Alpha Connection

A concealed predicament is occurring in the midst of tumultuous high school corridors and tranquil adolescent dormitories. Stress and depression among adolescents, which are frequently misdiagnosed and overlooked, affect a sizeable proportion of today’s youth. This blog provides an in-depth analysis of the intricacies surrounding this matter, investigating its origins, manifestations, and potential avenues for assistance for the young people grappling with it.

Comprehending the Issue

Significant growth and change characterize adolescence, which is frequently accompanied by rapid emotional, physical, and social maturation. Nevertheless, these years may also be fraught with anxiety and tension. The pursuit of identity, academic pressures, and social dynamics can all contribute to the development of mental health issues.

Teenage depression is frequently undiagnosed. In contrast to adults, who may possess a greater capacity for communicating their emotions, adolescents may encounter difficulties in articulating their sentiments. This reticence may stem from an apprehension of social disapproval, a misinterpretation of one’s own emotions, or a lack of linguistic capacity to articulate one’s emotional condition.

Acknowledging the Signs

It is vital to identify the indicators of melancholy and stress in adolescents. These may consist of:

• Mood or conduct alterations, including heightened levels of irritability, hostility, or withdrawal
• Variations in sleep patterns, characterized by excessive or insufficient rest
• Weight and appetite fluctuations
• Declining enthusiasm for activities that were once relished
• Concentration difficulties and a decline in academic performance
• Expressions of worthlessness or despondency

Fundamental Causes

There are numerous contributors to adolescent tension and depression. These may consist of:

• Academic Pressure: It can be overwhelming to attain high grades, gain admission to prestigious colleges, and excel in extracurricular activities.
• Social tension can arise from the demands of maintaining romantic relationships, navigating friendships, and engaging with social media.
• Family dynamics can have a profound impact on the mental well-being of adolescents, as parental expectations and conflicts are examples of such issues that emerge within the home environment.
• Biological Factors: Adolescent brain development and hormonal fluctuations may also contribute to the occurrence of mental health problems.

Providing Assistance and Resolutions

To combat adolescent depression and stress, a multifaceted strategy is required:

1. Foster an environment that is secure and welcoming for adolescents to express their emotions without fear of criticism.
2. Advocate for the utilization of mental health professionals’ services when required.
3. Parental and school collaboration is essential in order to identify and assist students who are experiencing mental health challenges.
4. Community Awareness: Cultivating a more supportive atmosphere can be achieved by increasing community awareness regarding the indicators and gravity of stress and melancholy among adolescents.
5. Self-Care Methods: It can be advantageous to instruct adolescents in healthy coping mechanisms, such as mindfulness practices, balanced nutrition, and physical activity.

Depression and adolescent stress are grave problems that demand our collective attention and intervention. By acknowledging, comprehending, and confronting these obstacles, we can furnish our adolescent population with the necessary assistance and materials to navigate this pivotal phase of their lives in a positive and healthy manner. It is time to illuminate this silent calamity and break the silence.

Physical, emotional, and mental turbulence characterize the adolescent stage of life. Many adolescents experience the onset of anxiety during this time, a normal reaction to the challenges and uncertainties of growing up. A certain amount of anxiety is normal, but excessive anxiety can be debilitating and have long-term consequences if left untreated. In this blog, we will discuss the symptoms of adolescent anxiety and offer support strategies for parents, teachers, and other caregivers.

Recognizing Teenage Anxiety

Anxiety in adolescents is more than occasional concern or stress over tests or social situations. It entails excessive fear or worry that persists for an extended period, interfering with a teenager’s daily life. It is essential to recognize the indicators of anxiety, which manifest in a variety of ways.

