Aid by Ariella Blog
EI’S Effect On Children
As the 2021 Olympics come to an end, thousands of agile athletes proudly return to their hometowns with a gold, bronze, or silver medal
When Mind and Body Connect
As the 2021 Olympics come to an end, thousands of agile athletes proudly return to their hometowns with a gold, bronze, or silver medal
The 5 Minute Rule
You may be thinking, what exactly is the five-minute rule? Five minutes for yourself? Five minutes away from work?
Trees, Trees, Trees
Trees, Trees, Trees these outstanding pieces of nature not only provide us with the fundamental aspects of life but have a positive effect on individuals all over.
The Mood Meter and Back To School
As the 2020-2021 academic year is right around the corner many students will participate in hybrid learning.
How You Can Be There
During these unprecedented times, hospitals worldwide are dealing with the rapid growth of covid-19.
When Mind and Body Connect
As the 2021 Olympics come to an end, thousands of agile athletes proudly return to their hometowns with a gold, bronze, or silver medal which awards their remarkable participation in a plethora of sports. With these keepsakes in hand, winners from all over the world reflect upon their dedication and commitment, which are the stepping stones to their victories. While many outsiders watch the Olympics as a form of entertainment praising the extraordinary accomplishments, the recent withdrawal of Simone Biles has especially made me reflect upon the emotional aspect of being a well-known athlete.
Being a student-athlete myself I can only share my empathy for all of the athletes' participation. Whether it's being on the court waiting for your opponent's serve or creating the perfect amount of topspin with your racquet stress levels can be high. Participating on my school varsity tennis team has not only opened my eyes to the sportsmanship and compassion athletes share between one another but also the anxiousness. When it comes to competing, the emotional aspect of athletics is what can truly make or break an athlete.
Not being afraid to tackle challenges you face on the court is one of the best pieces of advice that has adhered to my presence. Although hearing or reading to “not be afraid” may sound easy when it comes to applying it, things can get a little more intense. Through my years of tennis, I have gained a great amount of knowledge of what it takes to improve by being surrounded by dedicated players. However, the emotional part of tennis was something that I did not hear too often. There is one coach in particular who stood out to me through my years of playing tennis. Not only did she assist me with improving my overall technique but helped me learn how to build my emotional strength as a player. As she would say on a blazing summer afternoon on the court, “Tennis is not about your physical performance rather your emotional performance. It is all in the mind.” By introducing me to a competitive environment where matchplay comes first, competing against other players is something that helped me build my strength emotionally. I am grateful for the experiences and advice that I have come across through the years. My main takeaway in athletics is that succeeding in a sport requires a mind and body connection. The key to success is simply holding within oneself a positive outlook, allowing you to be prepared for any emotional or physical challenge that may come your way.
8/9/21
The 5 Minute Rule
You may be thinking, what exactly is the five-minute rule? Five minutes for yourself? Five minutes away from work? Five minutes of thinking about emotional intelligence? Not quite, the five-minute rule comes into play when faced with a challenge. Let's begin by transporting ourselves to an imaginary office with a very work-heavy environment. As an example, you walk into your office to be greeted by a 50 page paper on your desk. Attached to the top is a sticky note and a letter from your boss requesting that you read and edit the paper by 3 p.m. You arrived at the office at 10 a.m. which gives you approximately five hours to do so. You’re stressed. Overwhelmed by the great amounts of work, procrastination slips your mind. You think of the other tasks you can complete which do not have deadlines but are significantly easier. Perhaps you go out to buy your coworkers coffee and designate some time for yourself before you start. Considering this challenging situation the five-minute rule comes into play. You make the right decision and turn to this tip to help assist you. The five-minute rule requires you to set a timer for 5 minutes. What you do during these 300 seconds, is force yourself to work on your task for 5 minutes straight allowing yourself to quit after those five minutes are over. Considering the short period of time, your brain will shift all of its focus to the designated task. Knowing that you can quit right after will motivate you to get as much done in the time frame. What usually happens once those five minutes are over is you build a consistent working streak motivating yourself to continue making progress. This trick can not only help you get started, which may be one of the most challenging hurdles to cross but also influence you to continue to work on your task and avoid procrastination.
7/13/21
Spring
While many of our Instagram feeds are flooded with beautiful tranquil images of sunsets and beaches spring break does not require a getaway! Although many families are traveling the world after being locked at home in quarantine, spring break can mean a lot of other things, especially for young children. As the weather transitions and the days are longer we individuals are more eager to go outside and enjoy nature's transition from dark glum days to ones filled with warmth and light. For me, as a high schooler, the winter season has certainly brought out my lazy side as I did not experience as much motivation compared to when the sun is out. Although it may sound silly that the sun motivates me to be productive, exposure to sunlight is proven to increase the release of the hormone serotonin. Serotonin which impacts both our mood and body is enhanced when exposed to sunlight.
