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Supporting Our Valued Adolescents: A place to learn, share your strength, be positive, and grow.

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What is YST?

January 21, 2020 in Educate Yourself

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One of the best ways to deal with mental health issues is to talk about them. Starting a conversation can be hard, but being able to talk about your feelings can help you to understand and work through them. Additionally, once you’ve shared your feelings with someone else, you potentially have someone you can rely on for social support. Research suggests that this social support is important: a recent study found that the Youth-Nominated Support Team Intervention for Suicidal Adolescents – Version II (YST) might be associated with reduced mortality.

YST is a psychoeducational, social support intervention specifically for adolescents with suicidal ideation or attempts after psychiatric hospitalization. Adolescents are asked to nominate a couple of adults in their lives who they consider to be caring and will support them. A YST specialist then meets with the nominated adults to teach them about the adolescent’s psychopathology, treatment plans, and ways they can support the adolescent. The caring adult has their regular contact with the adolescent, with the YST specialist’s support, over the course of the next 3 months. The goal of the intervention is to provide the adolescent with social support during their recovery process.

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In a study conducted on 448 adolescents between the ages of 13-17, participants were divided into two groups: those who received treatment as usual (TAU) and those who received TAU + YST. They found that adolescents in the YST group were more likely to participate in some type of outpatient alcohol or drug treatment, attended more outpatient psychotherapy groups sessions, and medication follow-up sessions. In the 10 years after the study was conducted, one adolescent in the YST group and three in the TAU group committed suicide. This suggests that YST might be associated with positive youth trajectories and reduced mortality. It is important to note that while there is an association between YST and positive youth trajectories and reduced mortality, more research is needed to be able to make causal claims.

While this study still needs more follow-up, research indicating that interventions are having a positive effect on suicidal adolescents is extremely encouraging. Since 2000, suicide rates among have increased by 28%, which also includes higher rates in adolescents. Knowing that research is getting a couple steps closer to finding an intervention that helps suicidal adolescents go through their daily lives after hospitalization creates hope for future.

What do you think about YST? Have you ever tried something similar? Do you confide in a caring adult in your life?

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An App to Consider: Happify

January 17, 2020 in LINKS

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There are a ton of apps available that center around mental health and well-being (and we’ve definitely talked about a few of them before), but Happify takes on a collaborative approach. The app was designed by scientists, researchers, healthcare clinicians, and digital and gaming experts to make something beneficial, evidence-based, and enjoyable.

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Here’s how it works: you complete a few activities each week, and every couple of weeks, you answer a couple of questions to see how your “overall happiness,” “positive emotion,” and “life satisfaction” stand (they’re all scored out of 100). The researchers recommend that users complete eight activities a week, which include things like games to “conquer negative thoughts” and gratitude prompts. By doing these, your happiness scores should improve with time, and this is something that you can track on the app too.

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If you want to learn more about the science and efficiency of the app, there have a few papers on their site that have been published based on research at the University of Pennsylvania, Vassar College, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Happify is free and available on both the App Store and Google Play, but if you want to unlock all the features, there is a subscription that you can get based on a monthly, 6-month, and yearly basis.

Do you use any well-being apps or anything to monitor your mental health? Do you think these would be useful?

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How Social Media Can Provide Resources for Mental Health Information

January 16, 2020 in Social Media Guide

We use the Internet to learn about, essentially, everything. All it takes is opening up the browser app of your choice or opening up a new tab, googling whatever you’re interested in, and immediately getting hundreds upon thousands upon millions of results. This can be, without a doubt, overwhelming. There’s so much information to parse through and consider, and sometimes, you may find yourself going to social media sites you’re comfortable and familiar with and do the research there.

Using the Internet to learn more about mental health is no exception to this research process, especially for youths. In a generation that is almost entirely online and at an age where symptoms of depression and anxiety are likely to start to surface, it’s no surprise that 90% of teens and young adults who show more intense symptoms of depression have turned to the Internet to learn more about mental health. The tools they turn to can range from using apps focused on well-being, using chat features to connect with professionals, and listening to podcasts.

However, youths are vocal about which tools are more useful than others. Most notably, they’re not as likely to call hotlines, and the percentages of those who use the Internet to connect to a health professional are lower than alternative methods. In fact, they are likely to be on the social media platforms they’re already using for everything else when they’re online. While youths use social media to primarily vent and have someone they can trust and have access to when experiencing mental health issues, social media might be able to help them learn about mental health by having that same trustworthy person give them sites and professionals they’ve spoken to, or they may be able to find professionally run accounts who use social media as a means of educating followers about mental health. 