Frequent Indicators of Teenage Anxiety

1. Anxiety is frequently accompanied by physical symptoms such as migraines, stomachaches, muscle tension, perspiration, and restlessness.
2. Look for indicators of increased irritability, mood swings, excessive anxiety, and anger. Additionally, adolescents with anxiety may disengage from social activities or display perfectionism.
3. Anxiety can disrupt sleep patterns, resulting in difficulty falling asleep or remaining unconscious. This can lead to chronic fatigue over time.
4. Academic Difficulties: Anxiety may negatively affect a teen’s academic performance due to difficulty concentrating, excessive worry about grades, or dread of making mistakes.
5. Anxious adolescents may withdraw from peers and social situations, resulting in social isolation. They may be excessively self-conscious and fearful of criticism or judgment.
6. As a means of coping with emotional distress, some anxious adolescents may engage in self-injurious behaviors such as slashing or burning.
7. In an effort to self-medicate and alleviate their anxiety, some adolescents resort to drugs or alcohol.

Offering Assistance

1. Encourage nonjudgmental, frank communication with your adolescent. Inform them that you are available to listen and offer support whenever they are ready to speak.
2. Inform Yourself: Educate yourself on anxiety disorders, their causes, and their treatment. Understanding the disorder will allow you to empathize with your adolescent.
3. Consult a Mental Health Professional If you suspect that your adolescent is contending with anxiety, you should seek professional assistance. They can provide an accurate diagnosis and recommend an appropriate course of treatment, which may include therapy and, in some instances, medication.
4. Encourage Healthy Habits: Promote a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise, a well-balanced diet, and adequate rest. These factors can have a significant impact on the mental health of adolescents.
5. Help your adolescent develop coping strategies, such as deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, and journaling, to manage anxiety.
6. Reduce Stressors: Work with your teenager to identify and reduce stressors in his or her existence. This may entail adjusting academic expectations, harmonizing extracurricular activities, and establishing a supportive home environment.
7. Support Their Interests: Encourage your adolescent to pursue their interests and passions, which can serve as a valuable distraction and source of fulfillment.
8. Encourage a Healthy Social Life: Assist your adolescent in forming and sustaining friendships. Social connections can serve as a formidable barrier against anxiety.

The conclusion

Anxiety in adolescents is prevalent and treatable. As parents, educators, and caregivers, it is our responsibility to recognize the warning signs, offer support, and encourage adolescents to seek professional assistance when necessary. We can empower adolescents to navigate the challenges of adolescence and develop resilience in the face of anxiety by encouraging open communication and promoting healthy practices. Remember that your understanding and support can make a significant impact in the life of a teenager.

Significant development, self-discovery, and creative exploration characterize adolescence. As adolescents navigate the transition from childhood to adulthood, they seek outlets for self-expression, opportunities to establish relationships, and opportunities to acquire skills that will shape their identities. Group activities concentrated on art, music, and sports provide adolescents with a dynamic environment in which to cultivate their creativity, forge friendships, and develop essential life skills.

The Synergy of Creativity in Group Activities

Teens can share their passions, ideas, and talents with others who share similar interests through the unique environment provided by group activities. Creativity and innovation are fueled by the cohesion of a group, whether they are painting a mural, playing in a garage band, or training together on the sports field. Collaboration with peers encourages adolescents to think creatively, to learn from one another, and to alter their own creative processes based on a variety of perspectives.

A canvas for self-expression, art

Teenagers can visually and tactilely express their thoughts, emotions, and personal narratives through artistic endeavors. In a group setting, young artists can collaborate on murals, installations, and even meaningful community initiatives. Teens are encouraged to embrace diversity of thought, refine their artistic techniques, and value the power of collective imagination through group art projects. Additionally, the process of collaborative creation fosters a sense of belonging and shared accomplishment.

Harmonizing Minds and Hearts through Music

The ability of music to transcend barriers and connect individuals on a profound level is remarkable. Teenagers can collaborate on composing, arranging, and performing songs through group music activities such as creating a band or vocal ensemble. These experiences teach adolescents about collaboration, communication, and the magic of combining individual melodies to create harmony. In addition to providing a channel for emotional expression, group music activities help adolescents navigate their emotions and form bonds over shared musical interests.

