Teen Health Archives | My Virtual Academy

When You Need More Than A Friend to Talk To: Reasons You Might Want to See A Therapist

Advice, Teen Health, Teen Mental Disorders, teenagers | 0 comments

As teens, you face a ton of things that take a toll on your mental health, especially with everything going on in the world today. Family issues, hormones, relationships, peer pressure, financial strains, and school can either enhance or hinder your mental state on a daily basis. When you are at the age that your brain is still developing and learning how to make informed decisions, these mental swings can be a lot to handle and digest.

Your parents and guardians try their best to help you learn how to deal with what life throws at you but sometimes it’s just not enough. You probably find it comforting to talk to friends about what you are going through but there may be times when talking to your parents and friends doesn’t cut it. It’s those times when it’s best to seek the help of a professional. Talking to a therapist can do wonders and really put things in perspective. Okay, so you’re open to talking to someone, but when do you know it’s time to ask your parents to make an appointment?

Here are the top 5 reasons that teens seek help from a therapist:

Behavioral issues. Have you found yourself in trouble in the past for your behavior? Have you been suspended? Do you get in trouble at home for acting aggressively? Do you get mad easily and lash out at your parents? A therapist could help you work through your anger problems and find ways to express yourself in a calmer manner.
It’s perfectly normal for someone to feel down at times or to want their own space, but if you are experiencing sadness that lingers, the urge to withdraw from activities you once enjoyed, and/or are more irritable than normal, you may want to seek help from a therapist. Teens with depression should not be afraid to talk to a professional because the earlier they seek help, the better chance they have of not having it follow them into adulthood.
Extreme stress. It’s normal for people at any age to feel stressed out. If you feel that despite your best efforts, it’s hard for you to manage your stress or if you are developing high levels of anxiety, a therapist can help teach you different techniques that can help you keep your stress at a manageable level and your anxiety in check.
Problems at school. If you are being bullied or feel like you don’t fit in with others your age, your self-esteem can start to take a hit. Know that there is help for you. A therapist can help you build back up your self-esteem and help effectively address the problem of bullying.
Processing grief or trauma. It’s very sad, but the reality is that teens experience trauma in their life such as a sexual assault, abuse, or a sudden death of a loved one or friend. The key is to seek help from a professional immediately, so you have the tools to process what happened and learn how to move forward.

A lot of the students that come to My Virtual Academy have had a lot of “life” happen to them. They’ve had to grow up quicker than most and are often left holding the bag with things that typically are left to adults. If you have faced a lot more than most teens and are looking for a different way to get your education, we’d love to discuss our virtual learning program with you. It’s a tuition-free, internet-based program that allows you to learn from the comfort of your own home, at times that best fit your daily schedule, and at a pace that’s just right for you. See how My Virtual Academy has helped thousands of teens just like you earn their high school diploma. Visit our website by clicking here or give us a call at 800-297-2119. We look forward to talking with you!

Tackling Test Anxiety When You Have Learning and Attention Difficulties

Advice, Education, high school, Study Tips, Teen Health, Teen Mental Disorders | 0 comments

When you have learning or attention difficulties, even the easiest task can be quite the challenge. Things that other students whiz through can leave these students struggling to decipher the directions, let alone complete the assignment. Now picture those difficulties but apply them to a test taking environment. It’s a recipe for failure, especially if their anxiety rises and their difficulties get the best of them. There are a few tips that will help you prepare your student to the best of your ability prior to a big test, especially tests such as the M-Step or SAT. Let’s take a minute to go over them.

Schedule Prep Time

In order to make sure you have enough preparation time worked into your student’s schedule, you need to know a bit more about the test. How many questions is it expected to be? Is the subject one that your student feels comfortable in or do they struggle to learn the concepts that the test covers? How much information is the student being tested on? Make sure you and your student are on the same page and understand how much time should be carved out for studying for the specific test. Blocking out the right amount of time will avoid them cramming for the test and will decrease their anxiety regarding the test.

Share as Much Information as Possible

Think about your life for a moment…if your boss passes by your desk and says she wants to see you for a minute regarding a project you are working on, wouldn’t your nerves kick in and your anxiety increase? You would want to know why she wants to see you, what area of the project she has questions in, and perhaps if you’ll have access to your files to pull up notes if you need to refer to something. The same exact feelings and thoughts run through your teens mind when a test is mentioned. If a study guide is not provided, reach out to the teacher and ask a few questions like how the test is formatted (multiple choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, etc.), will they have access to their notes, are their certain areas your student should focus on (definitions, graphs, etc.)? Being able to provide your student with enough information that they can conjure up an idea of what the test might look like will be beneficial during the studying phase and when it comes to actually taking the test.

