Using Humor to Relax

You’ve probably heard the phrase before: laughter is the best medicine. While it may not be the cure for any disease, it helps relieve some of the pain that can come with them. This includes the pain that can come with mental illness as well. There have been studies that have shown that laughing and humor can decrease stress hormones, and by helping to produce a more comfortable environment, can ease anxieties and help those who struggle in social settings feel more at ease. It has also been shown to help with self-esteem and motivation as well. Continue reading Using Humor to Relax

“When I Came Out”

It kind of makes sense that National Coming Out Day is the day after World Mental Health Day. Mental health and mental illness are almost always tied to marginalized groups, with those who identify as LGBT being no exception. You’re probably somewhat aware of the staggering differences in statistics between queer people and those who are cisgender and/or heterosexual (if you want to check out the specifics, you can do so here), especially in queer youth as they try to navigate these identities. Continue reading “When I Came Out”

World Mental Health Day

Today is World Mental Health Day. You’ve probably seen tons of posts online about the importance of ending the stigma and starting conversations about mental illness – and that’s a good thing! Social media can often be a trigger for mental illness symptoms, but it’s also a platform where people can open up and be honest about their struggles. We’ve talked a ton about how social media has been a primary source for mental health conversations in several posts – check out a few here. Continue reading World Mental Health Day

Gratitude

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.

My entire life I’ve been comparing myself to others. In college and high school I was constantly judging my value based on my peers’ value. I put so much thought into how people around me were doing in their lives and everything they had rather than focusing on how I was doing and what I had. This type of thinking didn’t get addressed until much later and led to some serious thought distortions – I’m a failure, I haven’t accomplished enough, I won’t amount to anything. This thought process has contributed to my anxiety. And in some cases, has been the cause of it. Continue reading Gratitude

Effectively Sharing Information About Mental Health

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.

Sometimes, it can be really difficult to open up to others about our own mental health struggles. It may be especially difficult if the person you’re reaching out to for support doesn’t know much about conditions like depression or anxiety. Unfortunately, people within our support networks sometimes misunderstand or downplay the impact of mental health conditions (even when they mean well). We know how much anxiety and/or depression might affect us, but they can be hard to describe to people who haven’t experienced them. Continue reading Effectively Sharing Information About Mental Health

Controlling Emotions

It’s impossible to be in control of our emotions all the time. After all, we’re only human, and we react to things in different ways as they happen, whether we want to or not. We may get overly excited about something we’re passionate about during a time when it’s probably not the most appropriate, or we might find ourselves getting a little too heated when someone insults someone close to us. Continue reading Controlling Emotions

Breaking the Stigma: What You Can Do

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.

One of my most well-kept secrets for a long time has been that I was hospitalized for my mental health. I was hospitalized for two weeks, and then in partial hospitalization at another location for four weeks. As a year out of the hospital is quickly approaching, I am taking time to think about this experience, and why I was so embarrassed to share it with others. Continue reading Breaking the Stigma: What You Can Do

Putting Yourself Back Out There

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’m going to be candid here: I have never done well with breakups. Not that anyone really does well with them, but I can definitely say that I handle them worse than the average person (which has been confirmed by the two therapists I’ve had during these breakups). I have had two major break-ups and both of them have sent me spiraling. I propel myself back into therapy, I lose more than 10 pounds in weeks from not eating, I have trouble going through my day-to life as my enjoyment for things I used to like is gone, I go back on antidepressant medication, and in this most recent break-up, I actually was diagnosed with (thankfully mild) dissociative amnesia. Basically, I really lose touch with who I am.  Continue reading Putting Yourself Back Out There