Teamwork, Discipline, and Determination in Sports

Participation in team sports not only improves physical endurance, but also teaches vital life skills. Team sports such as soccer, basketball, and volleyball require adolescents to collaborate closely with one another, nurturing camaraderie and teaching effective communication. Teens learn about sportsmanship, resilience, and the value of hard work through amicable competition. Through victories and defeats, they acquire a sense of discipline and resolve that transcends the playing field.

Beyond Entertainment: Holistic Advantages

Group activities in art, music, and sports offer a great deal of entertainment, but their benefits extend far beyond that. These experiences contribute to adolescents’ overall development. Teens’ ability to exhibit their talents and contribute to group outcomes enhances their confidence. Teens learn to comprehend and value the contributions of their peers, fostering empathy. In addition, these activities can serve as beneficial outlets for stress and anxiety, providing a respite from academic and personal pressures.

In conclusion

Group activities centered on art, music, and sports stimulate the development and creativity of adolescents. These activities foster collaboration, cultivate individual talents, and offer a safe environment for self-expression. Whether teens are wielding a paintbrush, strumming an instrument, or chasing a ball, the connections made and lessons learned in these group activities have a lasting impact on their development as well-rounded, future-ready individuals. Therefore, let’s encourage our adolescents to embrace the pleasures of creating, performing, and playing together.

Teenage violence is a distressing and pervasive problem that affects communities all over the globe. Some adolescents may engage in aggressive and violent behavior as they struggle to navigate the intricacies of their changing emotions and social dynamics. The purpose of this blog is to cast light on the underlying causes of adolescent violence and to explore effective solutions for preventing and addressing this troubling phenomenon.

Motives for Youth Violence

1. Social and Peer Influences: Peers and social groups have a significant impact on adolescents. If they are surrounded by people who exhibit aggressive behaviors or glorify violence, they may feel compelled to imitate these actions in an effort to fit in or obtain acceptance.
2. Family Dysfunction: A troubled family environment, such as witnessing domestic violence or experiencing neglect or abuse, can have a profound effect on the behavior of adolescents. Inadequate role models and support systems can contribute to emotional instability and aggression.
3. Media and Entertainment: Violent content in video games, movies, and online platforms can desensitize adolescents to real-world consequences and obscure the distinction between fiction and reality. Exposure to such media on a constant basis can foster aggressive tendencies.
4. Teens who experiment with drugs and alcohol may be more prone to violent outbursts as a result of impaired judgment and increased aggression while under the influence.
5. Bullying and Harassment: Being bullied at school or online can cause extreme stress and emotional turmoil, prompting some adolescents to retaliate violently.

Options for Combating Teenage Violence

1. Education and Awareness: Implement in schools all-encompassing educational programs that emphasize conflict resolution, empathy, and emotional intelligence. Raising awareness of the repercussions of violence can assist adolescents in making more informed decisions.
2. Strengthening Family Ties: Provide families with support services and resources to foster healthy communication and relationships. Teenagers are less likely to use violence as a coping mechanism if they are raised in a nurturing environment.
3. Encourage media literacy programs to assist adolescents in analyzing the content they consume critically. By teaching them to distinguish between fiction and reality, the influence of violent media on their behavior can be mitigated.
4. Increase the availability of mental health resources and counseling for troubled adolescents. Providing an outlet for individuals to communicate their emotions and difficulties can prevent violence resulting from emotional distress.
5. Foster positive peer groups and community activities that promote inclusivity and empathy in order to construct positive communities. Teens can channel their energy into productive avenues by engaging in constructive pastimes and team-based activities.
6. In nations where firearms are readily available, enforcing stricter gun control measures can considerably reduce the risk of lethal violence among adolescents.

Conclusion

Teenage violence is a complex issue with deep-seated causes that requires a multifaceted strategy to effectively combat. We can create a safer environment for adolescents to develop and thrive by addressing the underlying factors that contribute to violence and implementing preventative measures. It is possible to pave the way for a future in which juvenile violence is drastically reduced, if not eradicated, by equipping adolescents with the means to resolve conflicts peacefully and promoting open dialogue about emotions. As a society, we must prioritize the welfare of our youth and collaborate to create a safer, more compassionate world for the generations to come.

