[SPEAKER_04]: This episode of choose table is brought to you by ten by ten.

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[SPEAKER_04]: Through innovative resources and collaborative efforts, ten by ten supports youth discipleship across diverse communities.

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[SPEAKER_03]: So we're back with teens at the table y'all and these teens have been excellent educating us about all the kind of things that we didn't even know that we needed to know about.

[SPEAKER_03]: And so I have joined again with another awesome panel.

[SPEAKER_03]: And we're going to talk about a topic that is near and dear to my heart of the psychologist, which is mental health.

[SPEAKER_03]: And they are willing to share with us their insights, their perspectives.

[SPEAKER_03]: And we are definitely going to lean in to listen and learn from them.

[SPEAKER_03]: So welcome ladies.

[SPEAKER_02]: Hi.

[SPEAKER_02]: Hi.

[SPEAKER_03]: So the first thing we do here is you're going to introduce yourself and tell our listeners how old you are.

[SPEAKER_03]: And then I've got my questions over here about this topic of mental health.

[SPEAKER_03]: But after you say your name in your age, I want you to tell our listeners why you decided to be on this panel today, why you were willing to talk to us today.

[SPEAKER_03]: So you can go first, give us your introduction, name age, and why did you decide to be on the panel?

[SPEAKER_01]: Hi, my name is Melanie.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm fifteen years old turning sixteen next month.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I wanted to be on this panel because I want to be a sports psychologist when I get older or child psychologists that's still up for discussion.

[SPEAKER_01]: But mental health has always been like near and dear to me, especially since I've gone through stuff on my own.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I like to talk about how it is to [SPEAKER_01]: how mental health is nowadays for teens especially with like social media and everything and all the different stuff going on in the world.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah awesome well thank you so much for joining us and sharing sharing that with us.

[SPEAKER_03]: Give us your name, age and why you decide to be on the panel.

[SPEAKER_02]: Hi, my name is Carrington, I'm fourteen.

[SPEAKER_02]: The reason why I decided to be on the panel is because I feel like mental health is something that kind of gets overlooked and people just push it aside.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I want it to kind of bring it, like bring attention to it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, thank you so much.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hi, my name is Navaya.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am sixteen twenty seventeen.

[SPEAKER_00]: I chose to be on this podcast because I think people overlook teased mental health, especially in this generation.

[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah.

[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you.

[SPEAKER_03]: Well, let me tell you something.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's a gift whenever people decide to share a part of their story, their wisdom, [SPEAKER_03]: And even not wisdom yet, just their ideas, like what's happening in their mind.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's a gift that you're giving to our audience.

[SPEAKER_03]: I really appreciate it.

[SPEAKER_03]: So here's our first question about mental health.

[SPEAKER_03]: I'm just curious, if you and your friends talk about this topic.

[SPEAKER_03]: So, and what does that look like?

[SPEAKER_03]: Is that a comment topic amongst you and your peers, your age, this conversation about mental health, and what does that look like?

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I think it's a very common topic, especially nowadays, but I also feel like it depends on who you're talking to.

[SPEAKER_01]: Like, I'm not going to talk to [SPEAKER_01]: someone I just meant about my mental health.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not gonna really talk to some of my friends from sports about my mental health.

[SPEAKER_01]: We're not that close.

[SPEAKER_01]: But like if we're like some of my best friends, yeah, I'm gonna talk about mental health.

[SPEAKER_01]: And it normally looks like like check-ins like how you're doing right now.

[SPEAKER_01]: If something's wrong, what's going on and just a normal of [SPEAKER_01]: or a simple, I just, I don't want to talk about it, I just need you to be there, I just need comforting right now.

[SPEAKER_01]: And it's normally okay, but it's hard sometimes because of how [SPEAKER_01]: deep it could go like how hard it is to talk about.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_03]: Well, it's not just talking, it sounds like listening to you.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's not just talking about mental health generally or the topic, but like your own personal mental health, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: And what you need and the vulnerability to kind of self advocate, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: And to tell a friend how to show up as a good friend in this particular moment for me, my mental health standpoint.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's really helpful.

[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you.

[SPEAKER_03]: So do you and your friends talk about mental health?

[SPEAKER_03]: And what does that look like?

