SOVA Blog

logo of Mental Health First Aid. There is a blue circle with a white cross inside it. USA is written on the cross. To the right the logo has 3 lines over top of the next, Mental, Health, and First Aid 0

Becoming a Mental Health First-Responder

NOTE: Post originally published in January 2018 by contributor Panther14 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...

a woman wearing a pink headscarf sitting against a wall with her face down. 0

Do I blame myself?

A common mindset among those who are diagnosed with mental illnesses is wondering if it’s something that they brought onto themselves. There may be guilt associated with it, like the person thinking they did...

Black and white photo of a man with darker complexion. He has a mouth over his mouth and is facing left out of frame. 0

Challenging Negative Thoughts

Stop being so negative! Are these words familiar to you? Everyone has negative thoughts from time to time. Negative thinking is helpful when it protects us from dangerous situations or motivates us to complete...

An old fashioned alarm clock sits on a table. The background is a gradient of a dark blue-green that gets lighter at the center right over the clock. 0

Sleeping better

Sleeping patterns and the amount of sleep adolescents get can get jumbled because of mental illness: we’ve also previously talked about “depression naps” and the effects that they can have. Overall, it’s difficult for...

photo of pink headphones laying on a bicolored surface of pink and aqua. 0

Music and Social Media

What are your favorite genres? Do you enjoy the stuff currently on the radio? Do you like pop, rock, rap, or any of the specific subgenres within them? Maybe you like a combination, or...

photo of a hallway. the walls are painted in a rainbow going from green to teal to blue to red to orange to yellow. 0

Bringing Some Color In

There are many outlets to take advantage of if you need a distraction that go beyond procrastination purposes. These kinds of situations can include sitting on public transit, waiting for a doctor’s appointment, or...

art of a person taking notes on a piece of paper. there are writing utensils around the space 0

Ways to Stay Focused

It can be incredibly difficult to concentrate on something for a long period of time, especially when it comes to the more mundane and boring things, like chores, homework, or cleaning out your closet...

photo of a person in a red shirt that says volunteer in white text. person is taking a photograph of other people in the background 0

Giving Back

There are going to be a lot of chances to reflect and give back now that the holiday season is in full swing. This doesn’t only include Thanksgiving during November, but other holidays such...

photo of a person in a library reading a book. in the foreground there are books stacked so that there is an open circle framing the reader 0

Curling Up With a Good Book

There are so many ways to get comfortable with a book and get lost in the words and stories that it contains. You can read in the car during a long journey, in between...