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Using Your Watch to Practice Deep Breathing

May 31, 2019 in LINKS

black-2383778_1920There are tons of breathing and meditation apps available online (we’ve covered a few of them before if you want some suggestions!). If you’re running out of space, unsure which one is best for you, or just want something that’s convenient, finding a tool to help guide you with your breathing to help you get or stay calm may be easier to find than you think.

adam-birkett-347694-unsplashIf you have any type of smartwatch, chances are, there’s some sort of app or guide you can use that’s already on there to help you. The Apple Watch has an animation you can follow and a section on the Apple Watch app on the iPhone that you can use to set reminders, goals, and durations. Those with Android watches (or any watch that has Google software like Fossil watches) can use the Fit Breathe app on their device – there’s a corresponding Google Fit app you can also get to help keep track of it. With it, you can keep your eyes closed, and your watch will vibrate to tell you when to inhale, hold, or exhale. Fitbits have a Relax app with two or five minute long sessions to help you practice deep breathing too.

cbx-214431-unsplashYou don’t need a smartwatch to be able to practice deep breathing at anytime though. You can use any kind of watch to time yourself taking breaths (make sure you can see the second hand though – holding your breath for minutes at a time isn’t really relaxing). One such way is through the 4-7-8 breathing method. It’s pretty simple: inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7, then slowly release for 8 seconds.

alarm-4172631_1280Watches have become so much more than simply telling time. Ironically, having watches and always knowing what time it is can have us spending time thinking about how little time we have to do things and may make us stress and worry about how we need to be on top of things and meet deadlines. It doesn’t help that smartwatches can constantly buzz with notifications and overwhelm us with not answering and responding to things right away. But even though time can feel daunting and nerve-wracking, using some of those minutes to try deep breathing can make the biggest difference.

Do you own a smartwatch? What suggestions do you have to practice deep breathing? Do they require technology?

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Mental Health Experts on Social Media

May 30, 2019 in LINKS, Social Media Guide

social-media-1177293_1280When people talk about social media and its effect on people, it’s almost always negative. Many have mentioned and researched about the effect of social media on mental health: feeling unproductive, worrying about what we said or did online, and experiencing FOMO are just a few of the things that affect us from using social media.

Social media knows this though. Even though those feelings can still be present, many are also using the platforms to spread awareness about their own experiences, and social media sites themselves are promoting content to spread awareness about mental health.

These can be sporadic though. No one has an obligation to constantly and only post about mental health awareness – whether it be specifically about their own or as a whole – and social media platforms may only promote mental well-being when it may feel necessary (think of this month as Mental Health Awareness Month wraps up).

Most organizations today have social media handles so they can help promote their causes to as many people as possible: those focusing on mental health are no icon-1674909_1280exception. However, experts and doctors are also creating their own social media accounts so they can give direct advice and help about mental health, stigma, and overall spreading awareness and educating about mental health.

One such example is Dr. Jessica Clemons, who has an Instagram account giving tips about tackling stigma and taking care of one’s self, especially in the black community (she even has Beyonce’s approval!). Similar accounts from psychiatrists and doctors educating about mental health include Dr. Vania Manipod and Dr. Lisa Long.

maddi-bazzocco-1555818-unsplashWhile it could be easy to assume that medical and professional information can be dry, all of these accounts know how to use social media, engaging it in a way that feels like any other fashion, food, or friend’s account. They can seamlessly fit in into your feed, but can have the opposite, more fulfilling effect than the FOMO, self-consciousness, and unproductivity you might feel from other posts.  

Do you follow any doctors or medical professionals on social media? Why do you think following professionals can be helpful, especially those focusing on mental health?

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“Is It My Fault?”

May 29, 2019 in Educate Yourself

A common mindset among those who are diagnosed with mental illnesses is wondering if it’s something that they brought onto themselves. There may be guilt associated with it, like the person thinking they did something wrong or ashamed that they didn’t handle past situations well enough.