Parks are beginning to become more of a daily ritual and going for a walk is not only crucial to individuals' mental health but is a great way to spend time away from school. According to a study taken by students at The University Of Michigan “Being outdoors in enjoyable climates can improve memory and broaden cognitive style, which is linked to more creative thoughts”. The weather can influence a plethora of positive emotions! So although some of us may not be on the beach a walk outside can be just as beneficial to our overall well-being.
3/26/21
Trees, Trees, Trees
Trees, Trees, Trees these outstanding pieces of nature not only provide us with the fundamental aspects of life but have a positive effect on individuals all over. In my perspective nature has always filled me with joy and has such a splendid ambiance. Whether it’s summer, winter, fall, or spring trees remain robust throughout each season and fill the world with color. According to a compelling study completed by “The National Library Of Health” trees not only have a significant impact on our lungs but our hearts as well. A psychologist by the name of Shinrin-Yoku observed participants and had them walk in an urban environment one day and a forest another. The results were certainly captivating as participants who walked in the forest documented lower blood pressure, lower cortisol levels, and even lower pulse rates. Although you may not be surrounded by trees on a daily try to take a walk in nature whenever you can as a way to restore your mental and physical health!
11/16/20
The Mood Meter and Back To School
Hi, I hope that everyone is making the most out of what is left of the summer! As the 2020-2021 academic year is right around the corner many students will participate in hybrid learning. Meaning a mix of both remote and the traditional place-based classroom learning. This topic has certainly caused controversy all over the world as virtual learning has been a struggle for both students and parents! However, Schools all over the world are working diligently to make resources accessible for students and encourage students to continue to achieve their goals and participate as if it were a traditional school year.
A wonderful tool to help with this for people of all ages is the mood meter! The mood meter is a chart that helps identify emotions throughout the day. It is separated into 4 quadrants color-coded red, yellow, green, and blue, which all represent a different emotion! The red quadrant is used to describe someone who is feeling anxious, enraged, frightened, or panicked. Sharing some similarity the blue quadrant represents feelings of disgust, disappointment, and hopelessness. Moving into the more uplifting quadrants the green quadrant can be used to describe someone feeling content, at ease, relaxed or mellow. Lastly the yellow quadrant is for someone who is feeling festive, upbeat, surprised, pleasant and happy! The mood meter is an incredible resource to both discover your emotions but always identify patterns.
The Aid by Ariella booklets include the mood meter! We ask our patients to write or draw about how they are feeling! Marc Brackett, the creator of the Mood Meter has done wonderful work to get the meter involved in schools all over the world. As a student, the mood meter has been a great resource and I hope that both parents and children will be able to benefit from it!
9/10/20
How You Can Be There
During these unprecedented times, hospitals worldwide are dealing with the rapid growth of covid-19. Although a few countries and states including New York City thankfully have cases decreasing, the world does not feel very normal. As hospitals continue to be overwhelmed by the growing capacity, doctors are struggling with taking care of patients. The environment is certainly not the usual and besides the bustling rush hospitals in the past faced, doctors and hospital staff now face perplexity regarding how to treat patients with dreadful disease.
One thing that crosses my mind daily, is how young patients may be feeling. Being in a hospital is certainly a frightening experience, especially mid pandemic. Much has changed including young children's emotions regarding the new standards like the wearing of masks and limited access to family members being able to comfort children as they undergo treatment. Today I have a few tips on how parents and family members can be there for their children right now.
Let your child express their fears, and show that you empathize and hear them. Be both truthful and reassuring when you respond. Hold space for their feelings.
Don’t deny that certain things at hospitals can be frightening. Walk them through what is happening around them. Explain that a test or shot is there to help doctors and nurses and it will be ok.
Designate a special time out of the day to do something fun. For example a matching game, a coloring page or even a word search. Any sense of normalcy will allow there to be space for joy and laughter.
I hope these tips can help you and your family!
8/3/20
Welcome!
Welcome to our first Blog Post!
Aid by Ariella is a non-profit organization which aims to spread awareness on emotional intelligence for children both in hospitals and care centers! Being admitted to a hospital at a young age can certainly be a frightening experience. Although hospitals are a place of healing and helping, a whole new environment is a very drastic shift in a child's life. My goal as a highschool student is to make a change and provide patients with a more interactive way to express their emotions.
Based in New York City, Aid by Ariella creates activity booklets which include interactive ways to express emotions and find creative outlets like drawing, writing, and reading encouraging words from their community.
On our website you will find information about fundraisers, how you can get involved and blog posts! Be sure to follow our instagram @aidbyariella for weekly posts.Thank you for all of your support!
7/8/19