Monday, March 30, 2020

Mental Health Wellness Tips

If it seems like I keep harping on the mental health dimension, it's only because maintaining our mental health during the current situation is both crucial and challenging. These are extraordinary times, requiring skills and knowledge that we haven't learned or practiced to a sufficient degree so that we can rely on them. Mental health is squishy; we're all wired differently, and different things work for different people. My hope is that you will find something that works for you.

This morning, I found this terrific resource of 25 actionable tips to help support your mental health as we get deeper into our 'stay at home' order:

Mental Health Wellness Tips for Quarantine

Some examples (but definitely check out the link!):
13. Lower expectations and practice radical self-acceptance.
This idea is connected with #12.  We are doing too many things in this moment, under fear and stress.  This does not make a formula for excellence.  Instead, give yourself what psychologists call “radical self acceptance”: accepting everything about yourself, your current situation, and your life without question, blame, or pushback.  You cannot fail at this—there is no roadmap, no precedent for this, and we are all truly doing the best we can in an impossible situation.

17. Find something you can control, and control the heck out of it.
In moments of big uncertainty and overwhelm, control your little corner of the world.  Organize your bookshelf, purge your closet, put together that furniture, group your toys.  It helps to anchor and ground us when the bigger things are chaotic.

23. “Chunk” your quarantine, take it moment by moment.
 We have no road map for this.  We don’t know what this will look like in 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month from now.  Often, when I work with patients who have anxiety around overwhelming issues, I suggest that they engage in a strategy called “chunking”—focusing on whatever bite-sized piece of a challenge that feels manageable.  Whether that be 5 minutes, a day, or a week at a time—find what feels doable for you, and set a time stamp for how far ahead in the future you will let yourself worry.  Take each chunk one at a time, and move through stress in pieces.

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Thursday, March 26, 2020

Caremongering

Our friends to the north in Canada have coined a term that I hope gains traction everywhere. Caremonging. Caremongering is compassion in action. Caremongering is strangers helping strangers, it's getting food and other essentials to vulnerable people, it's asking a neighbor if they need anything from the store or pharmacy when you're going anyway. Caremongering empowers us to take action at a time when it's easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless.

More on Caremongering:
Caremongering in the time of Coronavirus: Random Acts of Kindness and Online Enrichment
You Are Not Alone in this...
The 'caremongers' getting food and essentials to the country's most vulnerable
Coronavirus: Kind Canadians Start 'Caremonging' Trend
In Canada, an inspiring movement emerges in response to the coronavirus
There's even Self-Caremongering...

And on social media, #caremongering
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Flip the script...

When I came across this, I realized that I was the person saying "it looks like the end of the world." I was happy for the reminder that our social distancing is an act of compassion. How we choose to view things matters, for ourselves and others.


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Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Covid-19 Resources

Thanks to the great work of Rachel Auffant, counselor at Beaver Lake, there is a great list of resources for parents and families for dealing with the full spectrum of impacts due to the coronavirus pandemic. You'll find it on the navigation bar at the top of this blog. There are resources for coping, managing anxiety, financial assistance, staying busy, and more. Check it out!
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Teen Mental Health Resources

Safeguarding our mental health in uncertain and stressful times often means we need additional support. My colleagues at Skyline High School have put together a great guide to mental health resources in our community that runs the gamut from crisis services to therapists in the area.

Teen Mental Health Resources
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Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Gratitude Helps

Stay at home, shelter in place, six feet, social distancing... It's a crazy time, unprecedented in our lifetimes, and it can lead to feelings of uncertainty, fear, depression, anxiety, and stress. Finding healthy ways to manage those feelings are important to maintain our mental and physical well-being as we work through the challenges of being cooped up at home. The good news is that there are things we can do that are proven to help: exercise, healthy diet, maintaining good sleep habits. Gratitude is part of the solution, the research is clear.

Gratitude helps.

When we express gratitude, and when we receive expressions of gratitude, our brains respond by releasing serotonin and dopamine, essential neurotransmitters that are involved in our emotions that make us feel good. Expressing gratitude creates feelings of well-being and happiness in both ourselves, and in those we express gratitude to.

Here's a super easy way to incorporate gratitude into your day. In your journal (you ARE journaling through the pandemic, right? Your journals will be tomorrows primary source material for future researchers on this pandemic), take a moment to write 3 things you are grateful for. Here are mine for today:


  • I'm grateful that my family is healthy and committed to staying healthy.
  • I'm thankful to have what we need to stay at home for an extended period.
  • I'm fortunate to have a comfortable place to live, for myself, my family, and my pets.


