Being Labeled

What words describe your child? If someone did not know them at all, how would you describe them? You could probably make a long list of things. People are not one-dimensional. And even if most of the time if they are one way, in certain situations they might be the opposite. Let’s say most of the time they are a peacemaker, but if someone makes fun of their sister, they will pick a fight with them. There may even be things about them that seem to be opposites, but they are both there.

For example, maybe they have a lot of skill in math and science—but when it comes down to it, they could spend all their days just drawing with a charcoal pencil. People have many sides to them. And in one snapshot of their lives—they are one way—at another stage they might have left certain things behind and now there are new adjectives to describe who they are.

Continue reading Being Labeled

Benefits of Teen Mental-Health First-Aid Programs

MHFAA little while ago one of our blogging ambassadors reported on their positive experience becoming certified in mental health first aid at a workshop at her university. There are scientists who are studying programs like this, and evidence is coming in about how beneficial it is to teach adolescents about mental health so they can help their at-risk peers and reduce stigma against people asking for help.

Continue reading Benefits of Teen Mental-Health First-Aid Programs

Would medication change who I was?

When you get diagnosed with depression, or any mental illness, the first thing you might feel is relief. The realization that your feelings, struggles, and symptoms can be described by a diagnosis can make you feel better – you aren’t alone! But the second thing you might feel is embarrassment, shame, or guilt. You aren’t alone in that either. There is a lot of stigma when it comes to mental illness. Most people with mental illness go through a process of understanding, accepting, and figuring out how to manage their illness. When I was diagnosed in high school at first I felt some relief, but soon enough I was really conflicted when it came to defining my identity. Who was I? Was I the same person? Was I “crazy”?

I didn’t want anyone to find out about my mental illness, and honestly the best way to do that was through treating it so I could actually manage my symptoms. But I was really afraid to take medication.

Photo Credit: what_marty_sees via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: what_marty_sees via Compfight cc

For a long time I denied that I had a mental illness and refused to take any medication because that felt like I was admitting that I was “crazy.” I worried that taking medication would change who I was. Would I act differently? Would I still be fun? Would I still be smart? Who would I be after taking medication? My family and my psychiatrist wanted me to take medication but it seemed scarier to try medication versus living with my symptoms. At least my symptoms were predictable! I understood my depression, I knew how my mental illness felt, but taking medication was a big unknown. However, I really wasn’t able to live happily, I wasn’t able to accomplish my goals, and I wasn’t able to have healthy relationships. I realized that my mental illness wasn’t going to go away and I was so miserable! Maybe the medication would change me, but considering how terrible I felt I realized it might change me in a positive way! I wasn’t enjoying my life and medication seemed like a way to hopefully make it better and make me healthier.

Continue reading Would medication change who I was?

Becoming a Mental Health First-Responder

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.


When we hear the term “first-responders,” we usually think of the workers in an ambulance, ready to help people with physical health emergencies. But what about people who have mental health emergencies—who’s trained and ready to help them?

I was recently certified in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) through a free weekend course at my university. Here’s what I learned:

Continue reading Becoming a Mental Health First-Responder

Why Not Ask For Help?

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Have you or your child ever wanted to talk to a therapist or psychologist about difficult feelings, but hesitated? If you have ever felt this way, you’re not alone. The reasons for this hesitation are sometimes rooted in people’s backgrounds, and culture can be one of those influences.

What is culture?

“Culture” can have a lot of different meanings. One understanding of culture is that it’s the common ideas, traditions, and behaviors of a certain group of people.

Continue reading Why Not Ask For Help?

Community Spotlight: Julius Boatwright, Part 1

Meet Julius Boatwright, Executive Director of the Will Allen Foundation and the dedicated Social Worker who founded Steel Smiling. Julius has made great strides in the community by adopting a humanistic approach to help people discuss mental health openly and reduce the stigma surrounding this topic. This humanistic approach involves viewing people as a whole human-being instead of breaking them down into their individual parts. Julius emphasizes the notion that everyone is valuable and worth listening to and he practices this idea in his work. Steel Smiling began serving community members in the Hill District and has grown to include people from all walks of life in Pittsburgh. They’re bridging the gap between community members, mental health professionals, and leaders. While doing so, they’re intentionally breaking down barriers to show that mental health doesn’t discriminate; it affects every one of us.                                    

We interviewed Julius to learn more about his impact on Pittsburgh.

How did your work as a community based therapist influence your mission at Steel Smiling? 

As a community-based therapist, I saw a lot of disconnect between when a community member needed support and when they actually received it. For many of my interventions, I was sent in either at or after a crisis had occurred: when a child was about to be removed from the home, when someone was having suicidal ideation, or when there was intimate partner violence occurring. At the root of it all was mental and behavioral health challenges. Most days, it all seemed very reactionary to me. We would come in with our tool-belt of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques and resources. Over the course of one month we’d have three stages: the first being engagement, the second introducing and teaching skills, and the last week was connecting the family to resources. After that, we’d move on to the next family after the 28 days were over.

