by Moderator ★
January 16, 2017 in Be Positive
It’s difficult not to while watching this video compilation by America’s Funniest Home Videos. Enjoy!
Have any other video suggestions for those in need of a pick-me-up? Let us know in the comments!
by Moderator ★
January 12, 2017 in Social Media Guide
The urge to maintain an online presence can be exhausting. Sure, social media isn’t always negative, but there are important things to keep in mind about using social media that can prevent it from being a bad experience. For example, monitoring your self-esteem as you use social media. It’s important to be self-aware about the way social media makes us feel. If you use a particular social media site and you come away feeling worse about yourself because of it, it might be time to reconsider the use of that platform. If I log onto Facebook and become frustrated and unhappy about my life because I compare it to others, it’s important that I consider changing the way I use the site. This might mean changing how long I use Facebook, or who I am interacting with, maybe even considering if it’s worthwhile to use the site at all.
Social media can have a lasting impact on our self-esteem. Bustle.com posted an article explaining the ways that social media affects our self-esteem. Their list includes items like:
1) Social media can lead us to disengage from our real experiences. When we’re too busy worried
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about getting the perfect pic of the view, we can end up missing the view itself.
2) Social media can bring about false connections with others. Because online interactions are not grounded in real-life, this can mean they lack the power that face-to-face exchanges have. This lacking can affect the way we view ourselves. Bustle points out that this doesn’t mean we can’t make valuable connections online, it just means we’re at risk of building false connections when there’s no face-to-face contact.
3) Social media can bring on a battle for likes. It’s very hard to not compare the amount of likes across people and content. It’s also hard not to makes those likes into a reflection of self-worth. The more likes, the better we feel. But what kind of affect does it have on you when you don’t get the number of likes you wanted?
All of these points are important to keep in mind while using social media. Is the reward worth the cost? Social media is a complicated thing. It’s important to be mindful of the way it makes us feel, and to make changes to be sure social media isn’t taking a hit on self-esteem.
What do you do to avoid social media hurting your self-esteem?
by Moderator ★
January 10, 2017 in Educate Yourself
A major part of adolescence and young adulthood is finding and keeping a job. When struggling with anxiety or depression, this can create obstacles to being successful in your work. Many questions can arise: What is needed to support your mental health? Should you tell your employer? If so, how much should I disclose? Recently, Time Magazine posted an article outlining tips for finding a balance between your mental health and your job:
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If you’re interested in reading more tips, take a look at the article!
Do you have any experience with juggling a mental health concern and work? We’d love to hear any tips you have in the comments below!
by Moderator ★
January 9, 2017 in Be Positive
The internet can get a bad rap for being a place that spreads negativity. But that’s not always the case! Check out this compilation by Huffington Post about 10 positive places on the internet.
Some of the websites include calm.com and hooplaha.com.
Let us know what you think in the comments below!
by Moderator ★
January 4, 2017 in Educate Yourself
It is hard saying that its time to get help for how you feel for a lot of different reasons. One of the most common reasons is because the actual symptoms of depression can make it tough to want to get help.
1. Guilt — Depression can make you feel like everything that goes wrong is your fault. You also feel bad for all kinds of different things. Some young people feel bad that they would have to get treatment for depression, too. They think only if they could take care of their problems on their own, they wouldn’t have to ask for help or trouble their parents to take them to the doctor or therapist. The fact is that depression is not your fault – just like any other illness or disease is not your fault either.
2. Not feeling motivated — Part of depression is not feeling up to doing much of anything. You would rather stay in bed or in the house than face the world. Going to see a therapist or a doctor about an emotional problem is tough for anyone, but especially if you don’t feel like even doing things you used to think were fun. It can help to have a friend or family member go with you and try to help you get to your appointments so you can get better.
3. Having a hard time concentrating — Even if you do get to a therapist, participating in therapy appointments can be a lot of work. You need to really think about how you think and how you have dealt with different experiences in the past so you can learn from them. When you are depressed, you can have a hard time focusing and concentrating on things. Your brain can feel worn out and like mush – that can make participating in therapy hard. Be open with your therapist. If you feel like you can’t focus, they can change or slow down their strategy – or talk to your doctor about whether adding medications would help.
4. Lack of energy — Being depressed can be a draining process. You might feel like you would rather be sleeping or just like you have no energy to do anything. Even if you were motivated, you’d have no energy to get yourself to actually do anything. This is another reason having a support person can be really helpful.
5. Sleep disturbances — Not being able to sleep well can really take a toll on anyone, but especially if you are already experiencing other symptoms of depression. Talk to your doctor or therapist about the problems you have with sleeping. Keep a sleep diary to help you let them know exactly what is going on. Everyone is different, but usually there are different strategies that can help. Getting good sleep can make a world of difference in how you feel. Here are some strategies which may help you.
by Moderator ★
January 2, 2017 in Be Positive
Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new end. – Carl Bard
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by Moderator ★
December 26, 2016 in Be Positive
Perseverance is falling nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth. – Julie Andrews
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We would love to hear about a time you persevered in the comments!
by Moderator ★
December 21, 2016 in Educate Yourself
For this blog post, I interviewed a therapist to ask questions about how and why therapy could help people with depression and anxiety. His name is Gary Sadler, a Transition Care Coordinator at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine. While he explained that his work covers more than just therapy, he does frequently counsel teens and young adults who are depressed or who have anxiety.