This isn’t to suggest that using social media is the best option to do research on mental health and that it will provide the most accurate information. It’s important to get as much professional knowledge as possible if you can (our links category has some options you can consider looking further into), and those with more severe depressive symptoms are more likely to feel left out when online, but what social media can help with is not just reading and hearing about others’ experiences, but being able to connect to and talk with them.

Has social media helped you in learning about mental health? Have you talked to anyone online about your mental health or their mental health? What resources online have you used to learn about mental health?

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Compassion Fatigue

January 14, 2020 in Educate Yourself

Sometimes, and sometimes more often than not, the world can feel like a scary place. Younger generations have a more negative outlook on the state of the world and about what they’re able to achieve.

At the same time, younger generations have also been found to be incredibly compassionate: 92% of Gen Z’s in a survey stated that helping others is important, and about 3 in 4 of them are worried about inequality.

This negative outlook on the world and the higher levels of compassion play hand in hand. The internet, social media, and general media constantly giving us real-time news 24/7 has not only made us aware of what’s going on in the world, but what we can do to help and spread awareness. And there’s a lot to spread awareness about, from violations of human rights to natural disasters to various diseases. There’s a constant stream of information being fed to us about what’s wrong, why we need to fix it, how we can fix, and millions of places to donate to. 

And while it’s good to get the word out about issues going on around the world and make it so that the average person can have some impact on changing those problems, the average person can’t solve and help with everything. It can get overwhelming to put effort into just one cause, and keeping up to date about every single issue, whether you want to or not can take it to another level. At some point, you may feel yourself getting apathetic, thinking “what’s the point if nothing’s going to change?” or feeling depressed or anxious about how terrible things are and how other people are suffering. You may start prioritizing others or feeling guilty when things are happening to you, because they’re not as bad as other people have it. The feeling is not unlike that of burnout, when so much is happening at once that your mind and body feel like they’re shutting down.

This phenomenon is called compassion fatigue. It’s wanting to help others but through that, sharing and feeling their pain and putting pressure on one’s self to make sure they’re doing the right thing. It’s often seen and has been studied among healthcare professionals and activists, but anyone can experience it given the state of the 24-hour news cycle and social media.

Because of their higher levels of compassion, the issues happening today, and the impact they’ll have on younger generations, it’s no surprise that these same activists who may be prone to compassion fatigue and burnout are gettingyounger. At an age where they’re already prone to showing mental illness symptoms and coping with stressors like school and navigating their independence, it’s possible that adolescents can feel compassion fatigue quicker and an intense level on top of everything else that they’re facing developmentally.

If you feel like you’re experiencing compassion fatigue or are just simply overwhelmed and tired of feeling like you want to do something but can’t, it’s important to remember that these burdens are not only yours to carry. It’s impossible to care about every single issue ever at once, and at a young age, you shouldn’t be expected to be the champion and the voice responsible for a cause. The world can be a scary place, but you’re still a part of it, and caring about the issues of others shouldn’t negate or lessen caring about yourself.

Are there any causes that you’re passionate about? Do you do anything as a way of getting involved? Have you ever experienced burnout or compassion fatigue, and if so, do you have any coping mechanisms you want to try or have tried?

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Using Books to Learn and Cope with Mental Illness

January 10, 2020 in LINKS

Maybe you’re a bookworm. Maybe you have “reading more” as one of your New Year resolutions. Maybe you read as a hobby and use it as a form of stress relief when you need a break from school and/or work. Whatever the reason, you may be on the lookout for something new to read.

Everyone reads for their own personal reasons – some use it as a complete distraction from the world while others use it as a way to learn more about the world. Some use it as a way to learn more about themselves, like through self-help books and other nonfiction works. Fictional novels can also serve the same purpose, where reading and finding characters that you relate to can help you understand yourself better. You may even find characters that you want to be more like.

The practice of finding, reading, and using books with content that can relate to you and help you understand yourself better, grow, and cope without having to focus just on yourself is known as bibliotherapy. If you’re not ready to specifically talk about your own experiences in issues that may be taking their toll on you, reading books about characters who look like you and/or go through similar experiences can help you use their thoughts, actions, and stories as a way to untangle your own thoughts a little more. It can even help you open up more to others because the characters may have given you a way to put words to what you’re going through.

As discussions about mental health and mental illness has increased, the amount of content about it has increased as well, including in novels about the topic. Everyone’s tastes are different, but we wanted to highlight a few lists highlighting YA books that have mental illness involved in some way, whether minimal or as part of the core plot. Although there is some overlap between the lists, all of them feature a variety of topics involved in mental health, including suicide, depression, phobias, anxiety, PTSD, and grief.

We hope that you can find one that either interests you or relates to you in some way. If you decide to read any of them, we invite you to write a review about how you felt about the book, if you related to it, and how you think the story depicted mental illness.