[SPEAKER_02]: I talk about my mental health with my friends a lot and we also check up on each other because we do see how some teams don't get that help and they do stuff that's not the best.

[SPEAKER_02]: So there are certain people who I won't talk about stuff like that.

[SPEAKER_02]: because I do know like either they won't keep it to themselves or like they're just not that type of person who I would typically like consoling.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I think it's a common thing between friends to like talk about mental health and stuff.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that's you.

[SPEAKER_03]: And it sounds like it's [SPEAKER_03]: the transparency happens when there's a lot of trust right and then you feel more comfortable sharing those experiences but you also said like you all check in on each other like what does that look like what does it look like for friends in your age range to check on each other about mental health is that like a text message is that what did like what would that look like [SPEAKER_02]: Like some of it is text messages, but some of it is also making time to also see that person.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like me and one of my veterans Chloe, we check up on each other a lot, even though we live like five minutes away, but we still just check up on each other in case something does happen and we're not able to see each other or she's just gone through a hard time and stuff.

[SPEAKER_03]: or an excellent.

[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_03]: And so how often do you and your friends talk about mental health?

[SPEAKER_03]: Is it an easier or a hard thing to bring up if you do?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I only talk about mental health with my best friend for like five years.

[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it is very easy for it to come up because I check on her.

[SPEAKER_00]: She check on me.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so we can just be talking.

[SPEAKER_03]: So that's a really close, lengthy, important relationship five years, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: It's a long time to connect and to know someone, but so you both are able to do that for each other to share that.

[SPEAKER_03]: And what we're talking about mental health, let me know if I'm, if I'm tracking correctly.

[SPEAKER_03]: When we're using the language of mental health, are you all thinking about just overall like yourself care and your mood and what you're doing to feel good about yourself?

[SPEAKER_03]: Or are you thinking about when you're feeling like anxious or depressed or you're having thoughts that are overwhelming?

[SPEAKER_03]: Like the parts of mental health that you're kind of pushing back against?

[SPEAKER_03]: How are you using that word now?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, for me, it's like everything, like how I'm feeling, how my mood is, if I'm depressed or not.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's a kind of all the above.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_03]: Awesome.

[SPEAKER_03]: How about you, Carrie, too?

[SPEAKER_02]: Um, I feel like for me, it's also all above because they all kind of relate to each other in one way or another.

[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I agree.

[SPEAKER_01]: What would you say?

[SPEAKER_01]: I also agree all of the above, but for me personally, my check-ins look a little different.

[SPEAKER_01]: Like when someone checks off from me, it's normally someone I've known for a long time, but they know like cues about cause I'm the type of person I hide my emotions.

[SPEAKER_01]: So my thing used to be if I can't see it, they can't see it.

[SPEAKER_01]: And it's really bad to the point I can't see how I'm feeling if I'm hurt or not, if I'm depressed or not.

[SPEAKER_01]: So like someone had to check in with my cues and the like, are you okay?

[SPEAKER_01]: Like constantly and I'll be like, I'm fine.

[SPEAKER_01]: What are you talking about?

[SPEAKER_01]: And then maybe a couple days later, I'll be like, yeah, yeah, you're right.

[SPEAKER_01]: I wasn't okay.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_01]: something was wrong.

[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't feel right.

[SPEAKER_03]: So they know you well enough and they also sounds like you have a close enough friendship to say like you're you're doing that thing or you're not doing the thing that I would you would typically do.

[SPEAKER_03]: That's how I know something's up and they lean in even if you don't see it right away.

[SPEAKER_03]: Gotcha.

[SPEAKER_03]: Excellent.

[SPEAKER_03]: That's a good reminder, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: The other thing that you know as you were talking, I was thinking about how sometimes people [SPEAKER_03]: The way that we're feeling isn't something that we necessarily think about, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: And so some people do think about their emotions.

[SPEAKER_03]: And our emotions do come from our thoughts, like they're connected, like what we think informs how we feel.

[SPEAKER_03]: But there are some people like me, for example, like I don't feel stress in my thoughts, like say the word I'm stressed, I feel stress in my body.

