SOVA

Supporting Our Valued Adolescents: A place to learn, share your strength, be positive, and grow.

Tagged: educate yourself

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Educate Yourself

Small goals

“Make small obtainable goals!” is what we hear most of our lives growing up in school from teachers. I’ve never really thought about this until this point in my life where I am trying to grow and make changes in my life to be happier and live a calmer life. An example I’ve heard in therapy is that if someone wants to start going to the gym in the new year, they usually make a goal to go 3 times a week. If they currently go to the gym 0 times a week, 3 times is usually way too many to start out with. In a lot of cases, it is better to start out with 1 day a week as your goal. This is more attainable and if you achieve it, your brain will be happy. When we divert too far from routine, our brain gets scared and can sometimes just not accomplish the goal at all.

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Educate Yourself

About My Mental Health

Ever since I was a toddler my mother has described me as anxious, but ironically enough this is one of the few illness I do not have a diagnosis for. Sure I have anxiety especially social anxiety, but I do not care if I do not have an official paper saying I have it or not. Although my psychiatrist may have diagnosed me, I do not really care to look through my medical files to confirm. It is debilitating at times when I am too afraid to order my own food or am unable to talk to a new person. I’m a champion at crying in restaurants. A diagnosis likely will not change that for me, but it might for you. When I am in therapy they’re usually aware right off the bat that I’m an anxious person so I do not need a diagnosis as it does not change my own quality of life.

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Educate Yourself

New Year, Same Toxic Diet Culture

The New Year is upon us, which means that many people have started working towards achieving their new goals for 2022. New Year’s resolutions are so often focused on “wellness,” with constant messaging about weight loss programs, exercise regimens, and fad diets taking over social media. It’s easy to get wrapped up in unhealthy diet culture. With all the diet talk during this time of the year, many people struggle with body image. If you find yourself struggling with your body image a bit more than usual lately, know that you are not alone. Here are some tips that can help you navigate negative body image and survive the onslaught of diet culture that comes with the start of every new year.

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Educate Yourself

Stay Productive

People need to rest sometimes. That is a given. However, knowing how to find the proper balance between work and rest is not a given. Note that proper balancing of these two forces is different for each and every person. Nevertheless, it is up to each one of us to find the optimal mix for ourselves.

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Educate Yourself

Finding Coping Skills that Work

oping skills are an important way to manage mood, stress, and difficult emotions. People always talk about how useful coping skills are, but often fail to mention that it can be difficult to find coping skills that actually work for each individual person. Everyone has unique needs; something that helps one person feel better may not work as well for someone else. Sometimes even when we do have strategies that work well for us, particularly difficult or stressful situations can arise that render our go-to skills useless.

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Be Positive / Educate Yourself

Adjusting to Full-Time Life

I am officially one week into working full-time after graduating college (I’m writing this blog post as of 1/8/2022), and ultimately I am feeling great and felt like I should share with others some things I learned and noticed. Graduating from college can be a really scary and sad time since you are uncertain how your after-college life will change, your friends may be moving, you’re suddenly working nonstop on a job you may ultimately love or hate, and so many new changes and experiences.

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Educate Yourself

New Years Cleaning

Material things bring me joy. Having too many things however is a source of anxiety. Every time there is a holiday where gift giving is involved, I try to ask for items that can be “used up” and thrown away such as nice skin care, food items, or different things that I would like to try but wouldn’t normally purchase for myself. This way I can accumulate less items, because once they are empty, I can throw the container away. One of the reasons I do this is because I have a very difficult time donating and throwing things away. This can range from clothing to random objects or house décor.

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Educate Yourself

Magical Thinking Isn’t So Magical

Magical thinking is a concept that I have been experiencing for quite some time. I remember having thoughts that fall under the category of magical thinking since I was in elementary school. According to Healthline, magical thinking is the idea that you can influence the outcome of specific events by doing something that has no bearing on the circumstances.

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Educate Yourself

The “Magic Wand” Question

Sometimes, when we try to make goals for ourselves, it can be challenging to envision our world without our problems. The Magic Wand Question (also known as The Miracle Question) has its basis in...

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Educate Yourself

Loneliness In Your 20s

I finally graduated college this December, a semester early, and even got offered by my current employer an offer to transition to full-time. My family is insanely supportive of me, I have a loving boyfriend, and honestly, I’m super happy with where I am in life and everything I worked for. Expect one thing that continues to lack in my life, and that is just the fact that despite the love and success around me, I feel utterly lonely.