You might have heard that sun exposure and daily vitamin D intake are good sources. However, they are not the only sources. In today's blog we will list various sources for vitamin D, some facts of vitamin D, some problems that occur with vitamin D deficiency, and groups at risk of vitamin D inadequacy.

Consistent self-care can be difficult. We may find ourselves overwhelmed periodically and take a moment to breathe deeply, take a relaxing bath, or watch a movie for a while to de-stress. However, for most of us, this is just a too brief break from our busy lives and doing one or two acts of self-care every month when we're too stressed to function isn't really helping us feel better overall.

As a kid, you may have kept a diary under your bed or hidden in your nightstand. Your diary may have been a place where you vented about drama between friends or gushed about a crush you had. Your diary felt like a place of safety and security; a place where you were able to write down any thoughts and feelings you had without the fear of judgment or embarrassment.

Maybe you have asked yourself questions, such as what is stress, how do I know I am stressed, and what does that look like? To answer these questions, first, we need to understand what stress is. Today's blog on Stress will cover what stress is, its signs, how to identify stress, its causes, the impact of stress, and coping.

What Is Mindfulness? The practice of mindfulness entails embracing the present and grounding ourselves in the current moment, with a non-judgmental awareness of our surroundings and our physical and mental/emotional state. Research has shown that mindfulness can be utilized as a technique to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and anyone can benefit from practicing mindfulness!

Do you struggle with anxiety or depression? Are you looking to be more active but can't find the right exercise or feel too busy? Do you want to incorporate healthy habits into your lifestyle? Are you having difficulty managing stress in your life? If any of these apply to you then we've got a cure-all solution: walking! The benefits of walking range anywhere from helping people reduce their risk of diseases to improving ones' mental health.

What is Body Shaming? As more and more people receive shame for the way they look from others in today's society, people have started to pay closer attention to the harm and influence of body shaming. Body shaming refers to the negative or aggressive action, behavior, words or even looks that other people give you based on your body. Sometimes, body shaming is the result of someone else’s judgement, while other times we can be the ones shaming our own bodies. Judgements can be centered on body shape, skin color, or other physical characteristics; it also can be the result of discrimination because of physical defects. Furthermore, when someone comments on what we have eaten that would affect our body shape or gives suggestions on dieting or losing weight, these behaviors or criticisms are also considered body shaming.

In today's world, it feels like there are a million little things pulling at our anxiety in every possible direction. From school to work to social media to maintaining relationships to the news headlines we see every day, there are plenty of reasons to be anxious and plenty of ways this anxiety can manifest. Although everyone is different, here are some ways to find comfort and cope with anxiety.

Sleep is something we do every night! While to us, sleep may seem like a quiet and restful time, the body and brain are still quite active. This allows for many necessary and helpful processes to occur while we are resting. Sleep is a crucial function for not only humans, but many animal species too! Sleep plays an important role in maintaining good health and wellbeing, both physically and mentally!

Maybe you have wondered what is self-care, what is self-confidence, and how do I go about it. First let's start off by understanding what self-care and self-confidence is. Self-care is "a conscious act a person takes in order to promote their own physical, mental, and emotional health." Something important to remember about self-care is that it is not a luxury; it is a priority

In this day and age, life has become more unpredictable than ever. One day you could be spending time with friends when all of a sudden you receive a text that reads, "Um hey, last night was fun, but I just tested positive for COVID." Your heart drops and your head starts to ache just thinking about how one must isolate themselves and monitor their health status for the next few days. Stress is almost inevitable and can be seen as the "silent killer" so it is important to properly manage stressful situations and identify when our body is in defensive mode. Below are some tips to achieve this practice successfully.

Everyone can feel lonely at a certain point in their lives. It can be a due to situational reasons such as a change in job or relocation, feelings of misunderstanding, and heartbreak just to name a few. According to a study provided by psychologist Dr. Christie Hartman, 52% of Americans have reported feeling lonely in their present position. How can we combat these feeling and even attempt to heal in these moments of isolation?

