Guest Blog by Peer Leader Pablo Cruz, Daily Routine: How Long Until We Fall?

It seems to me that stress is controlling many students’ lives, especially those from high school and college. It begins from the very second we get up to that noisy alarm clock. One of my good friends said “I hate waking up to the alarm clock. It feels like it pierces through my body.”

As a student my days begin with stress. I rush to eat breakfast and to get my supplies ready. As soon as I arrive to school parking is a hassle and I fear that I will be late for class. While walking at a fast paste I can already hear my professor saying, “my class started minutes ago why are you late?” But I finally make it to class and the teacher mentions “how was the reading? ...okay good, because we’re having a quiz.”

Even when I am sitting without the exam in front of me, I tend to freak out as the anxiety starts to overwhelm my body like a starving dog. Even though I made it to class at the end of the day, I tend to be both mentally and physically drained, and maybe even emotionally.

Even when the school day is over the stress continues as some students rush home, eat a snack, and get ready to drive to work. After 4-6 hours of work, it is finally time to go home tired, hungry, sleepy, and exhausted. It is time to rest. But the reality is that there is no time to rest due to homework. Then suddenly it is about midnight, maybe or sometimes even 2 a.m. With only 5-7 hours of sleep a day students tend to wake up exhausted and once again the stress is talking control.

I write this to try and give a pat on the back to all students, great job! School is not easy for everyone and we have to always relax, take a break, and be patient. Stay active in some sort of exercise and most importantly, sleep and smile.

"No Homo"- Blog by Peer Leader Marcos Garcilazo

I recently watched an organization's public service announcement that promoted condom use to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS. I remember the gist of it, but as a matter of fact, the makers of the video lost me within four seconds.

The video had very little dialogue, but they used Lil' Wayne's "Lollipop" as the background music for their video. If you are not familiar with the song, click on the following link and pay very close attention to the lyrics.

Lollipop

Did you catch it? It's four seconds into the video/song. If you're not used to having gay slurs thrown in your direction you might have missed it. Heck, even if you are you might have missed it. If you did miss it, click the link again and really try and hear it.

Four seconds in, he says "no homo." The expression, if you are unaware, is used to clarify that under no conditions is any of the following to be interpreted as gay. The expression is very common on most social websites like Twitter and Facebook. The expression bases itself in the fear that anything - describing a shirt or even the weather - may be interpreted as the speaker being gay, and implying that there is something inherently wrong or offensive about being gay. Once again our culture has found a away to put down gay individuals everywhere constantly - first it was "that's gay" and now it's "no homo."

When I heard that in a video, they lost me. I wasn't listening because I was wondering "How could an organization perpetuate a negative phrase against such a vast part of the community when they're supposed to be educating them about condom usage?" Gay men tend to be at a higher risk for HIV/AIDS, so I struggle to understand why they would use a song that marginalizes gay people within the first four seconds.

There are more rap songs out there than I care to count, and some just as popular (if not more popular) than Lil' Wayne's song. Now, it is hard to miss it but if someone is used to being harassed for their sexual orientation, they won't miss it. If one is constantly demonized, when that demonization makes it into a video that's supposed to encourage safe sex, they're not going to hear the message. They'll hear the homophobic remark at the very beginning.

As I said earlier, gay men are at a higher risk of HIV/AIDS if protection isn't used, so it troubles me that one of the more at-risk target populations is being ignored. Stigma is a cause of risky sexual behavior, so it's important to remember what our language is doing to a community. I should hope that organizations will think very carefully when deciding what content to include, and in so doing they will ensure that their message is actually heard by those who would benefit from hearing it. With so many gay youth completing suicide in recent months, it should be obvious that we need to be more sensitive about language and the words we use.

Back to school blues

It's that time of year again. Throughout Sonoma County (and across the nation) children, teens, and college students are heading back to the classroom. Many of the Sonoma County Peer Outreach Coalition's Peer Leaders are going back to school this week too. Things are about to get busy!

