Mental Health Care

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Certain factors may increase your risk of developing a mental illness, including:

A history of mental illness in a blood relative, such as a parent or sibling.
Stressful life situations, such as traumatic event(s), financial problems, a loved one's death or a divorce.
An ongoing (chronic) medical condition, such as diabetes.

Mental Affects Everyone

One in four adults in the US experienced a mental health issue.
One in five young people experienced a major depressive episode and one in four experience an anxiety disorder in adolescents.
Anxiety disorders remain the most widespread condition, affecting an estimated 5.6 million American youth annually.

COMMON SIGNS OF A MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION

Children: Mental health conditions can also begin to develop in young children. Because they’re still learning how to identify and talk about thoughts and emotions, their most obvious symptoms are behavioral. Signs may include:

Changes in school performance
Frequent temper tantrums
Excessive worry or anxiety
Frequent nightmares
Frequent disobedience or aggression
Hyperactive behavior

Adolescents and Adults :

Excessive worrying or fear
Feeling sad, empty, hopeless, or worthless.
Loss of interest in things once enjoyed
Confused thinking or problems concentrating and learning
Extreme mood changes or frequent shifts in energy
Prolonged or strong feelings of irritability or anger
Avoiding friends and social activities
Difficulties understanding or relating to other people
Changes in sleeping habits and/or eating habits
Overuse of substances like alcohol or drugs
Multiple physical ailments without obvious causes (such as headaches, stomach aches, vague and ongoing “aches and pains”)
Thinking about suicide or not wanting to "be here".

To complete a mental health screening, visit Mental Health Screening

Contact:

Beth Hook

Coordinator of Mental Health Services

bhook@lexrich5.org

Mental Health Resources

Crisis Lifeline Text HOPE4SC to 988 to connect with a crisis counselor or click the link to visit the 988 Lifeline website.

CredibleMind

Healthy Mental and Emotional Development

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

M ental Health Resources for Parents

Coping Resources - SAMHSA

Mental Health Resources for Parents & Caregivers

Building Resilience and Fostering Healthy Development

Helping our children identify emotions and experience these emotions in a safe environment reduces the potential negative effects. It's normal to experience uncomfortable or heavy, difficult feelings yet many times we, as adults, tend to rescue our youth.

Unfortunately, this can likely create patterns of avoidance and escape. Studies have found that our children do best when they can put a name to the feeling, "sit with it" and learn effective ways to manage the increase in the emotion. Giving distractions or other temporary "soothing" comforts (such as screens, snacks, entertainment) to calm the frustration, tantrum or boredom, reinforces relief versus building skills and resilience.

Neuroplasticity is the brains adaption of experiences. As we experience the world, our brains are learning to create adaptations to survive in it because that is what are brains are designed to do. Repeated experiences and ones that support our survival, whatever that looks like in our environment, become the strongest.

Allowing children to work through emotions builds confidence for handling difficult or strong emotions in healthy ways. So first, acknowledge the feeling, name the emotion and allow a child to simply work through it will foster healthy coping and resiliency as they move throughout life.

Youth Resources

Parent Resources

Crisis Lifeline (988)

NAMI Basics on-demand

ParentGuidance.org

SCParents.org

Caring for your child's Mental Health:

Conversation starters with kids:

Conversations with Children: Tips for Using Words in Powerful Ways | NAEYC

Self Harm:

Sleep Hygiene:

Discipline:

Tantrums:

How to diffuse a tantrum

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for parents:

Substance Treatment and Recovery Supports:

Lighthouse for Life

School District Five's Parenting & Social Work Services

Mental Wellness Apps

Mental Health Wellness Apps for Apple and Android (go to your app store and search for the following):

CALM - A sleep or meditation app for anyone, whether you’re brand new to meditation or a seasoned expert. It’s also for anyone who needs a mental break, a soothing sound, or a peaceful night’s rest. Our guided meditations are available in lengths of 3 to 25 minutes, so you can choose the perfect length to fit your schedule.

MINDSHIFT - A variety of methods for young people to respond to anxiety including; developing their knowledge of anxiety and symptoms, engaging in relaxation tasks, evaluating their level of anxiety in particular situations, developing realistic thinking patterns and changing behavior.

HEADSPACE - Guided meditations, courses, and mindfulness exercises on subjects like stress, general anxiety, worry, building resilience, and more topics for any moment. Learn mindfulness and choose from hundreds of meditations led by world-class experts.

MINDFUL POWERS - For children aged between 7 and 10. The technique of mindfulness has been very positively received by many of those who have taken the time to learn and practice it. Adults have embraced mindfulness apps to aid their learning and practice.

SMILING MIND - Meditation and mindfulness app with guided practices for both children and adults. It features a library of mindfulness tracks, with targeted practices for everything from stress and sleep to relationships and gratitude.

BREATHE, THINK, DO - Features your child’s favorite Sesame Street characters to help teach them skills such as problem-solving, self-control, planning and perseverance.

STOPit - Anonymously report incidents to your school using text and photos or video. Anonymously alert your school to inappropriate conduct or safety concerns such as harassment, bullying, ethics or compliance violations, weapons possession, hazing, safety hazards, threats, assault, or illegal activity, or to ask for help for yourself or another.

CRISIS LIFELINE - 988 offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress.

Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for yourself or if you are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

Thoughts of suicide
Mental health or substance use crisis, or
Any other kind of emotional distress

Social Emotional Wellness

Text HOPE4SC to 988 to connect with a crisis counselor or click the link to visit the 988 Lifeline website.

SEL is supported by SC State Standards and the Profile of a SC Graduate.

These are a few resources selected by the District Five PK-12 Social Emotional Learning Committee that may prove helpful to families and students. Links to sites not maintained by the district may change; preview and skip any ads. Please choose the resources that make the best fit for you.

General Information

SCPARENTS.ORG

pARENTGUIDANCE.ORG

Capturing Kids Hearts

COLLABORATIVE FOR ACADEMIC, SOCIAL,..

Home and community SEL resources.

First 5 South Carolina

First Five SC is a new online resource to help connect families of young children to over 40 public services. These resources are specifically designed for parents with preschool children.