Know What Support is Available

For students with learning and attention difficulties, help can be made available. If you know your child has these differences to overcome, be an advocate and make sure they have an IEP or a 504 Plan on file. These plans allow for certain accommodations that might make test taking a little easier on your student. It’s important that your student knows what accommodations are set in place and that they should speak up if their needs aren’t met.

Even the best, well-intended plans can go wrong, but by talking with their teacher, school administrators, and test administrators, they can have other stipulations put in place that will help them do their best on the test. Take the time before the test to talk with your child and see what fears they have regarding the upcoming tests. This will be an eye-opening experience and will help you to guide your child in the best, most effective way possible. If you should ever need our assistance or have concerns regarding your student, give us a call at 800-297-2119. Should your student still receive a score that displeases them after all of their hard work and accommodations, remind them that it’s okay. We don’t all hit it out of the ballpark every time, and they can use the test as a learning tool to adjust their game plan for next time.

Anxiety: The Signs May Be Hiding in Plain Sight

Advice, Teen Health, Teen Mental Disorders, teenagers | 0 comments

Every person on this planet of ours has anxiety. Some people can handle stress and anxiety with no problem, while others may show signs of more severe anxiety, which is actually a signal they might have an anxiety disorder. You may be wondering just what exactly is anxiety? Well, anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. Our bodies typically respond to stressful events or situations by giving us a rapid heartrate, sweating, and a feeling of jitter or nervousness. That’s all perfectly normal and are healthy responses to stress that we encounter.

Some teens have anxiety that goes to the next level. For some, their anxiety symptoms get so bad that they actually interfere with their daily living. Their friendships, relationships, school work, and extracurricular activities all take a hit because their anxiety makes it impossible to live life in a “normal” way. During the teen years, signs that your teen may be struggling with anxiety can be very hard to spot. Think about how their behavior has changes since hormones came into play. There’s a good chance that the kid you once knew is flipping their behavior and attitude on a dime, and it can be very hard to distinguish when anxiety has gone to the next level.

All hope is not lost! There are some warning signs to keep an eye out for. If you notice your teen displaying any of these signs of anxiety, it is a good idea to bring it up to their doctor.

Increased irritability
Lack of concentration
Avoiding social situations
Isolating themselves
Restless
Frequent outbursts
Wanting to spend time alone
Chronic fatigue
Reoccurring headaches
Stomach issues
Overall ill feeling
Inability to fall asleep or stay asleep
Lack of appetite or insatiable appetite
Nightmares
Sudden drop in grades

After reading all of those symptoms, it’s clear that having an anxiety disorder would be no fun to live with. If your teen is having a hard time and you think they may have an anxiety disorder, please seek help from a mental health practitioner. There are a variety of treatments for anxiety disorders ranging from simple breathing techniques to medications in more severe cases.

Does your teen suffer with anxiety? They are not alone! At My Virtual Academy, students come to us for a variety of reasons, one of which is bad anxiety that makes it impossible to function in a traditional classroom. Once enrolled with My Virtual Academy, students are able to do their schooling from the comfort of their own home, without the stressors that a typical classroom can give. Students are able to carve out times each day to do their school work that best fits their unique schedule. If your teen struggles to keep up with the rest of the class and feels as though they are being pushed along, they’ll be happy to hear they can work at their own pace. Best part of all is that we are a tuition-free program! If your 5-12^th grader would benefit from virtual learning, please visit our website to learn more or give us a call at 800-297-2119. Hope to hear from you soon!

What’s Got You Down? Depression in Today’s Teens

Advice, high school, Teen Health, Teen Mental Disorders | 0 comments

You probably noticed that around the age of 12, your child became moody, temperamental, rebellious, and wanted to spend more time alone in their room. Adolescence is always a trying time for parents and for their kids! It’s perfectly normal for kids this age to feel a bit down from time to time, but what happens if your once happy-go-lucky teen is now down-in-the-dumps-Debbie?

