SOVA Blog

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Do You Hold a Stigma on Mental Health?

October 5, 2018 in LINKS

The stigma that people can hold isn’t a new topic by any means when discussing mental health, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the stigma is still harmful. Though the conversation about mental health has become more open, whether it be from celebrities opening up about their experiences or the variety of apps to use as an outlet, it can still be terrifying for people to be honest about their own mental health.

In one study, 46% of adolescents felt that their parents held a stigma about their mental health, 62% felt the same with their peers, and over a third felt that their teachers held a stigma as well. The stigma felt by others based upon what they think mental health is like is known as social stigma. This can come from misinformation, a poor portrayal of mental illness in the media, or simply ignorance.

However, stigma isn’t limited to those who don’t have a mental illness and don’t understand what it’s like. Stigma can also be classified as self-stigma, or the internalized feelings people can face because of how mental health is presented and discussed by others. People may put down how they’re feeling, thinking that they’re using their mental illness as an excuse or that they’re being dramatic. They may also feel that what they’re going through makes them different, afraid that something is wrong with them that’ll change how people see them if they open up.

In an effort to help those recognize and reflect about the stigma they hold, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has come up with a quick, three question quiz about how you view mental illness. After answering the questions and giving your demographic, the quiz tells you if you hold a stigma, you don’t, or that you may hold stigma. Whatever your answer may be, NAMI offers resources to learn more about mental illness, such as the correct answers to the quiz or ways you can offer support.

Take the quiz here.

Did you take the quiz? Did you get the results that you were expecting? In what ways do you think people can reduce their stigma on mental health?

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Some Social Media Stats

October 4, 2018 in Social Media Guide

gui-2311261_1280It’s almost pointless to constantly discuss the effect that social media has on our interactions and communication without having the information to back it up. There are almost always surveys and polls released to see how people, adolescents in particular, are using social media and the effect it has on them. We’ve taken a couple of recent ones to see what the most up-to-date statistics say (but for all we know, there may be something completely new – after all, trends are always changing!).

Most Popular This easily goes to Snapchat. Maybe it’s the variety of filters that are constantly cycling or getting to consume news stories in under a minute, but 44%, almost half of teenagers say that their primary social network is Snapchat.
Biggest Decline Facebook has plummeted in use among teenagers, with only about 15% saying that they use it as their primary social network. Ironically, this is the only demographic where Facebook has suffered, reportedly the most popular with every other one except teenagers. Maybe this is the exact reason that Facebook isn’t popular anymore with those who are younger, since their parents, relatives, and even grandparents are all using it too.
Smartphone Usage Nearly all teenagers today have a smartphone – nine out of ten to be exact. The study facebook-1602262_1280notes that when this was last conducted six years ago, the number was less than half at 41%.
Communication Though not by a lot, 35% of teenagers prefer to text their friends, while 32% would rather do so in person. This could be mostly out of convenience – as the previous statistic shows, nearly all teenagers have a smartphone (and those who don’t probably have their own cell phone), but we aren’t physically around our friends all the time. Thanks to technology, we can share stories, ideas, or even a meme we come across instantly instead of waiting.

But what about the effects? We talked about loneliness and teenagers in yesterday’s post. In it, we discussed how social media can be a factor, but isn’t seen by teenagers as a major one. These statistics seem to prove this point, with about 40% of teenagers saying that using social media makes them feel less lonely, and only 13% saying that it makes them lonelier. Perhaps this is because social media is just that, social, and even though it’s not face-to-face, you’re most likely to be interacting with someone directly at some point.

Teenagers generally feel that using social media has no effect on depression, with nearly 60% saying that itStockSnap_99XL24JKQTmakes no difference in how depressed they feel. There may be several reasons for this, but something to consider is that social media is so present in our daily lives that using it almost feels like breathing. We don’t think it has any effect on us, simply because we’re so used to it.

However, this shouldn’t suggest that all adolescents have a constantly positive experience with social media. Those who measured lower on a social-emotional wellbeing scale are more likely to feel left out when using social media, and 43% feel bad if their posts don’t get any attention. The fact that more than 60% of teenagers say that they often come across racist, sexist, or homophobic content probably doesn’t help make the experience that much better either.

A final thing to note? It’s not just this generation that spends a lot of time on social media. A third of teenagers wish that their parents spent less time using their devices as well.

What are your preferred social media apps and sites? Do you think that you fit in with these findings or statistics? Why do you think that Snapchat is the most popular?

