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Build True Friendships This Year!

1/24/2019

 
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Today's blog post comes from Mindful.org. It's an extremely informative website for building on your mindfulness skills and also has a daily email mindfulness exercise to help your practice. 

Dear Mindful Readers,
A new year provides a chance to reflect on the aspects of your life you want to strengthen—and for many of us, that includes checking in on the constellation of relationships we’ve cultivated over the years. Whether it be with your friends, family, coworkers, or partner, here are three ways to build stronger relationships in 2019:

1. Recognize your true friends. Making friends is tough—and a true friend should never be taken for granted. But sometimes, the people you hold close may not be treating you the way you deserve. Explore these six signs of a strong friendship to discover all the ways a friend can enrich your life.

2. Listen to what’s being said. We’ve all caught ourselves tuning out midway through a conversation, either to prepare our response, tackle our mental to-do list, or even *gasp* check a phone notification. But failing to listen to what’s being said deprives our relationships of value and impedes connection. Try these five key mindful listening techniques to give your full attention in the next conversation you have.

3. Know when to forgive. It’s nearly impossible to foster a relationship with someone if you harbor feelings of distrust or uncertainty toward them. While you may not have the ability to forget what’s happened, you always have the power to forgive those who have hurt you. Follow this guided meditation to make amends with both yourself and others.


Here’s hoping you all find moments to enjoy being mindful this week.

Stay Healthy, Chaps! 
-Kristi

"Hi, How Are You?" Day in Austin

1/17/2019

 
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A Message from EISD and Student Support Services and SEL:
 
On January 22nd, the second annual city-wide “Hi, How Are You?” Day will take place. The mission of this day is to raise awareness around the importance of mental health and to help start conversations with each other. HHAY Project founders Tom Gimbel and Courtney Blanton were inspired by Austin musician and artist Daniel Johnston’s mural on Guadalupe that features a frog asking “Hi, how are you?”  “Clearly, mental health is in the press more than ever, but so much more remains to be done,” said Blanton. “Statistics show us that depression, anxiety, and suicide are on the rise.  Removing the stigma is the first step towards a productive public dialog about mental health.” (https://www.hihowareyou.org/press/)
This is a great opportunity for families and students to take a minute to check-in and to listen attentively to each other.  Start the conversation!
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As always, we encourage everyone to print this card and carry it - 1-800-273-TALK (8255) 
The Crisis Text Line is another must have resource - 741741

If you have any concerns, please reach out to the school.  We can provide help and connect you to resources in the community.  

Stay Healthy, Chaps!
-Katie Bryant

why to consider group therapy

1/8/2019

 
Welcome back, Chaps!

We are excited to have guest blogger, Blake Norton, this week discussing why one should consider group therapy.


Group therapy can be a powerful and effective way to get support through the teen years in a low-pressure peer group setting. Groups can help you feel less alone and more connected, and can give you some much-needed space to decompress from the daily stressors of high school. Some group members have never tried therapy before and find the group setting to be more comfortable than meeting one-on-one with an individual therapist (even if you're nervous joining group at first).

Therapy groups are different than school & extracurricular groups, and different from just hanging with a group of friends. They are therapist-guided to be safe, supportive, nurturing and engaging for group members from diverse backgrounds. The groups are experiential and flexible (meaning the group can talk about whatever is most important to the group members at the time, rather than following a fixed curriculum), but rooted in the values of building interpersonal connections, deepening self-compassion & self-worth, and strengthening emotional resilience & coping. The experience of being in group can be very healing, and is especially helpful for anyone struggling with depression & other mood-related challenges, social anxiety, difficulty in relationships, those who struggle with self-worth or those who just feel awkward and uncomfortable meeting new people and want a safe & confidential place to be themselves fully.

Some of the benefits of group therapy can include:
  • Feelings of confidence and connection
  • Learning more about who you are and how to be true to your values
  • Discovering how to use self-compassion instead of self-criticism
  • Building healthy friendships and stronger family relationships
  • Learning how to manage difficult feelings
  • Discovering your strengths, resources and inner resilience

Here are some options for upcoming groups!

Stay Healthy, Chaps!
Katie Bryant

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