One study looked at this in more detail, focusing specifically on adolescents and their beliefs about mental health after being diagnosed with depression. Navigating how you’re feeling andmolly-belle-73279-unsplash your mental health as an adolescent can be really difficult: this is a stage where you start wondering if what you’re feeling and doing is similar to what your peers are also going through. At this age, you want to fit in and if you don’t, you might think there’s something wrong with you and then you’ll be rejected as a result. This could be why experiencing mental illness symptoms can be scary, especially when you feel like you’re the only one going through them.

Researchers found three common trends when asking adolescents aged 11-17 about their diagnosis and what they think about mental health. These were confusion about why they were depressed, feeling that they were depressed as a result of rejection, victimization, and stress, and that they blamed something inside of themselves for feeling this way.

Many of these adolescents seemed to experience and feel a lot of guilt when managing their feelings about depression. This guilt had come from things like feeling like letting people down and not being good enough, which contributed to their depressive symptoms, or things like feeling guilty that they were being dramatic about something their “teenage phase.”

mitch-lensink-220106-unsplashDespite these feelings, however, it seemed that a lot of these adolescents wanted to understand other sources for why they were depressed – the study suggests that the self-blame and criticism adolescents place on themselves needs to be addressed, since it could be a barrier for them to seek treatment or further help.

Although it can feel like the feelings associated with depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses, are the result of something you’ve done wrong or that they’re something that no one else is experiencing, results like the ones in the study can remind you that you’re not alone. These are common beliefs when it comes to experiencing symptoms and being diagnosed, but even though these feelings are frequent, they aren’t necessarily true. It’s a difficult process to realize, but mental illness isn’t one’s fault and something they brought onto themselves, and trying to overcome that can make seeking treatment, finding help, and talking to others a little bit easier.

How did you feel when you first started experiencing symptoms? Did you feel like you needed to blame something or find a reason why you were feeling this way? Share your experiences below!

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Gender and Showing Symptoms

May 28, 2019 in Educate Yourself

Although they can happen at any age and to anyone, statistics show that the symptoms for depression and anxiety are more likely to begin showing up during adolescence. Adolescent girls reported symptoms at a higher rate however – nearly three times as many girls did as boys.

chat-23713_1280Why is this the case? According to one study looking at social and relationship patterns in adolescents, girls are more likely to worry about and put importance on their relationships and friendships, are more sensitive to when others are upset, and less likely to use humor to cope with stress. Girls may face increasingly more pressures from society too, with body image and prioritizing others above themselves to name a couple of examples.

The high number of young, adolescent girls reporting symptoms of mental illnesses has gotten to the point that many think that mental illness is a gendered issue. andrew-neel-609844-unsplashAdolescent girls – including celebrities – have started becoming more open about their mental health and what they go through. This may not apply to all adolescent girls however: women of color, for example, are hesitant about opening about their mental health experiences because the image of a “depressed adolescent girl” is often assumed to be white.

checklist-2023731_1280Another thing to remember is that self-reporting, or when the person is the one talking about what they experience, is a major source of information when it comes to mental health. At the end of the day, no one knows you as well as yourself. Things like culture, stigma, and stereotypes can make some afraid to talk about how they’re feeling though – even if they’re doing it anonymously. The common stereotype for boys is that they have to be “tough” and shouldn’t express emotion and to deal with things independently.

Mental illness can affect anyone regardless of things like age, gender, and ethnicity. Patterns and trends will naturally occur to explain things like why girls are more vulnerable to showing mental illness symptoms, but that shouldn’t make you feel like you have to check off specific boxes to feel that your own symptoms are legitimate depending on your identity.

Do you identify as female? Why do you think adolescent girls have a higher risk for showing symptoms of mental illness? If  you don’t identify as female, how do you think your emotions and feelings are perceived by others?

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Asian American Mental Health Resources

May 24, 2019 in LINKS

jodyhongfilms-251455-unsplashMay is both Mental Health Awareness Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI for short). The more you think about it, the more the two sharing a month kind of makes sense: Asian American teen girls have the highest rates of depressive symptoms of any ethnic and gender group, Southeast Asian Americans experience high stress due to the threat of deportations, and Asian adolescents who face racial discrimination are more likely to experience depressive symptoms.arun-sharma-1111526-unsplash

Culture also plays a big role. Many AAPI are first or second generation immigrants, and by coming from cultures that have strong stigmas against mental health – or don’t believe that mental illness exists at all – it can confuse Asian Americans teenagers growing up in an environment that still stigmatizes mental health, but still acknowledges it and is having a conversation about it. These teens may have been told by their family that mental illness isn’t real, and showing symptoms is a weakness and can easily be changed by working harder and having a stronger sense of self-will.