Have you ever looked in the mirror and instantly began to see only negative things about yourself? By the age of thirteen 53% of girls are unhappy with their body and jumps to 78% of girls feeling this way by the time they are 17 (Empower Your Mind, 2021). Society puts this picture in our heads of what a perfect body looks like. But what is the perfect body? Truth is that a perfect body is whatever is perfect to you and however you feel comfortable.

Enough about everything else, can I focus on me already? In a time where you are constantly informed of everything going on around the world, it can be difficult to remember to focus on yourself. I am here to remind you, it is okay to be selfish sometimes.

Whether it is TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook, nowadays everyone has some form of social media. These platforms enable us to connect with family and friends around the world, network with people, foster our creativity and self-expression, and so much more. However, with the positives of social media comes the negative side as well. Users, such as myself, tend to feel discouraged by what they see on their feed, constantly comparing themselves to the accounts they follow, and seeking validation from the amount of likes and comments they get on a post, which tends to worsen your mental health and create self-esteem issues.

Hello and welcome back to another blog post! Today we will be discussing borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Wondering if therapy is the right path for you? Today’s blog post may give you some insight!

Rachel Wilkins is a senior at Oregon State University studying psychology and user experience research. They are a psychology intern at Thaddeus Resource Center, specifically working at AGAPE House. In Rachel's free time, they enjoy creative writing, ax throwing, and spending time with their cat, Hermes.

Grief is a natural reaction to loss. It usually comes with an overwhelming set of emotions, such as sadness, depression, denial, anger, or even numbness. The grieving process is both personal and universal. While most of us can imagine the pain of losing someone or something important, everyone’s reactions, coping mechanisms, and length of time spent grieving can be different.

Do you ever have those weeks where you just feel down and sluggish? It can feel so frustrating and make it so difficult to complete daily tasks. Sometimes, we do not realize how nutrition can impact our mental health. In this blog post, we will go over the importance of nutrition as well as some easy ways to start making changes.

5 Benefits of Getting Adequate Sleep Did you know that sleeping is the key to a better quality of life? Sleep not only helps with the improvement of your mood, but it also helps with daily functions such as memory. Without enough sleep, you are bound to feel restless and struggle more throughout your day. For this reason, sleep is most important! Reduces stress & improves your mood We all have busy days. The stress from our jam-packed day can cause us to feel overwhelmed and even cranky. Sleep helps your body relax and helps better prepare for the following day.

How to Improve Emotional Hygiene When we are young, our parents teach us that we must brush our teeth, and how to take care of a cut after we fall. But often times, another very important aspect of our health is overlooked by our parents, teachers, and even doctors. This aspect would be our emotional health. We are taught to believe that our mental struggles and emotions are things that we must simply “get over” but we are not given the necessary tools to practice emotional hygiene.

When there is a lot going on your thoughts can become very confusing and jumbled. A great way to cope with this is journaling and being able to write down or typing out your thoughts in an organized fashion. Journaling can also help manage stress, anxiety, and depression. It is a personal exercise that is unique to every individual; but there are a couple easy ways to get started and to keep journaling on a regular basis.

Every year, hundreds of people die because of high temperatures. Becoming too hot, can make it hard for the body to handle the heat and cool the body off properly. While there are a few things that can affect the body's ability to cool itself off, like high humidity, age, obesity, illnesses or drug and alcohol use, we can take steps to help prevent heat related illnesses, injuries and deaths during hot weather.

What is learned helplessness? Why are some people more likely to develop learned helplessness than others? What are the signs we should pay attention to? Are there ways to overcome it? This mental illness can cause serious harm if the individual is left alone and not cared for. Therefore, people should pay attention to their thoughts and their loved ones, so they will be able to get help or help others as soon as possible.

Have you ever wondered what exactly anti-depressants are and how they work? Understanding the science behind anti-depressants, even at a basic level, may help ease stress and confusion surrounding why it may or may not be beneficial for you to consider consuming them during your mental health journey.

PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that occurs in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. The origins of recognizing PTSD emerged following World War 1 when veterans were diagnosed with "shell shock" or "combat fatigue" from their experiences fighting in the war.

Scientists have demonstrated that our emotions can affect our bodies and how our bodies well-being can affect our mind. The connection between the mind and body displays the link between a person's thoughts, attitudes, behaviors and their physical health.

When it comes to stress and anxiety, it often manifests itself very different in children compared to adults and adolescents. It is important to be able to identify normal, age-appropriate worries and fears in your child, and whether those worries and fears may begin to escalate pathologically.

Catching a cold is inevitable for the average person and also unenjoyable. Cold symptoms make it difficult for us to enjoy what we want to do and make feeling good a struggle. While there is no cure for the common cold, there are some ways we can speed up the recovery process and relieve even the toughest of symptoms—all from the comfort of our home!

Self-care has recently become a very popular term, but what does it really entail? A prominent misconception is that self-care is equivalent to practicing "selfishness" or "self-indulgence." In reality, self-care is simply the act of making sure your physical, emotional, and psychological needs are consistently being met in a healthy manner, promoting your overall well-being. These self-initiated behaviors are deliberately chosen by you to be incorporated into your normal routine; they are personalized to suit your needs!

In a time where loss feels inevitable and inescapable, we must learn how to take care of ourselves so that we can grieve and mourn appropriately and process our feelings.

For many people, finding a good therapist can be challenging. There may not be many options in your area, or you might feel like you’re not connecting with the therapists you do meet. However, a good therapist can help you develop the personal skills and confidence you need to understand your own mental health better for the rest of your life — so finding someone right for you is worth the effort.

Anxiety is a common emotion that everyone experiences. It can be categorized as a feeling of fear, dread, or uneasiness. However, some people have difficulty regulating these emotions and may have Anxiety disorder.

Do fruits really have the power to be beneficial for your mental health? Certain foods have just the right nutrients that improve your mental health. Some fruits are even used by psychologists as a complement to therapy. Learn how these seven fruits improve your overall health, but most importantly, your mental health.

To prioritize yourself means to give yourself time and attention to have a better focus on your needs, goals and desires. We can begin to learn how to better engage in our own lives and the lives of others when we learn how to be compassionate and caring with ourselves.

One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day. Having a positive mindset can only lead to good things in life, that’s why it’s important to nourish your understanding on what it means to be positive and how to become a conqueror of positiveness!

Being totally present in a world full of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and texting can be hard. However, shutting it out completely doesn't seem like a particularly realistic option for most of us. It's why finding ways to balance your social media and offline life are actually super important for a meaningful existence.

Establishing routines, either a morning routine, a night routine, or both, can be really beneficial physically and mentally. Morning routines can help boost productivity, battle procrastination, lower stress, develop healthy habits, and help you take control over your life.

The first step to begin creating a balanced life is making your mental health a priority! Ways to improve your mental health is by training yourself to have a positive mindset. The way to do this is journaling, self-affirmations, and taking little social media breaks. It is so easy to get caught up in the world of social media and doom scrolling through the day but try to take a step back and live in the moment!

What does the little voice in your head sound like? Are they encouraging and positive? Or do they call you names and bring you down? Negative thoughts and self-talk can increase and even bring on anxiety and depression. Staying stuck in those thoughts can cause an awful cycle of self-deprecation and pessimistic spirals.

When's the last time you left your city and went into nature? If you've never been outside the city, when's the last time you went to a park? Do you remember feeling happier afterwards, or more clear-headed? Often our weekends get filled with errands or work, and sometimes we're just too tired from the week to go anywhere. But it turns out that feeling of relaxation you might have felt at the park was not a one-time thing. Getting outdoors may take more motivation than relaxing at home, but it's actually an important way to take care of ourselves and those around us.

