Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and has been increasing every year since 2007.

By teaching children from a young age how to feel, understand and cope with their emotions. How to have empathy. How to be assertive and enforce boundriers. This will set them up for success in their adult lives. 

My entire childhood I was only taught how to fear and numb out my emotions. This lead to years of self harm, an eating disorder, and drug abuse. I had to be hospitalized 5 times before it finally all came together for me.

When we have a habit, especially an addictive habit, it creates grooves in our brains. Like a sled going down a hill. The more you do that habit, the deeper the groove gets. The easier it is to fall in, and the harder it is to get out. Since I was only ever taught destructive and maladaptive ways of coping, by the time I was 16 those grooves were deep.

When I was told to meditate, journal, hold ice, etc. It didn't help. After using such extreme ways to cope, something so simple was like trying to put a fire out with a water dropper. It took 7 years, spending thousands of dollars in receiving treatment, 7 years of consistently practicing these healthy skills in a safe enviorment before they became effective for me.

I am incredibly lucky and privileged to have been able to recieve the consistent support and treatment I needed to recover. But the majority of people don't have the access, knowlege or resources to get that kind of help.

If I was taught those healthy coping skills from the beginning, they would've become my instinct and foundation.

Being taught how to feel, express and cope with emotions is just as important as being taught about physical health and how to solve for x.

I want to save our next generation the time, money and dispare of having to figure out this huge, important part of life on their own.