Mental Health Minute
Alief ISD Guidance and Counseling Newsletter, February 2021
National School Counselor Week - February 1st-5th
National School Counseling Week 2021 (#NSCW21), "School Counselors: All In for All Students," will be celebrated from Feb. 1-5, 2021, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. National School Counseling Week is always celebrated the first full week in February.
Click here to check out the rest of the article and get ideas for activities and events.
The Ultimate Valentine’s Day Self-Care Routine
The Ultimate Valentine’s Day Self-Care Routine
Why should couples have all the fun on Valentine's Day? If you're single on V-Day, show yourself a little love with this simple self-care routine. It's complete with avocado toast, mindfulness reminders, podcasts to try, and tips for relaxation.
Waking up–Stretch Yourself
Set your alarm 10 minutes earlier than your usual time and stretch. Whether you stay in bed circling your neck and shrugging your shoulders, dance around your house, or use an app to complete a quick yoga routine, your body will benefit mentally and physically from this movement.
Eating breakfast–Toast Yourself
Treat yourself to everyone’s favorite trend food: avocado toast. Avocado contains vitamin B5, also known as pantothenic acid which helps the nervous system function properly. What’s more, avocados are rich in stress-relieving vitamin B6, which helps the body make several neurotransmitters, including serotonin. Avocados therefore may influence your mood and help to reduce anxiety.
Talking to Children After a Traumatic Event
As Smithsonian educators working on the National Mall, just steps away from the U.S. Capitol Building, the January 6th attacks are very close to home. As educators who work with young children, we empathize with parents and caregivers trying to process these violent and traumatic events. How can adults find the “right” words? How do you talk to children about traumatic events?
Unfortunately, there is no manual or simple answer, but we can offer guidance and resources based on our training, expertise, and experiences talking to children about moments in history as museum educators and parents.
Pause and reflect.
Before reacting, pause and reflect. How are you feeling? You are likely processing and feeling many emotions, and will continue to. Acknowledge these feelings and take time to practice self-care and reflect on your own. It’s important for children to know that adults have emotions too, and it’s okay to show them.
What Are the Symptoms of Depression in Teenagers?
Since adolescents are often moody, it can be difficult to recognize when your son or daughter has become depressed, and might need help. The thing people tend to notice first is withdrawal, or when the teenager stops doing things she usually likes to do. There might be other changes in her mood, including sadness or irritability. Or in her behavior, including, appetite, energy level, sleep patterns and academic performance. If several of these symptoms are present, be vigilant about the possibility of teen depression.
This is especially important because by the time family members and other people around a teenager note her lack of interest in most things, or what we call anhedonia, she’s usually been depressed for some time. Depression is an internalizing disorder, i.e. one that disturbs a patient’s emotional life, rather than an externalizing one, which takes the form of disruptive or problematic behavior. As such, it takes a while not only for others to recognize it but often for the patient herself to realize that her thinking, and emotional responses, are disturbed.
Note that there are actually two kinds of depression. In major depressive disorder—the most familiar form of depression—the symptoms occur in what may be severe episodes that tend to last from seven to nine months. But there is also another form of depression called dysthymia, in which the symptoms are milder, but they last longer, even years. So while the experience of dysthymia may be less debilitating for the child at any given moment, the risk is that there is more accrued damage, more time in which the child is kept out of the healthy development process.
https://childmind.org/article/what-are-the-symptoms-of-depression-in-teenagers/
Will the Pandemic Result in More Suicides?
Even before we entered this darkest of winters, when Covid-19 is relentlessly causing more and more sickness and death — not to mention additional stress, isolation and economic pain — there was evidence suggesting that significantly more people have thought about ending their lives during the pandemic than in recent years. In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the results of a nationwide survey conducted during the last week in June: More than 40 percent of those who responded reported symptoms of anxiety or depression or increased substance use, in addition to other struggles. And more than 10 percent said that they had seriously considered suicide in the past 30 days, compared with just over 4 percent who said the same thing in 2018 — and who were referring to suicidal ideation over the previous 12 months. “We want to know, who is most at risk from suicide in the pandemic,” says Paul Nestadt, a psychiatrist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who was not involved in the survey. And yet, he adds, “we won’t know until it’s mostly over.” That’s because it can take a year or two for the C.D.C. to collect and analyze national mortality data.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/magazine/will-the-pandemic-result-in-more-suicides.html
VIRTUAL TOOLS
- Stock up on K-12 lessons at Random Acts of Kindness.
