Be the Change by Casey (Casey.) Clean water. It's not something we often think about as we brush our teeth and take showers. Often, we don't even consider our luck as we drink a glass or bottle of it. We take these luxuries for granted, and many of us do not realize how blessed we really are. After all, we have food, shelter, and clean, safe drinking water. Unfortunately, many are not so lucky. Over a billion people go without these basics everyday. Even clean drinking water is a commodity...

Give Me Five for Health by Marie (Atelophobia) Being safe and healthy doesn't have to be time consuming. Each and every one of us can afford to take out five minutes; taking a few minutes out of the 1,440 minutes in a day; it's worth it for the long term benefits. There are many differences you can make to your life: from protecting your skin to eating healthy, from fighting the urges to smoke, to planting a vegetable patch, you have the power to improve your quality (and quantity) of life!...

The Water Project by Katrina (AppleTini) We all know how important water is, and that it's the most vital resource for survival. This month, I wanted to share with you a cause that can help you give someone an important gift - water. The Water Project is actually focused on bringing clean water to India and Africa, and is a fantastic way to help get the world hydrated! With a donation as small as $10.00, you can give someone the gift of water for ten years! The Water Project focuses...

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation By Katrina (AppleTini) Meet Alexandra Scott, daughter of Liz and Jay Scott, born in 1996; this year, Alex would be fourteen years old. When Alex was less than a year old, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer. Though Alex's parents were told she'd never be able to walk, she fought this prediction and slowly but surely learned to walk with leg braces by the age of two, and continued to work until she was able to walk without...

From scraps to treasure by Brittany (.Brittany.) Scrapbooking can be a lot of fun and a great alternative or distraction! The process is fun, fairly easy, and a great way to keep memories from vacations, friends, high school, college, camp, family get togethers, and so much more! There are even scrapbooking courses that you can take if you decide that this is something that you really enjoy. Most scrapbooking kits will have everything that you need like stickers and decorations. They...

Just a bad dream By Robin (PSY) You are clinging to the edge of a cliff. Your grip is slipping and suddenly you begin to fall. Before you can hit the ground, you wake up. Your heart is racing, your palms are sweaty, but you sigh with relief as you realize that it was all just a horrible nightmare. After giving yourself a moment to calm down, you roll over and go back to sleep. It's over. Unfortunately, some individuals suffer from recurring nightmares. These nightmares may emerge for the...

Coping with depression By Zach (zeekool) I've had depression for about a year now, but it seems like it has been at least five. Within this last year, I have been on four different depression-related medications, gone to a psychiatric hospital (for teens), and have had weekly therapy sessions with a psychiatrist. In the process, I've gained a lot of experience regarding how to cope with depression. The most important rule I set for myself is: no searching symptoms and conditions on the...

The power of speech by Holly Marie (Rie) Those who stutter may face discrimination, bullying, prejudice and even be led to social isolation. Around 60 million people struggle with stuttering, yet most people know very little about this speech disorder. Stuttering may also be referred to as 'stammering', or as a broader term, 'disfluent speech'. Stuttering is a speech disorder in which the sounds and syllables spoken may be prolonged or repeated, disrupting the regular flow of speech....

Keep a Child Alive By Katrina (AppleTini) With HIV/AIDS so prominent around the globe, particularly in India and Africa, with a succesful cure still not recorded, there are many organizations fighting for the cure through educating and raising awareness about the causes of HIV/AIDS, donating money and time to finding the cure, and doing many more remarkable things to ensure that the future will not have to battle with HIV/AIDS as the past and the present has had to. One such...

Copiapó Mining Accident By Casey (Casey.) You're trapped underground with little food or water. The world believes that you are dead. It sounds like a nightmare, but for thirty-three miners in Chile, it was reality when the San José copper-gold mine collapsed on August 5th 2010 near Copiapó in northern Chile. Chile worked for weeks to reach the trapped men below, not knowing for two weeks if they were dead or alive. But on August 22nd the drill, which had reached the men in their...

Social anxiety By Holly Marie (Rie) We all get jittery at times and occasionally we all get nervous around people we don't know. Can you imagine that feeling intensified and multiplied so many times that it's almost unbearable to throw oneself into a social situation? Sometimes anxiety can disrupt your life, and if it severely impairs or limits your ability to function, you may be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. There are many types of anxiety disorders. To begin with, there is...

You're Not Alone: Coping with Hyperhidrosis By Katrina (AppleTini) Going through puberty signifies a multitude of changes in our bodies: some appreciated, some not so much. Whether we're okay with the changes or not though, they're happening, and they're things we should be aware of as we stay in tune with the signs our bodies are showing. Our voice may change, our bodies develop physically, and we may begin to feel different emotions. One such change that many of us are acutely aware of,...

Starlight Children's Foundation By Katrina (AppleTini) If there's one thing I've noticed about people in general, it's that so many of us seem to have a heart for helping children. No matter what sex, color, religion, orientation, or anything else we may be, a common goal seems to be to empower the leaders of tomorrow to reach their goals and dreams. For some children, reaching goals and catching dreams may be more difficult than it is for others. The Starlight Children's Foundation, for...

Terrorism by Casey (Casey.) Terrorism. It's a term we hear often, and many of us associate it with a specific event, such as the London train bombings or the collapse of the Twin Towers. Some associate terrorism with a certain group of people or religion, but terrorism isn't really a religious thing. Recently, it made the news world-wide, when a pastor in Florida declared that he was going to burn the Qur’an, because, besides the fact that he found Islam to be evil and full of lies, to him...

3 Things You Can Do Right Now to Get Kids to Listen By James Lehman This piece was written by one of TeenHelp's partners - Empowering Parents - who help to support parents struggling with their children. While this was written from and for the perspective of parents, building mutual trust and respect is a two way street, so we hope you will find this helpful in improving the relationship you have with your parents. Getting kids to listen is one of the most frustrating and difficult...