Think back to a recent time when your teen asked what was for dinner. Did they overreact and get upset when they found out it was something that they didn’t like? Now think to a time when they were looking for a shirt to wear for school. Even though they had 12 shirts hung up in their closet, did they break down and overreact because their favorite shirt wasn’t ready to wear? Teens tend to overreact and get dramatic over little things – it’s just in their nature at that age. Teens also get stressed out easily and stressors at school, things going on with their friends, breakups with boyfriends, failing a test, can all weigh on their shoulders heavily and send some teens into a downward tailspin.

How do you know if your teen is showing typical teen behavior or if they are showing signs of a more serious problem, like depression? When their behavior and moods stop them from living a normal life on a daily basis, that’s when you know it’s a problem and it’s time to seek some help. There are ways that teens can effectively deal with their moods, so it doesn’t turn into depression and take a lifelong toll on them. We’re going to share with you some tips that they can use to try and ease them out of the funk they are in and assist them in accepting themselves and their situation.

Make sure they talk to a trusted adult.

Sometimes just venting your problems to a trusted person can be enough to put the situation in perspective or help a teen realize that what they thought was a terrible situation isn’t actually all that bad. A teen may feel they can be more open about themselves with an adult that is not their parent so don’t take offense if they open up to an aunt or grandparent.

Encourage them to make new friends.

The people your teen hangs out with are either going to build them up or tear them down. Make sure they are surrounding themselves with people that help them be a better person. Positive relationships can improve a teens self-esteem and provide them with a better sense of who they are and what they have to offer the world.

Foster the love of hobbies, sports, and other organizational activities.

Teams help instill a sense of pride, accomplishment, and drive in our teens. Whether they join a soccer team, cheerleading squad, or a church group, they will have a sense of belonging and a group of other people counting on them to show up and contribute. Having a strong feeling of self-worth helps to combat depression because you feel like what you do and who you are matters to the world.

Depression is an illness and should be taken serious at any age. If your teen struggles with depression and doesn’t seek treatment, it can worsen to the point of being life-threatening. Therapy can be extremely beneficial and can help discover why your teen is depressed. If your child struggles with depression, a therapist can teach them how to deal with stressful situations, so they have the tools to deal with them. Sometimes, if a teen is in a deep depression or struggling really bad with anxiety, medications may be prescribed. That is nothing to be ashamed of. Just as some people have to take medication for high blood pressure, some need to take medication for depression. The important thing is that your teen gets the help they need.

Teens struggle with enough things, school shouldn’t be one of them. If you have a child in 5-12th grade that fell behind and is feeling there is no way out, we’re here to say that there is! My Virtual Academy helps students every day realize their dreams of graduating high school. Students that join our tuition-free program learn from the comfort of their own home, at a pace that is just right for them. They have flexibility in choosing what time of day they wish to do their schooling and they have access to lessons 24/7, so the choice really is theirs. If you feel that your teen would thrive in this type of program, please give us a call at 800-297-2119 or visit our website. Hope to hear from you soon!

Hormones Flipping Your House Upside Down?

Advice, Teen Health, teenagers | 0 comments

When your kid is in elementary school, it’s pretty even-keeled in your house. Sure, you have the meltdowns over toys and going to bed when the sun is still shining, but overall, you can distract them easily if a meltdown has started. Then your sweet little dumplings enter middle school and the game changes in a big way. Hormones are changing and the kid that you once bounced on your knee while giving butterfly kisses is now a full-rage teenager. No, you’re not imagining things and no, they don’t all of a sudden have multiple personalities, they are just entering that phase of life that has their hormones out of whack and it’s making them (and you) go bonkers!

So, what’s a person to do!? Let’s break it down…

It’s time for a candid discussion.

At this age, they have probably sat through at least one class in school where hormones are discussed but use this time to have an open discussion about it. Let them ask questions. Pull up websites to show them drawings of the female reproductive organs, if that helps ease the tension regarding having this discussion. Visuals also help paint the picture so-to-speak of things that they cannot see with their own eyes. Explain the role of hormones and how they effect our moods. Giving your teens the knowledge to know what is happening and why it’s happening can help keep their reactions in check.

Appreciate the “good” times.

