It’s back to school time! What an exciting time for students and their families. It’s a special time of renewed possibility and anticipation. Students look forward to seeing their friends, learning new material and experiencing more responsibility and opportunity. But students can also become anxious, and worried surrounding so much change. This is a great opportunity to emphasize working through new skills to build resilience.
Resilience is the ability to remain flexible and adaptable while facing life’s challenges.
Building resilience is not an individual endeavor. Children need family, school and community support. Parents can help by supporting students’ healthy behaviors like getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising.
Parents and teachers can also help by teaching emotional competencies that promote resilience like stress management, self-regulation, self-esteem, goal setting and the motivation and perseverance needed to reach those goals. Encourage reflection, empathy, and forgiveness. Emphasize and remind students they are safe. Keep familiar routines. Label emotions. Recognize and compliment students when they take responsible risks and challenge themselves.
Another great way to teach resiliency is to show resiliency! Be engaged with children and adolescents and lead by example to help them build their confidence. If you want to know more about building resilience here are two resources: The Resilience Project and The Family Dinner Project.
Special Event: Suicide Prevention Awareness
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. According to recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2022 saw the highest rates of suicide than any other year on record; 14.9 deaths for every 100,000 people. A person dies by suicide every 13.7 minutes, claiming more than 46,000 lives each year. It is estimated that an attempt is made every minute, with close to 1.2 million people attempting suicide annually. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. among adults 18-65, and the second leading cause of death among teens and young adults.
We are excited to announce that the Mind Springs Foundation is launching its 4th annual SUICIDE AWARENESS EVENT to be held on Saturday and Sunday, September 16-17 and registration is NOW OPEN.
The goal for this unique event is to help raise awareness for suicide prevention and fund life-saving mental health programs across all 10 of our Colorado counties.
Mind Springs Health News
Mind Springs Health CEO, John Sheehan, speaking at the Western Healthcare Alliance 2023 Summit at the Doubletree Hotel in Grand Junction. John spoke to rural healthcare leaders about Behavioral Health Integration.
