SOVA Blog

by Moderator ★

Should I Send It?

April 20, 2017 in Social Media Guide

We’ve already blogged about what it means to be in a respectful relationship, but now we want to tackle a more specific topic: Sexting. Sexting can seem harmless, especially when it is happening between two people in an exclusive relationship. But sexting in any situation can have extreme consequences. Watch these two short videos to get an idea.

As you can see, there is no way to know what will happen once you press send. Think before you send a picture that could get into the wrong hands.

Just as important as knowing the consequences of sexting is recognizing when your partner is disrespecting you. A major form of disrespect is when your partner pressures you to do anything you don’t want to. That means physically, emotionally, or through the use of technology. A partner may try to manipulate you into sending a picture to them by complimenting you or assuring you they won’t share it, but once that picture is sent, there is no getting it back. Even a semi-nude picture or explicit text can be considered child pornography if the person is under 18, and the receiver or sender could face criminal charges, according to Dosomething.org. Remember, your self worth is not measured by your body, and your body is not something that should be able to be seen by anyone.

For more information on Sexting, Respect, or Pressure to be involved in sexting, visit:

Love is Respect and Do Something

Have you ever been pressured to share something you didn’t want to? How did you handle the situation? Share below.

Tags: , , , , Comments Off on Should I Send It?

by Moderator ★

Goodbye, Headclutcher

April 19, 2017 in Educate Yourself

Have you thought about how seeing an image can change the way you feel about something? Maybe you hate a certain fast food chain but they post a new sandwich that looks amazing and it changes your mind.  Pictures are powerful.  For people who live with mental illness, sometimes the pictures people post make it seem like life just sucks all the time. But that’s not true. People with mental illness are all around us and they look like anyone – smiling or not smiling – and usually they are not clutching their head.

Recently there was a great article on Buzzfeed talking about the Time to Change Get the Picture campaign.  This campaign is trying to educate media to not use stigmatizing pictures of people clutching their head when they are writing about mental illness. Check out the video below to see why they are doing what they do:

 

https://youtu.be/6u8ZGu5ZqFA?list=PLW8cG1kJhcvcYRWoaaGwSjRyYSKaSq1jB

Do you feel like you’ve seen negative pictures about people with mental illness in the media? How did it make you feel? Share with us below!

(feature image from thinkstock)

Tags: , Comments Off on Goodbye, Headclutcher

by Moderator ★

Device Addiction

April 13, 2017 in Social Media Guide

4519581602_cb986fdc02_o

Photo Credit: Ron Wiecki via Compfight cc

Do you find yourself checking your phone every five minutes? Checking before you fall asleep at night? Cuddling your phone as you fall asleep? Here are some tips to get away from device addiction:

  • Keep a list of things to “google later”. Ask yourself, do you need to google something immediately or can it wait until later?
  • Turn off noise! Keep your phone quiet of any notifications so you don’t feel the need to check it. This includes having your phone on vibrate! If you keep your phone on vibrate you may think that you keep hearing it, and then go in to check social media anyway.
  • Download a app to prevent your own phone use. This will help you monitor your own phone use.
  • Practice Mindfulness. Did you know that it has been shown that our phones distract us even when we aren’t using them? To combat this, practice mindfulness in your daily life. Look up some mindfulness apps such as Headspace to help!

Source: Common Sense Media

Do you struggle putting your phone away? Do you have any tips of your own? Let us know in the comments!

Tags: , , , , 5 Comments »

by Moderator ★

Is it just a phase?

April 12, 2017 in Educate Yourself

148654436_a09df8cb68_o

Photo Credit: @Jerrychan.Net via Compfight cc

So you might feel like things irritate you more than other people? And that sometimes you’d rather be alone and just not hang out with your friends. Aren’t people your age supposed to be moody? You are right – sometimes it can be tough to figure out whether or not you are depressed or its just a phase.

Check out the figure below.

One reason is that mood disorders like depression and bipolar (orange squares) don’t start showing up until you’re around 12 or 13. Issues with anxiety (yellow circles) show up much earlier – things like school phobia or being too scared or worried to go to school. Many kids with anxiety grow up and show signs of depression later on. Behavior problems (blue triangles) are kind of in the middle.

Lifespanmooddisorders

This is one reason why when you are younger – you might not necessarily be able to figure out whether you are someone who will always have problems with your mood or not. What can help is talking to your doctor and following up regularly so that they can give you that outside view on what is the best plan for you. Everyone is different – and even you are different one year to the next!

Click here to read our blogpost on anxiety. 

Click here to read more about the symptoms of depression.

Anything else you think is interesting about this chart? 

 

Tags: , , 1 Comment »

by Moderator ★

Interpersonal Therapy

April 11, 2017 in Educate Yourself

We don’t live our lives in a bubble. Whether we want to or not we have to live with each other and this can affect our day-to-day experiences.

Interpersonal therapy, or IPT, is a type of psychotherapy that has been shown to be effective for depression and anxiety in adolescents.

