occur together) of bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. Danyelle spoke with SOVA about her lived experience with mental illness and her passion for helping others…stand together Continue reading Stand Together Staff Interview Pt. 2

Breakdown of the Diagnosis: Bipolar Disorder

The mental health diagnosis Bipolar Disorder has been mentioned on SOVA before. We thought it would be good to provide some information about the diagnosis. Bipolar disorder causes drastic changes in mood, energy, and activity levels as well as the ability to complete daily living tasks. There are four different types of bipolar disorder, but today we are going to focus on the first and second: bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder. For this post, we’ll breakdown the symptoms of both bipolar I and bipolar II, as well as the differences between the two. We’ll also talk about the way bipolar disorder relates to anxiety and depression.

Before we dive in, it’s important to note that only a professional can diagnose individuals with mental health disorders. We want to warn against the dangers of self-diagnosis, especially relating to mental illness. If you or someone you know is experiencing some of these symptoms, it’s okay to investigate further by educating yourself on the disorder, but important to get a professional opinion before drawing any conclusions.

Photo Credit: Gillfoto Flickr via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: Gillfoto Flickr via Compfight cc

Continue reading Breakdown of the Diagnosis: Bipolar Disorder

Stand Together Staff Interview

Stand Together is an amazing initiative located across Allegheny County. The program joins with local youth to break down the stigma associated with mental illness and substance use disorders. Recently, we did a post on the work the program does. SOVA also had the opportunity to sit down with Stand Together’s Project Coordinator, Danyelle. She had so many powerful things to say about mental health and getting rid of the stigma surrounding it. Check out the interview below!

http://standtogether.againststigma.org/
http://standtogether.againststigma.org/

Continue reading Stand Together Staff Interview

Pan-sexuality as an Idenitity

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Photo Credit: onnola via Compfight cc

Miley Cyrus made news and social media  headlines awhile back by announcing that she identifies as pansexual.  If you haven’t already looked it up, pansexual is described as “a sexual identity along with bisexual, homosexual, heterosexual, asexual, polysexual, queer and more.  People use the term to describe being attracted to and falling in love with people of all and any gender, whether transgender, genderqueer, male or female. They are, to an extent, “gender-blind”.”

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Where Does the Pain Go?

There are many different models and methods of looking at and explaining mental health. “Where Does The Pain GO?” was a conference series hosted by the Community Empowerment Association (CEA) in Pittsburgh that used this frame work to discuss ideas to help their community. The CEA website stated that the conference was created to “begin to better understand our conditions and the historical trauma that continues to play itself out in our day to day personal relationships. We also need a better understanding of how day to day life occurrences impact our physical, mental, and emotional well being.” You can read more about CEA at CEApittsburgh.org . Continue reading Where Does the Pain Go?

When in doubt, “OM” it out.

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Photo credit: Leslie Schweitzer via Flickr

 

“Downward facing cat.  Nailed it.”

There are many yoga poses that individually can be helpful, but an integrated, regular yoga practice, including meditation, can reconnect you with your true essence and your inherent wholeness. In that space of “being,” there is a release of attachment to our worries, problems, fears, or circumstances.

Continue reading When in doubt, “OM” it out.

The Stand Together Initiative

For young people with mental health concerns, school can be a negative space. Individuals with mental health concerns, like anxiety and depression, can come up against stigma from their classmates, and maybe even the faculty. There’s much that can be done to change the stigma that can be a part of schooling. We’ve mentioned before that learning and talking about mental health can be a powerful way to reduce stigma. Luckily, there are people working within schools to make change from the inside out.

http://standtogether.againststigma.org/
http://standtogether.againststigma.org/

Continue reading The Stand Together Initiative

Difficulty with Diagnoses

If your doctor tells you that your child may be depressed, what does that really mean?

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Photo Credit: ? by Leo Amato CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Maybe some of the “symptoms” they have could be from something else like:

  • trouble adjusting to a new situation at school or home
  • a bad break-up, a friend who let them down, or not making a sports team or other extracurricular
  • bullying at school
  • a medical problem like anemia (a low blood count), headaches, belly pain
  • not getting enough sleep from being overscheduled, overhomeworked, too much online time, or having to wake up too early
  • another mental health or physical problem like ADHD, anxiety, or anemia

Continue reading Difficulty with Diagnoses

Balancing Work and Mental Health

When your adolescent or young adult is struggling with anxiety or depression, this can create obstacles to being successful in their work, and possibly even your own work. In the case of your child’s work, it can be difficult to balance their mental health and the job duties. Many parents might struggle with meeting the demands at work while attending to their adolescent’s mental health concerns. Recently, Time Magazine posted an article outlining tips for finding a balance between mental health and work. This article also discusses parent’s of individuals with mental health concerns and the struggle with finding a balance between work and caring for a loved one. Here are some of the tips:

Photo Credit: DiariVeu - laveupv.com Flickr via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: DiariVeu – laveupv.com Flickr via Compfight cc

Continue reading Balancing Work and Mental Health

Talking about Depression

It can be really hard to start a conversation about depression with someone you care about. Because depression doesn’t show up as a physical illness like a chest cold or a stomach bug it can be hard to describe what you are going through. Having a starting point to talk about depression is a great way to begin the conversation. Adolescents may have fears about opening up about how they are feeling. Not only because of the depressive feelings but also because they may have fears about being judged or being unworthy.

On a prior post, we talked about what depression is and how it may present itself. That list may be a great place to start talking to your adolescent about what is happening. Ask them about how they have been feeling or if any of those things have been happening. You can help relieve some fears by saying “I am just here to listen for you right now, not judge or give advice unless you want it.”

Tell us about how you’ve started conversations in the past. What was useful to start with?