In this episode, host Zaniya Prasla interview Lydia Wehmeyer on the positive impact gaming can have on mental health. Some of what gets discussed may surprise you!

Season 6 Host, Zaniya Prasla, interviews Hanna Steplewaska to talk about the challenges and rewards of mentoring at risk youth. If you have ever thought about mentoring but have had your hesitations, this episode is for you!

Mentorship within teenagers encompasses the whole idea of answering the question every individual has: 

“What is my purpose” Why am I here? What for?

The constant question that is embedded in every teenager’s life, struggling to grasp motivation or not.....struggles, experience, past hardships and support all play a vital role in not just answering this question but implementing it into life.

Finding the answer isn’t as simple as it sounds. It is not as straightforward as it seems, many things are at play.

Conversations, trust, perspective, and commitment...All these are given by mentees as well as the mentors 

In this episode, Founder of the Catalyst Collective, Joe Elliott, takes time to explain their innovative approach to mentoring called the Purpose Project.  This mentoring experience, differentiating from all the others, takes on the hardship of helping teenagers answer life's toughest questions.

Joe and his team take in each and every teenager that seeks help, that seeks a guide, that seeks change.

For those who listen, all your questions will be answered...

“What steps could individuals take to start discovering their unique purpose and identity?” 

“What is the need for teenagers and how is this addressed?”

To dive into these answers and learn more about Catalyst Collective and what they do, check out this episode. 

If you would like to reach Zaniya, this seasons podcast host,  please email [email protected].

Choir, singing alone or with a group can affect the lives of many.

Feeling shy, scared, even maybe terrified to step foot on that stage can happen to anyone, and it does.

The list of thoughts that go through a teenagers brain are endless.

Having choir, having this outlet, has tremendously helped many.

Collaborating with a group and being able to face those fears and build those strong social skills are just some of the benefits that come along with joining Choir,  but how will choir help me to develop my future career? How does simply singing help?

All your questions will be answered today by Mrs.Emily Chandler.  She is the Director of Choirs and Vandergrift High School in Leander ISD.

It is vital to be able to step into an uncomfortable setting in order to get out of your comfort zone to grow oneself.

Taking in the opportunity and singing, regardless if you do awesome on the first try is the first step.

One of many followed that all come together to overall enhance one's social skills and mindset.

Links:

https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/7230/

https://journals.library.mun.ca/index.php/singing/article/view/1022

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17533015.2022.2094432

Love, hate, breakups, a common end of an era in ones life.

Days, weeks, even months go on spent with that “special someone” and when that ends, feelings of sadness, sorrow, guilt, pain, anger and more all start to rise.

Was I not good enough? Will I ever move on? WILL I EVER FIND LOVE?!

Just some of the common questions that constantly go through an individual's head after a nasty breakup.

Some isolate themselves, dwell in their sorrows, others obsess over activities such as shopping, swiping credit cards left and right, individuals can pack their schedule, overworking themselves, ultimately providing a “distraction”.

But these “distractions” only go so far.

Feelings will come and go, and no “distraction” can save you from that.

If I feel these feelings won't I be hurt? 

How will I know if I have moved on from these feelings?

When will I know I'm ready to be in another relationship?

“Completely starting over?” Sounds hard, yes. 

With today's episode about how to cope with a break up, you will learn how to overcome those feelings and how to go about them.

All your questions will be answered along with a few shared tips from Dr.Helen Hsu.

Dr.Helen Hsu is the past president of the Asian American Psychological Association, current president of the American Psychological Association Division 45 and has served on the APA c Committee on sexual orientation and Gender Expression, are just some of her outstanding accomplishments.

So join us today to explore all the different aspects that makeup a “breakup”.

Do you know anyone who experiences high days then the next minute you turn around they are at the lowest point of their life? Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mental condition that includes extreme mood swings.

The reason for this disorder is unknown. It may be genetics, environment, altered brain chemistry or maybe even a combination of all. What does the life of one diagnosed with bipolar disorder look like?

Mrs.Diana Mosley, a bipolar patient, who is now a successful business woman shares her story with her struggles and obstacles she faced. 

Highlighted Quotes:

“What I was doing was abnormal, over the top, not normal”

“The extreme lows were suicidal thoughts, depression, and the lowest it could possibly go”

“It was always chasing something and never just being happy with what I had and not being happy with who I was”

It's 2023, not 1960. 

We live in a world where electronic devices are there at any turn, are in any pocket, and are in any hand. 

Where there are phones, there is social media.

Where there is social media, there are pictures online.

Pictures with lighting enhancement, filters, photoshopping, editing and much more.

Seeing these pictures leads to a body dissatisfaction and wishing that one could change the way they look.

These photos aren't just photos people view online; they increase body image insecurity and negative self-talk offline as well.

What is the correlation between the media and the way we view our bodies? 

What do teenagers do with a phone? Click on an app, swipe, and watch… 

That watching affects the mental health of many teenagers and creates behavioral problems and outburst of emotions 

Many questions may arise when you hear the phrase “social media and body image”

To answer those questions join me on this episode with Dr.Len Newman, a professor of psychology and a social psychologist at Syracuse University Who conducts research on a wide range of mental health topics

He specializes in the different effect social media pictures have on body image

Join me on my next episode on bipolar disorder and the day to day life with one who is diagnosed

Lastly, email me at [email protected] for questions you would like answered or any concerns!