IPT helps us deal with our relationships with others. For adolescents important relationships include ones with parents, friends, and sometimes romantic partners. When you are depressed or anxious you might carry emotions that push you to communicate negatively with someone else. In turn that person communicates negatively with you and it can lead to problem, which often can end up making you feel worse. (Like snapping back at your mom, “Fine!” when she asks how school was on a day that didn’t go so well. She then gives you the silent treatment later that night when you try to tell her about a friend who is being distant. Now you’re even more frustrated – you can’t talk to your mom, you can’t talk to your friend. What’s going on?) This can go round and round in circles and may cause you to have even worse symptoms. IPT helps you learn skills to express your real emotions so that you can effectively communicate with someone else. It also teaches you to understand how your behavior can affect someone else.

1824908

Photo Credit: MartialArtsNomad.com via Compfight cc

You might have someone in your life who you feel like doesn’t listen or care or talk to you in the way you want. However, it’s important to realize how your actions affect that person too. Our emotions can build off of one another. IPT helps us identify what emotions we feel when we interact with someone and how these emotions affect our interactions. By recognizing what is going on we can make better decisions about how we want to communicate with each other. (Saying: “Hey mom – I’m sorry, but I need some alone time and then I’ll come back out and talk to you in 30 minutes. Thanks, I appreciate you asking though.”)

Have you tried IPT? How’d it go?

Tags: , , , , Comments Off on Interpersonal Therapy

by Moderator ★

Using Behavioral Methods to Manage Your Depression

April 7, 2017 in LINKS

Often times when a person is depressed they may feel tired, as well as have a lack of motivation and energy. These changes in mood often times lead a person who is depressed to not carry out their daily tasks, activities, and responsibilities. All of these responsibilities at home, school, or work can begin to pile up. This can cause you to feel overwhelmed, creating an increased feeling of guilt, uselessness, and failure. This can become a cycle that increases the depressed mood and further lowers motivation. Increasing your activity levels can help you to feel better, be less tired, and think more clearly. Positive experiences can help alleviate some of the depressed feelings and mood. 100_7053

The Behavioral Strategies for Managing Depression Module provides a list of 185 ideas about pleasurable activities that someone could do such as thinking about planning a day’s activities, exercising, or going ice skating, roller skating/blading. When you are feeling depressed, you have to plan fun and enjoyable activities into your life.  The module has a worksheet for you to follow to help you track your activities and rate your depression, pleasant feelings, and sense of achievement before and after the activity. It also has a weekly schedule to help plan out daily responsibilities and pleasurable activities.

You should start slow by adding just a few small activities a week.  Then slowly increase the amount of activities over time. It might seem hard in the beginning, however, setting reasonable goals for yourself is important so it won’t feel like too much too soon. Choosing to perform tasks that give you a sense of achievement or mastery will help you feel like you are starting to regain control over your life. Once you have a sense of achievement it may encourage you to do more.

What are some fun and pleasurable activities you do to help fight depression and increase your mood?

 

Tags: , , , Comments Off on Using Behavioral Methods to Manage Your Depression

by Moderator ★

A Few Tips and Tricks to Using Social Media with Depression and Anxiety

April 6, 2017 in Social Media Guide

Photo Credit: Visual Content Flickr via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: Visual Content Flickr via Compfight cc

 

Symptoms of depression and/or anxiety can be made worse by using social media. In recent blog posts, we have talked about some of the ways social media can bring out negative emotions in people. Social media content can make people feel jealous of one another. Comparing the number of likes you get to that boy who sits next to you in class doesn’t do anything to build positivity. People tend to show their “best self” on social media. But the truth of the matter is everyone has their own, unique struggles, even that girl who’s always posting hilarious, creative stuff. For today’s post, we wanted to share a few tips and tricks to using social media when you’re feeling depressed or anxious.

 

Tips and Tricks

Avoid especially negative or stressful content

If you know that going on social media means you’re going to come across negativity, it’s best to avoid that content. This may seem obvious, but sometimes with depression and anxiety, it can be hard not to subject yourself to even more negativity.

Steer clear of heavy, intense conversations over social media

When communicating online, so much can get lost. The emotions behind the words can so easily get misinterpreted. We definitely encourage talking through your emotions before they become overwhelming, but these conversations are usually best done in-person with a trusted support. If you do feel more comfortable discussing your emotions online, using a direct message between you and your trusted, safe support is probably the most effective way to do so.

Seek out positive material on the internet

Making an effort to seek out positive material can be difficult when depressed or anxious. But it can be so worth it. Every Monday, we post positive content for a reason. The internet doesn’t have to be a negative place – there’s lots of good stuff out there. It can make a big change in mood to seek out material that is positive. Scrolling through the same old feed on social media can make symptoms worse. Finding something new and interesting can be a great first step to improving your depression and/or anxiety.

These are just a few things that can be done to positively influence your mood for the better. Social media doesn’t have to be a place that makes you feel bad. By using these few tips and tricks when symptoms are increasing, social media can be a better outlet.

