Twisting the Tale on Impostor Syndrome
Instead of considering these feelings as all negative, consider how you can make these impostor feelings work for you as a unique and special person.
Category: Mental Health
Wellness: Be Proactive!
Law students begin to carry the weight of the profession on the very first day and will continue carrying it throughout their careers.
Tommy Sangchompuphen: Seeking Help Shows Strength
I suffer from depression and have had instances of suicidal thoughts. I’ve had to live with those challenges since I was a young child. Fortunately, I’m alive today, doing well, and as happy as I’ve ever been. But the journey to where I am today hasn’t always been
Gratitude for law students: "Issue spotting" for the good in your life
Thanksgiving and the winter holidays are approaching, but with final exams on the horizon, you might be feeling anything but grateful. The idea of taking time off to fly or drive home to cook and “enjoy” a long meal with family—particularly if Thanksgiving falls during the law school’s reading
Minding your money: How financial health intersects with physical and mental health
Join Derek Brainard, MBA, AFC®, CRPC® from nonprofit AccessLex Institute, as he discusses why your financial health is just as important as your physical and mental health. The Virtual Office Hours series connects you with experts to help you thrive as a law student
Discussing what well-being in law school—and moving into practice—means for law students
Each year the ABA Law Student Division and the ABA CoLAP Law School Committee partner on the national Mental Health Day Program. This initiative is intended to spotlight the critical importance of our own well-being, and specific strategies to protect our well-being in law school and in
The real deal on impostor syndrome? You belong here
This week I've received messages from law students who just started their summer legal internships. What's keeping them up at night? Impostor syndrome. So, let's talk about it. Where did this come from? I am no
The path to reforming the ABA standards to promote law student well-being
Most of the law students reading this are attending accredited law schools. But very few of us know what accreditation means. The U.S. Department of Education has recognized the American Bar Association’s Section on Legal
Essential Mental Health, Physical Health, and Wellness Resources for Bar Exam Prep
We are here to support you while you study for the bar exam. During this challenging time, we want to encourage you to take care of yourselves and continue to focus on all aspects of your well-being. Your physical and emotional health are critical to your success in life…and on the bar exam.
Zoom yourself out: Slash screen time for mental health
It’s hard to deny we all spend to much time on our phones. Texts, emails, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Candy Crush, the latest game….the number of hours we spend staring at that little device is frankly embarrassing. It turns out, spending excessive time on our devices is more than
Where racial justice, social activism, and mental health intersect: An ABA CoLAP webinar
Professor Rhonda Magee, author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness, talks with the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs in this Mental Health Day webinar. Prof. Magee is a
Getting to the other side of mental health in the legal profession
As ABA Law Student Mental Health Day comes to us yet again, a journal entry by a 2L in my Legal Profession class offers hope: All of my friends, siblings, and peers talk about mental health. We have all been affected. We are unfiltered, empathetic,
Top tips for mental and emotional well-being while in law school
This article originally appeared on the Judicial Intern Opportunity Program page under the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association and was written by Angela Nieves. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or
Eureka! Discovering the science of well-being for lawyers
Lawyer well-being and wellness is more than just a theory. There is a whole science underlying the benefits of increasing lawyer effectiveness by encouraging wellness, well-being and implementation of personal and systemic strategies. It’s quantum physics. Seriously. Quantum physics is the study of how the universe works. It explains how
This one weird trick could improve your law school performance: Sleep
I’ve recently learned of an amazing trick that can help law students improve every aspect of their law school experience – from preparing for class, to memorizing case names, to studying for exams, to handling stress. And it’s absolutely free. So what is this amazing, no-cost, pharmaceutical-free trick? Sleep.
Buy your ABA LSD Mental Health gear today and support CoLAP
Join the ABA Law Student Division and CoLAP in supporting mental health awareness in the legal profession. You can buy a t-shirt or hoodie with our contest-winning design to raise awareness for the mental health of lawyers and law students across the country. Each comes in a variety of colors, and all proceeds benefit the ABA Commission for Legal Assistance Programs.
NY law deans join NYSBA effort to remove mental health questions from Character and Fitness exam
The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is working to remove the questions about mental health from the Character and Fitness examination to join the bar. I was part of the NYSBA Working Group on Mental Health that determined that the questions had an adverse impact on law school students.
Behind our masks: The problem with hiding our problems
“The worst part of having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don’t.”—Arthur Fleck, "Joker" Shockingly, I found some time in my 2L schedule to see “Joker” over the weekend. It’s a gritty commentary on society,
Defining success in terms of satisfaction starts in law school
As a first-generation lawyer, I really didn’t know what to expect from the practice of law. I wasn’t prepared for the pressure and the stress, and I didn’t know how to overcome the need for perfection and validation that I’d inadvertently nurtured through a lifetime focused on academic performance.
Intervention: The benefits of stepping in with compassion
August 2018, on a late Thursday afternoon, I received a call asking me if I was available to come up and meet with a chief assistant state attorney. I was an assistant state attorney in Miami-Dade County, Florida, handling mental health cases, so these requests were common. I
I see you, 1L: Time to reflect on your well-being
You’re on the path to join a profession in which you will spend most of your life advocating for others. But if you hope to be an effective advocate for others, you must first learn to be an advocate for yourself. Today, on Law
Law students, law schools lead efforts to remove mental health questions from Character & Fitness equation
For decades, virtually every state required bar applicants to answer invasive questions about their mental health diagnoses. In 2014, the Survey of Law Student Well-Being revealed the effect of this practice: nearly half of all law students were dissuaded from seeking mental health treatment for fear that such treatment would have negative
The future is failure (so start getting good at it)
“Dear Ms. Leader, Thank you for your application. Unfortunately, at this time, we are not able to offer…" Sound familiar? Some version of this email has started to grace my inbox as frequently as the latest J. Crew discount code or law school lunch talk
Why a week of wellness isn’t well enough
If you have ever picked up a free banana smoothie or granola bar from your law school’s wellness week booths, you are not alone. Free food is great, and law schools do seem to care more about wellness than they used to, but I still find myself asking: how
Common threads: Enter the Mental Health T-Shirt Contest
October is Mental Health Awareness Month, and World Mental Health Day is October 10. We observe this month and day to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to increase support for wellness. This day is meant to provide an opportunity for all those affected to talk about
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