Some of you may be heading off to college for the first time. This is an exciting transition! For the first time you may be living away from home. Independence! Freedom! Partying! Before you get too excited, remember the reason you are going away to school is *ahem* school.

Despite all these feelings of excitement, going to college can stir up some emotions you may not be prepared for. Although college is an opportunity to meet lots of new people, sometimes students find that they are socially isolated and lonely. According to this recent article, mental health problems are on the rise among college students. The students who are most likely to seek counseling or other resources on campus are the ones who feel disconnected from peers or feel like they are not "fitting in" at the school.

According to the study by Hofstra University, "moderate to severe depression increased to 41 percent in 2009, compared to 34 percent in 1997 and 1998." Also, the study reported that impulsive behaviors (such as drinking, fighting, and stealing) were on the rise. The incidence of students exhibiting self-destructive behaviors (such as cutting or other forms of self-injury) doubled during the last decade.

But there is good news! According to the same study, student reports of suicidal thoughts were down by fifteen percent! It has been suggested that this is due to college student's increased access to on campus counseling and health services.

So if you are going away to college, where can you turn for support?

• Your campus health center Check out your college health center. Most have access to counseling and mental health services.



• Your friends Reach out to your classmates and friends. A phone call to a friend from high school who is attending a different school may boost your mood.



• Your family There is nothing wrong with calling home to talk about how you are feeling! Also, if you have health insurance, your family might be able to help you locate a mental health professional under your insurance plan to help with the strong emotions you are dealing with



• Your online social network There is a wealth of information on the internet. On Facebook, the Sonoma County Peer Outreach Coalition links to a variety of Facebook pages and websites about suicide prevention, depression, and anxiety. There are also numerous online resources dedicated to college students such as ULifeline. Right now you can also check out Psych Central which currently has a back-to-school mental health guide

Remember, it is completely normal to feel depressed and overwhelmed at times. Going to college for the first time is a life-changing experience. If you feel like your enjoyment of this exciting time in your life is being overshadowed by feelings of sadness or hopelessness, then please make an appointment with you campus health center. There is nothing wrong with seeking help for depression or anxiety symptoms. As you can tell by these articles, students are making the choice to get help more frequently.

The Sonoma County Peer Outreach Coalition frequently uses the saying "Got Mental Health?" Take care of your body, take care of your mind, and when we ask you if you've got mental health you can say proudly, "Why yes, I do!"

What does your Facebook say about you?

When you run an online social media campaign about mental health awareness, you are constantly aware of how you are perceived by the public. You must be careful about your choice of words (i.e. The Baby Seal Club) and make sure that you are providing the best information possible for your readers. The Peer Leaders are constantly sifting through articles, websites, and a plethora of information online about teen mental health, sex, drugs, and occasionally a little rock and roll. We discuss frequently if something is worth posting, if it is "Fact or Crap?" as we have joked on many occasions.

So when you are looking online at your friends' Facebook profile, can you be sure they are showing you who they really are? Well, now you can. According to a study in the March issue of Psychological Science, Facebook users' profiles accurately reflect who they really are! The study was done by a collaboration of University of Texas at Austin and the University of Mainz in Germany. Research assistants ranked profiles study participants on the “Big Five.” These are the five dimensions of personality often used in psych­ological research. They include extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness and conscientiousness.

The research assistants then compared their perceptions with personality tests of the study participants, and the feedback of four close friends of the participants. For the most part, the perceptions were very accurate. In other words, if you were to look at a profile on Facebook and think "Wow, this person sure is extroverted!" you would most likely be correct.

Why is this important? Well, think about everything we do online. We socialize, we date, and we occasionally snoop on other people! The latter is more common than you think, especially when it comes to employers checking up on prospective job applicants. What do you think a potential employer thinks when they see a job applicant's Facebook profile where all the pictures show the applicant drunk on the beach in Cabo? Hmm...maybe it's time to rethink posting those Spring Break photos.