[SPEAKER_03]: So if I feel like a tightness in my shoulders and my neck or my chest feels like there's a weight on it, then I go, oh, I'm stressed because that like somatic, the body, somatic, simple symptoms, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: And some people are like that and we know that people of color and people with deep religious beliefs are more likely to be somatic, to express their stress through how they're feeling in their body than to just say it.

[SPEAKER_03]: out of their mouths.

[SPEAKER_03]: That's something important for us to kind of to think about or maybe even know about ourselves.

[SPEAKER_03]: What are some of the biggest sources of stress or anxiety for teens right now?

[SPEAKER_03]: Whether this is your life or what you're observing amongst people that are in your age range, what would you say are like some of the big, big stress items that are happening for teens?

[SPEAKER_03]: I say social media in school.

[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, social media.

[SPEAKER_03]: And what is it about social media that causes the stress from your understanding?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because sometimes, because sometimes kids, they look up to a food resource and they want to be exactly like them.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it kind of shreds them out because like why can't have that and how they get this and how they get that.

[SPEAKER_03]: So the pressure to be like, what you're seeing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_03]: And then the other one you said is school.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_03]: And my mind, I can like, I think school can be very stressful.

[SPEAKER_03]: So, um, but why would you say that school is a source of stress?

[SPEAKER_03]: Like in what ways have you seen?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because the school work, the people that's active school is sometimes if you have sports, plus school, that's a lot of load on you.

[SPEAKER_03]: and how about you all?

[SPEAKER_03]: What would you say are, and you can echo kind of what you just heard, but if they're additional things, so you can add that as well, what are some of the big sources of stress for teens right now?

[SPEAKER_02]: Um, I would say a peer pressure because it's like with peer pressure, you get stressed because you don't want to see like the only one who's not following the trends and you don't want to be called a freak and you get anxiety because like, oh, I want to be this cool kid or I want to do this, I want to fit in and then it just gets overwhelming.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I do think peer pressure is a really big like source of stress.

[SPEAKER_03]: And Karen, when you think about like, [SPEAKER_03]: your school or kids that are your age or in your environment.

[SPEAKER_03]: What are some of the things that you feel like kids are pressured to do or to not do or to be right now?

[SPEAKER_03]: Like what are some of the things that come to your mind?

[SPEAKER_02]: Like a couple of examples, examples that have happened at my school is like kids will try.

[SPEAKER_02]: We'll talk about skipping class and then no try and reprue other kids to also skip class with them or like a big thing is vaping.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like there is a lot of vape around at my school and like a lot of kids are trying to like influence other kids to do it and stuff like that once we are off like school grounds and stuff.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I do think again peer pressures.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_03]: So so vaping cutting class skipping school right.

[SPEAKER_03]: I remember the cutting class skipping school part.

[SPEAKER_03]: But the vaping feels a lot newer, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: Got you.

[SPEAKER_03]: And you said at your school, they found lots of vapes.

[SPEAKER_03]: So you know that going down at the school quite a bit.

[SPEAKER_03]: And what would you say when we think about what is causing stress?

[SPEAKER_03]: Because we know that teens, we know that teens are stressed out.

[SPEAKER_03]: Like we know that researchers know that teens have told us that and we can see it.

[SPEAKER_03]: Like we can tell, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: So what are some of the things that are causing teens to feel so much stress right now?

[SPEAKER_01]: I agree with both what they said with peer pressure school and social media.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I think one of the big things now, especially with peer pressure everyone's seeing what, I feel like you only get that if you're around a certain group of people, like most people at least I've been around [SPEAKER_01]: don't really do that because they're so into school.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think one of the biggest stressors or college, like, stressing about college, GPA, being good enough to stand out to get into, like, Ivy League's and stuff, because nowadays it's so hard to get into colleges that, let's say our parents went to, in twenty, twenty, five years ago.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's like, [SPEAKER_01]: It's so much harder because everyone's trying to be good enough to get into college.

[SPEAKER_01]: But there's still so many people who are going other routes.

[SPEAKER_01]: And you just want to be successful enough that you can't get there.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I feel like, oh, my friends, I know they're doing like extracurriculars, not because they want to.

[SPEAKER_01]: But because they want to be like, they want their, um, they're like, uh, that's where I say.

