SOVA Blog

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Radical Acceptance

One mental health technique that I have been thinking a lot about recently is radical acceptance.  According to Psychology Today, radical acceptance is the process of accepting life the way it is, even if it makes you uncomfortable. 

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Online Therapy

Do you have reservations about online therapy? Do you feel like your therapist won’t really “get” what you’re trying to say if you’re not physically in the room with them?

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The ABCs of Gratitude

As the weather gets colder, news seems to always be getting worse, and traditional end-of-the-year holiday plans have become either limiting or cancelled altogether, it can be difficult to find something to be grateful for, much less multiple things. Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety can make finding the positives in day-to-day life impossible, and these outside events can worsen these feelings of hopelessness and negativity too.

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Letters for Mental Health

Letters to Strangers is a youth-led, youth-based organization that aims to help break down the stigma regarding youth mental health and make treatment and information about it that much more accessible. There are many...

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How to Help Someone Through Social Media

With more and more people opening up about their mental health online, you may find yourself thinking about a few things. You may feel proud of them for opening up about their struggles on a large platform, or you might feel comforted and feel less alone that someone you know also has struggles with their mental health. You might think about how social media is helping reduce the stigma about mental illness by giving many the opportunity to write about what they’re going through too.

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My Struggle with Binge Eating

Writing this is very freeing to me. For as long as I can remember I’ve had an issue with food. I’ve associated food with good feelings, and to have that make sense, every time after a good soccer game, we would go get ice cream. Situations like that began my unhealthy relationship with food.

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What is Excoriation?

BFRB’s, or body-focused repetitive behaviors, is an umbrella term for a variety of conditions that include excoriation disorder (skin picking), trichotillomania (hair pulling), nail biting, cheek biting, and other BFRBs that arise as a form of obsessive compulsive disorder.

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Soup Season

As the weather and leaves start to change in Western Pennsylvania, my mood tends to decline. However, this year I am determined to make the most of autumn. One of my favorite foods is soup, and this time of year happens to be perfect for soup.

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Medication Reminders

Let’s be honest: we’ve all missed taking a daily medication. It might be because you were too busy, in a rush, or simply forgot. You may have also missed taking a medication because you didn’t have the energy to do so due to your depression, or your brain might have been too foggy to remember because of other mental health issues getting in the way.

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A Smartphone-Less Week

Have you ever wanted to try going off the grid for a while, or even just wanted to see what happens if you didn’t have your phone on you, period. There are a number of benefits, but the effects aren’t always positive. Regardless of the situation, have you ever found yourself itching to use your phone when it wasn’t on you?