Taking Care of Your Mental Health

Sometimes life gets overwhelming and your counselors are here to provide you with strategies and resources you can use to take care of yourself during difficult times. We hope that you use some of these ideas, and we’d love to hear from you on how you like them.

There are many ideas to get you thinking at the following page such as creating vision boards, mental health tips, hearing how students around the country are handling being out of school and much more!https://secure.qgiv.com/event/inthistogether/page/teens/

Mental Health and Crisis Line: We’re in an unprecedented time for everyone. It’s uncertain and very scary. This fear is completely understandable, and the indefinite timeline is likely creating a lot of anxiety during a time where we may be or feel more removed from our support networks. But social distancing doesn’t have to mean social isolation, and we want people to know that even as we all face this difficult period, no one is alone. Beginning at 6 p.m. on April 1 the Center for Community Resources will offer a 24/7 mental health and crisis support line for people dealing with anxiety or other difficult emotions. Callers will be able to speak with staff who are trained in trauma-informed principles and will listen, assess the person’s needs, triage, and refer to other local supports and professionals as needed. The Mental Health Support Line can be reached toll-free, 24/7 at 1-855-284-2494.

Here is another crisis and chat line from the Trevor Project https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help-now/

Like to journal? Give it at try and see how it can be a great lifelong tool for taking care of yourself. Go to: https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/gratitude

What’s the buzz about Mindfulness? Watch “Everyday Mindfulness”  https://youtu.be/QTsUEOUaWpY – a 5 minute video describing mindfulness, what it is, and how to do it. Check out these mindfulness tips. If you like mindfulness exercises try the resources below and if you find another great resource email your counselor and we will share on this site!

Get yourself on a routine. Try to set certain goals for each day such as 1 hour of reading, 1 hour of exercise, 1 hour of doing something creative, 1 + hours working on the optional activities provided by your teachers on the PM Remote Learning Opportunities Website https://sites.google.com/pennmanor.net/remotelearning/high-school?authuser=0

Socialize! Youth MOVE PA is excited to host a “Youth Virtual Drop-In” that is all about getting some social interaction, even if we can’t go out and do our normal things like school, sports, going to the game, store, or hanging with our friends. We know how stressful it can be when our routine is messed up and it is just as frustrating when everyone is talking about Coronavirus as if there might be impending doom!! We would like to help you feel better about the outside world and the stress it may bring by meeting new people who join this group. We will be talking about ourselves, what we like, and be discussing a specific topic with each other during each meeting. This gives us some distraction from the anxiety that can arise from being stuck inside all the time. Our meetings will be hosted every Monday from 3:30pm to 4:30pm on Zoom. Meetings will be moderated by Zack Karenchak, Tristan Schnoke and Aaron Zimmerman.

Meeting ID: 410-999-098, Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/410999098

Virtual Grief and Loss Support Groups – Pathways Center for Grief and Loss

Coping Kids & Teens, a program with the Pathways Center for Grief & Loss, is a local resource to support the needs of children, teens and families impacted by serious illness and loss through individual and group grief support services. As a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and in an effort to ensure everyone’s health and safety, we are temporarily suspending events and in-person support groups.

We are offering virtual counseling sessions and support groups through Zoom (similar to Facetime for those using iPhones) for children, teens and families. Phone support continues to be available for the bereaved as well as school and community professionals who have questions about our services or are seeking resources to share. There is no cost to participate in our services. 

Please call the Pathways Center at (717) 391-2413 or (800) 924-7610 to request the log-in address or phone number to participate via Zoom.

KEEP YOUR BRAIN BUSY If you need some help keeping your brain busy and your mind occupied check out this site for many kinds of academic, college planning and career activities https://www.learningexpresshub.com/ProductEngine/LELIndex.html#/prepstephighschool/libraryhome You can also go to Khan Academy and choose a course to work on to keep your brain working! 🙂 Code.org – Code.org is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by women and underrepresented youth. They believe that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science, just like biology, chemistry or algebra. They have a dedicated page with resources for parents, students, and teachers to use while schools are closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak: http://code.org/athome