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Exploring the Causes of Loneliness

October 3, 2018 in Educate Yourself

StockSnap_IC2UDAUNFFAt a first glance, it can be difficult to tell the difference between wanting to be alone versus loneliness. When we spend a long time in the company of others, we may need some time by ourselves to recharge (this is a defining trait for introverts, but isn’t just limited to them). By being alone, we can do whatever we want without judgment, nor do we have to feel compelled to encourage and continue a conversation.

Loneliness, however, has a darker definition. While choosing to be alone can feel necessary and at times therapeutic, loneliness lacks having that choice. For whatever reason, loneliness means that the option to socialize isn’t even there, and it comes with feeling that there is no one there for you, when it’s something you may want the most.

 Studies recently have shown that there has been a spike in the number of adolescents who feel lonely, with American young adults being more likely to feel isolated compared to senior citizens. The same article reflecting on the the study makes a note that isolation can lead to stress, which can cause a biological response, and in its most extreme cases, can lead to an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes.

There can be a number of reasons as to why adolescents feel lonely, especially in recent years. Some may be StockSnap_BGYDI1LQY7quick to assume that social media is a major reason as to why teenagers feel so alone, from FOMO to the lack of face-to-face interaction, but an interview with British teenagers about the topic say that it’s more than that. In fact, they explain that it may have to do with the perception of the current generation in the eyes of older ones. Teenagers can often feel belittled by their elders and have their problems dismissed, and constant rejection due to the pressure to meet increased standards may have adolescents feel like they are not wanted and have no worth.

Teenagers also explain that they feel that their parents don’t really have an interest in how they’re feeling, and therefore are driving them further away. While this goes against the stereotype that parents are too in-your-face to teenagers, that same stereotype may cause parents to want to do the opposite, having them play less of a role. And while individuality is an important part of adolescence, with teenagers using the time to find out who they are without the help of anyone else, it’s still important that there is some sort of support during the process.

Of course, the reasons for adolescent loneliness are not limited to these few reasons, but it is still significant that the number of adolescents feeling lonely has increased. Though overwhelming and draining, there are still ways to fight it.

What do you think are reasons as to why teenagers now are feeling lonelier than ever? What do you think can be done to combat loneliness?

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How to be Safe While Watching “13 Reasons Why”

October 2, 2018 in Educate Yourself

Trigger warning: suicide

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When the first season of the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” came out last year, it spurred more than half a million media stories, including coverage that attributed to the series a rise in suicides and suicidal ideation. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that internet searches about suicide increased after the first series’s release. JAMA also published a call for social responsibility and risk screening, prevention, and early intervention for suicide, which is now the second leading cause of death among young Americans.

In the wake of the first season, many worldwide experts in mental health, suicide prevention, and education expressed their concern about the series’s graphic depictions of mental illness and an apparent lack of resources inside the show’s content for viewers who may be triggered by this story material.

When Netflix announced they were planning a second season, the organization Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE) gathered a group of these experts to develop resources to help encourage positive responses to the series—in other words, a toolkit that helps young people, including those at risk and their friends who care about them but don’t know how to help, understand how to watch the series safely. You can look at the toolkit here.

SOVA talked to child and adolescent psychiatrist Sansea Jacobson M.D., a member of this team who works as assistant professor in the psychiatry department at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She also directs the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh.

Dr. Jacobson has spoken to many media outlets about the toolkit, including a cool interview in Teen Vogue. Below is a short Q&A that we hope will help you minimize your risk as you watch the series.

SOVA: What do you think of the resources that the Netflix show development team included in the second series?

Dr. Jacobson: They mean well. I think they believe they’re trying to provide a meaningful discussion of these issues. Netflix included some disclaimers and trigger-warnings to the second series. But does anyone really read disclaimers?

One thing Netflix did differently that was productive was in response to a Northwestern University study that asked teens and young adults and parents what they wanted to see in the second series. These groups said they wanted to see the actors come out of character and acknowledge the raw content, and give resources for mental health. So that’s why at the end of several of the episodes you see the actors sitting in groups talking about how they portrayed these issues.

There is also more mental health information interwoven into the plot—in the first episode the series defines “safety plan” and “sexual consent.” The characters also say they’ve been to mental health providers, which can be helpful for teens to hear because it counters stigma.

SOVA: What do you think about how the series portrays the teen characters’ ability to get help for their mental health difficulties?

Dr. Jacobson: The Centers for Disease Control recently issued a report that shows a gradual uptick in the youth suicide rate, including a 25 percent rate increase of suicide across all ages since 1999. And concerningly, teen girls risk of suicide has doubled in the last decade. We have to ask, what is going on with our culture now that kids who weren’t at risk now are? And how do we get kids who are worried about other kids’ mental health to reach out to adults and not just to other kids?