Highlighted Quotes: 

“ ‘I wish I looked like that’, it is possible that spontaneously that is your first reaction, to compare yourself”

“We compare ourselves to others more than we are consciously aware we are”

“There are media effects on people's bodies satisfaction” 

Are you a teenager that constantly picks at specific parts of your body appearance you don't like? Are you constantly flooded with negative comments? Then you may want too look into BDD. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is the constant obsession with body image and the continual worry about flaws and how others perceive your opinions. In this episode we have a guest, Dr.Cynthia Van Golen a professor of neuroscience at the University of Delaware. We will go over the factors that play a role in BDD, the symptoms, the effects in behavior as well as go over questions you may have.

Body dysmorphia and the feelings along with it can affect lives. 

Hiding, feeling ashamed, embarrassed, can happen one day and the another day you are basically being eaten alive by negative self comments.

Covering yourself, going to extreme lengths to hide yourself, constantly picking at yourself wishing you could look different. 

The list of the thoughts that go around in patients diagnosed with BDD is endless.

People have negative thoughts which leads to depression, suicidal thoughts and more. 

This can be caused by a variety of reasons whether it may be the environment all the way to childhood drama.

And many more factors.

So how can we help those who are diagnosed? 

Today we will answer this question with Dr.Cynthia Van Golen 

Dr.Cynthia Van Golen is a professor of neuroscience at Delaware State

It is vital to create a safe environment, make them feel comfortable and most importantly to be in a complete judge free zone.

Letting an individual open up is the first step in getting better.

Once that is established, help is the next step. 

There are different treatments whether it may be therapy or medication or sometimes both. 

How would I even know if someone is diagnosed? 

What do I look for?

To dive into these answers check out this episode on BDD with our guest speaker Dr.Cynthia Van Golen for more. 

Join me on my next episode on how social media pictures affect teenagers where we can dive into the main root of this arising BDD problem 

Lastly, email me at [email protected] for questions you would like answered or any concerns!

Highlighted quotes:

“BDD is a gradual increase from an obsession of their appearance to the point it's affecting school, work, etc.” 

“BDD and OCD have a very similar incidence.” 

“This isn't ego, this isn't self absorption, there are changes that actually occur in the brain with people with BDD meaning this is a true illness.” 

“If this is something you are facing, get help and do not feel alone.”

Lily is diagnosed with BDD and is invited to a pool party which she dearly wants to go to but is held back by this invisible rope of fear: how others will analyze and criticize her body. 

She goes through stages of sadness, frustration, embarrassment, and obsession due to the obstacles she faces throughout the story. 

As she goes through these moments, it is important to analyze and break down what is happening and what is going through her head, as her internal monologue screams at her and floods her with negative thoughts. 

Highlight Quotes: 

Lily desires to be perfect and look like the ideal image she has in mind because “BDD is all about being obsessed with the whole idea of looking perfect even when there is no such thing as perfect”. 

She goes through and expresses different behavior changes such as covering herself since “a patient with BDD would go to extreme lengths to make them feel comfortable and not bring attention to their appearance.” 

Throughout the whole story she has negative comments filling her head. “It's quite simple. If you don’t like the way you look or think there is something wrong, you won’t have the confidence you wish to have.”

Wishing she could change herself she does an online search looking for different ways to lose weight scrolling for hours and hours browsing through weight loss treatments and surgeries to diets to pre-made workouts that focus on losing fat. 

For more research here are some resources I found helpful in my studying: 

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=k9jQCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=body+dysmorphic+disorder+feelings&ots=CITdRdWEA2&sig=2qEGLx3pNAgy4TMTEm5zUxx2Fu4#v=onepage&q=body%20dysmorphic%20disorder%20feelings&f=false

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7114025/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1357034X09347222 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1022090200057

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0005796700001029

https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1756-0500-6-36

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/body-dysmorphia/#:~:text=BDD%20can%20seriously%20affect%20your,and%20even%20thoughts%20of%20suicide.

Mentoring teens is a scary thought, isn't it?  They carry attitudes, think they know more than you and rarely show gratitude.  Why would anyone want to invest in them when there are easier ways to contribute to society?

And yet, they are our future.  They want to be successful, they just don't know how.  Between media addictions, fast access to drugs, mental health breakdowns, campus lockdowns, threats of mass shootings, the absence of available mentors and so much more, the odds are against them.

In the second of our two part, bonus episode series, we interview a group of 7th and 8th grade students who recently completed the Purpose Project at their school.  We ask them about their thoughts on a range of topics and have them share the personal insight they gained while working through our innovative, social-emotional style curriculum.  

Again, we think you will love what they have to say and also be inspired yourself to invest in the young people in your life who are starving for mentorship.  If you feel the tug to do something but you are not sure what, consider scheduling a 15 minute call with us to explore becoming a certified Purpose Project Guide.  It may be easier than you think and more rewarding than you can possibly imagine.

Learn more at www.catalystcollective.community