It's that simple. And if you do this everyday, you will see how gratitude can lift you.

Here are some other things about gratitude that you might find helpful or interesting:
Gratitude vs. Depression -- a short n' sweet YouTube
Five 1-minute ways to practice gratitude -- from MindBodyWise
The Gratitude Experiment -- Tips for HOW to express gratitude, less than 5 minutes.
365 Days of Thank You -- from TEDxYouth San Diego. Worth it.
The Science of Gratitude -- If you really want to get into the weeds on gratitude research, start here. Competencies, anyone?


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Monday, March 23, 2020

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone is healthy, staying positive, and continuing to hone their social distancing game. I've posted a Student Transcript Guide that helps students understand their transcript and how to update featured evidence and other student-facing tasks. You'll find it under the 'Transcript' tab up top.

Seniors: there's a useful document called 'Accessing and Sending Senior Transcripts During Emergency Closure' that spells out the procedures for viewing your transcript and requesting official transcripts. It's also on the 'Transcript' tab, as well as on the 'Important Links' sidebar on this page.
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Friday, March 20, 2020

Staying Informed vs. Mental Health

The realities of the Coronavirus pandemic can induce feelings of anxiety in anyone, and if you wrestle with anxiety under the best of circumstances, times like these can make that anxiety run rampant. Over-exposure to the media can exacerbate that anxiety, so while it's important to know the facts and how to protect yourself, obsessing over the news can be undermining your mental health.

One way to manage your anxiety around coronavirus is to stay focused on the things within your control: practicing social distancing, washing your hands for 20 seconds, practicing self-care.

The links below offer excellent tips to manage your anxiety around the pandemic.

10 Ways to Ease Your Coronavirus Anxiety - from the New York Times (all coronavirus content is free at nytimes.com)

Managing Stress & Anxiety from the CDC

Coronavirus Anxiety: Coping with Stress, Fear, and Uncertainty

Health Anxiety: What it is and How to Beat it
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Advanced Placement (AP) & COVID-19

Today, College Board announced FREE remote learning resources and the development of new at-home testing options for students taking AP classes or preparing for AP exams.


If you're taking an AP class or preparing for an AP exam through self-study, this can be a great resource to help you maintain your velocity in your studies and succeed at AP despite the impact of COVID-19.
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Thursday, March 19, 2020

Internet hotspots

During school closures, students who do not have a laptop and/or internet access at home may check a laptop and/or internet hotspot out from the school district.
Parents and/or guardians will be able to pick up the laptop at one of these schools between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Monday through Friday:
If you are interested in checking out a laptop, please call one of the staff members below. All are available to take your call in English or the language indicated by their name.
Wenli Mithal (中文)
MithalW@issaquah.wednet.edu
Office: 425-837-7106
Text: 978-252-3686
Francisca Mejia Campos (Español)
CamposF@issaquah.wednet.edu
Office: 425-837-7141
Text: 978-400-2516
Ina Ghangurde
GhangurdeI@issaquah.wednet.edu
Office: 425-837-7008
Text: 252-563-3498
Krima Molina (Filipino)
MolinaK@issaquah.wednet.edu
Office: 425-837-7214
Text: 971-251-0691
Parents or guardians will be asked to sign a form taking responsibility for the laptop. A copy of the form will be provided when you pick up the laptop. Requests prior to 12:00 pm (noon) will be available for pick up the following day.
Families may check out an internet hotspot for the laptop if internet is not available at home (limit one per family). Please note many companies have changed their rules to give families more data options during this time. More information can be found on company websites. Comcast (Comcast Spanish Version), T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. 
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Here we go...

Greeting students and families,

I hope you are all staying healthy and practicing good social distancing habits. I've created this website and blog (blogsite?) in order to continue to provide counseling services as we work through this long emergency school closure. I chose a blog format in order to ensure easy updating as I push out a variety of counseling related information and curricula. Throughout the closure, I will continue to provide timely responses to email inquiries, so do not hesitate to reach out.

The ISD has been working hard to formulate plans that will help students continue to advance in their learning and access food services. Several enews releases have provided direction on how and where to access food during the day, reiterated below. If you or someone you know is having issues accessing this program or is otherwise experiencing food insecurity, please let me know immediately via email and I will get to work on a solution.

At this time, the District is able to offer two (2) pick up meals daily Monday through Friday for students throughout the extended closure.
  • Students must be present in order to receive meals.
  • Both meals may be picked up at once between 9:00 am and 12:00 pm.
  • The District will continue to look for opportunities to expand program options and will announce those in the days to come.
Meals will be distributed at the following locations from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. starting tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18:
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