A lot of people might assume that it’s important to deliver the message that kids should always ask their parents for help when they have problems. But much of what this series tries to depict is a very real and important process of human development called “individuation.” During this life stage, teens are developing a more formal sense of self and thus will naturalistically attempt to solve day-to-day problems without their parents’ help. That said, youth need to know that when they are struggling with more serious issues, like suicidal thoughts, they need to fight against individuation, and confide in a trusted adult to get the help they need and deserve.

SOVA: Where can young viewers find more information about where to get help?

Dr. Jacobson: Go to the website that has the “13 Reasons Why” Toolkit. We have international experts sharing resources, including links, of course, about suicide, but also about bullying, cyberbullying, substance use, school violence, and healthy sexual behavior.

Have you seen the second season of 13 Reasons Why? If so, do you think that they did a better job in accommodating to audiences? What do you think TV shows and movies can do to discuss these issues while also being sensitive?

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Making Opening a New Tab an Activity

September 28, 2018 in LINKS

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Realistically, we spend a lot of time on the internet. While part of that time is spent on the phone, we’re usually glued to our computers and laptops in some way. Whether that be for doing research for school, googling something for work, or just having a place to watch videos, taking quizzes, or talking to friends online, the internet is as present in our lives as breathing, and it’s easy to end up spending hours on it.

Using the internet often means a buildup of tabs, and you can suddenly find yourself drowning in multitudes of them that you don’t even remember opening. For those who use Google Chrome, there are a number of browser extensions available to add to the internet experience. While some of these can include organizing tabs (and therefore make things a little less clustered and stressful), there are also many that can make opening a new tab something to look forward to doing. Browser extensions to change a new tab’s appearance not only take a break from the dull grey look, but some are purposefully created for stress relief and to briefly ease the mind. It can be a nice surprise when you need to open a new tab in the middle of a long study session, or even serve as a reminder to take a brief pause after spending hours online without a break.

The kinds of extensions are endless, but here are a few that are specifically made to help with stress relief and mental health:

Joy Trigger: This extension features GIFs of cute animals, accompanied with quick tips. What’s better than a reminder to take a quick stretch over a gif of a puppy who is also stretching?

Tabby Cat: While not necessarily for mental health, Tabby Cat follows the animal theme and provides cute animated cats, all differently named and themed, simply being cute each time they show up. They’re almost always smiling, which can of course be contagious.

Delight: By featuring timelapsed videos of nature around the world, this extension is incredibly calming. Think of it like a nature documentary without the music or commentary, but with the same lulling and sleep inducing effect. The imagery is gorgeous, and it’s also a reminder that even when things are tough, the world keeps moving.StockSnap_TB2R3H1H7O

Calm: If you find yourself mindlessly cycling through websites, this tab extension almost serves as a blacklist. However, instead of completely blocking you from the website, you’ll be redirected to a page with a bubble, reminding you to take a breath before proceeding. Here, you can take a moment to decide if you really do want to visit the site again, or even prepare yourself if you know it’s something that will stress you out.

Do you use tab extensions? Do you think that they’d be useful? What other kinds of tab extensions do you think would help with stress relief?

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The Right to Vote

September 27, 2018 in Social Media Guide

usa-1149896_1280Politics have become a part of everyday conversation, as naturally brought up as the weather or celebrity gossip. The is especially true for the latter, as politics are almost one in the same with celebrity news. After 2016, the amount of activism and speaking up from entertainers has significantly increased, especially so in the last few weeks. If you were scrolling on your feeds this Tuesday, you may have noticed a few posts and stories about how it was National Voter Registration Day, and while anyone can register whenever, so long as it’s before the deadline, Tuesday specifically was meant to raise awareness on the topic.

Social media is one of the most accessible resources when it comes to learning about the issues (of course, like all resources, it’s important to be aware of biases), and these websites have become increasingly aware of it, particularly since this is such an important election year. Tuesday had Snapchat begin to feature a link to vote on profiles (if you’re over 18), a voter registration filter, and a story about elections that can have people register if they swipe up. Sports teams that have their own apps now have an option to direct users to register to vote, and Twitter began their own campaign on Tuesday with a prompt to encourage users to register.

elections-536656_640And as the discussion about mental health has increased, so has its role in elections. There’s the obvious toll that elections can take on one’s mental health. The 2016 election nearly two years ago caused a phenomenon known as “Post-Election Stress Disorder” due to the stressful environment. There was an increase in primary care visits in the weeks before and after November 8th for depression, and anxiety increased due to a number of reasons. This ranged from the fear of voicing their opinions and arguing, to the worry of what would happen to their everyday lives depending on who was elected.