The Sonoma County Peer Outreach Coalition works pretty closely with local LGBTQ organizations such as Positive Images and Outbeat Youth. Over the past few months, we have become increasingly aware of the problem of privacy when it comes to being "out" online. Once you have posted information online, people can access that information. Privacy settings can help, but concerns about safety and security often are at the forefront of the minds of those who have faced discrimination in the past.

Cyberbullying is also a concern regardless of one's sexual orientation. Teens across the country are being bullied by peers via the internet, often resulting in mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Cyberbullying has even been linked to a probable cause of a girl's suicide in New York.

Will knowing that people are (for the most part) pretty honest on Facebook help with this problem? Will this knowledge make it easier to spot a wolf in sheep's clothing? Can we now determine what is "fact" and what is, well, "crap?"

Excuse me now while I go remove my summer vacation pictures from my Facebook...

"Equality: 1, Bigotry: 0." Guest blog post by Peer Leader Marcos Garcilazo

Yesterday was a historic day for LGBTQ rights in the state of California. Since members of the LGBTQ population are often at an increased risk of stress, anxiety, and depression due to discrimination, Marcos has graciously written this post on his thoughts about Prop 8, equality, and discrimination. Thanks Marcos!

Yesterday afternoon, I was one of the millions of people on Twitter who was furiously refreshing their feed hoping that the Fail Whale would not show up. The day before, the judge who had been presented with the case that would rule Proposition 8 (which banned gay marriage in California back in November 2008) was going to release his decision. I was overcome with the same feeling that I felt the night of November 2008 when Americans made history by electing the first African-American man to office: history would be made that day once again.

At 2PM PST, Twitter exploded (it really exploded) with the news: the Judge had ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional, meaning that people in favor of gay marriage had won this round. I have to admit that a huge grin adorned my face as I proudly updated my Facebook status with a link to the ruling and my own little comment - "Equality: 1, Bigotry: 0." I understand this is but the first step in what's surely going to be a marathon, but it's a step in what I believe to be the right direction.

As of yesterday, a very large part of the population got affirmation on a very deep level that there is hope for equality. America has a history of inequality and bigotry, sure, but we also have a history of people moving history along past such things, and yesterday Honorable Judge Vaughn Walker joined those people. His ruling, which is honestly one of the better reads of the summer (and I only read about a fifth of the whole document) very clearly asserts several things. First, his ruling upholds the notion that equality is not something we should be putting up for a vote. Equality in general is not a voter initiative idea - it is an ideal. Regardless of race, gender, economic status, sexual orientation, religion, or any other factor that may differentiate us from a larger group, when we stand in front of a judge or in front of a police officer, we expect that we will all be treated equally. This ruling asserts that Judge Walker heard no argument that was convincing enough to abolish that equality at the marriage license clerk's office.

The concept of equality is not new, but the fact that now we should be applying it to more people apparent is. If "marriage" continues to be something recognized by a government, which thereby grants certain legal benefits (e.g. hospital visits, tax breaks, etc) then marriage should be something every single American should be able to get. Throughout this whole debate opponents of gay marriage have brought up the religious interpretation of the word "marriage", and that's something that needs to be said: this debate is not about "religious marriage" - it is about the legal, government-recognized and government-benefited union between two people. In order for equality to be equality, it needs to be applied to everyone, not just to those the majority deems appropriate.

Second, this decision carried a deeper message for the greater queer community. This decision sent a loud and clear message that their relationships are just as valid and that their relationships carry the same intrinsic value as opposite-sex relationships. Through years of anti-gay messaging, it has been my experience that people do not carry the same level of respect for the word "partner" as they do for "husband" or "wife," and what this decision does is tell all those people that in fact there is no difference, that the love in a relationship is not dictated by the genders of the people in it.

Third, this decision was really heartening because it struck down discrimination, and as a "minority" discrimination is an issue. As I said, if people will discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation, how can I know that it won't be because of their race the next day, or because they have an accent, or are of a certain religion? Discrimination is a disease as far as I'm concerned and to allow any kind of discrimination is a violation of the principle that our nation so often touts: that all men are created equal. If we are to uphold that notion, then we must do all that we can to make sure that every single person in this nation is an equal in the eyes of the law.