If your teen is letting their hormones get the best of them, try to not take it personally. Instead, when they are having a “good” day, view that as your “in” and teach them ways to handle their emotions. We all have a range of emotions that we experience every day, the difference is as adults, we’ve learned how to cope with them. Anger, for example, is a perfectly natural emotion but unleashing that anger physically or verbally isn’t always the best thing to do. Look up various things your son or daughter can do when they are experiencing these extreme emotions and provide them with the tools to keep them in check. Explaining how their actions impact the entire household is also something that should be pointed out. If your child is at a place in their life where their parent/guardian “doesn’t know anything,” ask another trusted adult that is close with your child to have a talk with them. Sometimes it takes someone other than a parent telling us something for it to sink in.

Encourage alone time.

When you are around people all day, particularly if you’re having a bad day, don’t you just crave some time to yourself to decompress and refresh your mindset? The same thing should go for your kids. If they are having an “off” day, encourage them to go chill in their rooms or go somewhere quiet to read a book or converse with a friend on the phone. Being still allows you to work through your thoughts and allows your mind to slow down and reset. If things start to get out of hand, send them to their room to rest.

Dealing with teenage mood swings is one of the hardest parts of parenting. By the skin of your teeth, you’ll make it through and live to tell the tales that occurred during that time of parenting. Until then, take comfort in knowing that millions of parents are out there dealing with the same thing.

If you have a child in 5-12th grade that would benefit from a new way of schooling, you may want to give My Virtual Academy a go. As a student at My Virtual Academy, your child would learn from the comfort of their own home. They would have curriculum that is tailored to their individual needs and would be allowed to work at a pace that is just right for them. If this tuition-free school sounds like something you may be interested in exploring, please visit our website to learn more or give us a call at 800-297-2119.

Is Your Teen A Couch Potato? Get Them on The Move!

Activities, Advice, Teen Health, teenagers | 0 comments

It seems that as the years go on, our children are becoming more and more sedentary. They are turning to their phones instead of riding bikes and hanging outdoors. Since this has become a societal norm, more teens are becoming overweight than ever before. A lot of teens claim not to have the time in their day to fit in the recommended 60 minutes of exercise. They are bombarded with homework and other obligations, but something is better than nothing. Helping to get your teen off of the couch and on the move will help them lower the risk for all kinds of weight-related diseases. It can be hard to have your teen go from zero to sixty in a day but encouraging them to slowly increase their activity level can have big payoffs in the health department. Check out some tips to get them moving.

Start slow.

If you come at your kid like a bootcamp instructor, their muscles will be very sore the next day and their nerves will be frazzled. This approach rarely works when you’re trying to get your teen to enjoy exercise, especially when just starting out. Instead, take the “dip your toes in” approach. Think of something that is exercise but is also fun. Do they like nature? Try taking them on a canoeing trip. Not an outdoors person? How about taking them to one of the trampoline parks? Those are a fantastic workout! When your child is interested in the activity (and not totally whipped the first time) they are more likely to want to continue doing the activity. Find something they are interested in, and gradually build up their endurance.

Sneak it in during down time.

When your teen is vegging out and watching TV at night, or playing their favorite video game, do quick fitness challenges during commercial breaks or between rounds. When a commercial comes on, challenge everyone to see who can do 10 pushups the fastest or have a sit-up contest. If you’re watching TV you can make up a game where whenever someone says a specific word (such as a character’s name, catch phrase, etc.), everyone does a certain fitness activity. These don’t need to be time consuming activities; they are meant to be short, quick, fun little bursts of exercise sprinkled into their day.

Encourage organized sports.

One good way to get them physically active is to encourage them to join a sports team. Do they enjoy playing a fast sport, like basketball? See if there are any teams that they can try out for. Does your teen love playing in the water? Perhaps you can get a membership to your local Y or city rec center and let them swim. If your teen is timid, teams are a great way to get them involved because they’ll have the encouragement of their peers.

Set a good example.

As you often hear people say, your child’s first teacher is you, the parent. Lead by example. Show them what good exercise habits look like. Show them that it’s not a chore to work out, rather it makes your body and your mind feel good and healthy. Let them know that Rome wasn’t built in a day. The results from physical activity will become evident but it takes time. They will be happier and healthier when they come up with a routine that includes exercise into the fold.

As a parent, you have their physical activity under control, let us help your 5-12th grader get their education back on track. If you have a child that is struggling in the traditional school setting, why not give virtual learning a try? Your student gets to work at their own pace, at times that best fit their daily schedule, and from the comfort of their own home – and did we mention this is a tuition-free program? Learn more about all of the exciting opportunities that are available to your student at My Virtual Academy. Please visit our website or call us at 800-297-2119.