We wanted to share a few resources that may help those who identify as AAPI navigate their mental health in a space that specifically relates to them and the issues that they go through as AAPI. If you or someone you know identifies as an AAPI, you can check these out, but don’t feel like you’re limited to just these resources.

group-2935521_1280Asian American Psychological Association The AAPA was founded back in 1972 and aims to educate and provide resources for AAPI on topics specifically for the community. They have several divisions because it’s so large, including a Division of Students and those with multiple heritages. Their resource page includes a lot of links, including some for LGBT AAPI as well.

icon-1968236_1280Psychology Today The website is already a great tool to help find therapists in your area and includes many features and filters to help you find someone who is best for you. One of these features includes being able to choose minority therapists. The link sends you to find an Asian therapist, and some minorities have found that talking to someone who also represents them makes them more comfortable.

filler-2022184_1280Personal Essays Organizations and research can be a great place for support, but sometimes the best resources are listening and reading about those who’ve experienced what you have experienced too. It’s almost looking like into a mirror, where your reflection speaks to you about things that you couldn’t quite put into words, or say things that you haven’t been able to say aloud. You can check out a few here.

Do you identify as AAPI? What are your experiences like with mental health and how those in your community perceive it? Do you have an resources you want to share that you’ve tried?

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TMI

May 23, 2019 in Social Media Guide

Although it may not seem like it, we have some control about how much of ourselves we want to put online. Even with all the accounts that we may have, we might not post on all of them, if post on some of them at all. We can create our own personas online and choose what we reveal and do not reveal about ourselves, and share something as simple as what we ate that day to a recent breakup in detail.

info-875871_1280There is a lot of criticism from adults about how adolescents use social media. One of them is how youths put “everything online” and think that they don’t have a filter on social media, putting every last fact about them and the things they’re going through for the entire world to see.

But do adolescents think that they overshare? How much of themselves do they actually put online? Do they think that their peers do? Little has been discussed about cyber-security-1915628_1280how adolescents themselves feel about privacy online, but the conversation is still there. While a study found that nearly all teenagers have posted a photo of themselves and about 70% post the name of where they go to school, 60% of teenagers have private accounts. Having private or “locked” accounts gives them the ability to control who sees what information, and if they do overshare, they’re doing it with a group of people that they may feel closer to or trust.

Adolescents also appear to share less about themselves the longer that they use social media. While 75% of adolescents in one survey said that they spend the same amount of time on social media compared to a year ago, more than half said they don’t share as much information. They do feel that their peers have a tendency to overshare, but when it comes to things like personal health information, adolescents have a tendency to become a lot more selective about what they social-media-2786261_1920want to share. This could include mental health issues: someone may make a post stating that they’re having a bad mental health day, or they may only DM this to a close friend.

All of this depends on what one considers to be “oversharing” though. For example, oversharing for someone may be putting the name of a restaurant where they had a meal, but someone else may have no problem posting about what they did that day, tagging each place that they visited.

Privacy may seem like a black and white issue at first, but the line can be blurred pretty easily. Everyone’s definition of privacy may be different, and people can have different feelings on it depending on what generation they belong to and their experience and longevity on social media. Some may see oversharing as making themselves come across as too vulnerable, but others may see it as therapeutic. Ultimately, it depends on the person to determine how much they want to share about themselves and what they consider to be safe.

At the very least though, no one should be putting anything like credit card information or their social security number online. It’s dangerous and definitely way too much information.

How many social media accounts do you have? Do you think that you or your peers overshare? What do you think counts as oversharing?

 

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Can Lockdown Drills Affect Your Mental Health?

May 22, 2019 in Educate Yourself

The blog post includes a discussion about school shootings. Please read with caution if any of these items triggers or upsets you.