Again, this is not about the religious institution. This is about the legal marriage. Yesterday amongst the flurry of joy around this decision there was a lot of hate. Some people see this as an attack on tradition, and some see it as an attack on the will of the people. Appealing to tradition is one of the many techniques employed in arguments, and to that I say, just because we've been doing something in a particular manner for years doesn't mean we've been doing something right. As far as an attack on the will of the people, well, this is called a "minority rights issue" for a reason - this affects the minority, and the implication here is that simply because 52% of Californians have an issue with gay marriage we should embed discrimination into our state constitution. Minority rights would never advance if we waited for the majority to work through its concerns with any particular issue.

I hope that when this reaches the Supreme Court of the United States (and I have no doubt it will) I will see a repeat of yesterday. It is comforting to know that a community that so often has to deal with hatred finally gets a break, even if it's just a small one.

When the "F" on your report card means "Fat"

It seems that Massachusetts is on the front line for controversial education reforms. Remember a few weeks ago when the Provincetown school district decided to update their condom policy? Well, if nothing else, Massachusetts is giving us plenty to think about!

Now from Medway, Massachusetts, there is a new trend. Schools have started weighing students, calculating their Body Mass Index (BMI) and then sending home a "Fitness Report Card" to parents. An angry mother took information to a Fox News TV station in Boston. A Fox News correspondent offered the opinion that this new policy demonstrates a "lack of respect" for the parents and pediatricians responsible for making heath decisions for the students.

Obesity in children and teens has been big in the news lately. First Lady Michelle Obama has been promoting a campaign to end childhood obesity, and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has started his Food Revolution campaign to change the way we eat in the United States. Obviously obesity in teens has huge implications for their physical health.

But what about mental health? Studies show that obese teens are more likely to be bullied than peers of a normal weight. In addition, bullying can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression. These mental health problems can last well into one's adult years. Even if an overweight teenager loses weight, the insecurities do not necessarily go away.

Chances are, overweight teens already know they are larger than their peers. Is a Fitness/Fatness report card necessary? Will it do more harm than good? Or, conversely, is this the catalyst needed to propel parents to help their children lead healthier lives?

How can I "pull myself up by my bootstraps" if I don't have any bootstraps?

Despite spending two solid years doing nothing but grad school papers and grant proposals, I must admit I really enjoy doing research. I love pawing over breaking news and obscure articles trying to find something new and exciting that I can share with everyone. I have been told that this impedes my efforts to shed my nerdy image.

This morning I was perusing the Associated Press breaking news and I stumbled across this headline:

Minority children have fewer advantages

Seriously? It took a nationwide survey to determine this?

To give you some background, professionals who work with young people were surveyed. The professionals were asked to rate how many advantages were available to the youth clients they served. They asked these professionals about access to quality health care, education, safe homes and neighborhoods, and community support. Not surprisingly, it was found that white youth have more advantages than Latino/Hispanic, Arab American, Native American, African American and Asian American/Pacific Islander youth.

To be completely honest (since reading this on the Internet isn't exactly the same as a face-to-face conversation) I am a white woman. Yesterday at the latest Sonoma County Peer Outreach Coalition meeting, we unexpectedly spent a great deal of time discussing the fact that I happen to be facilitating a group of culturally, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse youth.

Like many other professionals, I strive to be more culturally sensitive. Despite our efforts, I often see many professionals with the attitude that those experiencing tremendous hardship simply need to "work harder" or as I have heard all too frequently "pull themselves up by their bootstraps." Perhaps this survey was needed now more than ever. If I don't have the same opportunities and everyone else, how can I work hard enough to achieve the same outcome? How can I "pull myself up by my bootstraps" if I don't have any bootstraps?

The other interesting fact mentioned in this survey is that children of all ages from low-income families, regardless of race, have less opportunities than those from middle-class to upper-middle class households. Once again, this feels like "Your delivery of obvious has arrived" but I do think it warrants repeating. This is why nonprofits committed to ending the cycle of poverty are more important now than ever.