 

Substance abuse among adolescents is an urgent problem that affects innumerable young people and their families. Teens can find the fortitude and resources necessary to overcome addiction if they have the proper support systems in place. In this blog, we will examine the path to recovery for adolescents struggling with substance abuse, as well as the crucial support mechanisms available to assist them on their journey.

Recognizing the Problem

Recognizing the presence of substance abuse is the initial step towards recovery. Teens and their loved ones must be able to recognize the signs of addiction and comprehend its effects on various aspects of life. Open and truthful communication is crucial during this stage, creating a secure environment in which adolescents can express their struggles.

Seeking Professional Help

Substance addiction recovery frequently necessitates professional intervention. Encourage adolescents to seek assistance from addiction counselors, clinicians, or medical professionals with expertise in adolescent substance abuse. These professionals can provide the necessary direction, design individualized treatment plans, and provide support throughout the recovery process.

Developing a Supportive Network

Recovering is not a solitary process. Teens must surround themselves with a network of friends, family, and mentors who understand their struggles and care about their well-being. Support groups and community organizations can play an important role in connecting adolescents with peers who are undergoing similar experiences, fostering empathy and shared development.

Implementing Treatment Strategies

Recovery requires implementing effective, individualized treatment strategies for each adolescent. In some circumstances, this may involve a combination of therapy, counseling, behavioral interventions, and medication. Teens can begin to heal and develop healthy coping mechanisms by addressing the underlying factors contributing to substance misuse, such as trauma, mental health disorders, and dysfunctional family relationships.

Developing Coping Skills

Adolescents must develop alternative coping skills to replace substance abuse. Encourage them to investigate healthy outlets such as creative pursuits, sports, mindfulness exercises, and support groups. Teenagers can reduce their risk of relapse and develop a solid foundation for long-term recovery by learning positive ways to manage stress and emotional challenges.

Education and Prevention

Preventing relapse and future substance abuse is essential to the recovery process. Educating adolescents about the risks of substance abuse, its effects on their health and relationships, and its long-term consequences can empower them to make informed decisions and resist peer pressure.

The road to recovery from adolescent substance abuse may be long and difficult, but it is possible to achieve a healthier, substance-free existence with the proper support and resources. Teenagers can pave the way to a brighter future by recognizing the problem, seeking professional assistance, establishing a supportive network, implementing effective treatment strategies, developing coping mechanisms, and emphasizing education and prevention. Let us join together as a community to support and empower adolescents on their path to recovery and to assist them in reclaiming their lives from substance abuse.

 

A dual diagnosis is given to a child, adolescent, or adult with a mental health illness and a AUD/SUD. Dual diagnosis patients have co-occurring disorders. Adolescent mental health issues that often co-occur with alcohol and substance use disorders include:

• Depression
• Insomnia
• PTSD
• BPD
• Misconduct
• Disobedience
• Anorexia

Experts believe that 60-75% of adolescents with alcohol or substance use disorders also have mental health disorders. Co-occurring illnesses confront teenagers and mental health professionals for various reasons.

First, mental health and alcohol/substance use illnesses share symptoms. Second, people with co-occurring disorders commonly self-medicate with alcohol and drugs. Finally, alcohol and drug use can worsen mental health condition symptoms, which can lead to increased usage.

Self-Reinforcing Cycles

This creates a cycle of symptom/self-medication/symptom/self-medication that’s hard to stop, and diagnosing co-occurring disorders is difficult because their symptoms can mask those of mental health disorders and vice versa. That’s not the same as above. As mentioned above, alcohol/substance use disorders and mental health issues have similar symptoms and may make each other invisible, causing physicians to miss one while focused on the other.

