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P3ACE of MIND Handbook
Hi!
A compilation of mental health questions, advice, and concerns
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Table of Contents
Hi !
Table of contents
pg. 2
Message from us
pg. 3
Mental Health
pg. 4-12
Q&A
pg. 13-17
Resources
pg. 18-19
Contact us
pg. 20
Message from us We are Peace of Mind, a youth-led initiative advocating for mental health support and awareness. As eight passionate students coming from different high schools across the Bay Area, we came together through the LEAD (Leaders for Education, Advocacy, and Democracy) program, which is supported by the nonproďŹ t AACI (Asian Americans for Community Involvement). In recent years, there has been an increase in attention brought to this issue of mental health resource disparity, but there are still many more steps to be taken to fully reach the goal of treating mental health and physical health equally. We created this booklet for you to reference to the current resources available in our community in case you or your loved ones need help. This is a difďŹ cult time, but together, we hope to bring you hope and warmth.
COVID Impact On Mental Health Due to the isolation and fear that are so prevalent in the pandemic, COVID-19 results in a greater level of depression and anxiety
Clinically depressed is different from just being sad; it’s constant feelings of sadness and losing interest in activities one once liked. Symptoms include: feeling lack of motivation, self-hatred, weight gain/loss, losing appetite, and not being able to sleep.
—Leah Cohen IHS Social Worker & Mental Health Expert
Anxiety is not just a buzzword. Symptoms include: fatigue, inability to concentrate, anger/irritability, restlessness, panic attacks, aches, nausea, sweating, etc. Depression and anxiety can go together sometimes but there are different ways to treat each of these things
—Leah Cohen IHS Social Worker & Mental Health Expert
Ways to Help Suffering Friends
Open up, talk to a counselor or a caring adult/professional, build a network
Don’t stigmatize hospitalization. Consider it as a space for healings and care
Leave healthy boundary to take care of your own mental health while helping them
Take things slow! Don’t think too big or take future trips. Focus on what we can control at the current moment.
How to cope with the negatives of greater levels of Screen time? Greater levels of screen time can cause lethargy, fatigue, headaches, and vision issues.
Exercise Raise serotonin levels, get fresh air, and feel better naturally,
Sleep
8-10 hours of sleep are optimal. Shut down your screens at 11-12 PM and do something else that gets you tired: do mindfulness.
Journaling Journal on a
piece of paper. Rip it up when you’re done! Getting rid of the negativities are key!
What to do when feeling overwhelmed? Learn the ways to treat yourself better, introducing a positive dose of energy into your life.
Sleep Stories
Breathing
Turn the lights off, close your eyes, and listen to the calming story. Resources can be found on Youtube.
Sit comfortably to make your body loose. 5 seconds
in through your nose, hold, and 5 seconds out through your mouth, notice your chest rise and fall.
Grounding Ask questions of 3 things you can touch, hear, see, and smell. Keeping in touch with the senses will get you back to the reality.
Healthy Peer Interactions Issues observed: 1) Social Media fuels comparisons because people always wants to put their best foot forward to set an illusion of perfect life. 2) Oversharing on social media is commonly seen, especially during the quarantine where people view this as an outlet for emotional support.
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Advice / Feedback 1) It’s important to be vigilant on what you are posting, people do feel compelled to help you and it might stress them out. 2) Social media is an outlet for some but it’s best to direct yourself to resources available in our community so that the issue can be solved from its roots. Hello !
Peer Pressures 1) Opioid overdose deaths in Santa Clara County has risen by over 100% in the last 4 months (during the quarantine) 2) Don’t succumb to peer pressure to do drugs or alcohol. These can lead to loss of conscience and bad decisions. 3) You might be accepted into a certain group and you feel good about being popular. But in the end, the damage will come back to you slowly but surely! . Hello !