There have been 15 school shootings in which at least one person was hurt or killed this year. That is about 3 school shootings resulting in injury or death per month. Since the 1970s, this ruben-rodriguez-1363708-unsplashnumber has not changed, and if anything, it has grown.

Today, active shooter and lockdown drills are the norm in elementary, middle, and high schools, and even at college and university campuses. With all the recent school shootings, this is a responsible and obvious course of action to take in order to prioritize the safety of our youth. But what effect is this having on children? How safe are we really keeping them?

In the 2017-2018 school year, more than 4.1 million students participated in a lockdown or lockdown drill. While lockdowns save lives when there is a real gunman stalking the hallways outside of the classroom door, the lockdown drills themselves inflict psychological harm on the students involved, who think and feel that real danger is imminent. Some kids cry and wet themselves, others have written wills to their families of what should happen to their belongings, and 57% of teens worry that a shooting will happen at their school. In a Staten Island high school in New York City, teens texted their parents saying, “I love you” after rumors of firearms on campus became known. In Albany, NY, students were on lockdown for 6 hours, without access to food or water, when every locker, backpack, student, and staff member were sniffed by police dogs after a threat written on a note was found. One girl from Washington, D.C., familiar with the sounds of gunshots by her home, thought of her school’s lockdowns often, being cautious on the playground during recess that she had once enjoyed worry-free.

ryan-tauss-3826-unsplashAre we taking things too far?

While most students may not have long-term consequences, those at risk may experience the lasting effects of childhood trauma. This includes depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and academic and social worsening. School shootings themselves are still rare compared to the population of students in the US – 150 students (children and adults) have died from school shootings in the past 20 years, which, although not a small number in itself, constitutes a tiny percentage of the millions in lockdown in school for the past 20 years, some provoked by the smallest threats. Yet, how do we balance these effects with the responsibility to take no chances and “treat every threat seriously,” or the consequence would be death?

One thought is to engage in full lockdowns only when necessary. This means we need deeper investigation into school threats, and even having different degrees of lockdowns that could be less traumatizing. Some have a “secure campus” or hold-and-secure mode, in which no one is allowed to enter or leave the building, but teachers can proceed with instruction. However, because there is no standardized protocol of dealing with school threats and activating lockdowns, many students continue to be left with unnecessary panic and nightmares. Even after hours of being in lockdown, some schools may not adequately assure students that the threat is gone and may even have students pat down or held up by armed officers. Some teens are left with stomach pains, headaches, and trouble focusing and sleeping. On top of this, with the exploding growth of social media, news of school threats travel like wildfire, bringing fear to a student’s day at a constant and unpredictable rate.

This is but one of the stressors that our nation’s youth face, every single day.

Does/did your school have/had lockdowns? If so, what were they like for you? What do you wished could be changed, if anything? Share your thoughts and experiences below!

This SOVA blog post was based off an article from Joe Pinsker in The Atlantic, “When Was the Last Time American Children Were So Afraid?” To access the original post, check it out here.

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Rewriting Nightmares

May 21, 2019 in Educate Yourself

jordan-bauer-265172-unsplash (1)Nightmares are never fun. They can feel like horror movies come to life, often times created specifically for you and the things that terrify and worry you the most. We all experience nightmares, but between 2-8% of adults are affected by them to the point that their sleeping patterns are drastically disrupted. Children between the ages of 3-6 are more likely to be affected by nightmares and have trouble getting rest as well, which can be especially damaging considering that they need between 10-13 hours of sleep.

These effects are also concerning when tied in with other statistics about mental health. Those coping with a mental illness are likely to have trouble sleeping, and there is research showing that the less sleep an adolescent gets, the likelier they are to have suicide ideation and/or use substances. Insomnia symptoms and sleep can be affected for a number of reasons, including anxiety buildup, depression naps that throw off the sleep cycle, and of course, nightmares.

thomas-martinsen-2443-unsplashIt can be difficult functioning for those having trouble sleeping and those who are prone to being shaken up by the nightmares they experience. However, addressing your nightmares can not help you understand the state of your mental health, but confronting and rewriting them may potentially help you feel better. This is known as imagery rescripting therapy and imagery exposure therapy. Through these methods of rewriting nightmares to a more satisfying ending and exposing people to the nightmares that worry them (think of it as “confronting one’s fears”), people may experience nightmares less frequently and less intensely and it can help them with their stress.