Clinicians and co-occurring illness patients often struggle to answer the question: which came first, the mental health disorder or the alcohol/substance use disorder? The answer is not always clear. However, with proper treatment and diagnosis, an adolescent with co-occurring AUD/SUD and mental health disorders can overcome both conditions. Treatment and diagnosis will follow.

Integrated Co-Occurring Disorder Treatment

Adolescents with co-occurring addiction and mental health disorders struggle to acquire a proper diagnosis. Diagnosing addiction and co-occurring mental health issues takes time for the following reasons.

1. After abstaining from alcohol or drugs, SUD or AUD symptoms may develop.
2. Clinicians, adolescent clients, and families must adjust the treatment strategy as mental health condition signs occur.
3. Clinicians at the treatment center or provider must be trained, experienced, and skilled to treat both conditions.

Dual-diagnosed adolescent parents must understand that treatment works. An integrated therapy paradigm that treats the complete person is the best way to manage co-occurring diseases, according to research.

What Can a Parent Do for the Child?

If you think your kid has both a mental health issue and an addiction problem, have them assessed by a psychologist, psychiatrist, or other mental health expert, especially one who treats addiction and mental health disorders in adolescents. A biopsychosocial profile will give a mental health expert a detailed view of your teen’s issues.

After a comprehensive evaluation, your kid may be recommended for therapy. Outpatient counseling twice a week may be enough. However, dual diagnosis may prevent outpatient therapy from helping your teen heal and move forward.

Your child’s therapist may suggest more extensive treatment. Intense treatment may include:

Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)

This treatment goes beyond weekly therapy or drug and alcohol counseling. Programs determine treatment duration and frequency. Teens in intensive outpatient programs live at home, attend school, and receive 3 hours of treatment per week.

Partial-Hospitalization Programs (PHP)

This treatment goes beyond intensive outpatient. Like IOP, program-specific therapy amounts and timing vary. Adolescents attend school part-time and receive daily treatment for four hours. If needed, they live in a sober living facility.

Residential Treatment Centers (RTC)

In residential treatment centers, your child lives at a non-hospital treatment center. Depending on your child’s progress, this rigorous treatment may span 28–120 days. Residential alcohol rehab has many benefits, including full-time alcohol therapy and a drug-free atmosphere. Your child can focus on healing without drinking.

Adolescents with dual co-occurring disorders may benefit from IOP, PHP, and RTC regimens.

Psychiatric Hospitalization

If your teen is suicidal, insane, or needs 24/7 medical supervision due to heavy alcohol consumption, they may need hospitalization. Heavy binge drinking, an increasingly harmful practice among teens and young adults, may require medical monitoring. Medical monitoring may be needed for potentially life-threatening alcohol withdrawal.

These levels of care – excluding psychiatric hospitalization, which prioritizes urgent safety and stability – typically use one or more of the following therapeutic approaches:

• Personal counseling
• Counseling groups
• Counseling families
• Exercise and mindfulness are experiential
• Alcoholics Anonymous or SMART Recovery

Your teen’s treatment depends on the center and degree of care.

Supporting Your Child

Supporting and encouraging your adolescent with a dual diagnosis and extensive treatment is crucial. Recovering can affect your relationship with your teen. You can support your teen and ease recuperation by doing these:

• Communicate
• Learn their diagnoses
• Discover mental health and substance use disorders
• Participate in therapy and recovery
• Listen actively
• Keep showing up and being sincere, sympathetic, and kind, and they’ll eventually open up
• Recover at home. Consider removing alcohol and drugs from your home
• Family alcohol consumption may affect your teen’s alcohol use disorder
• Be an example for your teen
• Be tolerant if your teen relapses. Avoid criticizing or overreacting

Understand that co-occurring disorders are hard to control. Your teen’s troubles don’t indicate a problem. They’re fighting two chronic, recurrent diseases. Be willing to address your personal issues that may cause conflict or stress with your teen or negatively affect your family dynamic.

Unconditional love supports your child during treatment. Open, honest, and direct communication follows compassion and empathy. Dual-diagnosed teens need you. They need your advice, wisdom, and support. They need your unconditional love and support through the ups and downs of rehabilitation. Teens who know their parents support them are more likely to recover.

