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Invisible Illness

February 15, 2017 in Educate Yourself

Depression is not a “visible” health issue. It doesn’t announce itself to the world with a cast, or stitches, or vomiting. Depression is sneaky. It can be hard to talk about. Hard to define. It’s easy to say “I fell out of a tree and broke my arm,” there’s a cause and effect. Depression sometimes just happens – a chemical imbalance in your brain that may happen suddenly or over time.

Remember that just because it isn’t visible doesn’t mean that it isn’t real. You are worthy of treatment and of living a happy, fulfilling life.

Photo Credit: Beatrice the Biologist

What resonates most with you in this comic? Or today’s post? What can make depression and other mental illnesses more visible and less stigmatized?

Tags: Being who you are, depression, reputation, stigma, treatment, wellbeing 2 Comments »

by Firefly ★

Angry on Social Media

January 19, 2017 in Social Media Guide

How many times have you noticed someone “vaguebooking” on Facebook?

Photo Credit: frankieleon via Compfight cc

More likely to be angry than happy.

Is it useful? Probably not. Many times when people post vague messages they are looking for attention, or feedback and seeking it from *everyone* rather than someone specific they can trust.

Having trusted people in your in-person social network is crucial to mental health. Facebook and other social media accounts like instagram, snapchat, vine, periscope, and twitter (are there others that you know of? Tell us about them in the comments!) are great tools for staying connected with people. But not a great way to connect deeply with people. If you feel like you just can’t talk about something in person, try a private message instead with someone you can trust. If you are angry or struggling with something or someone – talk to a trusted adult, a close trusted friend, or your therapist about what is happening. Sometimes just talking out loud about a problem to a kind ear can help you sort out an issue on your own.

Tell us about any new social media outlets! Have you been “guilty” of “vaguebooking” while angry or upset? What was the result?

Tags: communicating, facebook, oversharing, relationships, social media, therapy, what to do in a bad mood Comments Off on Angry on Social Media

by Firefly ★

Getting Help: Where to Start

January 13, 2017 in LINKS

Mental health problems don’t only affect adults. Children, teens and young adults can have mental health problems, too. In fact, three out of four people with mental health problems showed signs before they were 24 years old!

A nice place to start when looking to start a conversation about mental health and mental illness is the site “For Young People Looking for Help” at MentalHealth.gov. Check it out!

Did you find the website to be helpful? Do you think you could start a conversation better now that you have this information? What makes a good conversation starter?

Tags: anxiety, courage, crisis, depression, not able to concentrate, not motivated, positive thinking, stickysituations, therapy, treatment, wellbeing Comments Off on Getting Help: Where to Start

by Firefly ★

NAMI – A National Resource

January 6, 2017 in LINKS

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (PRNewsFoto/National Alliance on Mental Illness)

Have you heard of the National Alliance on Mental Health, also known as NAMI?

NAMI is a great resource for anyone looking for more information about mental health awareness and reducing stigma.

NAMI has local chapters if you want to get involved in helping reduce stigma and help other recover from mental illness! Check out their Facebook page for more information or to find a chapter near you.

Do you think NAMI’s efforts are good? Would you be interested in doing volunteer work with an organization like NAMI? Tell us about it!

Tags: anxiety, Being who you are, depression, questions about your health, resources, therapy, treatment, wellbeing Comments Off on NAMI – A National Resource

by Firefly ★

What Does Privacy Mean to You?

January 5, 2017 in Social Media Guide

What does privacy mean to you when it comes to Social Media?

What does it mean to you when something is on Facebook or another social media website? Is anything truly private once it’s on the internet?

Have you ever run into someone in person who knew something about you because of what they read on social media? Did it feel strange that they knew about it? Sometimes when you post something, you expect that only certain people will see it, but you don’t know who laid eyes on what you put on the internet.