However, elections can have a direct impact on how mental health is treated. Several states either have ballots addressing mental health treatment and determining whether they should fund programs, or candidates who run on a platform to make treatment more accessible.

These are all things to keep in mind as you scroll through your feeds and encounter the increase of posts urging for a stronger voting turnout, especially in young voters. If you’re at least 18, haven’t registered, or want to learn more, you can do so at:
https://nationalvoterregistrationday.org/
https://www.eighteenx18.com/

If you’re at least 18, have you registered to vote? How do you think the elections play a role in mental health? How do you feel about celebrities using social media to raise awareness about voting? If you’re under 18, what do you think you can do to help raise registration awareness?

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Bullet Journaling Beyond Organization

September 25, 2018 in Educate Yourself

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In the past few years, using a bullet journal in lieu of a planner has boomed in popularity, particularly among adolescents. This is partly due to social media sites such as Instagram, tumblr, and YouTube (often found under the #bujo hashtag), where people can turn to for ideas and where to start, if not an aesthetic to hopefully achieve. They’re colorful, creative, and an opportunity for people to have their journal truly be a reflection of them. However, though it is mostly used as a means of writing down homework assignments, future goals and tasks, and an organized place to jot down ideas and sketch, more people are finding that it can be used as an aide with their mental health.

While journaling in itself is often associated with stress relief and mental health, free writing what goes on in your head, bullet journaling takes a slightly different approach. Bullet journaling is ultimately used as a tool for organization, and having a place for decluttering your mind can help ease your anxiety. Once your tasks and assignments are laid out in a way that feels achievable, it can give a sense of comfort and security.

idea-2924175_1280Bullet journaling can also be used as a habit tracker. Here, you can list what you did that day, from the mundane as coffee intake to the accomplishments such as working out. In conjunction, you can also have a section for a mood tracker for the day, making a note about how you’ve felt that day, maybe on a scale from 1-10, maybe with a simple smiley or frowny face. You can use either or both to detect patterns in your behavior or mood, possibly finding out if anything is specifically triggering your anxiety or depression.

Of course, as a journal, it can also be used as a place to write down how you’re feeling that day, and a private space to let your thoughts run free. You can also use it to sketch or even doodle, where you can use the space to keep your hands busy doing something if you find yourself getting anxious.Set of highlight marker pens

Bullet journaling is meant to be used as a journal without restrictions, giving the user the freedom to use it for whatever they want and need. While the options of what you choose to use it for are limitless, there are just as many ways that it can help with your mental health. Whether that is through an intentional mood tracking chart or unintentional relief with planning out important dates and due dates, starting a bullet journal can be a tool that you can incorporate in your daily routine. It’s important to keep in mind however that it may not be for everyone, and if you feel pressured to upkeep a journal, whether bullet or otherwise, you don’t have to continue.

Interested? Check out the social media links above or the ones below if you want a place to get started:

https://bulletjournal.com/pages/learn
https://www.buzzfeed.com/annaborges/all-the-bullet-journal-ideas
https://medium.com/@melodywilding/bullet-journaling-for-beginners-and-impatient-unartistic-people-like-me-6efd7ee97f0e

Do you bullet journal? Would you consider bullet journaling? What do you think are the benefits of having one?

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Listening to Ambient Noise

September 21, 2018 in LINKS

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Sitting in silence can be mortifying, but sometimes, listening to music isn’t that much of a help either – even though it can improve how we feel, sometimes it’s too loud and distracting. White noise can be the best options in this kind of situation; it’s an ever-present noise, but nowhere near loud to the point that it becomes overwhelming.

White noise is a kind of ambient noise, which, in short, is any sort of background noise. While white noise tends to sound more like static, ambient noise can also include the sounds of waves, rain, summertime crickets, or the conversations of people around you that you don’t particularly care to eavesdrop into. Ambient noise is kind of a reassuring, ever-present comfort, there to remind you that you aren’t completely alone, but gives you the space you need at the same time.