What’s your favorite book? Have you ever read a book that involved mental illness in some way? How do you think the author did in depicting it? What topics do you want to see covered more in books, especially those targeted for young adults?

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Youths, Adults, and Conceptions about Social Media

January 9, 2020 in Social Media Guide

Look online and you’re likely going to find guides upon tips upon warnings about how adolescents use social media and how parents should monitor and be cautious about their children’s’ activity online – with almost all of them being written by adults. The opposite is less likely to occur, where these same adolescents can openly express what they wish adults and parents knew about their social media use.

However, adolescent voices, naturally, are out there online. And they’re making their opinions known about what they wish their parents, and other adults, knew about social media. Anyone, regardless of age, is on the Internet and social media in some capacity, but it’s an accepted fact that teens, adolescents, and young adults dominate the space (Gen Z is often regarded as the first generation to grow up not knowing a world without the Internet and social media, for example). Those who didn’t grow up with the Internet understandably may have some fears about what youths, especially their children, might be exposed to. Think of the classic case where adults have the fear that kids are talking to an old creepy man posing as someone their age. Without consulting these young demographics however, the negatives can be emphasized more so than the positives, including the prevalence and emphasis of cyberbullying, sexting, exposure to inappropriate content, and narcissism.

But here’s what some adolescents wish that adults knew about how they use social media:

In one essay, a high school senior defended her generation’s use of social media, explaining that it’s a space to shape their sense of self and find communities that will accept them. For them, selfies aren’t necessarily narcissistic, but self-portraits and a way to express creativity – adults have to “reimagine” selfies as a meaningful mode of self-representation and see them beyond the stereotypes they hold.

Another interview with various middle and high school students about what they wish their parents knew had them explaining that social media is a place for them to express their more extreme emotions, like anger and passion, and having a community to listen to them during those moments is reassuring.

Other things mentioned included having fake accounts beyond just their public profiles, social media being a place to practice creativity through outlets such as creative writing. Ultimately though, it seems that youths really want adults to know that social media is a place where they can be themselves and find those who are similar to them and experience the same thing to make them feel a little less alone.

This isn’t to say that adolescents see social media as perfect though. They’re aware that it can be addicting, they and their peers spend a lot of time on it, and it can feel incredibly shallow. Ultimately, adults should be aware that social media isn’t going to go away, it’s a part of life, and there’s a balance to be found. In order to have that conversation with their kids, however, it’s mostly important, according to youths, to not be awkward about it. 

What do you wish your parents knew about how you and/or people your age use social media? Do you think your own social media habits are reflective of the stereotypes often depicted by older generations?

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What is Somatization?

January 3, 2020 in LINKS

Have you ever experienced an upset stomach, a tight chest, clammy hands, or any other physical reaction when you’re stressed or depressed? The mind and body have an incredibly strong connection, and when you’re feeling an overwhelming amount of emotion, your brain can process it as being in danger even if the situation isn’t life-threatening, and initiates the fight-flight-freeze response.

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This is called somatization, or the way your body reacts to what it thinks is danger, even though nothing seems to be physically wrong with you. The video below, produced by the Kelty Mental Health Resource Center in British Columbia, Canada, explains this in more detail. Reading about the science behind it can be a little overwhelming, including how the nervous system is divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system (it can feel a little bit like biology class), but the 7 minute video breaks it down, with cute animations and animals to keep you entertained.

The video shows different situations where people can experience somatization: pressure from an upcoming test or game and the feeling of rejection from people you care about. While these aren’t places where things are necessarily life-threatening, they can have an intense effect on you, especially if these are things that cause you stress or are particularly emotional about. This intensity is what makes your brain see this situations as dangerous to you, and that’s how your body reacts.

Learn more below!

Do you experience physical reactions when you’re feeling upset or depressed? What kinds are they? What do you do to help them, if anything?

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The Social Aspect of Online Gaming

January 2, 2020 in Social Media Guide

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Video games have become much more interactive than they used to be. If you wanted to play with others, they would have to physically be there, with up to four players sharing the same console connected to the TV, each having their own controller. Two people with Game Boys could connect to each other using a cable, and some games allowed them to play against each other that way. Looking back, all of it seems a bit excessive, especially now that we can connect to anyone around the world in an instant with a simple Internet connection.

Just like the graphics, storylines, and animation have significantly improved in gaming, so has the way that we can communicate with each other. Often times, the social media aspect of gaming can be dangerous: situations like Gamergate come to mind, and the anonymity of gaming can make players prone to cyberbullying, dealing with situations like trolling and harassment, death threats, and hacking. The more drastic and harsh comments made while gaming can lead to severe effects, especially mentally. This is something important to consider too, especially since about 72% of teenagers game (and 84% of teenage boys), and there has been an increase of mental illness diagnoses in teenagers.

