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Reel Teens Pittsburgh Town Hall: Continuing the Conversation

November 10, 2017 in Educate Yourself

IMG_6907[1]Yesterday, on the blog, we featured the Reel Teens Pittsburgh Facebook Live Town Hall Event.  And, as we mentioned, over the next week to help continue the conversation, we’ll be featuring articles that answer some of the questions that came up during the Town Hall. If you haven’t yet, make sure you register for our site so that you can log-in and comment. Registering is essential in helping us keep the site safe and free from bullying.

One of the questions submitted to the panel was:

“What happens during a mental health counseling appointment? I think I’m maybe depression, but am nervous to go see a counselor.”

First, you’re not alone and the nerves you’re feeling are not wrong. In fact, they’re expected, especially if it is your first time. Many people experience hesitation before starting therapy, and for this reason, we wrote a blog post about what to expect on your first day of therapy. There are many reasons why someone might be nervous, fearful or cautious when seeing a therapist. However, it is important to seek help if you’re struggling with depression. You can also see a therapist for any other reason or goal you want to achieve!

If you don’t know where to start, sometimes the best first step can be to either go to your school counselor or make an appointment to see your primary care doctor (the person you see for your physicals). They both can ask you some questions to help figure out if you are depressed. If they think it would helpful for you to see a therapist, then the first counseling appointment is basically coming in for about an hour and telling them about yourself and some of your symptoms. From then your therapist can help you decide whether it would be a good idea for you to keep coming back for more appointments. It can be helpful to think of this process as a way of getting more information. Remember, no one can make you do something you don’t want to do.

Lastly, if you need someone to talk to, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) anytime if you are in the United States. It’s free and confidential. Find more resources on our crisis page by clicking here.

Have you had a similar experience when considering or starting therapy? Do you have any helpful advice you’d like to share? If you have any more questions or comments about the subject of today’s blog post or another topic, please let us know! We’d love to hear from you!

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The Environment and Depression

November 8, 2017 in Educate Yourself

EnvironmentWhen you read an article about depression, it might mention that “environmental factors” can influence whether someone has depression. But what does that mean exactly?

The environment is everything around you. It can include: where you live, work, and play and who and what is around you. Everyone lives in the same world – but what’s around us is different.

Think about your environment and how it might be different from someone else.

Ask yourself:

  • Where did you grow up? Was it a small town? A big city? Was it safe?
  • What is your family like? Were there a lot of changes in your family? Was your family supportive?
  • What were the people around your age like? Did you consider any of them good friends who you could trust and were there for you? Did any of them pick on you?
  • Did you have access to resources to meet your daily needs?  Like somewhere to sleep? Something to eat? Someone to help you financially? Someone to take you to the places you needed to go like school or the doctor? Someone who would listen to you and be there for you when you needed it?
  • What did you think about the world around you? Do you know people from different cultures, races, religions, parts of the world? Or only people like you? Do you listen to certain news outlets or certain types of media?

Answering all of these questions helps describe your environment. And how it can be very different from one person to the next – and from one time in your life to the next.

Sometimes when you are young, there might be parts of your environment that affect your mood and how you deal with life. Often, it can also be hard to change some parts of your environment- like where you live and who supports you financially. When you have depression – and sometimes as you get better with treatment – you find your environment can also change. For example, if you were hanging out with friends who weren’t nice to you, you might be able to build up the confidence to stop hanging around them – and that will help you feel better. As you get older, you sometimes become less dependent on others and can change parts you don’t like.

If you feel like something about your environment is harming you now – like you are being bullied, you don’t have enough food or clothes, or you can’t find a safe and supportive place to be – talk to a trusting adult about it. There are people and agencies who can help you make some changes today.

Some of them include:

If you are interested in reading more about the science behind how environment influences depression, click here for a really neat world health organization report.

Do you sometimes feel that your environment affects your mood? Have you been able to make changes to your environment that have helped? If you feel comfortable, please share with us below!

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Screening Tools

November 2, 2017 in Educate Yourself

Have you ever gone to your doctor for a routine physical and while you waited you were asked to complete some surveys? Did these surveys ever containing sensitive questions?

