SOVA Blog

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Have You Ever Airdropped a Meme?

June 6, 2019 in Social Media Guide

Another day, another viral trend. You may have recently heard of or participated in AirDropping images to strangers around you whenever you’re in public.

Image-1 (1)For those who may not know, AirDropping is a feature on Apple products that allows users to easily share images and files with other Apple users nearby without needing to attach them in a text or email. All you need is to be relatively physically close, have your Bluetooth or WiFi on, and with a simple tap, you can send whatever you want to whoever also has AirDrop on.

This may sound strange if it’s not something you haven’t heard of or have never participated in. It can be a bit of a game though, with someone sending you a meme, you sending a similar one back, and suddenly there’s an exchange going on to see who has the most powerful, yet silly image. You can also compete with others around you to see how many of these chains you can get going on at once. At its best, it can be reassuring – people can sometimes AirDrop positive images and things about self-love, or they aim to AirDrop content that they hope will make the other person laugh.  It’s a way to socialize on a minimal, harmless level with your peers around you and can be a fun thing to do to kill time while waiting for an event to start.

But while it may be lighthearted and fun for the most part, there are still several risks. For example, you have to agree to receive the files and save them to your device, but you can still what the content is when it pops up. This could potentially contain NSFW or triggering content (even if the content isn’t “frightening” itself, everyone can be sensitive to different things) and be upsetting to see, especially in public. It can even feel overwhelming and can possibly cause feelings of anxiety, especially in spaces where there are tons of people (concerts are one the most popular places where AirDropping occurs). There might be an element of social anxiety involved too, since someone you most likely don’t know is technically contacting you, and you may not know how to react, feel comfortable accepting the image, or are afraid of responding.

ooi-jiet-428957-unsplashThere are ways to avoid the activity if AirDropping isn’t for you, or think it may be a trigger for stress. For one thing, you’re not participating at all if you have an Android device. Those who have an Apple device can also disable it completely. If you use AirDrop for other things (for example, sharing photos with friends that you took of them), you can limit AirDrop to just your contacts. At the end of the day, you do have some power over your level of participation, even if it’s as simple as sending yet another Spongebob meme to one of your friends when you see them in the hallway.

Have you ever heard of AirDropping memes? Have you ever done it? What do you think of the idea?

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Mental Health Expenses

June 5, 2019 in Educate Yourself

Mental health issues among teens are a growing issue in the US. The demands for mental health services and treatment clearly exceed our nation’s supply, and the effects of this imbalance are making their mark.jp-valery-1497987-unsplash

The suicide rate among young people ages 10 to 19 increased by 56% from 2007 to 2016.  According to the CDC, suicide and suicide attempts cost the nation $70 billion in lifetime costs for medical care and lost work hours alone. Serious mental illness in the US cost $193.2 billion in losses of personal earnings in 2002, translating to a massive loss of human productivity.  Prescription opioid misuse, another epidemic associated with mental health conditions, costed $78.5 billion in 2013, including costs from health care, the criminal justice system, and lost productivity.  How do we address these issues that weigh so heavily on our nation’s economy? We target a common source of these mental health issues – children.

noah-silliman-202795-unsplashMany mental health issues begin in childhood. With the short supply of child and adolescent psychiatrists, it is easy for children to slip through the cracks of treatment and have their mental health deteriorate further in adulthood; only 40% of adolescents received treatment for major depression in 2017. It is also not uncommon for children to wait days in an ER for an opening of a hospital bed in a psychiatric unit. In Fairfax County, VA, parents often drive hours to take a bed that has opened late at night. Washington, D.C. is the only place in the US with sufficient child and adolescent psychiatrists for its population, while the rest of the country is severely lacking. This shortage isn’t without reason – psychiatry is one of the lowest-paying specialties, and new psychiatry hospital wings and treatment advances can easily fall off the priority list when compared with cutting-edge medical technologies in more competitive and glorified fields such as surgery.

As the staggering costs of mental health attract more attention to this serious public health issue, other outlets are being explored to expand mental health resources to reach the youth that need them:

  • The pediatrician work force is being called to action to manage basic mental health issues. Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued guidelines for adolescent depression in primary care, targeting youth ages 10 to 21. Educating primary care doctors in mental health is a top priority.social-media-2314696_1920
  • Nonprofit organizations also offer mental health programming when government funding falls short. Strength in Our Voices trains high school students and teachers in suicide prevention in schools in Washington, D.C. The Beautiful Minds Initiative in Florida is a collaboration among health care providers, community mental health professionals, social services, and public school systems to bring mental health care to at-risk children in Collier County. Adapting for Life, Surviving the Teens is an outreach program from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio that educates young people in junior high and high schools on drivers of suicidal behavior and ways to cope with them.

Have you ever sought help for mental health? If so, what resources did you use to get the help you need? Do you have mental health awareness programs at your school? If so, what are they like? What resources or programs did you wish were out there? Share your thoughts and experiences below!

This SOVA blog post was based off an article from Jayne O’Donnell in USA Today, “Help Hard to Find for Teens Struggling with Mental Health, Thoughts of Suicide.” To access the original post, check it out here.