Trying to get a good night’s rest can be difficult. Not only can activities, school, and other sorts of events get in the way, but worrying about said events, mental illness, and nightmares – whether they’re created by these situations or not – can also have a large impact. Taking control of all of these can be hard and even downright impossible, but trying something like tackling nightmares you’ve experienced and changing the narrative may be a place to start.

Do you experience nightmares? Do you remember them, and if so, what effect did they have on you? Have you ever tried rewriting situations that worry you into something that’s more positive? Would you consider trying it?

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The Benefits of Essential Oils

May 20, 2019 in Be Positive

Edited to Add: Essential oils aren’t perfect. There have been studies showing that lavender and tea tree oils specifically can disrupt your hormones. It’s always best to be cautious about trying different methods for your health. To learn more about the latest research on complementary, integrative, and alternative health methods, check the NCCIH.

We like things to smell good. It can increase our mood, make kyle-szegedi-8370-unsplashthings feel more pleasant, and make us nostalgic. It can be a perfume, or the scent of bread baking, or the smell of rain as it hits the pavement and grass (known as petrichor).

heather-ford-731014-unsplashUsing essential oils has become more and more popular recently, and it isn’t hard to find guides about the best diffusers to use or the benefits of certain oils. Essential oils are usually associated with self-care and as a source for stress relief. Some of the more popular essential oils include lavender, which helps relax you and help you fall asleep, and clary sage, which can have antidepressant effects. Lavender has also been shown to help with headaches when applied to the temples in studies too.

The most popular ways to use essential oils are through diffusers and by diluting oils and applying them to the body. adam-grabek-27370-unsplashYou can put them on your desk to help keep yourself relaxed as you’re working on homework, or have one next to your bed if you’re having trouble sleeping, which can often be an effect from anxiety and depression. Even the process of finding what combination of oils works best for you can be fun, and can almost feel like you’re creating a potion that makes you happiest and calmest.

Using essential oils should not be a substitute for treatment, nor can it cure or prevent mental illness. However, they’re a quick and easy way to relax, calm the body and nerves, and literally release tension in your muscles that can arise from stress. At the very least, there’s nothing wrong with your surroundings smelling good.

Have you ever tried using essential oils? What did you use them for? Did they help? What are your favorite scents?

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Weekend Reads: Ramadan and Mental Health

May 17, 2019 in LINKS

This year, Mental Health Awareness Month overlaps with the Islamic month of Ramadan. The simplest association with Ramadan is fasting: from sunrise to sunset everyday, Muslims who are able to do not eat or drink anything (even water).

ifrah-akhter-1530454-unsplashHowever, Ramadan is more than just the physical act of fasting. Ramadan is also meant to serve as a time for Muslims to refrain from bad habits and to practice doing things that are more beneficial and productive. It can be a time for Muslims to clear their head and focus on what matters to them.  

Islam is the second largest religion in the world with closer to 2 billion people practicing. Ramadan is a different experience for everyone – some aren’t able to fast because of physical reasons, while others may have their own personal struggles with it because of their history with mental health and illness. We wanted to focus on the second part specifically, since there is a strong stigma associated with mental illness in Muslims communities, and even Muslim doctors aren’t sure how to approach administering medication to Muslim patients that require food or water (especially with psychiatric medication).

For example, Ramadan can be a particularly difficult time for those who have struggled with eating disorders, with the potential to trigger. You can read about two young women’s personal stories and experiences with this, one published on Teen Vogue and another on Dazed.

Two other articles talk about the mental health and self-care aspect of Ramadan and how it’s a time for cleansing. You can read these articles on NPR and Allure – the NPR article has several Muslims talk about how Ramadan affects their mental health and well-being, while the Allure article is a more personal story.

Do you celebrate Ramadan? Have you ever fasted before? How do you think fasting can help or be difficult for one’s mental health?

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