We hope you will join us this Giving Tuesday as we work to create a world of mentally healthy children and youth. By Meadowlark Monaghan, AIM Youth Advisory Board Member For many, the holidays act as a cataclysm for stress.  According to C.S. Mott’s National Poll on Children’s Health, one in six parents report high stress levels during the holidays, with one in five stating that said stress negatively impacts their child’s experience of the season… Couple that with nearly one in five children experiencing a diagnosable mental health condition, and stress becomes as synonymous with t ..read more

You’ve seen the headlines – youth mental health is at an all-time low. Nearly one in five children has a diagnosable mental health condition. For these young people, the right treatment can be life-changing – and lifesaving. Unfortunately, many young people don’t receive the mental health support they need, often due to barriers such as stigma, fear, and lack of accessible treatment options. Yet childhood is a pivotal time for mental health treatment: over 50% of lifetime mental illnesses begin by age 14.  For me, the holidays are a happy – if hectic! – time of year. But for childr ..read more

And the case for adding ‘random acts of kindness’ to your self-care routine. By Meadowlark Monaghan, AIM Youth Advisory Board Member Kindness not only feels good, it also is good for us. The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley—a leader in research on the science of social and emotional well-being—confirms that “experiments have actually demonstrated again and again that kindness toward others actually causes us to be happier, improves our health, and lengthens our lives.” In fact, it may have even contributed to our survival. Evolutionary anthropologist Brian Hare and journalist V ..read more

What is ADHD? It’s etiology, types, symptoms, coping strategies, and even strategies for parents all covered in this Toolkit. . By Meadowlark Monaghan, AIM Youth Advisory Board Member ADHD, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, is an experience that affects many young people—around 5-7% of youth, worldwise. Rates of diagnosis are higher in the U.S., perhaps because of strong achievement pressures and all-too-often, quick diagnoses.  While each child with ADHD will have a unique experience, there is common ground with the kinds of challenges they may face and possible solutions th ..read more

For Youth & Adults Alike, Video Games May Be The Answer To Our Collective Attention Span Challenges. By Meadowlark Monaghan, AIM Youth Advisory Board Member The rise in ADHD targeted ads seems ubiquitous across social media platforms in a post-COVID world. Frankly, with good measure. Despite an ADHD diagnosis, collectively our memories and attention spans have been frazzled in the last few years. As a WFH (work from home) individual, I know I’ve felt this. Plus, as our youth illuminated themselves in our AIM Idea Lab Report, Zoom education has rattled our youths’ mental health far bey ..read more

Calling students! If you are (or know) a high school student in the counties of Monterey, Marin, Alameda, or San Diego who would be interested in participating in AIM Ideas Lab please reach out to Jennie Liang at jennie@AIMymh.org. By Meadowlark Monaghan, AIM Youth Advisory Board Member I’ll never forget walking across my college campus and stumbling across a plastic, A-frame sign that read, “Mental Health Peep? Come check out this job!”  I was a freshman at UC Santa Barbara eager to study Psychology after surviving a high school experience that included the loss of my brother by su ..read more

Tools and strategies for youth and adults to become suicide prevention advocates.  By Meadowlark Monaghan, AIM Youth Advisory Board Member I’ve always been curious about the juxtaposition between our culture’s response to physical pain and mental pain. Despite being processed in the same part of our brain, the connotations each experience of pain carries comes coded with cultural baggage.  When a kid enters a classroom with a new cast on their arm, they’re immediately greeted with a myriad of questions from the story of what happened to “can I sign it?” We want to get to know t ..read more

Updates on the latest, ground-breaking youth mental health research funded by AIM. By Meadowlark Monaghan, AIM Youth Advisory Board Member Welcome to Research Updates! A new series where we share interviews with our doctors and fellows conducting groundbreaking research on all aspects of youth mental health.  Today, we chatted with AIM Clinical Science Fellow, Dr. Benjamin Johnson, who is currently conducting research on a smartphone application usage to predict suicide behavior in college students, and subsequently, provide them resources in real time when needed.  Dr. Benjam ..read more

By Meadowlark Monaghan, AIM Youth Advisory Board Member With the arrival of another school year, it’s more apparent than ever how young people are facing challenges that even adults aren’t sure how to handle. While some students may be eager to get back to see their friends and dive into new routines and activities, others may be feeling some serious trepidation about who they are going to eat lunch with and how they are going to make it through AP World History amidst the backdrop of a lingering pandemic, gun violence, and social unrest. Understandably so, it’s important for youth and p ..read more

Next time you find yourself anxious, stressed, unable to sleep or in any of the situations below, try the corresponding breathwork exercise and feel in your body the difference it can make! By Meadowlark Monaghan, AIM Youth Advisory Board Member “Breathwork has been around for longer than the word ‘wellness’” breathwork expert Millana Snow shared with us back in May at our Mind, Body, Soul panel at Dogpound LA. Breathwork is one of the quickest and most accessible ways to regulate your nervous system and shift your brain state. Dating back as far as 3000 B.C.E., breathwork practices have ..read more