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Straight Up offers teens and young adults access to approachable, empowering mental health care. We work to break down stigma and normalize support, providing connective therapy options based on individual needs.
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Back to school means new routines. New routines can often include a change in your sleep schedule. Mornings start earlier, days are busier and social commitments increase, all of which contribute to your mind and body needing more rest. Have you thought about your sleep habits and if they need a reset?
Conducting a sleep audit on yourself can help you make better choices and attain more restful sleep. By identifying your behaviours and mindset around your sleep habits, you can ultimately shape your sleep quality and quantity by making minor tweaks so that you start waking up feeling more refreshed and productive which is a great way to start any day.
Reminder. On repeat.
Life is tough…but so are you!!
We all experience feelings of sadness in our lives, and can experience depression, too. Clinical depression is persistent and pervasive. It is not a person’s fault for experiencing depression, you did not cause it. A person can be depressed and still smile, laugh, or experience moments of pleasure and joy. This doesn’t invalidate the reality of the depression. You are not alone.
BE THERE 💛
somehow, some way, just be there.
Simone Biles decision to step down to focus on her mental health and overall well-being is emblematic of a broader movement to prioritize self-care and interrupt the rhythms of our performance oriented cultures, which often place productivity over individual well being. There are a number of key lessons we can take away from this.
Swipe through or check our our blog (link in bio).
Mindfulness is simply the state of being more aware, both of yourself and what’s going on around you. Letting different feelings come and go as you observe them. Practicing mindfulness has the ability to help us achieve many benefits in our lives including improving mental and physical health, achieving better focus and productivity, and reducing stress. You can integrate different mindfulness techniques into any area of your life, like when you wake up, or when you eat, when you are working out, or by taking a simple pause in your day to just be with your thoughts and feelings.
It is normal for parents to hold seemingly opposing feelings at once. This is called a dialectic. Parents, it is okay to feel conflicting feelings such as relief and sadness at a child leaving the home, or anger and pride at a child making their own decisions for themselves. You are allowed to feel multiple things at once, and to welcome and validate all that comes up for you.
Every now and again you hear someone say “therapy doesn’t work”. But how can that be when therapy can mean so many different things to so many people. It can take time and hard work to find someone that feels right for you, but once you do it is worth it.
What is talk therapy?
Talk therapy is a practice in which a person explores their feelings by talking about them.
Therapists are trained specifically to help us navigate our problems, to better understand and identify patterns so that we feel better equipped to find solutions.
Therapy is not a one size fits all. There is no one type of therapy or length of therapy that is right for every person. Some clients work with a therapist for months, or years, and some for only a few sessions. It has to feel right for you.
Do your research on therapists, and what therapeutic approaches feel right for you. Ask your trusted resources for recommendations. Then ask for a consultation call with a few different therapists to ask questions and gather information so you feel equipped to make a decision of who feels right. Just remember, it could take a few sessions before you find you really connect. So keep with it!
We often get asked about all of the different types of therapy. More specifically “What does CBT mean?”, so we thought we would explain some of these terms through our mental health glossary.
For many, therapy is an effective method in helping, supporting and managing mental health problems. Understanding the different types of treatment should help you in your search for the right therapist.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a modality that is thought to be a structured, time-limited, problem-focused and a goal oriented form of therapy. CBT helps people learn to identify, question and change how their thoughts, attitudes and beliefs relate to the emotional and behavioural reactions that cause them difficulty (CAMH).
Interested in learning more? Educating yourself and others about mental health and talk therapy is a key part of finding the right type of support. Let us know if we can help.
Over the past year and a half, the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on various aspects of people’s lives: economic, physical, social, and emotional. Now, it finally looks like we are approaching the light at the end of the tunnel.
While our community gradually reopens, we remember that one of the most vulnerable groups to the past 16 months of pandemic-related mental health challenges, is youth.
What effects will the reopening have on youth? We think the following points might be worth considering. Read more on our blog, link in bio.
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you really need. Try to be direct and specific so you can actually get the support you want. Support can be in all different ways, but the important thing is to get it. Remember, people cannot read your mind, so speak up!
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