You may wonder if your child needs counseling due to personality changes. These alterations can appear suddenly or after a severe event. These changes, regardless of the cause, can help you decide if your child needs counseling. Read on for six indicators your child may need counseling.

Combative Behavior

Behavior issues within and outside the house are a common sign that your child needs counseling. Your child may quarrel, protest, and get defensive at the tiniest request or conversation. If these responses occur regularly, pay attention. Your youngster may be begging for aid without realizing it.

Stay in touch with teachers and other parents at school and other activities. Let them know you’re worried and to let you know if your youngster is acting out.

Unexpected Changes in Interests

Changes in your child’s daily hobbies and behaviors can also indicate that they need counseling. Changes in eating, sleeping, and interests are usually the most noticeable and indicative. If these changes persist after two weeks, consult your child’s doctor. If emotional stressors are the source, they may be able to guide you.

Anxiety and Depression

The most obvious symptom that your child needs treatment is excessive stress and despair. While concern and grief can be acceptable, especially through life transitions and changes, when these emotions become excessive and begin to absorb your child and their thoughts, that is when you should take a closer look.

Regressions in Behavior

A new sibling, divorce, or other big life events in the home might cause regressions. However, when regressions seem unrelated, investigate. Common regressions that suggest your child needs counseling include:

• Bedwetting
• Frequent temper tantrums
• Clinginess and separation anxiety
• Language regression

Frequent Loneliness

If your child withdraws socially, this may indicate an emotional issue. When depressed or anxious, children often isolate themselves. When this continues to happen on a regular basis, and starts to take away from their interpersonal relationships, that is when it comes time to think that it may be more than just a sad day. This is especially true if shyness and introverted inclinations are not prevalent personality features for your child.

Unsure of child social isolation? Disturbed children socially separate in these ways:

• Eating lunch alone
• Avoiding social events
• Lack of motivation to leave the house

Discussing Self-harm

Finally, if your child expresses thoughts of self-harm, seek help immediately. This can appear softly as hopelessness and loneliness. Sometimes suicidal thoughts and cutting are more obvious.

Suicidal thoughts and cutting may seem excessive for younger children, yet self-harm can be communicated in many ways. Young children self-harm by hitting themselves, bashing their heads, and scratching. Note any self-harming behaviors and get your child aid.

Get Your Child The Help They Deserve

Getting treatment for your child should not be an emotionally draining and lengthy effort. Alpha Connections offers many youth counseling programs. Alpha Connections goes above and beyond by giving mental health treatments tailored to each kid in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The sooner you pinpoint the symptoms your child needs counseling, the quicker you can get them the care that they need. With the indicators given above, you can be sure that you will know what to look out for when it comes to your child’s mental health and emotional well being.

Once again, your typically studious daughter wakes up saying she does not feel good and refuses to go to school. Her grades have been dropping, and, for that matter, so has her weight. She has not been eating well, she spends her time hiding in her room, and she bursts into tears over everything. Yes, teen girls can be a little complicated, but sometimes it becomes more than that. Sadly, an increasing number of young people are dealing with bullying.

How You Can Help

The most crucial step is to get her to talk about what is going on. If you ask, “Is everything okay,” you will probably get the standard, “I’m fine.” Instead, dig a little deeper without any judgment, disappointment, or accusation. If she realizes you are a safe place to vent, she may be more open to you. Be specific by asking something like, “Is there something going on at school?”

Once you get her to talk, be sure to listen attentively. Let her vent and encourage her to get it out. Let her know she is not alone. Once she has had a chance to release those feelings, there are pieces of advice that may help.

Remind her that the reason for the bullying is to get a reaction, so make sure that is the last thing she will want to give them. Even if she is terrified, keep it inside and walk away. Do not let the bully see it.