You may now be feeling I have overstayed my welcome on my soapbox, or have at the very least failed to connect this survey to the mission of the SCPOC: promoting awareness about mental health issues and risks for mental illness. Although not explicitly mentioned in the survey, the lack of opportunities mentioned can all put youth at risk for mental health problems.

The National Center for Children in Poverty reports:

• 21% of low-income children and youth ages 6 through 17 have mental health problems


• 13% of children from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds receive mental health services


• 88% of Latino children have unmet mental health needs


• 85% of children and youth in need of mental health services in the child welfare system do not receive them

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Youth who have been exposed to violence in their homes and communities, such as witnessing or being the victim of physical or sexual abuse, drive-by shootings, muggings, or other disasters, are at elevated risk for the following mental health disorders:

• depression


• ADD/ADHD


• anxiety


• conduct disorders


• eating disorders
  

It is time for everyone to really consider how poverty impacts youth. It is time to stop assuming that people in low-income households simply need to work harder to have the same opportunities as everyone else. It is time to recognize that lack of quality health care, violence in the home and/or community, and lack of community support can have a devastating outcome on the mental well-being of an entire generation.

I implore you: what can we do about poverty?

Can Facebook and Twitter make you a nicer person?

I did not go to graduate school to become a blogger. The transition from high school guidance counseling to online mental health awareness promotion has been strange, but largely enjoyable. Although I have found this experience fun and exciting, many I know in the human services field have questioned this career shift. I was recently asked "By only supporting teens online as opposed to working with teens face-to-face, don't you think you are cutting out all human emotion and compassion from the equation?"

Ouch.

Despite the anti-social stigma associated with social media, it turns out that using sites such as Facebook and Twitter can make you feel more connected, generous, and affectionate. It all boils down to oxytocin.

Oxy-who? Oxytocin is also known as the cuddle hormone. Know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you hug or kiss someone? That's oxytocin. Ever hear about how mother and child bond during breastfeeding? Once again, oxytocin is responsible.

So what does this have to do with tweeting? Paul J. Zak at Claremont Graduate University discovered that interacting with people via social media causes oxytocin levels to rise substantially while simultaneously decreasing stress hormones. In other words, using Twitter and Facebook to connect with people releases those same feel-good chemicals you would get by hanging out in person.

So how does this make you a nicer person? According to Zak, research indicates that people are more empathetic when their oxytocin levels go up. They may be more kind, fair, and honest. Also, these results last about an hour after the initial social media interaction occurred!

The Sonoma County Peer Outreach Coalition is on both Facebook and Twitter! I wish I could say that posting to our page or following our tweets will make you a nicer person...but alas, Zak's sample size was a bit too small for us to consider this as credible research.

If nothing else, checking out our social media will leave you will that delightful, warm and fuzzy feeling you get from oh-so-wonderful oxytocin...and you never have to leave your computer or change out of your pajamas! No worries; we don't judge and we don't tell. We are pretty happy here at the POC. It must be all that Facebooking/tweeting/blogging we do!

Technical difficulties?

Nope! There may be a few less posts than in previous weeks, but I am simply out of the office for a few days.

Anyway, vacation makes you healthier and improves your mental well-being! Hey, thanks NPR! Maybe while I am on vacation you should get some R&R too!

So rest assured, your will still get your SCPOC fix. See you soon, and remember...RELAX!!!

Ask us ANYTHING!

Anything? Really? Do you mean that?

We just made added a new feature to our website called "So Shana..." Click on the link on the page to send an e-mail to the Mental Health Program Specialist for the Sonoma County Peer Outreach Coalition.

You e-mail will be kept completely confidential. We will post the answer on the "Ask us Anything" page of the website. What do you want to ask us?
Ask us anything! Ask us about depression, stress, dating, situations with friends, things that bum you out or make you angry, sex, concerns....ANYTHING!
What are you waiting for? Come check us out and get answers to your questions!