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Would you check back in with them? 

We could if they needed our support moving forward, but the idea was that we were there to serve as firefighters. We would go in, put the fire out, ensure safety, and share with them a couple of skills and resources before closing the intervention. However, at the 28-day point, that was when they were open and ready to really trust you. As soon as we were able to make progress together, I was called to serve with the next family. This is internationally utilized and proven, but I believe that we need to consider more preventative methods of delivering services. We need to do what we can to prevent the problems from happening instead of focusing on putting bandages on the wounds. Continue reading Community Spotlight: Julius Boatwright, Part 1

What is Stigma?

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Recently, we were asked about stigma, specifically:

“What is stigma?”

Therefore, to help address this complicated topic, we thought we’d dedicate a blog post to it.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (or NAMI) refers to stigma as “when someone, or even yourself, views a person in a negative way because they have a mental health condition.” In other words, stigma is when an individual sees another person in a disapproving way because they have a certain characteristic or personality trait that is thought to be a disadvantage.  Simply put stigma is a negative stereotype.

To help understand it better, imagine you broke your leg and society blames you. Others stare at you accusingly when you’re out in public and whisper about you behind your back. Imagine feeling scared to seek proper care because you’re worried that your partner will break up with you or you’ll lose your job if anyone finds out. People with mental health conditions deal with this type of stigma daily.

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Reel Teens Pittsburgh Facebook Live Town Hall

If it’s your first time to wisesova.pitt.edu, welcome! Some of you may be just finding out about our site after watching the Reel Teens Pittsburgh Facebook Live Town Hall. The Reel Teens are an awesome group of local young filmmakers who interviewed me, Dr. Radovic, for their film about mental health.  The film features the award-winning work of Stand Together, a peer-to-peer group organized through the Allegheny County’s Office of Behavioral Health. Stand Together encourages local middle and high school students to start talking and thinking about the stigma associated with mental illness and substance use. It’s something we and our SOVA ambassadors write a lot about on SOVA because we want to help young people understand that its okay to ask for help – becoming interdependent (knowing who and when to ask for help), not independent, is the goal of turning into an adult – and we want to help change negative attitudes about mental illness.

If you haven’t seen the Reel Teens’ video check it out below:

What did you think of the video? Let us know below!

Mental Health Days

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by a SOVA Ambassador. SOVA Ambassadors help create meaningful blog posts for us to share.

Often times, we understand when someone needs to take a sick day from work or school. By sick, I mean physically sick. However, it is often considered Days Offunacceptable for someone to not go to school or work because they are mentally or emotionally struggling. Mental health days are not as valued as physical sick days. However, mental health days are essential and everyone needs one from time to time.

As a college student, I am always on the go. If I do not have an exam to study for then I have a paper to write. The college lifestyle can take a toll on your mental health with all the stress and no rest. This is what started to happen to me last week as the end of the semester is approaching and I have been working hard non-stop since August. Last week, I started to feel burnt out. My thinking was shattered all over the place. My appetite was thrown off. I could get a full eight hours of sleep and I would still be overwhelming tired throughout the day. I really wanted to skip my classes for a day in order to take a mental health day; however, I was afraid to do so because my professors would not count a mental health day as a valid excuse to skip their classes. However, I had to put my mental health first. My emotions and mental state are important to me; therefore, I decided to take a mental health day and skip my classes.

Continue reading Mental Health Days

The Challenges Faced by LGBT Youth

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by a SOVA Ambassador. SOVA Ambassadors help create meaningful blog posts for us to share.

Hi everyone! This is my second blog post for SOVA (read more about my first blog post: Mental Health in Your Family Tree), and I just wanted to tell everyone that I’ve read some awesome posts. It is so nice to have a place to just talk to an audience without judgment. Also, the support and encouragement from my peers is super awesome. Without further ado, here is my second blog post!

What if I were to tell you that 6 out of every 10 LGBT students felt unsafe attending school because of their sexual orientation? Or how about the fact that approximately 80% of gay and lesbian youth report severe social isolation. The facts and numbers are truly heartbreaking, and being that I identify as a gay male, it really hurts me to see that my peers in the LGBT community are feeling so badly about themselves and the situations they are placed into.

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For a long time, I have struggled with my sexuality and my naturally feminine personality, to the point that I would get anxiety about what colors I could wear to school. I distinctly remember that in 7th grade, I was harassed because of the color of my phone case. Literally, a phone case. I was called gay because of the color of my phone case! Now, I know that middle school is often an extremely difficult and sometimes awkward phase for a lot of people, and when there is such a strong stigma surrounding the word “gay” is when I realized a need for today’s youth.

Continue reading The Challenges Faced by LGBT Youth