SOVA Blog

0

August Scaries

I’ve always felt a pit in my stomach on Sunday afternoons, but only within the last few years did I learn that this is common. In fact, the term “Sunday Scaries” is pretty popular amongst most of my friends. This term refers to the feeling of anxiety due to the upcoming work week (or school week). That same feeling of anxiety worsens substantially for me each year when August hits. I like to call this the “August Scaries.”

2

Creating a Positive Transition this Fall

As we enter the sixth month of quarantine, you might be feeling stale, exhausted, stressed, and most likely all of the above. At this point, transition is almost a point of everyday routine, with the new information about the virus and corresponding regulations coming in and workplaces and schools constantly shifting how they go about things.

1

Asian American Mental Health Resources

This week, we wanted to highlight how mental health affects Asian Americans. 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.

4

Meme-ing About the Worst Year Ever

Memes, quite honestly, can be a great coping mechanism. Using humor as a way to deal with terrible things going on allow us to find some sort of happiness among the sea of bad, and using humor and memes online can help disrupt doomscrolling. Many have found that memes can serve as a bonding activity in a way, allowing all of us who have been affected by negative things to share a laugh and make us feel less alone.

2

My Experiences with Travel Anxiety

According to Calm Clinic, a mental health information site, travel anxiety varies greatly in causes and its impacts on people. In an article on travel anxiety, the website states that, “Many people have travel anxiety their entire lives. Others may develop the anxiety because of past experiences relating to travel which were anxiety provoking; and some seem to have travel anxiety for no apparent reason at all.”

2

A Letter from My Future Self

One of the biggest obstacles in my mental health journey has been dealing with overwhelming feelings of guilt and shame that can cause me to spiral into depression. I find it very difficult to look back at my life and not focus on the times that I have made the wrong decision or failed at something important. I get stuck in thoughts of what I “should” or “could” have done to avoid making mistakes, even though I cannot change the past.

2

Voices of Youth

A lot of the times, it feels like people who speak for adolescents and how and why they feel the way they do…aren’t adolescents. While some of this makes sense – therapists and mental health experts for example have the background to explain why adolescents may experience the things they do – it can get frustrating seeing news stories and reports talking about what adolescents are going through without actually talking to them.

5

Digital Overload

How many devices do you have? Do you have a phone, laptop, tablet, and wearable? How about an ebook reader? How many social media accounts do you have?  If all those questions feel overwhelming,...

1

Making Decisions and Taking Action

I am in no way a business person, so when my close friends and family began to tell me that I should start selling my art, I felt less than capable to be able to sell my own products. To me, the idea of selling what I create provided anxiety about whether people would like it, whether they would think I was ridiculous, and whether people would actually buy things.