Can You be Extroverted and Have Social Anxiety?

Our minds often give us images of certain types of people when we think about certain things. For example, we tend to think of those with anxiety to be by themselves, preferring to be alone and in the quiet. It can be easy and even confusing to separate introversion and social anxiety, since both include a preference of being alone and away from crowds. Even though there are significant differences, the assumption is that most people with social anxiety are also introverts, and that the two go hand in hand.

Continue reading Can You be Extroverted and Have Social Anxiety?

#tbt: How Did Teens Use Social Media in 2007?

While the lasting power of things on the Internet is permanent, the significance and popularity of some things are fickle. Even if Facebook is still up and running, notes and middle school photos buried somewhere deep down your feed, you probably don’t use it anymore – what was once one of the most popular website for teens is now only used by 51% of them, with only 10% saying they use it the most often. MySpace is pretty much nonexistent (as well as all the music on the website – one of the main features of the social network, and Tumblr has had a significant decline in users in recent years. Continue reading #tbt: How Did Teens Use Social Media in 2007?

TikTok as a Mental Health Resource?

TikTok is an extremely popular social networking app on which short videos that go up to 60 seconds are circulated. The content on the app varies widely and probably includes almost anything you can imagine. There are viral dance routines, comedy, people sharing interesting stories, a woman who packs cute lunches for her kids, and we think all of us have seen the man skateboarding to Fleetwood Mac while drinking cranberry juice. Continue reading TikTok as a Mental Health Resource?

Talking with Your Friends about Mental Illness

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.


When I was first seeing a therapist and diagnosed with anxiety, it felt like a secret. I didn’t know how to bring up this topic with my friends, it felt like something taboo and embarrassing. I was afraid I would be judged and seen differently if people knew that I went to therapy. When I had to miss class for therapy I didn’t tell people why. I was secretive about it and would hope that my friends wouldn’t ask questions about it. Continue reading Talking with Your Friends about Mental Illness

How Social Media “Jokes” about Mental Health

There’s still a long way to go in how we talk about mental health. Stigma, a lack of accessible knowledge about mental health, and the media are just a few of the reasons as to why many, regardless of age, can have incorrect information about how people coping with their mental health and show symptoms of mental illness live, behave, and think. This may require some explanation to the person to educate them at best, and can be really harmful to someone at its worst. Continue reading How Social Media “Jokes” about Mental Health

The Moment I Realized I Need A Therapist

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.


For what seems to be my entire life, I feel that I always manage my stress, anxiety, and struggles on my own – which I don’t think now looking back was the best thing to do. If I can be honest, I have always been insanely independent, and don’t like asking for help. I was always “that person” who brushed off the idea of a therapist, or speaking out my problems with someone who may be able to make me feel better.  This is the story of when I came to what felt like my breaking point, and I finally realized that I need to seek help by getting a therapist Continue reading The Moment I Realized I Need A Therapist

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?