The first question I asked was basically, “Why does therapy work?”
Mr. Sadler explained that often people think that medication alone will help them to feel better. He said that while this sometimes is enough, research shows that the most effective method is the combination of medication and therapy. He says that talking to a third party about “whats going on in your life” helps to improve depressive symptoms. He explains, “I always stress to the patient that it is their therapy, it’s not my therapy. I’m here to listen, I’m here to interpret. You end up helping yourself by just talking about it.”
Next, I asked, “How do you help patients to feel comfortable?”
He said that he always begins by introducing himself and letting the patient tell him first a little bit about themselves. He will let them know, “I want to get to know you and know who you are as a person.” He also says that building trust and explaining confidentiality are key. He says, “Hopefully we can reach that level so that the person doesn’t feel that if I tell you something, you’re going to share that with someone else, because I’m not.”
I followed up by asking him to explain patient confidentiality.
He explained, “The general rule is that confidentiality is guaranteed to the patient when it comes to mental health. [In Pennsylvania] You can be as young as 14 years old and you can request mental health treatment and that treatment, and those notes and those conversations are protected. And for me to release that information would require approval from the patient, except if there was any type of subject matter or topic that came up or statement that was made [with intent to] hurt someone else, or if they’re going to hurt themselves, and then it would be that I may have to report it.”
I then asked, “How can you tell if your therapy sessions are going well or not?”
His answer was that if he is talking more than the patient, then they are not going well. “The patient should be doing a lot more talking.” He also said that at the end of every session, he does a “summary and check in,” by summarizing what has been discussed and seeing how the patient is feeling. He says he will ask, “How did you feel about today’s session? Is there anything that made you uncomfortable? Is there anything that we may have not discussed? That you maybe want to discuss the next time we meet? How did you feel?”
I finished by asking him if there was anything else that he thought was important for young adults or teens who are considering treatment to know.
He says, “I think the most important thing is to understand that it is okay to be depressed. It’s okay to have some form of anxiety. So if you have some sort of mental illness or if someone puts a label on it, it’s not something permanent. Not to really feel like you know I don’t want to go into treatment because everybody is going to find out. Because again, it’s a diagnosis, but the diagnosis is only there to support how we intervene. The diagnosis is not something that’s to be shared with everybody, and most people that go through any type of therapy for depression end up becoming better. I mean the statistics are, and the research is out there, that a lot of people recover. It really is that effective.”
So there you have it. What do you think? Let us know!
by Moderator ★
December 13, 2016 in Educate Yourself
Many people are reluctant about starting therapy or counseling. There are a number of unknowns and reasons that can create this hesitation. Therefore, we thought it would be good to address some common parts of a first therapy session such as the assessment.
Usually, therapists will do an assessment during the first session in an effort to help them get to know the client and to better understand the client’s goals for therapy. This assessment can be different among therapists because every therapist has their preferred way of handling the first session.
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In a Huffington Post article titled “Going To Therapy For The First Time? Here’s What To Expect,” Jeannie Bertoli, Ph.D., a counselor, was asked about what to expect in the first session. She said, “Some therapists do a first session by getting an assessment of the current problem. Some will do background, so they’ll understand your childhood and any medical issues. Some will just listen and say ‘Uh huh’ a lot, and will be a more passive therapist, and some will really engage with you about what’s going on right now, and get to the depth of it.”
“Assessment” can also be an intimidating word because it sounds similar to taking an exam or test. However, in therapy, an assessment is a set of questions asked by the mental health professional. It’s a very important part of therapy because it helps the therapist get a well-rounded idea of what’s going on with you. Assessment questions aim to help with many aspects of counseling such as the following:
To help address the aims of therapy, here are several common questions that will most likely be asked:
Before going into the first session (or any therapy session), it is important to remember that the client is actually the one in charge, not the mental health professional. In order to get the most out of each session, it is important to speak up and work together with your therapist. Many individuals seeking therapy for the first time do not realize how active their role is or how much talking they might do. Remember, a therapist or counselor is an objective, professional resource who is not there to judge you or force you to disclose anything that makes you uncomfortable. Bertoli points out in the Huffington Post article that, “You’re the co-creator of this relationship. If you go in saying , ‘Here are my goals, here are my expectations, my preferences for how to proceed, what matters to me the most,’ — if you go in prepared and not looking to take a backseat … you will have the most success.” If you’re feeling nervous before your first therapy session, it can be helpful to make a list of things you want to talk about or review any of the questions above.
Lastly, there is no required “criteria” to see a therapist and you do not have to be in crisis to get help. Therapists are there to help people of all ages live happier, healthier and more productive lives. You may have to “shop around” for the perfect fit between you and your therapist, but ideally you should find someone who makes you feel comfortable and safe to talk openly about wherever your mind takes you. You cannot fail at therapy and there is no right or wrong way to do it.
Have you ever attended therapy? What was your experience? Do you want to start therapy, but have similar hesitations? If you have any questions or comments about the subject of today’s post, please let us know in the comment section below!
by Moderator ★
December 12, 2016 in Be Positive
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In what ways, if any, does this quote apply to your life?
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