Here are the topics recently explored in our mental health discussion group, Stronger Together:
5/7/26: FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
FOMO was real before social media scrolling made it a prominent issue. What is FOMO, where in us does it come from, and how can we manage it? Let’s watch this video and talk about it! All are welcome to join the discussion.
Here are the topics recently explored in our mental health discussion group, Stronger Together:
3/5/26: Emotional Resiliency
This week at Stronger Together, we will discuss how we manage to be emotionally resilient in the face of life struggles. This video talks about techniques for doing that. Join us to discuss their take on emotional resilience and discuss how we all work at managing it ourselves.
3/12/26: Friendships
Good friends offer support, encouragement, and perspective during both good times and difficult moments. Sometimes friendships face challenges and addressing these with openness can often strengthen the relationship. But when a friendship becomes consistently harmful or unhealthy, it may be wise to step back. Learning how to nurture, repair, and sometimes release friendships helps us build relationships that support our well-being. Join us to watch this video and discuss managing difficult points in friendships.
3/19/26: Dealing with Rejection
Rejection, or perceived rejection, is something we all experience, and it can be painful—there’s really no way to completely avoid it. Let’s watch this short video on rejection and then talk together about how each of us deals with it in our own lives.
3/26/26: Dissociation
Dissociation can involve a sense of detachment, and is considered a trauma response and a common symptom of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). What is it, and what is it not? We’ll watch this video about four types of dissociation and talk about it.
4/2/26: No meeting, Maundy Thursday
4/9/26: The Dopamine Loop
We all scroll on our phones when passing time, but what is the impact of that on our mental health, and why do we do it.? Are we in control of it, or does the scrolling take over and become almost addictive? It is called The Dopamine Loop. Please join us to watch this short video and talk about it.
4/16/26: Anxiety
Anxiety is part of who we are, and comes in various shapes and sizes. Please join us this week to watch this video and discuss anxiety, identify when it is a problem, and discuss how we deal with it.
4/23/26: Aging Emotionally
This week, let’s talk about what it’s like to age emotionally. This video gives eight ideas about healthy aging, which we may or may not agree with, but which provides a good jumping off place for discussing the challenges of mental health in the aging process.
4/30/26: Dissociation, Part II
We began our discussion of dissociation last month. Dissociation can involve a sense of detachment, and is considered a trauma response. Join us at 7 p.m. on Zoom to watch more of this video and discuss what we learn. All are welcome.
Here are the topics recently explored in our mental health discussion group, Stronger Together:
1/1/26: New Year’s Resolutions
Do you like New Year’s Resolutions, or avoid them like the plague? How about setting a Mental Health New Year’s Resolution? Let’s discuss resolutions after watching a short video about setting New Year Resolutions made specifically about Mental Health.
1/8/26: Hope in the New Year
This week we will talk about Hope, but from a TED talk of a personal account of struggling with serious depression and suicide. The video is 16 minutes, but hopefully worth it.
1/15/26: Addiction and Mental Health
We all realize there is a connection between mental health and addiction, but what is that all about? Let’s watch this short video and talk about it.
1/22/26: How to Talk about Mental Illness
Our topic this week will be “How to Talk about Mental Illness.” We’ll read this article: How to talk about mental health and ask for help.
1/29/26: Social Media and Mental Health
This week we will watch a short video on teen mental health and social media. Although it discusses specifically how social media impacts the developing teen brain, the issues it brings up are applicable to all ages.
2/5/26: Immigration and Mental Health
This week we’ll discuss the mental health impact of current immigration policies. The following six-minute video talks about the issue, giving us a starting point for discussion. How Fear of Deportation Affects Immigrant Mental Health.
2/12/26: The Health and Mood-Boosting Benefits of Pets
Are you a pet/animal person? If not, what comforts you? You’re invited to join us for a discussion about how pets can be beneficial to our mental health. We’ll read this short article and talk about it. The article notes: “Pets come with some powerful health benefits… Caring for a dog, cat, or other animal can help relieve depression and anxiety, lower stress, and improve your heart health.”
2/19/26: No topic – conversation
2/26/26: Internal Family Systems Therapy
Internal Family Systems (IFS) psychotherapy model is an established therapy model, though not as widely known, and it seems like it could have some practical value for each of us. Join us to watch the video, try the exercise it describes, and talk about what we notice and how it might help us.
Here are the topics recently explored in our mental health discussion group, Stronger Together:
11/6/25: Gratitude
It is easier to feel grateful when life is going smoothly and joys abound. But during challenging times, gratitude can feel much harder to access—and yet it can be especially meaningful and supportive for our emotional well-being during those moments. We’ll talk about why practicing gratitude matters, particularly in difficult seasons, and share ideas for how we can nurture gratitude intentionally in our daily lives. We’ll also watch a short five-minute video that highlights the mental health benefits of gratitude and offers simple ways to cultivate it. Please join us.
11/13/25: Connection and Community
I think we all agree that our supportive church community — and the smaller groups that grow out of it, like Stronger Together — offer us a foundation that nurtures our mental health.This week’s video highlights the importance of community to our well-being and introduces the speaker’s concept of Social Health. It opens the door to a meaningful conversation about the role of connection in our lives. Please join us as we watch and discuss it together.