[SPEAKER_01]: and resume to stand out.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, their applications for school, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: Not you.

[SPEAKER_03]: And so, how soon do you think teams are thinking about that?

[SPEAKER_03]: Like at what point would you say, you or your friends are thinking about kind of that academic competitiveness, what your application is going to look like, looking like you're well rounded.

[SPEAKER_03]: At what point are you consciously thinking, I need to take on these things?

[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like it gets like, they like seriously think about it, like junior year.

[SPEAKER_01]: But when like, if you like really want to get there, the best time to start think about it is freshman year, but like, don't feel like you have to start think about it freshman year.

[SPEAKER_01]: Like, have a general general idea of what you want to do.

[SPEAKER_01]: But like, if you don't know, it's not going to, it's not going to hurt you or anything.

[SPEAKER_01]: You can find out [SPEAKER_01]: even during college, like it's not gonna hurt you or anything.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, but you're saying that you can sense that teens feel the stress, the pressure to succeed for what's next, like the next step, the college step or whatever it is and they're pushing themselves there.

[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_03]: Do you feel like your church or your faith community supports mental health conversations well?

[SPEAKER_04]: Ten by ten is a movement committed to working together with churches, denominations and Christian organizations to create a healthier Christian ecosystem where young people's faith can thrive.

[SPEAKER_04]: Ten by ten focuses on providing the resources that faith communities need to prioritize youth discipleship by working collaboratively with over one hundred organizations.

[SPEAKER_04]: ten by ten aims to raise youth discipleship to a top priority for ministry leaders.

[SPEAKER_04]: Visit onezeroonezero.org and follow at ten by ten collab on social media to learn more.

[SPEAKER_04]: Together we can inspire and uplift the next generation in their faith journey.

[SPEAKER_03]: Or is that a place where faith communities or your faith community could grow?

[SPEAKER_02]: I feel like my church does a pretty good job of discussing mental health topics and they also do a lot of events to have awareness of mental health.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I do think that my church and a lot of other churches are doing pretty well.

[SPEAKER_00]: Good.

[SPEAKER_00]: What would you add?

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like some churches are doing pretty well at it and not all churches pass on.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_03]: What would be some of like the negative messages that someone might hear in church about not your specifically, but just in general, or how might their beliefs or what beliefs need to be corrected around mental health?

[SPEAKER_00]: I say some negativity will be like some people don't have like the courage to like come up and talk to like the pastor or something and some people's face are different.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, others.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_03]: Excellent.

[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, so would you want to add to that about what it's like, so the church environment and whether or not you feel like your church environment does a good job of talking about mental health or is that something that you might not hear much about?

[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like most churches do a good job with mental health, but if they're like too structured, more traditional, especially in black churches, because the black community kind of, I feel like signals out mental health as a really important topic that we have to talk about.

[SPEAKER_01]: So if they're willing to change, then yes, I do think they're doing a great job with it.

[SPEAKER_03]: I'm really happy to hear you say that you know for [SPEAKER_03]: decades people worked really hard to particularly to help black folks and black Christians to not have any shame about mental health.

[SPEAKER_03]: And I think we're just starting to see really, really strong advocacy, even from the black church around.

[SPEAKER_03]: So to hear you saying, say that, you didn't hear all of you on the panel, talk about that for people who are behind the scenes trying to do the work on that, that they're going to be really incredible.

[SPEAKER_03]: encourage to at least hear your perspectives about it.

[SPEAKER_03]: So how does your relationship with God?

[SPEAKER_03]: How does your faith help you when you're feeling overwhelmed or when you're struggling mentally or for some people their faith or their religious beliefs?

[SPEAKER_03]: They actually, those things don't actually line up in a way for them where it reduces stress, but it causes stress.

[SPEAKER_03]: It might make them feel like I can't be depressed because if I was really grateful, I wouldn't be depressed.

[SPEAKER_03]: But how does that work out for you?

[SPEAKER_03]: How does faith or your religious belief shape or help you when you're feeling overwhelmed or struggling mentally?

[SPEAKER_01]: me personally it helps especially when I'm like worrying about some tests I have to do or sometimes when like grades start to slip or even when I'm just having a rough time I'm just like [SPEAKER_01]: God, you know, I can't do this on my own.