Do you have any tips and tricks to using social media when feeling depressed and/or anxious? Let us know in the comments below!

Tags: , , , Comments Off on A Few Tips and Tricks to Using Social Media with Depression and Anxiety

by Moderator ★

What Makes Someone A Good Member of Your Support System

April 5, 2017 in Educate Yourself

A key part to improving and getting better while dealing with a mental illness is having a support system. That’s why at SOVA (and WiseSOVA) we are trying to start and build an online community that supports each other. However, a support system can include friends and family.  But when it comes to people how do you know what makes a good support person? Psychology today wrote a great article about what makes someone a good, supportive friend. Being a good supporter to someone is broken down into 3 major components: integrity, caring, and congeniality.

Photo Credit: ohthecuteness via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: ohthecuteness via Compfight cc

Integrity

Trustworthiness – knowing you can share your thoughts and feelings with this person and they won’t talk behind your back or tell others without cause

Dependability – You can count on them to be there for you when you need them, and will support and believe in you even when you can’t believe in yourself

Being able to trust – You feel comfortable being vulnerable with this person

 Caring

Empathy – Have the ability to understand what is going on with you or/and recognize your feeling and react accordingly

Non-judgmental – Friends are to uplift you, not accept you as you are-even if it is different them

Listening Skills – close communication where you can both share intimate thoughts, feelings, and experiences

 Congeniality

Fun to be around – you have to genuinely enjoying being around this person.

These are just a few traits to look for when building your support system. The people you surround yourself can impact how you see the world. Knowing that you have supportive, caring, and trustworthy people in your corner to help you through the good and bad times is something everyone should be looking for. Reaching out for help can be difficult to do at times, but if you have a group of people surrounding you, whether in person or through an online community, that are non-judgmental, attentive and trustworthy can make life and its challenges slightly easier.

What are some traits you look for when finding supports in your life?

Tags: , , Comments Off on What Makes Someone A Good Member of Your Support System

by Moderator ★

Easy-to-learn Yoga Poses

April 4, 2017 in Educate Yourself

Yoga is a great way to relieve stress and negative emotions. Some people who practice yoga regularly can do some pretty cool poses. When you’re first starting out with yoga, it’s good to start with the basics. SOVA’s alum, Amie, put some awesome YouTube videos together outlining some yoga poses. If you’re looking to read more about Yoga and its benefits, here are some blog posts we’ve done.

  1. Reducing Stress with Easy Yoga
  2. When in doubt, “OM” it out
  3. Stop, Breathe, Think

Check out the videos and let us know what you think!

 

Tags: , , , Comments Off on Easy-to-learn Yoga Poses

by Moderator ★

Selena Gomez Talks About Her Mental Health

April 3, 2017 in Be Positive

Photo Credit: conceptx_design Flickr via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: conceptx_design Flickr via Compfight cc

Selena Gomez recently spoke to Vogue magazine about her experiences with mental illness and getting help. Selena is another example of a celebrity using their voice to erase the stigma about mental illness and getting treatment. The things that celebrities say have a lot of push. Their message is able to reach a huge mass of people. For Selena- or anyone for that matter- to be open about mental illness helps to normalize the experience and decrease stigma. Here are some of her quotes about mental health.

Blurbs from Selena’s Vogue interview

Before getting treatment, Selena was on tour performing her music. Looking back, she had this to say in her Vogue magazine interview:

“My self-esteem was shot. I was depressed, anxious. I started to have panic attacks right before getting onstage, or right after leaving the stage. Basically I felt I wasn’t good enough, wasn’t capable. I felt I wasn’t giving my fans anything, and they could see it—which, I think, was a complete distortion…”

Selena acknowledges that she wasn’t trying to figure out her mental health problems at the time. She went on to tell Vogue this about what she wanted to say to her fans:

“What I wanted to say is that life is so stressful, and I get the desire to just escape it. But I wasn’t figuring my own stuff out, so I felt I had no wisdom to share. And so maybe I thought everybody out there was thinking, This is a waste of time.”

Fortunately, Selena got treatment.  She received Dialectic Behavior Therapy. To learn more about DBT check out our recent blog post on it! Here’s what Selena had to say about DBT, stigma, and pushing back against unhealthy roles:

“DBT has completely changed my life,” she says. “I wish more people would talk about therapy. We girls, we’re taught to be almost too resilient, to be strong and sexy and cool and laid-back, the girl who’s down. We also need to feel allowed to fall apart.”

With the help of treatment, Selena talked about the relief she felt. She expresses letting go of the pressure, most of which she was putting on herself.

“For a change,” she says, “it feels like I don’t have to be holding my breath and waiting for somebody to judge a piece of work that I’m doing. I’m not eager to chase a moment. I don’t think there’s a moment for me to chase.”

To read Selena’s vogue magazine interview in its whole, follow this link. There is some profanity.

In what ways, if any, can you relate to what Selena is saying? Let us know in the comments below!

Tags: , , , , Comments Off on Selena Gomez Talks About Her Mental Health