The Foreign Service Journal, December 2022

78 DECEMBER 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT • This is tough for me, and I know that I have people supporting me to help. • Even though I really feel like I messed up, I know that I can say sorry and ask for forgiveness. Encourage family members to acknowledge and comfort one another. Allow for all emotions to be expressed in the home. Create safe spaces for this, and also be open to conversation. Approach the topic of mental health as a conversation rather than a lecture to start a dialogue about what concerns and stressors are present in your teen’s academic, social, and cultural spheres. Model and practice that there is no shame in asking for and seeking help and sup- port. At home, look for your teen’s emo- tional cues and validate their emotions. It is important for them to feel safe in sharing their feelings about the upcoming life transitions. If your teen minimizes or downplays their emotions in conversa- tion, give them explicit and consistent invitations and permission to process them in other ways. For example, encour- age them to take a run, do a puzzle, or create an art piece to release how they feel about upcoming transitions. Encourage healthy self-care habits. Help your teen to establish sleep routines, meal management, and consistent physi- cal activity that they enjoy. These life skills can help them to cope with increased stress and freedomwhile in college. Remind teens that their stress in transitions won’t last forever, and that it is normal to feel anxious about upcom- ing life transitions. Reinforce the value of practicing self-care routines that make them feel better. Finally, openly discuss the possibility of talking with counselors Approach the topic of mental health as a conversation rather than a lecture to start a dialogue.