[SPEAKER_01]: And just having a pleasant conversation and then acting him to show me a verse to help me with something.

[SPEAKER_01]: And sometimes I have to look up what the verse is actually called, because I'll know what it says, but I don't know what the verse is.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I'll be like, it says something about this, this, this, this, what's the verse, what's the actual verse?

[SPEAKER_03]: Sure.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then it helps cause then I had a mall and like a little pocket in my brain when it happens again.

[SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely.

[SPEAKER_03]: So yeah, so you tend to go to God to help you through whatever you're feeling.

[SPEAKER_03]: So it's not like independent.

[SPEAKER_03]: You're not fixing it alone.

[SPEAKER_03]: You're asking God to help you fix it.

[SPEAKER_03]: And also like a very direct prayer like Lori, I give me a verse.

[SPEAKER_03]: So I think that's really practical actually.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's spiritual but it's also practical which you just suggest it.

[SPEAKER_03]: How would you answer that question, Karen, to about how does your relationship with your faith or your beliefs about God?

[SPEAKER_03]: How does that help?

[SPEAKER_03]: How does it serve you when you feel overwhelmed or struggling mentally?

[SPEAKER_02]: Well, whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed or just struggling mentally, I like tell myself, God didn't like make me to be perfect and it's okay to give myself some grace sometimes.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_02]: Again, I'm not perfect.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, and it also just helps me feel like I have someone who I can really talk to about being a criticize or judge.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so, I mean, in our world, we would call that self-compassion, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: And that the amount of self-compassion we have helps us to be able to have compassion for other people.

[SPEAKER_03]: Sometimes you meet people they're like, man, that person is really judgmental.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's likely that they're not very self-compassionate in their own brain, but people who are self-compassionate can actually give compassion to other people as well.

[SPEAKER_03]: And so, thanks for reminding us of that.

[SPEAKER_03]: What would you say?

[SPEAKER_03]: How does your faith, if it does?

[SPEAKER_03]: uh, help you when you feel overwhelmed or when you're feeling like you're struggling mentally.

[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, I can just, I can talk to somebody without being judged or without a opinion that I'm really not looking for.

[SPEAKER_03]: Well, yeah.

[SPEAKER_03]: So, so when you say you can talk to somebody, do you mean like talking to someone in the church or do you mean like when you pray or like, who would you say that you're talking to?

[SPEAKER_00]: When I pray, I can just open up and say, really what I want to say, and ask for help or something.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then I won't get just a criticize about it.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so you can, you can, you can receive grace, but you can also tell the whole truth, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: So thank you for reminding us of that.

[SPEAKER_03]: So what are some things that you wish adults understood about teens and mental health today?

[SPEAKER_03]: They gonna be watching, they gonna be listening.

[SPEAKER_03]: What do you want people to understand about this type?

[SPEAKER_03]: And I recognize that three of you do not represent all teams ever in the world right now.

[SPEAKER_03]: But you know, you got the mics.

[SPEAKER_03]: So what do you want adults to understand about teens and mental health today?

[SPEAKER_00]: I want to dust to understand that some days we're going to fill down our depressed.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're not going to want to talk a lot.

[SPEAKER_00]: And even if we do, we're going to like not tell everything that we're actually filling.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_03]: When I heard you say that, I thought to myself, do you feel like there's pressure to always have a good day?

[SPEAKER_00]: No, there's not a pressure.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: If I know that some days are not going to be good, then they're not going to be good.

[SPEAKER_03]: But you want the adults to know that.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's sad you.

[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_03]: Anybody else?

[SPEAKER_03]: What do you want adults to know?

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I feel like they should know like what Neville is saying, but also the fact that [SPEAKER_01]: we're not always going to know what we said like if we like we're in our feelings and we like lashed out we don't know we probably didn't even recognize that we did that [SPEAKER_01]: or that that happened or sometimes even what we were feeling.

[SPEAKER_01]: We just know that we didn't want to be talked to and then someone talks to us and now we're just mad.

[SPEAKER_01]: So it's and sometimes it's hard to control our emotions because we have nothing.

[SPEAKER_01]: No way to like put it because every time you hold it into much, then it's gonna burst and if you don't have anywhere to put it, then [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes someone else gets the blame or they get the brunt of it.