If this has happened to you, you most likely completed a screening questionnaire. A screening tool, such as the PHQ-9 (or patient health questionnaire) asks a series of questions that have been shown in the research to help identify when an individual might be experiencing symptoms of a health condition, like depression or anxiety. Then at the end all the responses are totaled for a final score, which helps interpret the symptoms. PHQ9 (2)

It’s important to know that while screening is very useful, it’s only a starting point. These tools can help initiate a conversation with your doctor or with someone you trust. Screening tools cannot be used to make a diagnosis, but rather let your doctor know to ask additional questions. Only by talking to a professional, and usually more than just one time, can you figure out if you have a mental health condition.

Also, the results from a screening tool will only be helpful if you answer the questions honestly.  Read through the questionnaire slowly and pay special attention to the specified time period to which the questions refer.  Sometimes it can be difficult to talk to your doctor about some of these signs and symptoms, perhaps because of the stigma about mental illnesses.  Therefore, it is helpful to remember that many of your symptoms can be treated, especially when identified early. Mental illnesses have specific signs and symptoms, and when left alone, symptoms can become more serious. Mental health checkups are just as important as a physical checkup.

You can also screen yourself by taking a screening tool online (click here for the screening tool in Spanish). This can be a great starting point for you to assess and educate yourself about the symptoms you are experiencing. Then you can discuss any concerns with a professional, like your primary care physician or school counselor.

Lastly, we often only go to the doctor when we are not physically feeling our best.  For example, if we are tired (or have a lack of energy) or have changes in our diet, or our bodies ache, we are more likely to go to the doctor. We do not necessarily seek out an appointment with our physician for our mental health.  However, some of the physical symptoms that make us schedule a doctor’s visit, can be symptoms of depression or anxiety (or another condition).  For more information, please talk to a professional about screening tools.

Have you ever taken a screening questionnaire at your doctor’s office or on your own?  If you’re comfortable, we would love to hear your experience or if you have any questions about the subject’s of today’s post.  Leave us a comment below!

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Advocacy through Social Media

October 26, 2017 in Social Media Guide

AdvocateSocial media is a tool that has great potential.  Social media has the potential to connect people from all over the world to create communities of like-minded people.  One of the most positive ways that social media has impacted our everyday life is through advocacy.  Advocacy is defined by Merriam Webster as “the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal.”  Social media can be used as an advocacy tool, and recently has been used to advocate for mental health.  Social media accounts such as mentalhealthamerica, namicommunicate, and project1in4 are bringing mental health awareness to a larger audience through their Instagram accounts.  Mental health advocacy through social media can be done by providing supportive resources, giving contact information for hotlines and mental health professionals, or even something as simple as offering daily words of encouragement.  Various social media accounts are devoted to breaking the stigma that exists around mental health.  Starting a dialogue about mental health is the first step to both breaking the stigma and making mental health a priority for everyone.

Here are examples of some Instagram accounts working towards improving mental health:

Other accounts we like are @brenebrown, @wearyourlabel and @makedaisychains

What are other mental health advocacy groups (or individuals) that you follow on social media?  We would love to make a list of them in the comments section below!

 

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The Happiest Country in the World

October 23, 2017 in Be Positive

According to the latest World Happiness Report, Norway is the world’s happiest country.  The report measures many different things to calculate “happiness.”  Some of the measurements include:

Photo Credit: Enokson Flickr via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: Enokson Flickr via Compfight cc

  • Generosity
  • Healthy life expectancy
  • Perceived freedom
  • Having someone to count on
  • Money (or gross national product)
  • Happiness in the workplace

Another incredible country is Bhutan.  This small country located in South Asia has GNH – or gross national happiness.  GNH measures an individual’s quality of life and tries to find a balance between materials and spirituality.  And Bhutan isn’t alone.    Some cities and towns in the United States and abroad have started their own “happiness initiatives” to find out if people living in a certain area are satisfied.

Read these articles to find out more about the World’s Happiest Countries and Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness.  Also, checkout these happiness tools.

Where do you think the United States and other countries ranked?  Any thoughts on Bhutan’s GNH or the happiness tools?  We’d love to hear from you!      

