HOPE MEANS NEVADA OFFERS BACK-TO-SCHOOL
MENTAL HEALTH TIPS FOR STUDENTS
Interviews are available with mental health professionals and
Hope Means Nevada teen committee members to discuss tips for
safeguarding mental health this school year.
Hope Means Nevada (HMN), the community-based non-profit focused on eliminating youth suicide in the state, reminds students and their families to safeguard their mental health as in-person learning resumes this month. Interviews with a youth mental health professional or a Hope Means Nevada teen committee member may be arranged for media wishing to cover this important topic.
Youth, especially middle- and high-school students, may encounter additional mental health challenges associated with the resumption of “normality” with full-time in-person learning. Though the pandemic shutdowns and disruption of their routines presented their own worrisome effects on mental health, the process of returning to more typical social dynamics brings its own degree of stressors.
HMN wants to spread the message that “it’s OK not to be OK,” because mental health challenges affect nearly everyone at some time or another. Developed with the help of HMN’s mental health professionals and teen committee members, mental health tips for this school year include:
- Seek professional help when needed for mental health: Seeing a physician when you have a broken arm is perfectly normal and necessary, and so is seeing a therapist when you experience mental health challenges.
- Practice self-care: Get plenty of rest, exercise regularly, eat nutritious food, take time to connect with friends and loved ones and take care of your spiritual health through meditation, prayer or expressing gratitude for life’s gifts.
- Ask5: Teens are also encouraged to #Ask5 of their friends how they are doing every week, and to be prepared to provide information about available resources to anyone who seems to be struggling.
To schedule an interview on youth mental health tips for the return to school, email Vanessa Thill at [email protected].
ABOUT HOPE MEANS NEVADA
Hope Means Nevada is a community-based initiative of non-profit Nevada Medical Center focused on reversing the youth suicide trend in Nevada by inspiring a culture of empathy and advocacy around mental health. Created to raise overall awareness around Nevada’s high rates of mental health challenges and teen suicide in Nevada, Hope Means Nevada acknowledges teens may be encountering increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression due to the impact of COVID-19. For more information about Hope Means Nevada, go to www.hopemeansnevada.org, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline number is (800) 273-8255 or Text “Home” to 741741.