It's that time of year again. Whether it makes you feel excited or anxious, hopeful or hollow (or any feeling in between,) the holiday season is upon us. For many of us, all of this can be overwhelming. Creating strong boundaries can help us navigate this often stressful time and help us regain that holiday joy!

Let's face it. We've grown up in a fast-paced and competitive world, where the pressure to excel and succeed has taken center stage in our lives as teenagers and young adults. The ideals of perfectionism and relentless productivity are so deeply ingrained in societal norms that it fosters an environment where the pursuit of success often overshadows any consideration for our mental well-being.

As a teen, you're surrounded by messages of what you should be. To say it's overwhelming is an understatement.

So while we all might want to wave a magic wand and "fix" everything, make the homework do itself, the drama disappear, and the painful feelings go away, we're stuck in this thing called reality. Thankfully, though, there's a space for us, a space for us to be brave, share our feelings and everyday stressors, learn coping skills that actually help, and maybe even meet new friends.

It's the middle of summer, school's out, and guess what? You're bored. You might have a summer job, be taking a summer class, and even get to regularly hang out with friends, but you still find yourself listless, "stuck," or just plain apathetic.

In this month's blog post, let's dive into what feeling boredom as a young person may really mean and what hides behind it.

Life and relationships are complicated. Duh, right? Sprinkle in the facts of being a teenager (first loves, high expectations, social pressure, and passionate decisions) and it might seem impossible to stay drama-free.

First, let's normalize that drama, well, is normal.

"Work hard, play hard." "Shoot for the stars." "Never stop chasing your dreams." "If you can dream it, you can do it!"

These are sayings and quotes we might have heard or seen throughout our lives.

In school, we're faced with the pressure to academically succeed, participate in extracurricular activities, and live a rich social life (this, of course, all while holding unique and inspiring aspirations for ourselves.)

In the fall the nights grow longer, the temperatures drop, and everything green seems to fade. In spring, the light peeks through our curtains sometimes before we're even awake, the weather gets warmer and while the foliage around us blossoms, allergy season makes its rude debut here in Colorado.

Regardless of the season, it's a change, and change, sometimes, is hard.

After school activities to get to, tests to prepare for, papers to write. Deadlines to make, social expectations to meet, bills to pay. Chronic illnesses to battle, emotions to process, the world to face. The pressure, the stress, the frustration, the pain, is on. We fly from one thing to the next, hardly able to breathe. We know we need to slow down, to take a moment in the moment, but we can't seem to make ourselves, because what does that even mean anyway?

Maybe, we think, this is the only way we're able to handle all these things, by just pressing on absent-mindedly, numb to what our bodies and minds may be trying to tell us. Or maybe we did try to slow down, to connect with the present, but it seemed to make things worse. It compounded those uncomfortable and painful feelings.

Mindfulness, it turns out, is a double-edged sword.

Breakups. Sometimes they creep--a slow, terrible fracture between people who once really loved each other. Sometimes they happen suddenly, seemingly without notice, leaving you suddenly alone and heartbroken. However breakups happen, they almost always leave you with a slew of emotions: grief, sadness, anxiety, fear, loneliness, and maybe even, some guilt and shame.

So how do we navigate these feelings? Especially when we're feeling incredibly vulnerable, broken and, well, just down right shitty? We might even think How do I learn to love again?