A Soft Murmur

A Soft Murmur

Whether it’s to concentrate on a task at hand or to calm yourself down during a particularly anxious and tense time, there are many places to find ambient noise to play on your computer or phone (Spotify has a number of playlists under the Sleep and Focus genres if you need a place to start, and YouTube has an infinite number of hour-long videos). However, for a more interactive experience, A Soft Murmur (a website and an app) allows you to adjust different kinds of ambient noise for a personalized noise that’s just for you. There are ten categories, ranging from rain to coffee shops to a singing bowl, all with different volume controls so some can be louder than others.

Here, you can pretend you’re on a beach, the sound of waves around you with the cackling noises of a bonfire nearby. You can recreate being in a coffee shop during a thunderstorm, people’s voices around you drowning out the rumblings of the thunder. You can also have some fun and find out what a singing bowl is, blasting it amongst the sounds of rain, birds, white noise, and crickets all at once. Whatever it is, the website not only gives you what you want to listen to to relax, but also the control that we sometimes need to feel.

Would you consider listening to ambient noise if you don’t already? Would you enjoy having the ability to play DJ and control what kind of noise you listen to?

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The Art and Harm of Subtweeting

September 20, 2018 in Social Media Guide

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The art of subtweeting isn’t a particularly difficult one. It involves posting something on social media (usually Twitter) that’s most likely negative, most likely about someone you know, but always indirect. No names are mentioned, no handles are included, and the post is passive-aggressive, rarely specific, but hints that someone has offended the original poster. Think things like “I hope you remember what you did,” “Lol. Pathetic,” or maybe even “God, can you stop subtweeting?” Subtweets are supposed to vague, and once it’s out there, a mystery begins, where everyone who sees it begins to scramble and find out who the person is talking about.

Although subtweeting has become a common way of communicating on social media, this doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have its negative effects. Because of the mystery that surrounds it, it can cause anyone who’s looking at the post to worry that it’s them for even the briefest of seconds, even if they don’t have any direct relationship with the original poster. And then there are the people who actually know the original poster with an actual reason to be concerned that the post is about them. Subtweeting can cause guilt, increase anxiety, and make the audience feel that they’ve done something wrong, even if they don’t know the person in the first place. Though it isn’t direct, subtweeting can be classified as a form of cyberbullying, and can snowball into larger fights. People who think the post is about them can jump in, the original poster can eventually start getting specific, and the feed can become toxic.

However, people don’t think highly of those who subtweet, despite its frequency. A study has revealed that those who were shown a series of different kinds of tweets had a bad impression of the ones that were classified as subtweets. According to the study, this mostly stems from the fact that the content itself is hateful and that the vagueness is considered to be rude.

While it can feel cathartic at first, expressing on social media that someone has upset you without calling them out, the implications of it, both on you, the person, and your followers, can be negative. Overall, it’s best to avoid the drama on social media, and if someone has upset you, it may be better to speak to them personally.

What do you think of subtweets? Do you see them frequently on your feeds? Have you ever subtweeted?

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Can Schools Help Recognize Mental Health Illness Symptoms?

September 19, 2018 in Educate Yourself

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Yesterday’s post discussed the worrying lack of resources available for communities when it comes to treating adolescent mental health. The question is thus asked: is there any way that these communities can still help? An important part of mental health treatment is identifying the illness in the first place and intervening early on, helping address it before it can worsen.

We pointed out yesterday that schools are one of the most important places to include some sort of resource to help with adolescent mental health, as it is incredibly accessible and one of the places where youths spend most of their time. Several schools are starting to take a note of this, and those who can are starting to include free trainings for adults to not only detect symptoms of illnesses like depression and anxiety in adolescents, but how to help care for them and respond in a crisis. Trainings like these have started to pop up nationwide, from Indianapolis, Indiana to South Boston, Virginia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The most common trainings used stem from the Mental Health First Aid program, a one day, 8 hour session that has been used by over a million people in the United States.

Y2AHVPYB51There are benefits in screening and identifying mental health problems in children and adolescents early on. Doing so can allow for programs and treatments to help lessen any of the effects that come with depression and anxiety, especially those that can build up and become more severe. Introducing these programs can also reduce the stigma associated with mental health. Schools using these trainings in particular can help you realize that the place where you spend most of your time sees how you’re feeling and tells you that it’s acknowledged and valid. This also helps to make an environment that causes a lot of stress make it a little less so.

While it can be a privilege to be able to access the trainings, this still shows that some steps are being taken to help recognize that adolescents may be going through more than just puberty. Having adults, especially those in schools, train to detect symptoms with mental health illnesses can be an almost necessary first step.

Do you think that these sorts of early detection trainings are something that should be obligatory for those who work in schools? Who else do you think can benefit from learning how to detect symptoms of mental health illnesses?

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