Supporting Our Valued Adolescents: A place to learn, share your strength, be positive, and grow.
Words carry meaning. This seems obvious, after all, we use words to communicate, and the way we phrase things and choose what and how we say them can make a big difference. This isn’t just limited to how we communicate with others, but how we talk to ourselves too.
Summer is officially in full swing, though, it may feel like it’s been that way for a while now if you’ve recently finished the school year or noticed just how hot and muggy it’s been.
We listen to music all day, everyday. If we are in the car, at the dentist office, at the store, we constantly are being exposed to music. But, do you really think about the effect that music can take on our brains and our mood even when we don’t think about it?
While they may seem cheesy at first, affirmations can be pretty powerful. Self-affirmations are sayings that people say aloud with confidence about things that they are trying to believe in.
It can be hard to focus on the good things, especially when it feels like the world is falling apart around you, and because of you. People are more likely to focus and dwell on the negative versus the positive – this is known as having negativity bias, and it’s nowhere near uncommon. Having good things happen to us feels great! But there’s a comfort to them that our brains can become complacent with, and when negative things end up occurring instead, they tend to have significantly stronger impressions on us, because we don’t expect, nor do we not want them to happen.
As the warm weather approaches, my social media feed goes straight to summer clothes and swimsuits. Stores become filled with tanktops and shorts and all I can think about is how I don’t want to see myself in any of them.
As I scroll through Instagram, my feed is starting to fill up with a plethora of creative graduation posts, from tossing graduation hats to making nostalgic videos of old schools. Similar to my Instagram feed, my mind is starting to fill up too. I am so overjoyed to see my friends succeeding and smiling and I’m curious as to what everyone’s future plans and goals are. It is sad to feel some FOMO, both within myself for not being able to physically congratulate those who I love, and for others who may not be able to attend in-person ceremonies. But I am also anxious, frequently wondering, “will everything be okay?”
It feels that there are a ton of products available recently to help your mental health, particularly with calming anxiety. Some use essential oils, or you may have heard of light lamps, and of course, the classic stress relief ball.
It is crazy to me just how much the weather can affect my mood. I have been curled up in my room–not even my house just my room–for the better part of this week. The weather decided to dive back into the 30s and 40s, which is so rude considering it was 70 before that. However, I am looking outside my window as I write this and even with the chill the sun is still shining. I have been putting off taking a package to the post office for a few days now because I do not want to leave the house, but change is coming! Tomorrow it is supposed to be warm and each day after it is supposed to heat up.
As the school year soon begins to wind down (or you may have very recently finished), you may find yourself thinking about how much free time you have coming up. Of course, this can be a great thing: you have some time where you’re not burdened by homework and assignments and for possibly the first time in a while, you aren’t restricted to a Monday-Friday schedule. It can also be stressful, and a lack of structure and schedule can actually increase symptoms of anxiety, especially for students on summer vacation.
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