Mental Health 101 – A Curriculum for All Students

Mental Health 101 – A Curriculum for All Students

Wouldn’t it be strange if schools required PE Class (aka: Physical Education or Gym Class) for students with physical health conditions such as asthma, allergies, and obesity? And what if PE was optional for the so-called healthy kids? Can you imagine the shame and stigma for the kids in Gym Class?  Thankfully, schools don’t do that! But it’s a decent metaphor for how mental health is handled in K-12 schools. In the vast majority of schools, mental health is considered…

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3 Ways to Reduce Mental Health Stigma

3 Ways to Reduce Mental Health Stigma

In our new book, Mental Health 101 for Teens, all four authors talk about our personal mental health journeys, and there’s one thing we have in common: back when we were teens, we all felt some level of mental health stigma in the culture around us. Mental health stigma is the common shame, fear, and misconceptions people have surrounding the topic of mental health. Stigma permeates our culture as if mental health is only experienced by people who are somehow…

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5 Secrets to Becoming Resilient

5 Secrets to Becoming Resilient

When I was 15, I was sent to a three-week intervention program for struggling teens… rebellious teens… teens who get in trouble. That was my life, full of negativity and bitterness. I had gone through a lot of hurtful events with my family and at school, and I was basically mad at the world. That intervention ended up being the wakeup call I needed. Even after the three-week program, I continued going to counseling sessions on a regular basis. And…

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3 Mindsets: Creators, Consumers, and Critics

3 Mindsets: Creators, Consumers, and Critics

As a youth motivational speaker, students often ask for my secrets to success. In my new book, Victimproof, I have a bonus chapter on this very topic. But recently I added another secret to my list: BE A CREATOR. Most people live their lives as CREATORS, CONSUMERS, or CRITICS. The reality is: we’re surrounded by consumers, and we’ve had our full of critics, so what we need is more creators, and here’s why. (more…)

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