Anxiety can be very hard to deal with on your own. School, finances, or job duties can cause anxiety. It can begin to take over everything, making it difficult to enjoy good moments. Talking to someone or getting help is a great way to manage or overcome your anxiety.
To learn more, go to https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety#disorders or submit a report for help at https://www.nvcc.edu/novacares/program/index.html – click on “make a report”
Having pictures of yourself or others at 17 or younger is possession of child pornography. Sexting may seem like a fun way to flirt, but there are so many consequences that can come from it. Naked images are now often being used as blackmail, and adults involved in sexting may be denied admission, face suspension, or even expulsion from college. They may also be fired from jobs and organizations or denied future job opportunities.
To learn more, visit https://www.nvcc.edu/novacares/sas/index.html. To contact a 24 hour NOVA Sexual Assault Services coordinator for free confidential support, please call 703.338.0834 or email NOVA.SAS@nvcc.edu.
With Spring Break right around the corner, morale seems to be at an all-time high! While the likelihood of something going terribly wrong is low, safety is something you and your friends always have to keep in mind. Looking out for each other is the key to a Safe Spring Break.
1. Plan how much you want to drink, if at all. Set a limit, and make sure your friends know your limit. If you notice one of your friends has had too much, take them to a safe place. Losing a night out is nothing compared to losing a friend!
2. Many people don’t have sex during spring break, but if you decide to, always use protection. Keep in mind that having sex while heavily under the influence may be considered sexual assault.
3. Remember that drugs are illegal. Don’t use them! Many jobs have a ‘clean window’, which means you cannot have experimented from 1 to 10 years before applying.
To find resources or get more information on alcohol and drugs, visit https://www.nvcc.edu/novacares/resources.html?fbclid=IwAR33j9WOXodJCD4evHZwtNLfXN9qGBAyDV4o0JctWJzOZYNvlmK6fJnlGRs
As they say, “everything in moderation”, including drinking alcohol. It can start to become a problem when you find yourself drinking more than just a night or two out, during earlier hours of the day, and/or when you are alone. Being exposed to a party culture and seeing your peers constantly drinking can lead to thinking “It doesn’t matter if I drink almost every day.”
Your workplace culture may have a happy hour session every day, and it may seem normal to consume alcohol on a daily basis. You may begin to find yourself under the influence during class or work. Increased uncontrollable consumption of alcohol will affect your friendships, family, and romantic relationships. Alcohol is addictive, and while there is no cure, there are plenty of treatments available.
To find resources or get more information on alcohol abuse, visit https://www.nvcc.edu/novacares/resources.html
Tip of the Week: Suicide Prevention Tips: Look out for your friends. If someone you know is constantly making jokes about killing or harming themselves, it actually may be a serious cry for help. Behaviors that may be suicidal indicators include increased alcohol, drug, or prescription medication use, showing a disinterest in school and/or a job, withdrawal from activities that used to interest the person, a history of mental illness, and/or a recent traumatic event. These traumatic events can include a recent breakup, divorce, failed class or classes, a suspension/expulsion notice, losing a job, a sexual assault, and/or death of a peer or family member.
PRS Crisis Link Hotline is a local hotline that helps with suicide Northern Virginia. You can call the hotline at 703-527-4077 to talk to an empathic person who wants to help you or someone you know. The professionals provide free & confidential services 24/7. The hotline can also help you find referrals to mental health and other community services.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free and confidential support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24/7 across the United States. Call: 1-800-273-8255
To know more about suicide prevention, visit us online https://www.nvcc.edu/novacares/resources.html
Imagine a World Without Sexual Violence! What would be different???? Stop by our outreach events this semester and let your voice be heard on our Vision Wall! Just write a note (it’s anonymous) to be added to the Vision Wall on 
what the world would be like without sexual violence.
Help us spread awareness and show support to victims and survivors by participating in The Clothesline Project. Happening at the MEC today (October 3) and tomorrow from 10am – 3pm!
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month is an annual designation observed in October. For many, home is a place of love, warmth, and comfort. It’s somewhere that you know you will be surrounded by care and support, and a nice little break from the busyness of the real world. But for millions of others, home is anything but a sanctuary. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are victims of physical violence by a partner every year.
Every 9 seconds, a woman in the U.S. is beaten or assaulted by a current or ex-significant other.
Here’s another shocking statistic: the number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2012 is 6,488. The number of women that were murdered by current or ex-male partners during that same time frame is 11,766, according to the Huffington Post. That’s almost double the number of people that were killed fighting in war. People who are in an abusive relationship will stay with their partner for a number of reasons:
-Their self-esteem is totally destroyed, and they are made to feel they will never be able to find another person to be with.
-The cycle of abuse, meaning the ‘honeymoon phase’ that follows physical and mental abuse, makes them believe their partner really is sorry, and does love them.
-It’s dangerous to leave. Women are 70 times more likely to be killed in the weeks after leaving their abusive partner than at any other time in the relationship, according to the Domestic Violence Intervention program.
-They feel personally responsible for their partner, or their own behavior. They are made to feel like everything that goes wrong is their fault.
–They share a life. Marriages, children, homes, pets, and finances are a big reason victims of abuse feel they can’t leave.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Use #DomesticViolenceAwareness to post on social media. Sometimes, people don’t know if they are really in an abusive relationship because they’re used to their partner calling them crazy or making them feel like all the problems are their own fault. Here are a few ways to know if you’re in an abusive relationship that you need to get out of.
HISTORY
Domestic Violence Awareness Month evolved from the “Day of Unity” held in October 1981 and conceived by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The “Day of Unity” soon evolved into a week, and in October of 1987, the first National Domestic Violence Awareness Month was observed. In 1989 Congress passed Public Law 101-112, officially designating October of that year as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Such legislation has been passed each year since.
As this month comes to an end, the important discussion it brings to the forefront about domestic violence’s horrific repercussions should not.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse, please click here for help. If you are in danger, call 911.
NOVACares and NOVA SAS invites you to join us for this special event at the AL Campus on Wednesday Sept. 26th from 2-4 in Room AA-196.
Performance. Writing, and Conversations About Power and Inclusion.
Co-sponsored by NOVA Sexual Assault Services and NOVA AL Braden Center
NOVACares wishes to welcome everyone to the NOVA Fall 2018 semester. We hope that this is a great experience for all. And remember if you “See Something, Say Something” by completing at NOVACares report. You may report an incident 24/7 on the web by visiting www.nvcc.edu/novacares and click on the blue box: “Report Concerns”. If you need an immediate response ON CAMPUS, please call NOVA Police at 703-764-5000 or if you are OFF CAMPUS dial 911.
Suicide is a serious health issue nationwide that causes immense amount of pain and suffering to individuals and their family members. Several factors that can trigger suicidal thoughts are loss of loved ones, substance abuse, mental illnesses, and violence. Suicide prevention helps find ways to lower the risk factors that can cause suicidal thoughts and increase factors that provide help, support, and prevent individuals from committing suicide.
PRS Crisis Link Hotline is a local hotline that helps with suicide and stress in Northern Virginia. You can call the hotline to talk to an empathic person who cares about you and your loved ones and wants to help you. If you feel you or your loved one is in danger of hurting themselves call 703.527.4077. The professionals provide free & confidential services 24/7. The hotline can also help you find referrals to mental health and other community services
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free and confidential support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24/7 across the United States. Call: 1-800-273-8255
To know more about suicide prevention, visit us online at
http://www.nvcc.edu/novacares/resources.html
“Ask for HELP to fight another day”
