SOVA

Supporting Our Valued Adolescents: A place to learn, share your strength, be positive, and grow.

Category: Be Positive

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Be Positive / Educate Yourself

Realizing When to Take A Break

I’m coming up to the home stretch of the year, and for me, that means work is busy this time of year, I’m less than six weeks away from college graduation, along with a booming freelance business that has been very busy with order – on top of a busy social calendar. For me, I’m always the one to continuously overlook myself, and oftentimes I honestly can’t help myself to say “no.” Although, with recent stress levels through the roof, I’m deciding I need to take a much-needed break at the end of the year.

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Be Positive

Embracing Your Mental Illness

Obsessive compulsive disorder is something I have been battling for the past three years and it has not been easy. But, it has truly changed my life for the better. Weird right? You’re probably thinking to yourself “how could a mental illness that causes extreme distress and discomfort make my life better?”

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Be Positive / Educate Yourself

Gradual Goals for Growth

Life is complicated. That is no secret. Where the secret lies in how to approach life effectively, often one step at a time. Confucius once said, “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” This quote provides an effective illustration of this point.

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Be Positive

Positivity During Thanksgiving

You’ve probably seen a lot of posts and ads about giving thanks, especially now that November, and the holiday season in general, has started. This time of year is often one meant to be filled with joy and positivity, sharing events with loved ones and making memories.

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Be Positive

The Act of Smiling

You might have heard the phrase that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. The amount of muscles that it takes is up for debate (some places say it takes 13 to smile and 33 to frown, some say 22 to smile and 37 to frown) and it’s not really a fact – it hasn’t even been proven to be true – but the mentality remains: it’s better to smile than it is to frown, and takes less effort.

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Be Positive

Calming Down Through…Smell?

Take a moment to think of scents that make you happy. It could be the smell of your favorite food, your significant other’s perfume, or the scent of opening up a new binder.

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Be Positive

My Mental Health Quote of the Week

I have been dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety lately with a new move and new job that I have posted about previously. When I am having some rough mental health days, (or recently for me, mental health weeks), I often look to quotes.

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Be Positive

Keep it in Perspective!

A key contribution to my personal growth away from anxiety and depression has been keeping seemingly impactful negative thoughts in perspective with reality. Many times I have found myself having an average/decent day and letting turn for the worse due to the isolation originating from negative self-talk.

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Be Positive

Being Only Human

Almost anything can affect us negatively. Pretty much anything can affect us to an extreme degree, even if we don’t expect it to. It can be the major, like aspects of a relationship (friend, family, romantic, or others) that hurt you, to what feels like the minor, like unpredictable changes in routine.