 

 

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The Practice of Positivity

October 16, 2017 in Be Positive

Positive

An article by Huffington Post introduced seven different mantras that are helpful in trying to practice positivity:

1. Guide Your Energy

“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.” — Muhammad Ali

2. Connect with Ourselves

The better we understand the nature of the world, the better we can move in the world. The better we understand the nature of ourselves, the better we can move within ourselves.

3. Practice Visualization

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”— Buddha

4. Slow Down To Move Forward

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves — slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

5. Read, Write, Watch

“Don’t waste time waiting for inspiration. Begin, and inspiration will find you.” — H. Jackson Brown Jr.

6. Be Kind To Yourself

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” —  Dalai Lama

7. Develop Resiliency

“In the end, if you are lucky, you see that our trials are what improve us. And if you are very lucky and somewhat insightful, you see that whatever your trial has been, it is exactly what you needed. Our trials make us who we are.” — Michael Morton

Do you have your own mantra?  Do you practice positivity?  We would love to hear from you in the comments section below!

 

 

 

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That’s not cool

October 5, 2017 in Social Media Guide

ThatsnotcoolHave you ever seen a social media post that you found to be hurtful, offensive, or just… not cool?  Here are ready-to-use images that you can post as a reply from thatsnotcool.com.  There are also other “call out cards” that you can send if someone is messaging you, calling you, texting you, or emailing you too much.

Would you use these “call out cards”? Let us know in the comments! 

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Links to Useful Websites

September 29, 2017 in LINKS

LinksHere are some useful links to try! We’ve written about some of these on the site. If you have any other that aren’t on the list – let us know.

National Alliance of Mental Illness: What families need to know about Adolescent Depression 

Extensive list of links and resources from the STAR Center (one of the five National Technical Assistance Centers funded by SAMHSA to support mental health systems transformation)

A neat way to track mood by daily text message

A search and rating system for web resources for mental health

An online community for young adults with mental illness from NAMI

ReachOut is a website which provides facts about different mental illnesses, a forum to connect with other young people, and stories about other young people’s experiences with mental illness.

Mental Health Initiatives from the American Academy of Pediatrics

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Information for Families and Youth

Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Fact Sheets

An organization about ending stigma

Do you have any helpful links you want to share with others? Let us know in the comments!

 

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What to do if you are cyberbullied?

September 28, 2017 in Social Media Guide

Adults are not the only ones who can take action against cyberbullying or communicating false, embarrassing, or hostile information online.  Together, adolescents with adults can do something.

No HateHowever, first it is important to note ssome differences between bullying and cyberbullying.  Cyberbullying:

  • can occur at any time
  • has a larger audience and can lead to more embarrassment
  • is harder to delete

Unfortunately, cyberbullying is very common.

Read the rest of this entry →

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Sleep Cycle

September 22, 2017 in LINKS

IMG_6620[1]As a college student who suffered from insomnia, it has been a tough fight for me to show up and pay attention in class. I tried all of the resources that my school offered: I went to counseling, I met with a psychiatrist, I took prescribed medication. However, most of the time the medication I was taking was too sedating.  It left me feeling groggy and I had trouble concentrating. There was one thing, though, that every doctor I saw has emphasized: practicing good sleep hygiene. If you are able to practice sleep hygiene, it is definitely essential to helping improve your sleep habits, as well as sleep quality. Check out our article on sleep hygiene for more information.

However, it is extremely difficult for a college student to go to bed at a routine time and almost impossible to not use his or her phone and laptop before sleep. So I tried to find another way to help myself. I started using this smartphone app: “Sleep Cycle”. Every night before I go to bed, I set up the time range that I would like to be woken up the next day. The app detects your movements and breathing sounds to determine when you fall asleep. It then measures your sleep cycle and wakes you up within the time range you set, but it times waking you Sleep Cycleup when a sleep cycle or half of it is complete. I find by using the app, I start my day more refreshed and energetic.

Another cool thing about the app is it gives you charts showing statistics of your sleep, so you know when you were in a deep sleep during the period.

Note: We do not specifically endorse this app and we do not know of any research showing it helps with sleep but we don’t know of any harmful effects of it and could be something to try, if you wish.

Have you ever had trouble sleeping? Were you able to develop better sleep hygiene? If you decide to check this app out let us know if it helps!

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