By: Carissa Zawiski/Editor in Chief, Ryan Glatzel/Senior Editor, Brooke Upright/Senior Writer, and Madison Martin/Sophomore Writer
Credits: Unsplash.com By: Anthony Tran
Mental health is a world-wide problem that most people have dealt with or have been associated with someone who dealt with it. According to CDC (www.cdc.gov) about 17.4% of children ages 2 to 8 and 16.7% of children ages 3 to 17 struggle with mental health issues. Mental Health is well known as the “invisible” disease and is often unseen in everyday lives.
One example of mental illness is panic attacks. Panic attacks strike without warning and can strike at any moment. You can feel stressed and begin to panic, but these feelings can be managed and calmed down.
When your mental health isn’t having a good day, here are several ways you can protect it by controlling and calming your anxiety. Having any coping mechanisms seems to be beneficial to your mental health. After having an assembly on mental health and hearing Andrew Onimus’s story we made a list of coping mechanisms to help coping with mental health.
-Talking to someone you trust (Friend, Counselor, Teacher)
-Breathing Exercises. Begin by slowly inhaling as much as you can and then slowly exhaling. It has the effect of calming you down. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing when doing other exercises if you’re having trouble breathing during this time.
-Being active (Going out on a run/walk, exercise, yoga, etc.) Here is a link to some easy to learn yoga techniques, Yoga Poses. It can also help boost your self-esteem (Ways to boost your self-esteem).
-Finding a coping mechanism that works for you. (Music, Drawing, journaling) (Coping Skills)(Coping Mechanisms)-Don’t let other people control your life, you can make your own decisions on what you want/don’t want to do.
-Take a break from social media. (Self Care Activities.)
-Try something new, like finding a new hobby. (Hobbies to Try at Home.)
