SOVA Blog

by Firefly ★

Helping Parents Acknowledge Depression

March 6, 2018 in Educate Yourself

As if your brain wasn’t already cooperating with you enough, sometimes it can be hard to verbalize what is happening in your head to your parents (or anyone).

Depression, anxiety, and other mental health symptoms and disorders can make it difficult to express yourself.

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If you are having trouble addressing your depression (or any mental health symptom) with your parents, or if your parents aren’t seeing the depression, there maybe ways to help start the conversation.  Some suggestions are:

  • Write them a letter about whatever you’re feeling, and give the letter to them.  Allow them to process in their own time. You took the time to write it, and now try to give them some space to read it.
  • Find information online, or from some of our “educate yourself” posts and print it out to show them how depression works.
  • Advocate for yourself, keep talking about what is happening, don’t allow depression to make you shy away from taking care of yourself.

What are some other ways you can communicate with parents or others about your mental health? What are some ways to open the lines of communication that you’ve successfully used before?

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by Firefly ★

A white background with a sketch of a laptop in blue. In all caps, the screen says privacy. there arrows drawn from the laptop pointing to the logos of facebook, linkedin, twitter, a heart, a small group of people, and the words "what privacy." the arrows are black while the images are a red, blue, or yellow

What Does Online Privacy Mean to You?

February 15, 2018 in Social Media Guide

privacy

When it comes to Social Media, what does the practice of privacy mean to you?

How do you feel when you see personal information about someone on Facebook or another social media website? Is anything truly private once it’s on the internet?

Have you ever run into someone in real life who knew something about you because of what they read on social media—or what someone had told them that they had read about you? How did this make you feel? Sometimes when you post something, you expect that only certain people will see it, but you don’t know who may have seen or heard about what you put on the internet.

We try to keep the SOVA website secure and anonymous to protect your privacy so that you can share your experiences without worrying about who will see what you wrote. Also, when we were setting up SOVA, we talked to groups of young people, who told us that they prefer to write anonymously about their mental health. So we respect that.

There might be other situations in which you want to share your story publicly. But if you do make that decision, it should be your choice.

For those situations when you want to protect your privacy—what have you done on social media to secure your personal information?

Have you ever witnessed privacy being broken on social media? Tell us your experiences with online privacy and what that means to you.

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by Firefly ★

The Art of Stillness

February 8, 2018 in Social Media Guide

 

Have you ever taken time to unplug? To step away from the screen? Would you consider a day without screens? It may be hard to image with smartphones and social media being around us all the time. However, it often feels great to put all your devices away and take a break.

Perhaps social media is overwhelming for you at times, I know it can be for me and purposefully setting aside time to not be with my device is important. Have you considered doing this for yourself or with friends? Do you ever feel worried that you might miss out on something?

Screens often provide convenience and ease for our lives. However, we can become “addicted” and rely on them too much. Do you think it’s possible for you to have a day without screens? If you’ve tried this before, what was your experience? If you want to try, check out how to fast from social media. 

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by Firefly ★

Talking to Your Parents

January 23, 2018 in Educate Yourself

Talking to your parents can be tough so we found a great article to help you get started!

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Some excellent pointers are:

  1. If you do not have the most open relationship with your parents, you can improve your communication by talking to your parents everyday, even about trivial topics. 
    • Start with something easy for the both of you to talk about. A TV show you both enjoy? A funny YouTubevideo? Perhaps suggesting a family activity that you all can do together?
  2. When bringing up a difficult topic, tell your parent(s) what you want from the conversation.  
    • “I just need you to listen, okay?” can be a great way to start. Remember your parents may want to help, or fix, a “problem” for you.
    • A gentle reminder that right now you just need them to hear your words is useful.
  3. When communicating, identify your emotions, and put them into words while you talk.        For example, if you are worried, say: “I am worried that…”
  4. Find a good time to talk, and if you are not sure of when a good time is, ask your parents when is a good time to talk. 
    • Sometimes no time feels like it’s the right time. Asking to make time for yourself and your parents is an easy way to make time for talking about issues or something important to you.
  5. Be honest and understanding.  Your parents are also human! Be honest about the way you feel about things and understand they also have feelings.
    • Remember you are not responsible for someone else’s feelings and that taking care of your needs are important.

Do you have trouble talking to your parents or the adults in your life?  How do you approach topics with them? 

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by Firefly ★

New Years Resolutions

December 28, 2017 in Social Media Guide

Rilke

It may seem like the everyone around you is having a great time declaring their New Year’s Resolutions all over the internet. No matter where you look someone is posting about making it to the gym, studying every day, quitting smoking, and on and on. But when you have a mental health disorder, it can be difficult to even think of something, let alone try to do it.

Fear not! New Year’s resolutions don’t have to be flashy or even publicly posted! Last year my “resolution” was to “stop the glorification of busy.” Which for me meant slowing down, doing things that brought joyfulness into my life and taking stock of the things that were bringing me “down.” It wasn’t easy to show how I was being mindful on Instagram or Facebook, so I just stated my intention for the year. Which may be a great way to think about your “resolution,” make an intention, instead.

What is your intention for the year? 

Is there a quotation or reminder you could put on your bathroom mirror or in your planner that would bring you back to what you want your life to feel like? Does this seem less daunting than a resolution?  What if you found a quote or reminder that you put up for you to come back to through the month, or season. An intention can change and doesn’t have to last the whole year! 