We try to keep our 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 we got feedback from young people that they prefer to talk about their mental health in an anonymous way. There might be other situations where you do want to publicly share your story too. 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 protect your personal information?

Tell us your experiences with social media and privacy and what that means to you?

Tags: communicating, oversharing, positive thinking, reputation, respect, social media, stickysituations Comments Off on What Does Privacy Mean to You?

by Firefly ★

No Resolution? No Problem!

December 28, 2016 in Educate Yourself

It’s nearing the end of January and you may be feeling like your chance to have a New Year’s ~~Resolution~~ Intention is past. But it’s not. You can pick up a new habit, or renew your enthusiasm about a previous one at any time. What is even better is that having, or not having, a resolution does not have to have any effect on your self worth!

If you are still coming up dry for ideas and want to do something we found an awesome list of 23 Mental Health Resolutions that are fun and easy to add to your life. Choosing just one may be a good start. And don’t feel bad for missing a day, each day is a new start!

Do you have an intention or resolution for the year? Did you find the list to be useful?

Tags: anxiety, Being who you are, happiness, inspiration, positive thinking, relax, social media, therapy, wellbeing Comments Off on No Resolution? No Problem!

by Firefly ★

Therapy Options

December 16, 2016 in LINKS

KidsMentalHealth.org is a great place to start when considering family therapy or if you have questions about how therapy can help you or if you wanted to have family therapy. There are many pages on the website but here are a few we found to be useful:

The Interpersonal Therapy for Children with Behavioral and Emotional Disorders page gives reasons for why you may start going to interpersonal therapy. While this specific page seems to be focused on younger children with behavioral problems, any adolescent with behavioral or emotional disorders can benefit from therapy. Interpersonal therapy can help with depression. This page gives information and questions to ask yourself when picking out a therapist.
The Cognitive Therapy for Children with Behavioral and Emotional Disorders page explains what cognitive behavioral therapy is, and why it can be helpful. This page is again mainly geared towards children with behavioral problems, but it also specifies it can be used to treat depression. Cognitive behavioral therapy has a focus on thought processes and has the most evidence for helping with depression and anxiety.
The How is Mental Illness in Children Diagnosed page explains how mental illness in children is diagnosed. It also stresses the importance of treatment, and explains ADHD and anxiety.
The How is Mental Illness in Children Treated page has links that explain other mental illnesses, like ADHD, OCD, and ODD. It also explains many different types of therapy: like art therapy, animal assisted therapy, and play therapy.

Did this website help you have a clearer understanding of options for therapy? Has you or your family tried any of these approaches? Tell us about your experiences!

If you could try one of the other therapy options like art or animal assisted, what do you think would be most helpful for you?

Tags: Being who you are, calm, communicating, depression, links, parents, questions about your health, therapy, treatment, wellbeing 4 Comments »

by Firefly ★

Taking a Break from Social Media

November 3, 2016 in Social Media Guide, Uncategorized

Sometimes it can feel like you live on your phone/tablet/computer. Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, on and on! Everyone wants your attention!

Photo Credit: Joe The Goat Farmer via Compfight cc

You give likes, you get likes, your phone buzzes, little red numbers come up on the apps letting you know about every interaction, every moment someone may notice you.

Are you giving yourself time to just be you?

There are lots of ways to take a break from social media without having to “disconnect” completely. One way is to take all “push” notifications off your phone – that way you have to actually open the app to see if anything is happening. This is especially useful if the notifications distract you from school work or other tasks.

Another option is only using the computer for social media. This means taking some or all of the apps off your phone. It makes it so that when you sit down at your computer you know whatever is happening on your social network doesn’t have to literally be with you all of the time.

Taking a break from social media does not have to be an All or Nothing situation. It can be a simplifying of what you engage in.

How do you take a break from social media? Have you ever done it on your own? Have you tried a day with out checking your various accounts? How did it feel?

Tags: communicating, help, not able to concentrate, reputation, social media, wellbeing 5 Comments »