Dealing with Cancellations

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. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

As many of other people have probably first-handedly experienced this, there are many summer festivities being cancelled as a result of the current pandemic. There are concerts people have been waiting for months to go to that are being cancelled in split seconds. There are festivals people had made hotel arrangements for, family trips, summer vacations with friends, and beach trips that are now having to be postponed until a later month or even year. Continue reading Dealing with Cancellations

Podcasts about Black Mental Health

Podcasts are everywhere these days, and that’s a good thing! Especially now, when stay-at-home orders are still in place and social distancing is still encouraged, even in places that are opening up, podcasts can provide some sort of substitute for the busy background noise and conversations that you may be used to in your schools, a coffee shop, or large public places like malls. They can be educational and informative, explore topics you never even thought of before, and most of the time, have at least the smallest amount of much-needed humor.  Continue reading Podcasts about Black Mental Health

Going Back to Work

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. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

Last Wednesday, I received a phone call from my boss that my business was opening back up on Tuesday and I’d be starting back up at full time, just like before I left. I couldn’t believe it; I had been furloughed during the COVID-19 crisis and had just hit two months of being unemployed. Continue reading Going Back to Work

Mindfulness Matters

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. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

Have you ever had the scary experience when you’re driving and don’t remember the last few minutes of the drive? Or maybe you can’t remember where you put your pen two minutes ago. Maybe you’ve even gone to a birthday party and left the present at home, sitting right. By. The. Door. I did these things way more often than I should have. I was too caught up in other things to think clearly. Continue reading Mindfulness Matters

Tying Self-Worth to Productivity, with a Little Shame Tossed in

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. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

Throughout these last few months, I have been struggling with the balance of being productive and giving myself grace. While not as busy, it often felt like many days have been spent aimlessly scrolling through my phone or computer for hours, but at the same time I had already gotten a workout in or did my classwork. This sense of lack of productivity has caused a lot of shame within myself, as it feels as though I am not living up to the standard I have set. Continue reading Tying Self-Worth to Productivity, with a Little Shame Tossed in

Make It Ok

Make It Ok

This week, we wanted to highlight Make It Ok, a website designed to battling the stigma around discussions about mental health and mental illness.

The website offers “dos and don’ts” about how to respond to those opening up about their mental health, videos about harmful language that people should avoid, and a page dedicated to stories where people open up about their experiences with stigma. Make It Ok also has two podcasts – “The Hilarious World of Depression,” where people with depression use humor to talk about their experiences, and the “Tremendous Upside,” where athletes open up about their mental health.

This is just a bit of what the website has to offer, so if you want to explore more, you can do so here.

What has your experience been like with stigma and mental health? Have you ever had a conversation about mental health with your child? How did you react if your child has ever opened up about their mental health?

Unplug and Recharge

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. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

Over the past few weeks, some big changes have occurred in the United States, and many young people are actively engaged. Whether you’ve attended a protest, discussed civil rights on social media, talked to your family, or even watched the news, you’ve been involved. With so many important issues to discuss, it can feel very empowering to be involved. However, I personally have found myself feeling on-edge and anxious after hours of nonstop consumption of news and social media posts about current events. Continue reading Unplug and Recharge

Fearing Death

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. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

Lately I’ve been thinking about death more than normal. I don’t know why honestly. Continue reading Fearing Death

Lessons Learned from Adult Coloring Books

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. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.

I never had an outlet for me to calm down my negative energy, rage, frustration, or even confusion over the years. Although, one day I came across something I used to joke about – adult coloring books. Yes, these trendy, yet almost elementary coloring books I used to mock actually saved me in many dark times. It gave me a creative outlet, somewhere to escape my mind to, along with life lessons I learned within the lines. Continue reading Lessons Learned from Adult Coloring Books