4 Mental Health Clubs in High School & How to Create Your Own
Mental health issues in adolescents are increasing rapidly. According to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, more than 30% of high school students around the U.S. reported “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” in recent years. More than 17% have seriously considered suicide. And more than 13% have even made a plan. These numbers have […]
Can I Ever Be Happy? Five Things You Can Do That Will Make Yourself Happier
Our founding fathers worked tirelessly to ensure all U.S. citizens would be given the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” According to our founding documents, happiness is a core value of American society. However, America has never been so unhappy. Just look at the rate of depression in teens today: at any […]
Does Anxiety Ever Go Away?
If you have an anxiety disorder, you might wonder if and when it will go away. When will you finally be cured? When will those voices in your head, those all-consuming thoughts and worries, finally give you peace once and for all? First, the bad news. Anxiety doesn’t really vanish forever. It’s just like any […]
How Can I Stop a Panic Attack? Coping Skills For Panic Attacks in Teens
If you’ve ever had a panic attack, you’re probably familiar with the symptoms: Your heart is pounding, hard. Your body starts shaking; your thighs might be trembling, and you can’t stop. The blood is rushing to your head, and you’re getting hot flashes or chills. Your mind feels like it’s swimming. Your breath comes out […]
Is it Normal to Be Mad All the Time?
It’s normal to get angry at times. If someone maliciously insults you or your family, it makes sense that you’ll be angry. A classmate spreading a false rumor about you at school? That would make lots of people upset (and your school should probably discipline the bully.) You may get angry if your parents decide […]
Why Do I Have to Take Medication for My Depression?
If you’ve been diagnosed with clinical depression, you might have been prescribed medication in addition to therapy. There are a number of different medications that treat depression. The most common class of drugs is called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), which include Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, and Lexapro, to name a few popular ones. Oftentimes, many […]
12-Step Programs: Do They Actually Work?
Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Codependents Anonymous…If you’re a teen who has struggled or is struggling with alcohol addiction, drug abuse, or other mental health issues, you’ve probably heard of the 12-step approach to recovery. These mutual-help groups, as they’re known, operate under a set of 12 guidelines that encourage self-searching humility, faith, and honesty as […]
I Don’t Believe in God. Are the 12 Steps For Me?
If you’re a teen who has struggled or is struggling with alcohol addiction, drug abuse, or other mental health issues, you’ve probably heard of the 12-Step approach to recovery. The 12 Steps were originally founded in 1935 to treat alcohol addiction—hence the start of Alcoholics Anonymous. Now, myriad groups and organizations have adopted their tried-and-true […]
Military Families, Military Teens: Unique Families, Unique Challenges
The 21st century news cycle keeps our attention piqued all day every day. Scandals pop up and disappear before our eyes. Issues come and issues go. During this incessant media rollercoaster, regular citizens of the U.S. could not be blamed for missing the fact that we’re living through a period in history that our children’s […]
National Single Parent’s Day
Some people say parenting is the hardest job on earth. If that’s true, then single parenting is in a category all by itself. And if that’s true, then being the single parent of teenage children – well, let’s just say anyone doing that job alone deserves special recognition. This post will focus on them. But […]