Anxiety

Photo Credit: Tom Simpson Flickr via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: Tom Simpson Flickr via Compfight cc

Sometimes young people can seem extremely worried about many things. Their lives often feel so much busier than ours when we were their age! So it can seem natural that they frequently worry about grades, school, friends, their appearance, and love interests. How can you tell if your child might actually be experiencing symptoms of anxiety?

Here are some signs that your child may be anxious:
  • avoids social situations like hanging out with friends
  • asks to not go to school
  • often has headaches, belly aches, or trouble falling asleep
  • can have panic attacks
  • gets into arguments with you about changing their routine or trying something new

Many people can feel stressed or worried at times. When it gets in the way of them living the life they want to live and completing their goals is when it becomes a problem.

Anxiety can first be seen when children are young – and as they go through puberty they may also show signs of depression. The good news is there are many treatments that can help and many are the same for depression and anxiety. 

Has your child experienced anxiety and done better with treatment? If you feel comfortable, comment below.

Helpful App for Anxiety

Created by Anxiety BC (a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the public’s awareness and access to resources on anxiety disorders) and BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services, this app can be your child’s personal and portable coach to help them face challenging daily situations and to help them regain control of their life.

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Photo Credit: Mike Beauchamp via Compfight cc

MindShift is a multi-facited app for smart phones, which is designed to help teens and young adults cope with varying levels of anxiety.

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Social media: reflecting back with your child

Have you noticed that sometimes after looking at social media, you feel worse? Young people have shared with us that it happens to them too.

Photo Credit: The Open University (OU) Flickr via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: The Open University (OU) Flickr via Compfight cc

Some people feel worse when they:

  • See photos of their friends getting together without them
  • Are having a bad day, yet their friends’ posts all seem happy and fun
  • See someone’s post about something they don’t like or agree with especially if someone is posting something that can be triggering – like a depressing or negative picture or mean comment

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The Power of Hugs

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” -Leo Buscaglia

Kazbär hugging felder
Photo Credit: Harlequeen via Compfight cc

The Power of Touch

Hugs and cuddling have a lasting impact on your psyche more than you may have previously thought.

Between friends, lovers, or parents/family, physical affection helps the brain, the heart and other bodily systems.  Oxytocin, a hormone released by the brain, is the core culprit for our response to love and affection. Oxytocin makes us feel good when we’re near to the people we are close with. It also lowers the levels of stress hormones in the body, reduces blood pressure, improves mood and increases your pain tolerance. Recent studies have also shown that it can speed up how fast our wounds (cuts, bruises, scrapes) heal.

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Meet Alyssa: Founder of ‘Inside Our Minds’

A member of the SOVA team recently had the great opportunity to meet and interview Alyssa Cypher.  Alyssa is the founder of ‘Inside Our Minds,’ which was previously featured on SOVA.  During this interview Alyssa talked about everything from her own interviewing style to what motivated her to start this project.

Photo kindly provided by Alyssa
Photo kindly provided by Alyssa

What motivated you to start ‘Inside Our Minds?’

Alyssa shared that her own personal experience with mental illness was a major influence on her desire to start this project.  She first began by getting involved in advocacy work and dealing with her own personal mental health struggles.  One day Alyssa made the decision to write her own personal confessional on Facebook addressing her struggles with mental health.  After posting her confessional online, Alyssa felt not only a sense of release from sharing her story, but in return she received a huge amount of positive feedback.  This experience lead her to create ‘Inside Our Minds’ so she could help others share their own personal stories in their own words.  The first interview posted on ‘Inside Our Minds’ on March 30, 2016.

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Making Social Media Work for You

Do you sometimes get frustrated about seeing things you don’t want to see on your social media feeds?

Maybe you are not someone who likes pictures of food. But you have a contact or friend who posts what they eat for every meal?! You might enjoy spending time with them, but you just can’t see one more picture of their Starbucks drink or what they ate for dinner last night. What do you do?

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Individualized Education Program

Recently we did a feature on Section 504.  However, a Section 504 Plan and an IEP, or Individualized Education Program, are mentioned together.  But what is an IEP?  Is it different from Section 504?

First let’s discuss what an IEP is …

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Photo Credit: LegoBMan Flickr via Compfight cc

What is an Individualized Education Program (IEP)?

The Individualized Education Program is a written document that is created to meet the learning needs of any public school student requiring special education.

Is an IEP enforced under a law?

Yes, an IEP falls under our nation’s federal law called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA.  The IDEA is intended to focus on the student and provide rights and protections to children with disabilities and to their parents.

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