We tend to think summertime is the season we should be concerned about dehydration due to warmer temps. However, did you know it’s just as vital to maintain adequate hydration during those frigid winter days?

In this day and age, dieting is a very common goal for many young people. We all want to lose some extra weight and eat healthier in our daily lives. But the question is, "how do we start?" We have listed 5tips to keep in mind before starting on your dieting journey!

Self-confidence is defined as a feeling of trust in one’s abilities, qualities, and judgment. Research suggests that it is important to your health and psychological well-being. Confidence can refer to a general sense of belief and trust in your ability to control your life, or it might be more situation-specific. Having a healthy level of self-confidence can help you become successful in your personal and professional life.

When things in our lives get extremely busy, it can be easy to put our health to the side. Some of us stop eating or tend to eat more because of stress. We often resort to things we deem fast to eat, often junk food rather than eating vegetables or fruits.

As we start the new year, you might be thinking about how you can establish healthier habits in 2022. Maintaining good health is important, both physically and emotionally. Sleep is a critical aspect of maintaining good health. If you don’t have good sleep habits, you could be at risk of having poor health.

Mindfulness. The word is used in so many different ways today that it's sometimes hard to determine what it means exactly. Some people use mindfulness to refer to a greater awareness of the world around them, others say they practice mindfulness when they are more aware of their mindset throughout the day.

Getting plenty of sleep every night is a must if we want to wake up to a productive morning. It’s not always easy to get 8 hours of sleep every single night, but it will have immense benefits on the physical health. Research has shown that sleep helps the immune system restore itself, which can improve our overall wellbeing.

Social media Anxiety Disorder is not a clinical disorder, but it is something that people go through. It's a type of anxiety that many young people go through, especially teens. Most of the time, young adults/teens are on social media daily looking through Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and other social media apps.

With a break from work and school, our first tendency can be to spend our extra time on social media. It seems as if we open social media after lunch, like a few photos, look up, and it’s dark outside! The day has gone by, and we missed it. For many people, social media is a necessary escape from the less cheerful parts of the holiday season.

Good morning everyone! In today’s blog post I’ll be talking about seasonal depression. With the dip in temperature and the short groggy mornings on the way, many of us can be negatively affected with that change.

We often consider our physical health as a result of our diet, but what about our mental health? It turns out what we eat actually has a strong effect on our mental state. Unfortunately, our culture has not helped promote positive norms that support a healthy, balanced diet.

What is mental health awareness? We have all heard of mental health awareness, and as a society, we are beginning to understand the importance of mental health. In the US, however, how we perceive the meaning of mental health varies greatly. I think what mental health awareness encapsulates can be surprising to many.

Boundaries can be broken into three main types: rigid, porous, and healthy. These types vary in their degree of intimacy and trust. The best boundary to have is “healthy”, whereas the worst type to have is rigid. A rigid boundary feels restrictive and can make us feel unheard, unsafe, and isolated. Porous boundaries are a deceptive form of boundaries. At times, a porous boundary can feel healthy, but it never truly is.

Stress has become a huge part of our lives from dealing with schoolwork, family, and other responsibilities. It can have a significant impact on our physical and mental well-being. We all deal with stress differently, and our ability to cope with stress can depend on our circumstances and personality. Therefore, it is so important to find ways to identify our stress and then manage it.

The website WebMD was created for those seeking information about either their health or medications that were prescribed to them. This website allows people who are not medical professionals to look up disorders, illnesses, diagnoses, and prescribed medications so that they are able to ask further questions to their doctor or psychiatrist.

We understand that there are many struggles and stresses that you need to deal with in your life as a youth. The stress might come from family, school or social life. You are not alone. Out of many resources for looking after one’s mental wellness, support groups. Here are some reasons behind how support groups are able to help you with your stress and anxiety!

What is stress? According to Google, stress is the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure. According to Glazer and Gasser (2016), stress affects everyone at some point in their lives, brought on by life events, emotional trauma, or environmental factors and can be interpreted differently across cultures.