Siegal Eli-Gers, a Temple Jeremiah member and therapist, has prepared a list of mental health tips for teens! Check them out below:

  • It’s OK to not be OK right now. Our world has been turned upside down and expecting to be ok with it isn’t fair to yourself. Even if you and your family are safe and healthy, you are still allowed to be upset and impacted by what is happening in the world at large. It’s OK to be sad for the losses of the events/experiences in your life, and that doesn’t make you selfish or ungrateful for what you do have.
  • Be gentle and kind to yourself—none of this is easy and we can’t hold ourselves to the same level of expectations.
  • Be OK with the “good enough”—you aren’t just studying at home, or just working from home for the day. Rather, you’re doing so under the extraordinary circumstance of a pandemic. It’s not the same. You don’t have the same choices, so give yourself permission to be OK with the “good enough”. Virtual learning is not the same as learning at school.
  • Try to maintain a routine. We all had some sort of routine previously, so maintaining a routine, with sleep, school, studying, socializing, eating, helps us maintain a sense of normalcy.
  • Keep your weekends and weekdays separated.
  • Check in with friends, set up group chats, plan a virtual game night, do a Netflix party, or use House Party or Jackbox to play games with friends.
  • Start a new streak, how many days a week can you get out and walk? Track your distance—can you walk the distance across your town, state, the U.S.? Or what about starting a streak with taking a selfie each day, baking a new recipe, reading each day?
  • Give yourself permission to just be. It’s OK to just relax, watch Netflix, or have a movie marathon. Things are much harder now, and we need to take care of ourselves.
  • Exercise—walk, ride your bike, go rollerblading, or find a yoga video online.
  • Stay on a news diet—limit how much you eat and how often you eat.
  • Most importantly, ask for help when needed, whether that be with school, friends, parents, family, or a therapist.