Avoiding Holiday Stressors: Tips For A Stress-Free Season

The “most wonderful time of the year” can quickly turn into the most stressful time of the year for many. When compounded by a mental illness, common holiday pressures can create a perfect storm of exacerbated stressors, symptoms and setbacks if not proactively addressed.      The reality is that potential hazards exist at every turn […]

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Crisis Text Line

People who text MN to 741741 will be connected with a counselor who will help defuse the crisis and connect the texter to local resources. Crisis Text Line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In Minnesota and across the nation, text suicide response services have been successful in helping people in […]

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The Gratitude Minute

Twice a day, the bull horn sounds from the tower, the speaker calls out “Gratitude Minute!  Gratitude Minute!”, and everyone stops mid-point/mid-drill/mid-sentence and drops to the ground or stands still.  The silence is deafening.  One moment, happy shouts, balls striking, tennis shoes squeaking, instructors shouting encouragement and campers laughing and diving for balls. The next, […]

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10 Simple Phrases Emotionally Intelligent People Know How to Use

As humans, we’re emotional creatures. We may use logic and intelligence to help us figure out what to do, but if our feelings and emotions aren’t engaged, we won’t be motivated to do it. In contrast, those same feelings and emotions can often cause us to say and do things we later regret–despite our better judgment. That’s why emotional […]

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Poverty and Substance Use: Buffering the Negative Effects

*Findings from the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey from SUMN.org Nearly 3 in 10 Minnesota kids live in poverty or low-income households* 29% of MN public school students say they receive free or reduced-priced lunch. 6,500 students say they experienced homelessness in the past year.  Over 7,500 students say they’ve had to skip meals in the […]

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Building Resilience in Children

The world can be a frightening place. As a parent, I am constantly aware of choices that I make to minimize my perception of fear and uncertainty. Death, illness, divorce, crime, war, child abductions, tsunamis, and terrorism — both here and abroad — have defined an evolving landscape for raising our families. How do we […]

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