[SPEAKER_03]: Wow, that's really transparent, because I think that's the truth for teens and for adults.

[SPEAKER_03]: Sometimes people, I mean, I guess I guess more than new terms like crash and outs sometimes people, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: Our at a place where they're just like emoting and they themselves haven't really worked out how they feel.

[SPEAKER_03]: And so it takes a lot of, I think, honesty to name that, to say, like, I know I've got these feelings, but I really don't even know the story behind all of these feelings.

[SPEAKER_03]: And so what I'm saying to describe it may not even be accurate right now.

[SPEAKER_03]: So that's really helpful.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's really helpful to know.

[SPEAKER_03]: What would you share, Harry, to know about what do you think adults need to know about teens and mental health today?

[SPEAKER_02]: That just because we're young and haven't experienced life to school, this doesn't mean it doesn't get hard for us sometimes.

[SPEAKER_02]: And that, you know, whenever we do have like, some things are stuff like that.

[SPEAKER_02]: Sometimes they don't like me to push all the time and kind of just let us cool off when not on space and then [SPEAKER_02]: whenever we are ready to talk to them, let them be open-minded and not so detrimental.

[SPEAKER_03]: I feel like that's been a theme in all of the panels.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's like the potential judgmentalness of the adults, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: So this is my last question for you because I want you to offer people some more of your wisdom.

[SPEAKER_03]: And if each of you could share, right, what you think a healthy way, what are the healthy ways that you've learned to take care of your mental and emotional well-being?

[SPEAKER_03]: What would be an example of a healthy way that you've learned to do that you would want to share?

[SPEAKER_00]: I would say like, right, get a journal and write down your feelings and maybe [SPEAKER_00]: And pray and ask and go to somebody that you can actually trust and talk about all your stuff and what you're going through.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yep.

[SPEAKER_03]: So talk about it right now, but it sounds like getting it from here outside of yourself.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_03]: Excellent.

[SPEAKER_03]: Carrie, do how about you?

[SPEAKER_02]: Um, I will agree with Navea and I will also say therapy.

[SPEAKER_02]: I would like to talk to someone like a professional.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so they can like kind of help you cope and stuff like that.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so talk to a trade, a training professional, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: Excellent.

[SPEAKER_03]: What would you say?

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, me personally at least I feel like doing something creative.

[SPEAKER_01]: in whatever way your creativity shows, whether that's doing your sport or training or painting, writing, singing, it just helps put some sort of, you can put your emotion into it and then you're not thinking about what you're going through for like a [SPEAKER_01]: small amount of time because then you're thinking about the creative thing you're doing or for me at least I run so when I'm running I have to focus on that.

[SPEAKER_01]: I have to focus on my breathing.

[SPEAKER_01]: I have to focus on not laying my shoulders tens of because they tend to do that.

[SPEAKER_01]: It helps me put my [SPEAKER_01]: stress so to speak somewhere else for a little while and then it was I have like a clear mind then I can work through what I'm thinking right now or what I'm going through right now.

[SPEAKER_03]: So the importance of moving your body and gazing in activity, but also doing something that's creative, right?

[SPEAKER_03]: Where are you bringing something to life?

[SPEAKER_03]: And you're using that part of your brain as well.

[SPEAKER_03]: Well, I'm so grateful for this conversation about mental health with teens at the table.

[SPEAKER_03]: Can y'all give it up for our panel today?

[SPEAKER_03]: Y'all did an awesome job.

[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you so much for your clarity, your vulnerability, and also your good wisdom in sharing with the audience today.

[SPEAKER_03]: I'm really grateful and I appreciate you.

[SPEAKER_03]: So thanks y'all for checking out this panel today.

[SPEAKER_03]: We got teens at the table and today we have been talking about the incredibly important topic of mental health.

[SPEAKER_03]: Make it your business to ask yourself these same questions.

[SPEAKER_03]: And if there is a teen in your life, give them the space and create the environment for them to talk to you honestly about what they're thinking about and how they're [SPEAKER_03]: feeling.

[SPEAKER_03]: We need to do that for ourselves as well as the doubts.

[SPEAKER_03]: Thanks, y'all.