Start A Conversation: 10 Questions Teens Ask About Drugs and Health
From the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
NIDA’s goal is to help people get accurate, science-based information about drugs and health. To help you start a conversation about drugs and health with your teen, they have compiled teens’ most frequently asked questions from more than 118,000 queries.
Check out the questions and learn how to answer them here.
Managing the Seemingly Inevitable Holiday Season Stress
From Very Well Mind
Welcome to the holiday season—that whirlwind of gift-giving holidays, marketing blitzes, holiday parties, and activities galore that begins right after Halloween, builds to Thanksgiving and continues gaining momentum through the end of the year. While this season is meant to bring feelings of love and cheer, it’s also the harbinger of holiday stress for many. Read more.
Volunteer Opportunities
There are a variety of volunteer opportunities at awesome nonprofits throughout Westchester and Putnam Counties. To view these opportunities, please check out Volunteer New York!
Upcoming Events and Webinars
Weekly Spotlight Family Support Groups
From our partners at Drug Crisis in Our Backyard, weekly Spotlight Family Support Groups, held virtually every Tuesday and Wednesday via Zoom. Spotlight on Recovery is a Family Educational and Support Group for families struggling with a loved one misusing substances. For more information click here.
The Parent Support Network is a program of The Youth Mental Health Project that seeks to provide support for parents and guardians who are concerned about the mental health of their children through confidential, peer-to-peer meetings. For a list of upcoming virtual meetings, click here.
November 2: Holiday Stress and Self Care
The most wonderful time of the year doesn’t always feel that wonderful. Register now.
November 3: Responding to Mental Health Emergencies
We know what to do when someone breaks their arm: brace it and go to the hospital. But what do you do when someone is experiencing a mental health emergency? Learn what causes crisis situations, the warning signs, how to respond, and what to do once the crisis has ended. Register now.
November 5 & 6: Fall Back Into Wellness Symposium
This two day symposium offers workshops that will provide an opportunity to engage in learning about how to implement daily self care and wellness strategies to thrive in one’s wellness, as well as actionable wellness tools and information on the many pathways to recovery from Substance Use Disorder and Mental Illness. For more information and to register for free, click here.
November 10: Mental Health & Mental Illness: What’s the Difference?
This one-hour seminar provides an accessible guide to understanding what mental health is, the categories of mental illness, and how they’re treated. Separate myths & facts and learn strategies to combat stigma and help others with a licensed therapist. Register for free here.
November 17: Virtual Overdose Prevention Training
Naloxone is a prescription medicine that reverses an overdose by blocking heroin or other opioids in the nervous system for 30-90 minutes. Naloxone is administered by injection or intranasal. Following training, participants receive a kit by mail. Presented by our partners at Drug Crisis in Our Backyard. Register by email: ssal@drugcrisisinourbackyard.com
November 23: Communication Do’s and Dont’s
Understanding how mental health impacts thinking and behavior helps to reduce frustration & stress, and improves outcomes for everyone. Learn simple tools to manage conflict and express feelings with a licensed therapist. Register for free here.
November 28: Talking to Kids About Mental Health
Learn how to help children understand what mental illness is and is not, and how to answer their questions, with a licensed therapist. Register now.
November 29: Stress: Signs, Symptoms, Management and Prevention
The term ‘stress’ is used loosely in our culture. What does it really mean and how vulnerable are you? Register now.
December 7: K.N.O.W. 2 Prevent: Creating Stability in a Changing World: Cultivating Teen Mental Health in 2023
The world is shifting – between emerging from COVID-19 precautions, war in Europe, climate concerns, and political polarization, society feels very different now than it did just a few years ago. Although it’s been stressful on all of us, youth have had the additional challenge of coping with these changes without the same perspective or mental tools as adults, leading to a nationally-recognized emergency in youth mental health. As a parent, it can be difficult to know where to start – how to create a sense of stability for our children in a very unstable time. Join psychologist Dr. Aaron Weiner for an exploration of three foundational principles in creating emotional stability – connection, structure, and confidence – and how parents can work with their kids to build these tools for emotional resilience from home. Register now.
Please visit the ASK calendar here for more upcoming events and follow ASK on social media!