Matters of the mind

As a reminder, you will periodically receive a mental wellness newsletter. There will be important information about up coming events throughout the year as well as great tips on how to support and improve your mental wellbeing! Please take the time to review a few key factors that will ensure you have a good school year!

Out at sea in the middle of the storm, you’re losing confidence that you’ll make it through. But then you see some light in the distance and feel a sense of hope. Why? You know you’re not alone.

Do you ever feel alone? Like your unique mental health has isolated you from others? If you can relate, know this: You’re not alone, and you don’t have to navigate your mental health on your own.

Realize the danger of isolation. We can get into all kinds of trouble when we feel like we’re alone. That trouble might look like unhealthy choices or losing hope. It could look like pretending we’re okay around the people who love us because we’re convinced they won’t understand.

These reactions are natural responses. After all, mental health is complicated, and sometimes it’s hard to know how to reach out or how to find the right words to describe how you feel.

Remember there is strength in trusted friendships. While other people may not fully understand what you’re going through, they can be a valuable resource.

Here are a few good qualities to look for in a trusted friend:

• Someone who listens.
• Someone who encourages you.
• Someone who sticks with you through anything.
• 
  

You might say, “I don’t have anyone who does all three of those things.” That’s okay. After all, friendship is a team sport. If someone has just one of those qualities, they can be a great support.

So today, think about the people you’re closest to. Have you talked to them about what you’re experiencing? If not, then make a plan to tell them. They might not totally get it all or say the exact right words, and you may have to extend some grace to them. But it’s still easier to find hope and healing when we navigate mental health together.

Be on the lookout for exciting activities this month! There will be drawings for prizes for students who have good attendance!

What families can do

• Find out what day school starts and make sure your child has the required shots. 2024-2025 Calendar

• Build regular routines for bedtime and the morning.

• Talk about the importance of regular attendance and about how your child feels about school.

• Don’t permit missing school unless your child is truly sick. Use a thermometer to check for a fever. Remember that stomach aches and headaches may be signs of anxiety.

• Avoid medical appointments and Vacations when school is in session.

• Keep a chart recording your child’s attendance at home. At the end of the week, talk with your child about what you see.

• Develop back up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Ask a family member, neighbor or another parent for help

• Seek support from school staff or community groups to help with transportation, health problems, or no safe path to school

Sometimes, we are so afraid of being “selfish” that we neglect ourselves entirely. We think that self-care = narcissism and wear exhaustion like it’s a badge of honor.

What is self-care?

In the simplest terms. the topic of self-care can be defined as

“The practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health … the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being … in particular during periods of stress.” (Oxford Languages Dictionary).

Since human beings are multidimensional, improving and protecting one’s health would include:

• Physical health
• Mental health
• Emotional health
• Spiritual health

"My college professor once told me to take 30 minutes for myself EVERYDAY!

Whether it's a warm bath, putting on some make up, playing your favorite game.........

whatever lifts your spirit, give yourself at least 30 minutes of that a day!"

-Lindsey R. Payton

Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history, with 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals. The 2024 Paris Olympics were her 3rd Olympic games. She was born in 1997 in Columbus, Ohio. Her birth mother struggled with addiction and was unable to care for Simone and her siblings, so they were placed into foster care. She was adopted at age 6 by her maternal grandfather and his wife in Spring, Texas. At that time, she discovered gymnastics. She soared in her young gymnastics career winning numerous medals and awards.

Simone has openly shared her struggles with ADHD and the sexual abuse she suffered from USA Gymnastics physician, Larry Nassar. In 2017, Simone took a break from gymnastics after the 2016 Rio Games. She co-wrote an autobiography with Michelle Burford titled Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance. The book hit number one on New York Times best sellers. The sentencing hearing for Nassar was held in January 2018 and she did not attend stating that she “wasn’t emotionally ready to face Larry Nassar again.”

Simone withdrew from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (held in 2021 due to the COVD pandemic) to focus on her mental health. She was favored to win at least four of the six available gold medals but had to withdraw from most of the competition due to experiencing “twisties” a term used to describe gymnasts becoming spatially disoriented while in air. Still, she won a silver medal with her team and a bronze medal for the balance beam that year. Other athletes were inspired to share their own struggles with mental health issues. On July 7, 2022, President Joe Biden awarded Simone Biles with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest honor given to civilians.

Simone’s favorite food is french fries and during an interview with NBC Today host, Hoda Kotb, she was presented with a bouquet of french fries from The Today Show. During that interview, Simone Biles shared with Kotb that she utilizes therapy as means of selfcare. She also stated, “If not for my parents and adoption, I would not be here today.”

Celia Flanagan, M. Ed.

Attendance Officer

PASS Counselor

Chilton County Schools

Mrs. Flanagan has been the Attendance Officer for Chilton County Schools for the past 8 years. She is also the student counselor at PASS Academy.

Prior to her work as the Attendance Officer she worked as a Therapist in the community mental health setting. She graduated from the University of Alabama with a BS in Psychology and the University of Montevallo with a Masters in School Counseling.

Mrs. Flanagan has a passion for students and believes that education is the key to success in life.

Lindsey R. Payton, RN

Mental Wellness Coordinator Chilton County Schools

lrpayton@chiltonboe.com

205-245-4572