Saying “Thank You” to Compliments: A Way to Boost Self-Esteem

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.

Ever since I started my freshman year of college this August, I have tried to develop new and healthier habits. While some of the habits were as menial as getting at least six hours of sleep, some of my newly acquired habits required a bit more skill. One of the habits I have been trying to develop is saying thank you to compliments. I went through high school with high demands of myself which caused me to have low self-esteem. This low self-esteem made it even more difficult to deal with anxiety. I decided that I wanted to change this– after all, college is a way to have a fresh start in life. Continue reading Saying “Thank You” to Compliments: A Way to Boost Self-Esteem

Teen Mental Health

The Internet has made it really easy and really difficult to find information about mental health. You can find a plethora of information with just a simple Google search, but how can you tell what information is the most valid and up to date? And when you do find valid and legitimate information about mental health, just how do you interpret and understand it? Continue reading Teen Mental Health

How I Avoid Getting Overwhelmed? I Set.

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.

To me and a lot of other people I know, extracurricular activities seem to be like potato chips: you can never have just one. When I was in high school, I was involved in a lot of different clubs, a sport, and honor society at my school. During my first semester of college, I did the same thing. I quickly involved myself with four clubs, became a pledge in a co-ed fraternity, took a volunteer opportunity and signed up to do this, along with my fifteen credit course load. Although I was happy to be involved on campus, I soon realized I was getting worn out by my busy schedule. I also couldn’t fully commit myself to some of the activities. The last straw was when I got sick and had to miss a day of class. I didn’t want to overwhelm myself and risk my health, or my grades so I set up rules for myself so I wouldn’t get overwhelmed. Continue reading How I Avoid Getting Overwhelmed? I Set.

Managing Homework Stress

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.

Going back to school or college after a long summer vacation can be tough, but September is often an easy month. It’s exciting to get new school supplies, start new classes, and see friends again while the workload remains relatively easy. By October or November, stress and anxiety start to rear their ugly heads as students’ to-do lists grow longer and the days slip away. Continue reading Managing Homework Stress

The Importance of Setting Goals

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 recently ran my first ever race and it got me thinking about how exercise has played a role in my mental health. Finishing the race was a huge victory for me, for a couple of reasons: Continue reading The Importance of Setting Goals

Cleaning Up Your Social Media

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by social media. With all the different kinds of accounts we can have, the way we can rely on the number of likes and comments we get, and the tendency we have to compare ourselves to others about what we post, social media can heighten feelings of anxiety and/or depression, especially for adolescents today. It doesn’t help that people sometimes endlessly scroll through their social media during depressive episodes or times of increased anxiety, because that’s really all their brains have the energy to do. Continue reading Cleaning Up Your Social Media

Tackling Appointment Anxiety

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.

If you’re like me, any kind of doctor’s appointment comes with a lot of anxiety. Having mental health problems along with chronic illness requires a lot of appointments for me to try and cope with. While I know its important to keep the appointments, I’ve found myself canceling them in the past due to anxiety. Here are some ways I’ve found to cope with appointment-related anxiety. Continue reading Tackling Appointment Anxiety

Get Your ZZZZ’s!

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.

You have heard this before and I know, getting enough sleep is easier said than done…you only have 3 more episodes of that show on Netflix or you’re busy scrolling through Facebook or Twitter. I am unfortunately also guilty of staying up way later than I should because…just one more episode then I’ll go to bed. I have a bad habit of doing this despite knowing how I will feel the next morning. I just find it hard to put my phone down sometimes or turn off the show. But, you need your sleep! Continue reading Get Your ZZZZ’s!