This post comes from an interaction that I observed while attending a guest lecture at my college. But first, some background: there are fidget toys everywhere. I have never had a class where someone wasn’t knitting, coloring, or playing with a fidget toy during the lecture. Sometimes that person is me on the days … Continue reading Of Rubik’s Cubes and Lecture Halls: How the Myth of “Normal” Creates Stigma
Anxiety is a mental health challenge that often gets dismissed. Some might say that others will “grow out” of social anxiety or that generalized anxiety disorder is nothing more than someone being overly sensitive. This isn’t true. Anxiety might often be dismissed, but it can have harmful physical symptoms and consequences if not taken seriously. … Continue reading The Brain-Body Connection: Anxiety and Physical Illness
In part 1, we talked about 10 general ways to maintain mental health in college. If you already struggle with mental health challenges, college life can have a negative effect on your mental health. It becomes significantly more challenging to manage your mental health on top of work, school, and extracurricular activities. But, never fear, … Continue reading Mental Health in College: Tips and Tricks
Technology can be a double-edged sword when it comes to mental health. On one hand, social media has the ability to hurt your mental health by spreading negativity, but certain apps can also be very helpful for managing mental health. We’ve talked about apps once before on this blog. Part 4 of the self care … Continue reading Best Apps for Mental Health
Having anxiety can be a lot like living in a haunted house all the time. It makes you overthink everything, be afraid of the world around you, and can cause physical pain. If you have a friend with anxiety, they struggle with this all the time. For people who have never experienced anxiety, it can … Continue reading 10 Ways to Help a Friend with Anxiety
College has a reputation of being a place where everyone parties too hard, gets too little sleep, and makes unhealthy choices. Depictions in movies and TV shows make it seem like one unending party with a couple classes thrown in. This is obviously not true; college is a new stage in a person’s life where … Continue reading Maintaining Mental Health in College: Part 1
Increasing Rates of Depression and Anxiety in Kids A recent article from NPR discussed rising rates of anxiety and depression in kids and teens. According to one study, 1 in 3 adolescents (ages 13 to 18) meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder. The CDC recently found that 32% of teens reported persistent feelings of … Continue reading How to Reduce Anxiety in Kids
In a post for The Mighty, Marisa Lancione told the story of a time she sought help for her depression. When she went to counseling services, a counselor told her “Well, you’re dressed nicely today. You don’t look like you’re struggling.” Marisa was wearing a lace pink cardigan with long sleeves to cover up … Continue reading High-Functioning Mental Illness is Valid
Depression and other mental health challenges are never one size fits all. Everyone has different brain chemistry, different life challenges, and different experiences of depression. This means that people will often have very different treatment methods that work for them. Some treatment options may work great for you, but don’t help someone else. Others options … Continue reading Your Brain, Your Rules
Volunteer Annie L. kindly agreed to share her mental health journey and talk about what volunteering has done for her. Q: What made you want to volunteer originally? A: I was in a pretty dark place after moving to Colorado – felt super isolated and alone, but was too afraid to reach out to anyone. … Continue reading It Can and Will Get Better: Q&A with a Volunteer
