“Like No One’s Watching You”
December 5, 2016 in Be Positive
This is a great song that captures the ups and downs in life and the importance of not giving up! Check it out!
What are your thoughts on the song?
by Moderator ★
by Moderator ★
Healthy Peer Relationships
December 2, 2016 in LINKS
Relationships with peers are an important part of life. There are many different kinds of relationships young people can have with their peers –including friendships, dating relationships. But as with all human relationships, issues can come up. We found a great resource page at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health to help with some serious issues connected to peer relationships including dating violence and bullying. This page also provides information for LGBT adolescents as well as ways to maintain healthy friendships. Check out the website, and let us know what you think.
Can you think of some other issues you’ve come across as part of your peer relationships? How did you work through the problem?
by Moderator ★
Mindfulness
November 30, 2016 in Educate Yourself
Mindfulness is defined by PsychologyToday as a state of active, open attention to the present moment. When one is practicing mindfulness, there is a focus on present thoughts and feelings, but without judging them as good or bad. Mindfulness is a type of meditation that promotes living in the moment, rather than letting life pass by. A study found evidence that supports the use of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to ease symptoms of depression and anxiety and to prevent these disorders in healthy adults and children. Check out this video of young people talking about mindfulness and the ways its benefited them.
If you’re interested in learning more about mindfulness, check out our SOVA post about mindfulness. We also posted about how mindfulness can be empowering and the ways mindfulness can be used in our every day lives.
Have you ever tried mindfulness? What is your opinion on it?
by Moderator ★
The Mental Health Reform Act of 2016
November 29, 2016 in Educate Yourself
The Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 is a bill recently created by United States Senate that makes great strides to strengthen the mental health system. The bill has not yet been voted on by Senate, but will hopefully get the chance to go to vote in fall 2016.
National Alliance on Mental Illness. (PRNewsFoto/National Alliance on Mental Illness)
Here are some of the key changes the bill would make to benefit the mental health field:
- The bill helps combat suicide in schools and communities by authorizing the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline program and extending the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act that provides suicide prevention for all ages and creates a national suicide technical assistance center.
- The bill increases the mental health workforce so more trained professionals are available.
- The bill strengthens community crisis response systems so that individuals going through a psychiatric crisis can get help before their situation worsens.
Because the bill is sitting in Senate awaiting vote, many mental health organizations are making a push to get people to contact their Senators to ask them to bring the bill to Senate floor and to vote in favor of the bill. If you’re interested in taking action, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has created a page on their website that breaks down how to email, tweet, and call your Senator to express support in the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016.
For more information on this bill, NAMI also has more available on their website.
Do you think the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 would benefit you? If so, in what ways?
by Moderator ★
by Moderator ★
Tips for Dealing with Depression
November 25, 2016 in LINKS
Recently, we introduced Dr. Erika Forbes, a professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Now that you know a little bit more about her and the studies she conducts, we wanted to share some of the pointers she had for adolescents and young adults coping with depression.
Here are some tips to help deal with depression from Dr. Erika Forbes, Ph.D: Read the rest of this entry →
by Moderator ★
Discuss Amongst Yourselves
November 23, 2016 in Educate Yourself
Coffee Talk Lady!
Did you know we have a forum? We are working hard to build a community that is safe and moderated but where you can discuss your questions, advice, and share positive or negative stories. Currently the forum we have is ‘What is a stressful situation that made you learn something new? What advice do you have for others based on what you went through?’
But if you have other suggestions for forum topics, please just message the moderator (when you’re logged in, go to your profile and hit message) or comment below!
by Moderator ★
Situational Depression
November 22, 2016 in Educate Yourself
Situational depression is a type of depression brought on by a stressful event or change. When this event is hard to cope with or when change is really hard to get used to, one might develop situational depression. While situational depression is a type of depression, there are differences between situational depression and clinical depression.
Clinical depression is also known as major depression or major depressive disorder . Clinical depression often lasts over a longer period of time than situational depression, but the symptoms are very similar (SOVA post describing symptoms of depression). Even though there are differences between situational and clinical depression, it’s important to consider that sometimes one might have underlying clinical depression that is brought on by a difficult situation or change. Whether one is experiencing situational or clinical depression, it is important to seek treatment before things become overwhelming. Depression might be temporary or it may be long-lasting, but the benefits of treatment go a long way, whichever the case may be.
For more information on situational depression, visit elements behavioral health website.
Have you experienced situational depression? We’d love to hear your story in the comments below.
by Moderator ★
Happiness in the Moment
November 21, 2016 in Be Positive
Photo Credit: blavandmaster Flickr via Compfight cc
“Happy people know that regardless of what happened yesterday, last month, years ago—or what might happen later today, tomorrow, or next year—now is the only place where happiness can actually be found and experienced.”
-Dr. Richard Carlson
How do you find ways to be present and happy in the moment?
by Moderator ★
Current Studies by Dr. Forbes
November 18, 2016 in LINKS
Recently, we did a spotlight on Dr. Erika Forbes, a Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Now that you know a little bit about her, we want to tell you about some of the awesome studies Dr. Forbes and her team are conducting!
Dr. Forbes is running one study titled Depression and Cytokines. The goal of this study is to answer an important question about mental health: do inflammatory processes lead to anhedonia and depression in young people? Anhedonia is a lack of interest or pleasure in daily life and activities. Anhedonia is a symptom of depression, although Dr. Forbes emphasized that people can experience anhedonia without being depressed and not all people with depression have this symptom. If you’re interested in learning more about this study, please visit the site.
A second study Dr. Forbes directs is titled Cognitive Inflexibility in Eating Disorders. This study aims to better understand if cognitive inflexibility is related to differences in eating disorder presentation. The two aspects of cognitive inflexibility Dr. Forbes is investigating are attentional set-shifting and reversal learning. In other words, Dr. Forbes is observing the flexibility of learning and thinking for people with and without eating disorders. To learn more about the study and the other studies Dr. Forbes is conducting, please visit the study site.
Do you have any thoughts or questions for Dr. Forbes or the SOVA team about these studies? Please comment below!
Recent Comments