Other Tips for Coping

There are other tips you can pass along to your daughter. She should avoid areas where the bullying takes place and block phone numbers and email addresses. Choose a group of loyal friends she can discuss the bullying with and stick close to. There is always power in numbers. As a last resort, if she must respond, do it with humor.

As her parent, consider discreetly telling a teacher at school about your daughter’s situation so they can keep an eye out. Do some research to put together a list of activities that will help build her confidence and open a new social circle.

Make sure your daughter knows beyond a doubt that she is important and loved, and the bully’s opinion is not reality. Make sure she has confidence and a support system. Research all the resources available in your area, and let us work together to stop bullying.

It is hard to watch sometimes. When your teenage son was little, your son was anxious about dentists, monsters, or being alone in the dark. Now he is still your little boy, but he is also a young man, and his anxiety is much more complicated. When kids become teenagers, their anxiety becomes more internal. They may get moody and irritable. They explode if you mention anything out of place. Do not worry, he will be okay. It is all a part of growing up, and you can help.

Helping Teens Cope

Teen years are a time of change for your child as they head towards adulthood. They are changing emotionally, physically, and socially. They are worried about how they measure up to the world around them, especially their peers. So how can you help?

• First, get your son to talk. Talking helps to process all the chaos spinning around in his mind, especially when there is someone listening.

When he talks, he can sort through his feelings about things. When you listen intently, you will be more in tune with any way that you can help. One thing that seems to help is physical activity while you have a conversation. Go for a walk together. The fresh air and gentle rhythm of your steps provide encouragement for the words to come to the surface.

• Acknowledging his fears and anxiety is essential. What he is anxious about may never happen, but his feelings are still real. Acknowledge his anxiety and let him know you are confident he can manage it. Use warmth and compassion and hope they can use this to develop self-compassion as well.
• Encourage him to talk positively to himself with little pep talks. Be sure to let him know it is okay to ask for help. Humans are not designed to go through this life alone, and you are always there for them. Reassure him this is something we all go through, and he is not alone. Getting good sleep, eating right, and even meditation will all help guarantee success as well.

If your son continues to have issues for an extended period of time or it begins to interfere with normal life, it may be time to seek the help of professional help from a school counselor or psychologist. The most important tip is to get your teen talking so you can understand the issue, and he can feel like he is understood and that his feelings are important.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Since 1976, the United States has celebrated the generations of African Americans who faced adversity in America. We at the Alpha Connection would be remiss if we did not draw attention to this important heritage month.

Ideas to Learn More about African American History

Alpha Connection would like to urge you to use this month in reflection and in an effort to learn more. Here are some ideas for you and your family:

• Read amazing literature, perhaps from Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Frederick Douglass, or so many others
• Study remarkable scientists, such as Alice Ball, Benjamin Banneker, or George Robert Carruthers
• Investigate key events during the civil rights era, like Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the 1961 Freedom Rides, or Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Birmingham Demonstrations
• Marvel at inventions by African Americans, such as how Mary Van Brittan Brown coinvented a home security system in the 1960s or how in 1923 Garrett Morgan developed the 3-light traffic signal
• Identify and research critical periods in African American history, such as the middle passage, abolition, desegregation, or the Harlem Renaissance

Black Health and Wellness

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History picked the theme for 2022 as “Black Health and Wellness.” Perhaps Simone Biles’s bravery at the 2020 Olympics Summer Games influenced this decision. But unfortunately, Simone’s public acknowledgment of stress is typically not done. After her admission and following support from the world at large, other athletes came forward with their own stories of stress. As Simone found comfort in connecting with others, we strive to do the same with our short-term residential therapy program. Alpha Connections may not be a long-term facility or foster care, but we want to help our residents to live happy and healthy lives. As such, we value fitness, including mental, physical, social, and spiritual, as the top core area of well-being that we focus on.

Alpha Connection is naturally drawn to honoring Black History Month because of the many astonishing individuals who faced times of hardship and did not relent because of dire situations. Further, Black History Month is about providing understanding and growing knowledge for Americans. So take some time this month to reflect on and learn about these great achievements.