11/20/25: Sound Therapy
Sound is all around us, and whether we know it or not, it’s always affecting how we feel. Yogis have been aware of the healing power of sound for thousands of years. This week we’ll read “A Guide to Sound Healing” and “What is a Sound Bath?” We’ll also explore some sound compilations and try it for ourselves. Join us to discuss!
11/27/25: No gathering; Thanksgiving
12/4/25: Tradition and Ritual
As we enter the Christmas season, so rich with traditions and rituals, let’s look at how these traditions and rituals support our mental health. We’ll watch this video together. Join us to discuss.
12/11/25: When the holidays make you blue
The Christmas season is beautiful and exciting, and conversely, depending on the day, your mood, or your circumstances, can be sad and lonely. We’ll watch this video together about managing the emotional pitfalls of the holidays, and talk about managing them for ourselves. Please join us.
12/18: Don’t Feed the Monkey Mind!
The information is on this site – https://jennifershannon.com/
Some of the worksheets/quizzes are here – https://jennifershannon.com/worksheets/
Are your thoughts rapidly leaping about, preventing you from relaxing or focusing? We call it the Monkey Mind, and it can be an unwelcome distraction. Can we calm it? How do we live with it? Please join us as we discuss it together.
12/25 – No meeting (Christmas Day)
Here are the topics recently explored in our mental health discussion group, Stronger Together:
9/4/25: Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Most of us have heard about Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), but really, what is it? Join us to watch this video, and then let’s talk about it.
9/11/25: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
This week we’ll be learning a little more about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). We’ll watch this video, which should be helpful for understanding what people with OCD are going through and how to support them.
9/18/25: Accepting and Loving Ourselves
Sometimes we get down on ourselves, find failure in the things we do, and feel like we are stuck with us. How do we manage to accept and love the person we are, this person that we live with our entire life? Let’s talk about it. Please join us. We’ll watch this video and talk about it.
9/25/25: Embracing Solitude
What is the value of spending time with ourselves, how can that be enriching and boost our mental health? Let’s talk about it. We’ll watch this video on Embracing Solitude to get us thinking. NOTE: September is National Suicide Prevention Month, serving to remind us that we must look out for loved ones, the people in our community, and those who have been impacted by this leading cause of death.
10/2/25: Sleep and Mental Health
We all have nights of tossing and turning, then stressing when we see 3am on the clock. The quality of our sleep has a strong impact on our mental health. Let’s talk about it. We’ll watch this short video.
10/9/25: Active Listening
Active Listening helps us understand each other, connect to each other, and helps problem solving. Join us to talk about how to actively listen, and why we strive to do it. Here is a short video on what Active Listening is, and what it means for our mental health.
10/16/25: Coping with Uncertainty
Just when we thought things couldn’t get more uncertain, well, then there is an indefinite government shutdown. How can we emotionally manage the uncertain times we live in? Join us to talk about it this week. We’ll watch this short video about Coping with Uncertainty.
10/23/25: I Respectfully Disagree
Especially now our country and world seems to be in a place filled with heated dividing disagreements that continue to escalate. This week, we will review an entertaining short video and then discuss how to respectfully and more effectively disagree. Please join us!
10/30/25: Core Values
We all have core values, how do we be true to those values in a world that is sometimes at odds with them? Let’s talk about it. We’ll watch this video about identifying and living with your core values.
Here are the topics recently explored in our mental health discussion group, Stronger Together:
July 10: Handling Rejection
Did you just lose your job? Or maybe you didn’t get the job you applied for, or perhaps an important relationship ended because someone “ghosted” you? We all regularly deal with rejection, and learning to manage it is an important life tool. So, let’s talk about it after watching this video about managing rejection.
July 17: Life’s Transitions
Life is full of transitions when we go from one situation in life to another: losing a job or starting a new job; the breakup or start of a relationship; moving to a new place… You can fill in the blank for your own life! How do we deal with these life transitions? Let’s talk about it. Here is a video to get the conversation going.
July 24: Major Depressive Disorder
All of us feel depressed at times. Could it be a passing feeling, or classified as Major Depressive Disorder? Only a professional can diagnosis that, but this week we will consider the criteria for Depressive Disorder and how it is currently treated. We’ll watch this video, and then talk about it.
July 31: Psychological Defense Mechanisms
We turn to coping mechanisms when dealing with stressful situations, including situations where the moral and ethical fibers of the society seem to go against our own values. Here is a video about 10 psychological defense mechanisms that people rely on. How do you cope? Let’s talk about it.
August 7: Feeling Overwhelmed, or Too Many Balls in the Air
We all get overwhelmed – too much to do, too much information, a sudden change in our lives that we were not prepared to deal with, the list goes on. How can we, and how do we, cope with these situations? Let’s watch this short video and talk about it.
August 14: The Flow Zone
We all love those times when we have our best focus and perform tasks at our peak. That state has been called the “Flow Zone.” What is it, and how do we get into this Flow Zone? Join us to watch this video and talk about it.
August 21 (moved to 8/27): Freeform discussion on Spirituality and Mental Health
8/27/25: Spirituality and Mental Health Again
What is the relationship between spirituality and mental health? Is there any? Let’s talk about it. Here is a short video to get us thinking and talking.