SAC Corner

The CDC has found that teenage girls are experiencing record high levels of violence, sadness, and suicide risk. Continuing at high records are also LGBTQ+ youths facing high levels of violence and mental health challenges.

• Nearly 1 in 3 (30%) seriously considered attempting suicide—up nearly 60% from a decade ago.
  
  
• 1 in 5 (18%) experienced sexual violence in the past year—up 20% since 2017, when CDC started monitoring this measure.
  
  
• More than 1 in 10 (14%) had ever been forced to have sex—up 27% since 2019 and the first increase since CDC began monitoring this measure.
  
  
• More than half (52%) of LGBQ+ students had recently experienced poor mental health and, concerningly, that more than 1 in 5 (22%) attempted suicide in the past year.
  
  
• Findings by race and ethnicity also show high and worsening levels of persistent sadness or hopelessness across all racial and ethnic groups; and that reported suicide attempts increased among Black youth and White youth.

The linked article is a quick but very useful read.

Some key points are:

• Exasperation of fear of disappointing others, perfectionism, not being used to failure
• Possible higher risk of suicidal thoughts or attempts
• Continued depressive symptoms should result in mental health assessment & treatment
• They may exhibit common thinking errors, especially with their brain still being in development
• The acceptance of rejection may mirror the 5 stages of grief, let them experience it
• Support & Encourage your child in exploring alternatives
• Control your own reaction, they are perceptive and you don't want to put more on them
• According to admissions, 2/3 of rejected applicants are fully equipped to succeed at the school, acceptance/rejection can be arbitrary
  
  

*A big highlight is the not being used to failure, particularly if the child is a child of a helicopter or lawnmower parenting style. Experience of failure is crucial to developmentally appropriate resilience and self-efficacy building. Feel free to reach out to your student's SAC, school counselor, therapist, or case manager for more information on this.*

TikTok is of the most used social media platforms across the board. Recipes, cute animals, silly dances, but also shaming videos, accountability videos, and many recordings without consent.

We live in a world where consent is not usually necessary for a recording in a public space and is incredibly hard to enforce or have taken down. There are times when these recordings are used to save lives or hold people accountable. An example may be a stranger trying to coax an inebriated person to leave with them while good samaritans record the interaction to discourage the stranger from taking this person when they cannot consent.

However, we also see these videos used to shame people for their looks, SES, body type, beliefs, and for moments where filter or self control are lost and the person may have what is perceived as a meltdown in anger or upset. Another form of this that can unintentionally cause harm is filming random people and using the footage as a fictitious story or narrative (often POV posts).

Viewers can get invested in these posts and stories and begin to try and find the "characters" in real life. Reaching out to them with slander/libel, threats, harassments, and some take actions in the "character's" personal life and begin causing problems for them. They can also, just as quickly, turn on the poster/creator and attack them. Including death threats.

The article linked is a good read to remind people that the world is full of real life humans who have their own main character story and lives; they are not just background characters in your own narrative. Whether or not we like it, we are all likely to be in the background of someone's photo or recording. It is on us to choose to use our recordings and photos responsibly and kindly.

What:

People who regularly use cannabis may experience worse pain and/or nausea after surgery. It is now recommended that anesthesiologists be informed, if a patient is undergoing procedures using regional or general anesthesia, if the patient smokes, vapes, or ingest cannabis. They will want to know how often and what form.

Why:

The worse pain and nausea may require more opioid analgesia.

One Step Further:

Opioids are highly addictive. Increasing dosage, frequency of use, or duration of use can all be risky in the long term. See the image below for questions to ask your doctor before taking an opioid prescription.

Takeaway:

Even if cannabis use doesn't appear to impact your day to day, it is chemically changing your body's tolerances and reactions. It may also impede or complicate your life should you ever need surgery. Cannabis use is not harmless, especially for youths who are not physically nor mentally fully developed.

2022 Study: https://rapm.bmj.com/content/early/2023/01/05/rapm-2022-104013

Fill It Forward partners with organizations and companies to provide clean water to those in need. They extend the project to the public by having QR code stickers you can purchase and put on your reusable water bottles. Every time you fill up your reusable water bottle, you scan the sticker using the app and it contributes to clean water donation. Other than the sticker, it is no cost to you (unless you want to donate), the organizations and companies donate off the scans.

I have a sticker on mine and it is super easy!

If certain content is sensitive or a "trigger" for you, try using this website:

https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/ for books

http://www.doesthedogdie.com before watching a new movie, tv show, or reading a new book. It lists a wide variety of content warnings. It is public/user driven - like Wikipedia.

If you'd like your student to join a free online vaping education class to learn the truth about vaping and receive a completion certificate, have them sign up here:

Have students go to everfi.com/register, enter code 8bdfd959 and click Next.

This is a Truth course supported by EverFi and monitored by our district SAC (me).

The link below leads to the SAMHSA website were you can print (or order for free) safety plan sheets. You don't have to be in crisis to be prepared. Talk to your kiddo or loved one about:

• How they know when things aren't right for them
• What helps when things don't feel right
• Who/What are people/places for distraction
• Who are they willing to go to for help
• What are some crisis numbers
• What are some actions that can be done to make a safer environment

https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/SAMHSA_Digital_Download/PEP22-08-03-007.pdf

Newport Academy is offering a guide on how to do a mental health temperature check with your teen(s) using 10 questions. Newport Academy also offers ways to incorporate evidence based "temperature" lowering activities into your teen's life and routine. Check it out!

https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/mental-health/mental_health_temperature_check/?utm_source=pardot&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=11_09_21_na_resources_temp_check&utm_content=1st_img

Do you have a student you feel needs to meet with me? Print and fill out this referral form and send it to me.

Click the title to be taken to Megan Thee Stallion's new website that acts as a landing page for mental health resources. CAUTION: the website title and linked song both use language deemed inappropriate.

The website includes therapy connections, including free therapy, resources for suicide, crisis, substance use, and more specifically labeled ones such as for: LGBTQ+, Black Girls, Black Men, and more.

Newport Academy/Institute is a treatment center/teen rehab. They are not in any way partnered nor affiliated with the Haddonfield School District.

They do provide a lot of free information and resources that I share when appropriate.

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Fentanyl: https://www.smore.com/8gb7ps

Doxxing: https://www.smore.com/0x9nb

Email: hpenna@haddonfield.k12.nj.us
Website: https://haddonfieldschools.org/
Location: A104 HMHS
Phone: 856-429-3960 . 1155