You Are Not Alone – Reach Out for Support

 

The Holiday season can be festive and full of joy, but around this time of year people may often experience stress, anxiety, pain, or loneliness. Try not to let yourself be defined by your past or by your challenges. Don't give up because inside, you are strong and still fighting. It's OKAY to feel your feelings.

Remember also to check in on your friends, loved ones, and others in your community - let them know they are not alone this season. Help is always available and healing is possible.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a great resource for support. SAMHSA leads public health and service delivery efforts to treat mental illness, prevent substance abuse and addiction, and offer treatments and supports to foster recovery while ensuring access and better outcomes for all.

Support is a click away
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help  

Be Aware of Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

 

We're quickly approaching the start of the Winter solstice, which takes place this year on Sunday, December 21, 2025 at 10:03am Eastern Time in the Northern Hemisphere. With the fallback time change from daylight savings time a few weeks ago, it has become dark earlier in the evening and temperatures are cooling down. Did you know that the shorter days and colder temperatures can bring on symptoms of a type of seasonal depression?

Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD, is a condition in which some people experience a significant mood change when the seasons change. Typically, SAD occurs during the fall and winter months when there's less sunlight and days are shorter. SAD usually lifts during the spring and summer months. Not everyone experiences the same symptoms, but many of them are listed on the graphic above.

SAD may be effectively treated with a specific type of light therapy. Antidepressant medicine and talk therapy may be helpful to reduce SAD symptoms for some people. Additionally, vitamin D supplements may also help.  

Learn more about seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and how to get help if you're experiencing symptoms this season at https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/seasonal-affective-disorder

10 Strategies to Help Teens Prevent Substance Abuse

 

Teen Drug Abuse is a pressing issue that raises concern among parents and health professionals.

During adolescence, the teen brain is still in the crucial stage of development making it vulnerable to the harmful effects of drug use. Scientific research has shown that the long-term consequences of teen drug use can cause severe impacts like deteriorating mental health, impaired cognitive functions, even problems with normal growth and delayed puberty.

Here are 10 strategies to help youth learn to resist peer pressure, abstain from drug use, and live a more balanced lifestyle:

*Resist peer pressure
*Refrain from substance use
*Seek professional help when needed
*Live a healthy, balanced lifestyle
*Foster strong family relationships
*Take time for self-care
*Learn healthy coping skills
*Educate on the dangers of drug use
*Take only prescribed medication
*Practice mindfulness activities

Strategies like these help teens learn to cope better in stressful situations, resist peer pressure, abstain from substance use, and live a healthy, balance lifestyle - that's what we want for all our kids!

Empower Youth to Make Healthy Choices

 

On this Giving Tuesday, your generosity can truly change the course of a young person's life. With 40 years of expertise providing services including science-based education in elementary, middle, and high schools, teen-driven social norms campaigns, informative presentations and family-oriented awareness events, InnerAct Alliance is encouraged by how well prevention works! 💪

When young people delay substance use until age 21 or older, their risk of developing addiction drops from 1 in 4 to 1 in 25. Your support fuels the education that helps families create those lifesaving delays.

Every gift matters! Please help empower resistance and resilience skills for students throughout Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties to build confident leaders and create drug-free communities!

Make this Giving Tuesday count!

Text IAA to 26989 to donate or visit

https://www.inneractalliance.org/#donate  

Charity Begins at Home – Today is Giving Tuesday!

 

Today is Giving Tuesday - a day dedicated to giving back to the community! If holiday giving is part of your tradition and you'd like to make a meaningful impact in our community, InnerAct Alliance would greatly appreciate if you would please consider supporting our mission to empower every student in Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties with resistance and resiliency skills attained from our free prevention education programs that help to build confident leaders and create drug-free communities!

Why Your Support Matters

*Free prevention education for thousands of students

*UthMpact teens become prevention champions 

*Prevention Works - 87% of Polk students reject Marijuana - 88% say no to Vaping

*Every dollar invested saves $7 in treatment costs

3 Ways to Give

*Make a one-time gift to honor IAA's 40th anniversary

*Become a monthly donor for year-round support

*Make a year-end gift of any size for Giving Tuesday

Next week, we invite you to join us at IAA's Holiday Open House on December 9, from 3pm to 6pm, at our office located at 621 S. Florida Avenue in Lakeland, as we celebrate our agency's 40th Anniversary and share holiday treats and fellowship. 

You may make a gift at https://www.inneractalliance.org/#donate or
text IAA to 26989 to donate and get more involved!

Thank You

Celebrating 40 Years Strong!

 

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are behind us but there's one more special day to make a lasting impact! 🙌

Tomorrow, December 2, is Giving Tuesday - and we are celebrating 40 years of prevention! For four decades, InnerAct Alliance has been Central Florida's trusted partner in keeping kids safe and drug-free.

Tomorrow you have an opportunity to make your impact count:

*$40 celebrates our 40th anniversary while funding prevention education

*$87 honors the 87% of students who are choosing healthy futures

*Any amount helps us continue to our mission to reach every student in Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties with prevention education

Every dollar you invest in prevention saves $7 in treatment costs - that's smart compassion for our kids and our community.

Ready to give? 

Text IAA to 26989 or 

visit https://www.inneractalliance.org/#donate

Together we are not just preventing problems, we are building a generation of healthy, empowered youth leaders. Please join us in celebrating what works! 💓

In The News – IAA Warns Youth About Energy Drinks Infused w/Kratom

 

 CLICK: https://www.tampabay28.com/news/region-polk/experts-raising-awareness-on-addiction-associated-with-energy-drinks-containing-kratom

InnerAct Alliance's executive director, Angie Ellison, was featured in a Tampa Bay 28 TV news segment last week to help raise awareness about the addiction and health risks associated with "herbal supplement" energy drinks containing Kratom that are being sold in local gas station convenience stores, smoke shops, and online.

This is in response to a recent Health Alert in which experts warn that the synthetic form of Kratom may trigger the same brain receptors as opioid drugs like heroin and fentanyl. 

Doctors say that Kratom is a substance that can be dangerous when taken in excess. It can cause dependence and addiction - and when stopped, can cause serious withdrawal symptoms. The Food and Drug Administration is recommending that the synthetic ingredient be placed on the federal government's most restrictive list of illegal drugs. 

See our November 20 blog for information on the recent Health Alert
https://inneractblogtownhallmeeting.blogspot.com/2025/11/kratom-warnings-in-news-again.html 

Learn more about Kratom with a DEA Drug Fact Sheet available free to download and share with the young people in your life
https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/Kratom-2020_0.pdf