Q&A High schoolers talking about their own mental health concerns
Question #1: How do we reach out to parents, family, friends about a friend who has concerning mental health? Answer: It might be scary to confront a friend but ask yourself a question first: “would you want them to be mad at you or dead?” Be the person to guide them to help! They might be mad at the current moment but they’ll be grateful for you in the future. You don’t want this to be a mental health burden on yourself if this friend you knew ended up killing themselves and you knew exactly what was going on without reaching out to help. Make sure to tell them that your telling to an adult is not out of intentions to hurt them but out of love and caring from a friend’s perspective.
Question #2: Have you had any struggles with your mental health before? Have you felt affected by stigmas surrounding mental health before? Answer: a. Internalizing struggles during middle school made the journey really rough for a kid. Having an open space where friends are open to listen to your stories is extremely helpful. b. Parents’ expectation of getting into a top school stresses her out. She studied until 3am in the morning on the weekend and until 12am or 1am on weekdays when school is still in session. She suffers from hair loss and the lack of sleep. c. Stigmas in family and mental health, cautious about this topic and don't consider it as needing support. Expectations weighing on an individual force them to pretend that they’re okay. But after learning about the resources available, it becomes easier to combat stigma surrounding mental health.
Question #3: How comfortable are you to talk about mental health with friends and family? What makes it comfortable/not comfortable? Answer: a. Sharing of each other’s experiences creates a sense of mutual support and can help a lot for us to open up. b. The discussion of mental health is somehow awkward because this matter is pretty personal and problems are often internalized. c. More comfortable talking with friends than family. Expectations and the pressure of not being able to be one’s true self makes the sharing of mental health experiences with family difficult.
Question #4: Why do you believe it’s important to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and why is it important to have accessible mental health resources? Answer: a. Stigma about mental health and LGBTQ community is really prevalent in Asia. Mental health is almost like an invisible topic. Different families have different levels of openness towards mental health. However, teenagers need all the support they can get. Reducing stigma is the most direct way to help them to gain the support they need. b. Counselors are willing to help teenagers in America, unlike in Asia. She wished that she could have someone to share her problems and concerns back in middle school. c. With stigma comes expectations. Removing the stigmas can help everyone to feel comfortable and be happy in general. Everyone will be more open about their mental health well beings.
Question #5: What stresses you out, and what are some things that you do to relieve your stress? Answer: a. Main sources of stress for teenagers are school and the anxiety of keeping up with future deadlines as well as family issues. Sleep for 2-3 hours to have a fresh perspective after waking up. b. Stressed out before big exams. Listen to instrumental music because the melodies are really soothing. c. Talking to friends and listening to their advice is a good way to relieve stress!
Resources 1) To be honest website: ❏ Contains resources for help, including tons of useful tool boxes for mental health conditions and hope stories! 2) 211 United Way Bay Area website: ❏ 2-1-1 is a free, easy-to-remember phone number that connects callers with health and human services in their community. 2-1-1 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and in over 150 languages. All calls are confidential.
3) The LGBTQ Youth Space 4) American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: 5) COVID-19 resources 6) NAMI COVID updates: 7) Independence High School Student Support Center: ❏ Student Support Center at Independence High School website with various other links including local agencies not listed above
Resources HOTLINES
1) Youth Crisis Text Line Text "listen" to 741-741 for 24/7 crisis support 2) The Bill Wilson Center’s Youth Crisis Phone Line 408-850-6125
5) California Warm Peer Line: Call 855-845-7415 for 24/7 for non-emergency support to talk to a peer counselor with lived experience.
❏ Uplift Mobile Crisis offers "The Mobile Crisis Team provides FREE 24-hour 3) Suicide & Crisis Hotline intervention to children and 1-855-278-4204 or teens in the community https://suicidepreventionlif who are in acute eline.org/ psychological crisis or are suicidal. Included is a 5150 assessment along with 4) CalHOPE Peer-Run Warm safety planning and Line: referrals to Call 833-317-HOPE (4673 community-based mental ) Monday – Friday from health services." Uplift's 7am – 11pm for COVID-19 number is 408-379-9085. specific non-emergency support.
Contact us! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us!
Instagram: @p3ace.of.mind Check out our letters book advocating for more mental health resources as well!
Thank you so much for reading! We hope these resources will be useful.