One great resource I found for this year was finding some free worksheets for myself to do over the course of the month to help me get focused. No rush, just taking a pause to sit, think and reflect. If you don’t like the ones linked, just Google “mindfulness worksheets”—a ton will come up for you to print off for yourself!

Does this seem like a good idea? Tell us about what your intention for 2018 is! Are you sharing it on social media? Why or why not? 

 

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by Firefly ★

Flow: The Secret to Positive Attitude

December 18, 2017 in Be Positive

 

In his TED talk, world-famous Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi asks, “What makes a life worth living?” He emphasizes that money (and holiday presents, and external praise) cannot make us happy, and he has studied individuals who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state that he has called “flow.”

The discipline of positive psychology holds that flow—which is sometimes called “being in the zone”—is the state of mind in which you’re totally consumed in an activity, not to achieve perfection but just to enjoy it for its own sake. You feel an alert and energized focus, which brings about an experience of completely enjoying what you’re doing. It’s like the activity absorbs your attention, and you feel confident that you can succeed. You may even forget where you are and what time it is.

  • Have you ever worked out just to enjoy the feeling of your body pushing its boundaries?—that’s flow.
  • Have you ever drawn a picture or sung a song, just to enjoy the colors or the sound of your voice?—that’s flow.
  • Have you ever played a video game that’s slightly above your level of ability, and been completely engaged in solving the problems it presents?—that’s flow.

It feels super positive—and anyone can enter this state!

Now that we’re entering the holiday season, we may have some spare time to spend in positive flow activities:

  • Decorating your house or your room, and enjoying the sparkle of the lights and ornaments.
  • Walking the dog, practicing yoga, or going to the gym, and enjoying the feeling of the blood flowing through your body.
  • Praying or meditating, specifically about the idea of being at one with all people and things in the world. (This one may take some practice!—but it’s worth it.)

What activity has made you feel like you are “in the zone”? How would you describe that state?

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by Firefly ★

Calm.com

December 1, 2017 in LINKS

The holidays can often be a (wonderfully) hectic and stressful time.  Therefore, in an effort to help others manage, we thought we would remind you about Calm.com. It’s a collection of relaxation and meditation tools, some of which are free and some of which are accessed through subscription.

Just landing on the homepage lets you listen to gorgeous sounds of running water and birds—designed to help you close your eyes and take a refreshing 10-minute break in your stressful day.

They have a free smartphone app, and it’s great! One of the things we really like about the app is that in order for the calming sounds to continue to play, you can’t do other apps at the same time. Which means you are purposefully setting aside some head-space for a break—for calm.

There are also timed, guided relaxation “meditation breaks” included both on the website and the app which guide you through gentle breathing and imagery to help you calm down from an anxious situation or to relax before or after a stressful event. Maybe even during a stressful event!

What do you do to help you stay calm? What do you think of trying a tool that allows you to put away everything else for just a few minutes to have some time for just yourself? … If you have used the Calm app or site before or try it out after reading this article, tell us about your experience.

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by Firefly ★

Stop, Breathe & Think App Review

November 3, 2017 in LINKS

Photo Credit: Stop, Breathe, & Think >The Stop, Breathe & Think App is available for iOS and Android. But what does it do?

The app is another tool to help with mindfulness and meditation. Taking just 5 minutes for yourself, your breath, and your thoughts can be very helpful in creating peacefulness within your life.

One of the focuses of this app is on kindness, which starts with you practicing kindness towards yourself. One of the great things we like about this app is that you can check-in with how you are feeling on the app and it recommends different short meditations to practice with the app that allow you to “stop, breathe, and think” to gain a new perspective on your situation.

There’s also a web based version of the app here which you can use without downloading the app or signing in. Overall we think this is a great resource for people to use.

We think this app is great for anyone because it uses meditations that fit where you are now rather than general meditations.

Have you ever used the app or something else to help you slow down? Do you believe in the importance of meditation? We would love to hear your thoughts or experiences!

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by Firefly ★

A Polished Image

November 1, 2017 in Social Media Guide

This TED talk can make us all think about how what we see on social media, in the news, in magazines, and online can be “entirely manufactured.” Cameron Russell, in her talk, points out that models are chosen solely based on looks and what is show is not authentic. It’s important to keep in mind that many people, such as models and the fashion industry, use social media to craft an image of themselves or someone else that they want the public to see – not what is actually happening with them.

Did you watch the video? What resonated with you? Were you surprised by her candor? What did this talk make you think about? Share with us in the comments! 

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by Firefly ★

MindShift App Review

October 6, 2017 in LINKS

Photo Credit: MindShift App

Photo Credit: MindShift App

Mindshift is an app for iOS and Android that can help you with anxiety and depression symptoms. While an app is not a replacement for therapy, it can help between sessions to ease your mind and help manage your triggers.

There are few reasons we really like this app:

  • You can tailor your settings to things that actually bother you! For example, if you have anxiety and it’s triggered by worrying, you can use the app to help you choose things that help you not worry or to take your mind off things out of your control.
  • This app was created by British Columbia Children’s Hospital and uses evidence based techniques – that means there have been studies that show these techniques work for a group of people!
  • It’s free!

MindShift will help you learn how to relax, develop more helpful ways of thinking, and identify active steps that will help you take charge of your anxiety. This app includes strategies to deal with everyday anxiety, as well as specific tools to tackle:

  • Test Anxiety
  • Perfectionism
  • Social Anxiety
  • Performance Anxiety
  • Worry
  • Panic
  • Conflict

Give it a try! What do you think? Do you currently use an app to help you manage your symptoms? What helps you calm down? 

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