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However, just like every other form of social media, there are positives that can come with online gaming and talking to others as you play. One study back in 2007 surveyed people who played MMORPGs (massively multiple online role-playing games), with a majority saying that they enjoyed the social aspect. According to them, playing online in a place where others have similar interests helped them to develop lifelong friends. These similar interests and the anonymity also makes players feel like they can be more open about who they are and express themselves in ways that they cannot do in real life.

So, just like any other form of social media, the way we communicate with others while gaming has its positives and negatives. The situations are a little different here though, because what better way to talk to people than doing so while defeating zombies or looking for treasure?

Do you participate in online gaming? What kind of games do you enjoy playing? How do you feel about the social part and how people interact with others when gaming?

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Keeping Track of the Good Things (to you!)

December 27, 2019 in LINKS

We all have different things that bring us joy – animals, good food, the weather, your favorite clothes – the list can go on forever.

These things can happen on different levels. You may own a pet, for example, or you may simply get excited by walking outside and seeing all the cute dogs being taken out on walks. Today you might have tried a new restaurant and really enjoyed it, or you made that frozen meal you bought on a whim ended up tasting way better than you had expected. Other things can include making it to the gym that day, doing well on a test, or getting a funny meme from a friend.

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Gratitude journals are a great way of keeping track of this, and because it’s almost 2020, there are ways to log the little things on your phone too. Check out the two apps below that are dedicated to easily put down the good things that have happened to you that day.

365 Gratitude As the name states, 365 Gratitude is meant for everyday use, giving daily challenges and opportunities to talk about the little but good things that have happened that day. They feature a scale of smiley faces for you to measure how you feel that day, and it’s also a social network that connects you to others using the app and you can scroll through a feed to see what things that others are grateful for that day. They also have a “gratitude jar” that fills up as you add more things, and can act as a game, unlocking rewards as you use the app.

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Grateful This app is part of a bundle that’s subscription based, which includes a number of similar apps to help improve your well-being and promoting self-worth. However, you can still download Grateful individually. It’s customizable, and like 365 Gratitude, if a blank page seems intimidating, Grateful provides prompts like “What made you smile today?” to help get you started. Unlike 365 Gratitude, Grateful is private, personal, and doesn’t require a login. You can also add photos to each good thing that happened, so when you look back, you get a visual as well.  

These apps were designed to be more than just a space to write down your good things, but to promote overall well-being through things like seeing what others are grateful for, adding photos to help you reminisce, and helping you track your progress.  

Do you keep track of positive things that happen to you? If so, how? Do you think it’s a good idea to do so on your phone?

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Navigating Social Media in the New Year

December 26, 2019 in Social Media Guide

There are always common types of resolutions that are made as the new year begins. One such resolution is to use social media less (ironically, you may have seen someone say this on social media). Going through social media cleanses and detoxes can give people the time to explore other sorts of activities, and taking a step back from social media can have a positive impact on mental health. Because it’s the new year, now is a great opportunity to take a step back and reevaluate your social media habits, possibly even trying to change them throughout the year.

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If using less social media is something that you’re also trying to do in 2020, you can figure out what’s best for you to monitor and control the time you use on your phone and computer. You can set limits on Screen Time, create blacklists for certain websites if you want to cut them out completely, or even delete apps off your phone altogether.

You can still factor in social media into your new year’s resolutions, even if you can’t, or don’t want to, reduce the amount of time you spend online. There are ways to take advantage of social media use instead of feeling like you’re not accomplishing much by scrolling through feeds and wondering if that one post you made got enough likes.

One way you can engage in social media in a more positive way is through activism. Social media has become a large and accessible platform for many to get their voices out and speak up about matters that are important to them.

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While it’s easy to engage in arguments with people you disagree with online or simply contribute to a cause by using a hashtag, the Internet also has a ton of resources where you can actively engage in causes and contribute to those that you care about in a more effective manner. You can create a list of movements you’re more passionate about, and once you’ve decided which ones you want to focus on, you can look online to see if there are any activities near you that you can participate in. Social media is great for finding these sorts of events: websites like Facebook will show you events happening near you specifically, for example.

If you can’t attend meetings or protests, you can also use social media to share articles and stories that matter to you. You can either use social media to find articles that others have posted and share those through reblogs or retweets, or post the links you find on your own accounts.

Social media can be difficult to completely cut out, but you can still take control in how you want to use it, especially now when it’s the perfect time for a fresh start.

Do you plan on changing your social media habits in 2020? What other ways do you think you can use social media in a beneficial way?

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