- Check out this Mindfulness-based Kindness curriculum targeting preschool students.
- Sesame Street brought more kindness to Season 47. I can’t help but love this Elmo’s World.
- Life Vest Kindness Boomerang “One Day” is a video that students love.
- Ripple Kindness Project, out of Australia, shares great kindness printables.
- Smiling Mind External link - Designed for older students dealing with academic stress, Smiling Mind guides users through mindfulness activities. Beyond the app, the Smiling Mind website provides additional resources and activities for school counselors to help students.
- Wellbeyond Meditation for Kids External link - This apps helps younger children by providing meditation activities that focus on feelings, kindness, and sleep. It uses colorful cartoon images to grab children's attention.
Can Technology Cause Anxiety and Depression?
March 17, 2019
Can technology cause anxiety and depression? You probably have your own view on this, but let's have a look.
To answer this question we first need to understand what anxiety actually is.
The American Psychological Association (APA) defines anxiety as "an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure."
Whilst most people will have these feelings from time to time, it can lead to anxiety disorder which can be crippling to sufferers. This usually requires medical intervention to treat the condition, but not always. It is estimated that around 40 Million Americans currently suffer from some form of anxiety disorder today. This makes it, by far, the most common mental disorder in the U.S. Of these, it is estimated that only 37% of them have sought active treatment.
Technology might cause anxiety
Anxiety is actually a very natural emotion and is, in part, hardwired into our brains. "Fight-or-flight" triggers helped keep our ancestors alive during encounters with predators and other dangers. Whilst mankind has alleviated many of these threats, thanks to our grasp of technology, the wiring is still there but modern triggers are very different indeed.
Today "fight or flight" responses can be triggered by work, money-worries (this is a huge one), health, family life, and a myriad other factors out of the scope of this summary.
For sufferers of anxiety disorder, this perfectly natural response can be out of proportion to the perceived threat, or trigger. According to the APA "People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness or a rapid heartbeat."
Once anxiety reaches the stage of a disorder, it can interfere with daily function.
But is technology contributing to the apparent growth in anxiety problems seen in the modern world?
https://interestingengineering.com/can-technology-cause-anxiety-and-depression
COUNSELOR SPOTLIGHT
'The Elsik Counseling Department works with students individually, in groups, and through guidance lessons to support all students. EHS uses the leadership curriculum from Character Strong to facilitate meaningful weekly SEL lessons for staff and students. The team conducts virtual college nights, financial aid presentations, career workshops, guidance lessons, and a monthly newsletter for students and staff. EHS counselors call, email, and meet with all students to help ensure academic success. We collaborate with our CIS department to ensure that our students have the support and assistance they need.
Mahasin Bell
DATES TO REMEMBER
February 1-5, 2021
National School Counseling Week
February 3, 2021
8:30- 11:00 a.m.
All- Level Counselor Meeting
February 10-12, 2021
Student/Staff Holiday
February 22, 2021
1-2 p.m.
Quaver SEL Training for Elementary and Intermediate Schools
February 16, 2021
6 p.m.
Dual Credit Night (virtual presentation)
RESOURCES
Mental Health Screening Tool
https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools
NAMI Texas
NAMI National
Crisis Intervention of Houston
Harris Health System
Harris County Psychiatric Center (HCPC)
Harris County Sheriff’s Department Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)
713-221-6000
Houston Police Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)
The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD
The Council on Alcohol and Drugs Houston
http://www.council-houston.org
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA)
Autism Society of America
National Institute of Mental Health
National Suicide Prevention
http://www.texassuicideprevention.org/
Obsessive Compulsive Foundation