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Can Mental Health Affect Cancer Care?

June 4, 2019 in Educate Yourself

daan-stevens-282446-unsplashA cancer diagnosis is not an event anyone wants to encounter. The International Agency for Research on Cancer reports that over 18 million new cancer cases were diagnosed worldwide in 2018 – nearly 10% of those were in the United States. The burden of cancer on finances, the healthcare system and human lives is huge and well documented, but a new factor is being heavily researched on its impact.

Cancer care often focuses on the physical effects of the disease, but many patients are left without access to mental health resources. This might seem like an unavoidable effect in the face of a cancer diagnosis, but it doesn’t end there. Cancer patients who experience these mental health concerns are also more likely to experience worse cancer symptoms and higher disease mortality. Sadly, mortality among cancer patients is most likely to co-occur among younger people.

A study by Dutch researchers at Tilburg University in the Netherlands looks into the connection between mental health issues and worsening helloquence-61189-unsplashcancer symptoms. The study found that depressed patients with various types of cancer  — the study examined lymphoma, multiple myeloma, endometrial and colorectal cancers  — are twice as likely to die than their non-depressed counterparts.

The study also included research on breast cancer patients from Dr. David Spiegel at Stanford University. According to Spiegel, “as many oncologists now view pain as a symptom to be treated, they should also consider depression a symptom to be treated to improve the quality of — and possibly extend — life.” According to Dr. Spiegel’s research, the positive effects of therapy cannot always extend a patient’s life span, but they can result in increased quality of life.

This kind of research could be especially useful in severe forms of cancer where high pain levels and short life expectancies are common. Lung cancers have been associated with “greater morbidity and higher levels of psychological distress than any other form,” according to an Australian study.

Cancers that come from environmental factors — think tobacco smoke, tanning beds with UV radiation, and minerals like asbestos — can leave patients feeling angry that they are “at fault” for their diagnosis. An evaluation of a palliative care program for mesothelioma patients, a cancer caused by asbestos, found high levels of emotional difficulties like shock of diagnosis, anxiety and depression, anger towards employers who did not alert them to the hazards of asbestos, and stress of resulting lawsuits.

michael-browning-246513-unsplashPalliative care refers to care programs that focus on relieving cancer symptoms. Mental health is becoming an important part of these plans, not only for a patient’s mental wellbeing, but also for the chances of life extension. The study, from the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, found that leaving these issues unaddressed can lead to lasting mental health issues that decrease quality of life.

Incorporating psychological resources into care programs for all kinds of cancer could have incredible effects. A 2017 paper outlines some of the hurdles to correctly treating depression in cancer patients: “Cancer care professionals tend to confuse clinical depression or anxiety disorders with normal sadness and preoccupation, with the mistaken belief that ‘it is normal to feel sad or anxious because of cancer.’” As a result, 30-40 percent of cancer patients experience undiagnosed psychological issues.

Hopefully this changes with the recent renaissance in recognizing mental health issues as legitimate conditions. Research from Psychology Today has found that cancer patients are almost twice as likely to commit suicide than the general population, 25% more likely to experience depression, and 42% more likely to have anxiety disorders. Psychological care needs to be a component of all stages of cancer care, from diagnosis to treatment and either follow-up or end-of-life care.

Do you think that mental health treatment should be incorporated into cancer treatment? Why do you think mental health care hasn’t historically been a priority in cancer treatment? Do you have any experiences that you’re comfortable with sharing?

Special thanks to Sarah Wolverton for the article. Sarah Wolverton is a Communications Specialist at Mesothelioma.com, the foremost source of asbestos and mesothelioma cancer information. Sarah delves into the world of cancer and consumer health in her work and advocates for a full asbestos ban. 

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The Act of Smiling

June 3, 2019 in Be Positive

caju-gomes-500579-unsplashYou might have heard the phrase that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. The amount of muscles that it takes is up for debate (some places say it takes 13 to smile and 33 to frown, some say 22 to smile and 37 to frown) and it’s not really a fact – it hasn’t even been proven to be true – but the mentality remains: it’s better to smile than it is to frown, and takes less effort.

Happiness itself isn’t a choice; mental illness can make it difficult to feel positive and happy, but just the act of smiling can make a difference. Just like deep breathing or going for a walk, this action sends messages to your brain to help lift up your mood. Laughing also has the same effect, but sometimes that can feel like too much effort at times (after all, forcing laughter can feel so awkward). Choosing to smile and making yourself lift the corners of your mouth upwards activates the release of hormones like dopamine and endorphins, which can make you feel better and combat stress.

emoticon-2120024_1920Then of course, there’s the common belief that smiling is also contagious. This goes both ways: by smiling, you might inspire someone around you, whether you know them or not, to feel a little happier and smile themselves, or you can surround yourself with people who have a smiley disposition and feel the effects of being around that.

It might seem silly to try smiling at nothing, but it can be a boost of energy and positivity by using just a few muscles (13, or 22, or whatever number it is depending on who you ask).

Have you ever tried smiling without any reason? What do you think of the idea? What makes you smile?

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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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