Mental Health and Mindfulness Day 8 (Emma Holloway)

YOGA

We started the day off the same way we usually do, with yoga guided by Dr. Reese. Today, we focused on the story of Vishnu, a deity in Hinduism who protects the Earth. It is said that he will come down to Earth 10 times, and he has already done so 9 times. Each pose we did either reflected a symbol that represents Vishnu, like a conch shell, staff, chakra, or eagle. It was interesting to learn about Vishnu, and it was a very fun and relaxing start to the day.

The flying eagle pose

Vishnu

NEURODIVERGENCE LECTURE

After morning yoga, Dr. Reese gave a lecture on neurodivergence and neurodiversity. Neurodiversity is the idea that everyone’s brain is different, and no one has a “normal” brain. Neurodivergence is people whose brains work and develop differently. Neurodivergent people tend to have different strengths and struggles socially, academically, and physically. We learned also learned about interoception and neuroception. Interoseption is the brain's ability to sense your body’s internal processes, like telling when you’re hungry or when you need to use the bathroom, and neuropcetion is your brain’s ability to sense safety and danger. She ended the lecture by telling us how to be aware, accepting, and affirming of neurodivergent people by showing compassion and being accommodating toward their needs. The lesson was very eye-opening and educated all of us to be understanding and thoughtful about neurodiversity.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE SEMINAR

Following the lecture on substance abuse and watching Beautiful Boy, we held a seminar on substance use. Substance use disorder is the continuous and compulsive use of substances like drugs and alcohol despite bad things happening. This means losing control and having your substance use affect your health, relationships, job, school, and everyday life. Your likelihood of being addicted to drugs is highly genetic, but it is also affected by your environment and when you start using the substance. For example, teens can get addicted to drugs more quickly, and their brains can be affected more due to their brains still developing. Risk of drug use increases during times of transition, like divorce, changing schools, or loss of a job. Children are often first exposed to alcohol and drugs in middle school, and in high school, there may be greater availability and social pressure to use substances. Drugs simulate the feeling of doing something your brain enjoys, which over time can flatten the feeling of doing pleasurable things and cause you to fall deeper into the drug. This cycle also affects the drug itself and often causes people to use more over time to be able to get the same pleasure from that high; this is known as tolerance. Aside from mental health issues, drug abuse can cause physical health issues like lung or heart disease, stroke, cancer, dental issues, overdose, and death. We also discussed the ethics of forced rehab and how rehab is only as effective as the person wants it to be. We ended our discussion with the restriction and regulation of alcohol and certain drugs compared to highly harmful and addictive drugs, and the effect of highly regulated drugs versus making them illegal. Overall, the seminar was a great conclusion to our lesson on substance use.

SAND MANDALAS

For our creative project, we continued working on our sand mandalas. We filled in our sketches with colored sand, carefully choosing each color. While creating our mandalas, we thought of intentions for the future, like spending time with family, being resilient through academic struggles, or being peaceful and spreading love. It was a wonderful, peaceful form of meditation. The next day, we will sweep up our mandalas through graceful dissolution.

Isa and Angelica's mandala

Kenna and Ben's mandala

Mads and Veronica's mandala

BREATHING TECHNIQUES

After a short break, we ended our day with breathing techniques with Ms. Shivani. We practiced techniques we learned before, like the bhramari, kapalabhati, alternate nostril breathing, and aum breath. We practiced our sun salutation, and ended with a routine that stretched and warmed up each muscle group that is perfect for waking up your body in the morning. Practicing these techniques was very calming and a perfect way to end our day.