Talking Points:

• We don’t always show, realize, or even feel all the emotions we experience throughout the day. Left unaddressed, these things can manifest as anxiety.
• The problem for many of us is that we are not processing our emotions. We try to do everything but process our emotions by distracting ourselves.

Talking Points:

• Everyone feels down from time to time. Things like getting a bad grade, losing your job, having an argument, and even a rainy day can cause you to feel sad. Clinical depression is much different. It is an actual disorder and it won’t go away. It lingers for at least two weeks and interferes with your ability to work, play, or love.
• Some of the most common symptoms include a depressed mood, loss of interest in things you formerly enjoyed, changes in appetite, feeling worthless, sleeping too much or too little, poor concentration, restlessness, slowness, loss of energy, or recurring thoughts of suicide. 
• If you know someone who is struggling with depression, be willing to talk openly about it. Studies show that simply asking someone about suicidal thoughts can reduce their risk of suicide.

Talking Points:

• When something makes you angry, your amygdala processes it and coordinates the release of neurotransmitters called “catecholamines.” Catecholamines cause you to feel a burst of energy, which prepares you for physical action. This is at times called the “fight or flight” response.
• Constant, chronic anger can increase a person’s chance of getting heart diseases caused by high blood pressure. It could even lead to heart attacks. The good news is that there are many ways to deal with your anger, like exercise, meditation, or having fun.

Talking Points:

• As children, we develop a perspective that the world is perfect and well-balanced. Adolescence is the tumultuous period of life when we discover that these early perspectives are not true and we are challenged with how to respond.
• Every adolescent desires to see their parents stick around and display unconditional love no matter what they do. They need to believe the love they have from their parents is indeed solid.
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Talking Points:

• Be slow to get angry. If you blurt out the first thing you think when anger arises, you will end up saying something you regret.
• When you say negative things to someone, their first response is often to fight or to flee. This is just going to put you in a never-ending argument about who is wrong, or to cause the relationship to shut down.
• Ruminating on your anger can even be detrimental to your health. People who harbor anger are more likely to have heart attacks. So, not only will anger harm you mentally, but it can also harm you physically.

Talking Points:

• Myth #1: Only wartime trauma causes PTSD. While there is a correlation between PTSD and the frequency and severity of traumatic experience(s), any situation in which a person feels powerless, out of control, or unsafe can lead to the disorder.
• Myth #2: The only aftermath of trauma is PTSD. Individuals may try to escape or numb their emotions through substance abuse or addiction. Others may look for comfort in controlling what they eat, which can lead to an eating disorder.
• Myth #3: PTSD is a terminal diagnosis with a poor prognosis. With the help of a mental health professional, an individual can define, face, and overcome their traumatic experience and its effects.

Talking Points:

• Grief is a process, not a task and it’s unique to each person.
• When it comes to grief, some days you may feel on top of the world, while on others you may feel down in the dumps.
• In order to begin working through your grief you first have to acknowledge that it exists. Take your time and don’t be afraid of the emotions you feel.