Teens Archives - NAMI Arapahoe/Douglas Counties

Refresh and Recharge Kids with Fun and Mindful Activities

Jason Hopcus, CLC, MSLC October 20, 2024October 20, 2024 gratitude, happiness, Healthy Practices, healthy students, kindness, mental health, mental health care, NAMI Blog, self-care, Teens, wellness

In today’s fast-paced world, children often face a myriad of activities and expectations that can lead to stress and fatigue. To help them refresh and recharge, integrating fun and mindful activities into their routine is crucial. Here are some suggestions from NAMI Arapahoe/Douglas Counties for activities that not only provide relaxation but also promote emotional and physical well-being, enhancing their overall development. Establishing a Relaxing Bedtime Routine Creating a consistent bedtime routine is crucial for enhancing children’s sleep quality. By signaling the brain that it’s time to wind down, activities such as reading, listening to calming music, or gentle stretchesRead More

The Courage to Face Addiction

Jason Hopcus, CLC, MSLC August 8, 2019August 30, 2019 addiction, colorado, connection, counseling, exercise, gratitude, happiness, health, Healthy Practices, healthy students, high school, life pressures, meditation, mental health, mental health care, pressure, psychology, recovery, Scholarship, self-care, sociology, stigma, Students, substance abuse, substance use, support group, Teens, well-being, wellness, whole health

Addiction is a struggle that many face. To do so, takes an immense amount of sacrifice, and willingness to beat. A task that is not easily done. The first step requires one to acknowledge their addiction. This can be the hardest step, as it has become part of the addict’s life, habits, and takes priority over most things in life. The mindset of an addict is counter-intuitive to a non-addict. The struggle of someone who wants to fix their problem but is not able to because of their internal conflict can be a relentless back and forth cycle of attemptsRead More

Life pressures have teens on overload

Jason Hopcus, CLC, MSLC August 8, 2019August 8, 2019 Anxiety, college, colorado, community, connection, depression, education, educators, gratitude, happiness, health, Healthy Practices, healthy students, help, high school, kindness, life pressures, meditation, mental health, mental health care, mental illness, NAMI Blog, pressure, Scholarship, social, Students, teachers, Teens, time management, well-being, wellness, whole health

Today, teens get a lot of ‘future’ pressure from parents and older adults to be a certain way and succeed in the ways they see best, which can result in considerable undue stress. The expected norm is that you have to do well in school while taking part in extracurricular activities to secure admission to a choice school or prestigious university. This pressure can make a youth feel as though they aren’t doing enough, aren’t good enough, and ultimately can lead to them giving up overall. Personally, my parents have always pushed me to do my best. Once, I hadRead More