Episode 10: Mental Health in Teens

Meg:

Hi Everyone! This episode we focused on Mental Health in Teens and this was definitely one of my favorite episodes yet. We sat down with Dr. Sangeetha Nayak, a psychologist here in New Jersey, for a really important discussion on mental health. I feel like something that stood out to me right away that Dr. Nayak mentioned was how chronic stress can rewire our brains neurologically, which essentially provokes a release of stress hormones. Over long periods of time, if these hormones are continuously secreted, secondary problems can occur such as heart disease. I think realizing that stress can actually physically take a toll on our bodies is important to recognize, especially in moments when we are living through it. Realizing that we can be negatively impacted long term may help to calm us down during periodic stress. Another quick thing Dr. Nayak mentioned was taking frequent breaks during the day, especially if you are on electronics for prolonged periods of time. I definitely am guilty of getting sucked into my computer whether it be for online school, homework, or even other leisurely activities like watching Netflix. After talking to Dr. Nayak I started implementing breaks into my schedule. I would set timers throughout the day that worked with my schedule where I would take breaks. These were really small amounts of time, some as little as two minutes where I just take a walk around my house and maybe bother a family member or two. Even though this time was so miniscule, I feel like it really helped just taking a minute away from the screen. Something else I began to implement was drinking water and staying on top of my hydration. Dr. Nayak mentioned that this can factor into feeling sluggish, which can in turn cause more stress than is necessary. I have started carrying my big water bottle everywhere and even set reminders in my phone to drink water. I think this has not only helped me focus better and feel energized, but also increased the efficiency of resting, meaning I am able to sleep much much better. I hope you guys loved this episode as much as I do and were hopefully able to take some useful tips away to reduce stress in your lives!

Eshaan:

Hello Everyone! I found the conversation with Dr. Sangeetha Nayak to be very informative. Dr. Nayak discussed how harmful stress can be to the body. When discussing stress, I found that a lot of what Dr. Nayak said resonated with me. As a person who gets stressed very easily, it is important to know the repercussions of stress and the long-term damage that stress can cause. When learning that stress can lead to life-threatening diseases, I felt as if it was time to change the way I react to situations. From now on, I am going to try to focus more on my breathing, a technique known to help reduce stress. By focusing on my breathing, I hope to become less erratic when it comes to stressful situations and I hope to channel my energy towards positivity rather than stress. It was also very interesting to talk about mental health during the pandemic. This is a topic that has become very important over the last few months. When discussing this, I learnt that screen breaks can reduce stress levels. I liked the “20, 20, 20” rule that Dr. Nayak talked about. The “20, 20, 20” rule is every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds to look 20 feet away from the screen. This is something that will change the focal point in your eyes and will help you tremendously. This is something that I hope to implement in the las few weeks of virtual school. Stress is something that runs through every high schooler and it is important to help reduce the stress in your lives. I hope that every highschooler will take a few minutes every day to practice a few things that Dr. Nayak discussed and hopefully these tips will help reduce the amount of stress in your lives. Stay Safe!