Health & Safety

Staying safe and healthy, mentally and physically, is probably the most important thing you can do. These websites will help you stay strong, answer your questions, and give you resources to cope if something does go wrong.

Health and Fitness

• Girl's Health
  Maintained by the Office on Women's Health, this site provides information for girls between the ages of 10 and 16.
• Go Ask Alice!
  Need honest answers? Go Ask Alice, a question and answer resource produced by Columbia University.
• Spark Teens
  Do you want help and motivation to eat right and get fit? Spark Teens might be right for you!
• TeensHealth
  Information on physical and mental health in easy-to-understand articles.

Mental Health

*Many of the above websites also deal with mental health. Here are some resources for more specific problems or concerns*

• Suicide: Read This First
  If you're thinking about suicide, read this first.
• Cope. Care. Deal.
  Mental health resources for teens.
• Helpguide: Dealing with Teen Depression
  Signs of depression, dealing with suicidal thoughts and ways to help a friend. Also available in Spanish.
• MedLine Plus: Teen Mental Health
  Being a teenager is hard, but some problems are more than just stress. This site collects articles and other information to help you deal.
• National Eating Disorders Association
  Information about eating disorders, both for individuals struggling with their own problem and for their friends and family.
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
  Call 1-800-273-8255 for help 24 hours a day in English or Spanish. Gives warning signs and suggestions on helping someone if you think they are suicidal.
• Pennsylvania Educational Network for Eating Disorders
  Includes general information, advice on helping a friend, and a listing of local support groups.
• Pennsylvania Youth Suicide Prevention
  Suicide claims the lives of 1,300 Pennsylvanians each year. That's 1,300 too many.
• Something Fishy
  News, support and treatment options for individuals recovering from an eating disorder.
• Teen Mental Health
  Want to know why you feel the way you do? This site helps you understand what's going on.
• TeensHealth: Suicide
  Good, clear information plus links to sites on cutting, post traumatic stress, going to a psychiatrist and more.
• The Trevor Project
  The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves lives though its free and confidential helpline, its website and its educational services.

Safety

• NSTeens
  Do you know how much information it's safe to give out?
• RespectRX: Self Defense
  Learn simple ways to protect yourself.
• That's Not Cool
  Your cell phone, IM and social networks are extensions of who you are. If people are making you feel uncomfortable online, that's not cool.