After Elmo's 'trauma dump' check-in, 'Sesame Street' goes all-in on mental health
Their first PSA offers a simple strategy for managing big feelings.
The Sesame Street gang is here for kids' mental well-being.
Remember when Elmo broke everyone simply by asking how people were doing on X? The viral check-in prompted a flood of responses in which people poured their hearts out onto the beloved Sesame Street character, and the wave of woes was so great all the other Sesame Street friends chimed in with their own words of support.
There's a reason Elmo's check-in hit people so hard. There's something viscerally comforting in the familiar faces and voices of our favorite childhood characters. Over 50-plus years creating high-quality shows for kids, Sesame Workshop has gained and retained people's trust and confidence, so engaging with Sesame Street characters feels safe and cathartic.
The folks behind Sesame Street have always incorporated kids' feelings and emotions into it educational programming, but a new initiative is taking a direct approach to mental health awareness. Teaming up with Huntsman Mental Health Institute, Sesame Workshop and the Ad Council have launched the "Love, Your Mind" campaign with a kid-friendly PSA.
It begins with Elmo humming a familiar tune, the "Sunny Days" theme song from Sesame Street, before his friends join in. Then Elmo explains how humming is a good strategy for managing big feelings. Watch:
It may seem simple, but Dr. Amanda Fujiki, an expert in child and adolescent psychiatry, Huntsman Mental Health Institute, tells Upworthy that humming can be "a calming experience for the brain that can give kids a pause from intense emotions and feelings."
"Humming is one of many coping activities that help kids identify and regulate emotions," says Dr. Fujiki. "Humming, deep breathing, engaging kids with their senses by listening to music, touching a cold item, like ice, or engaging in brief intense exercise, are all mindfulness based practices that can help kids take a pause to identify and regulate their emotions."
"There is research to show that mindfulness practices have positive influences for children and adults," she continues. "For example, studies show that mindful practices can reduce anxiety, depression, and improve physical health in children. By engaging in developmentally appropriate media focused on emotions, parents can offer young children opportunities to engage in dialogue where they can teach emotional literacy and validate big emotions when they come up by referencing examples, like Elmo."
The "Love, Your Mind" campaign comes at a crucial time as young people face an epidemic of mental health struggles. Feelings of persistent sadness and hopelessness were rising rapidly even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Since 2020, it's been clear that we need more resources to help youth manage their mental well-being.
“The growing mental health crisis is one of the most pressing issues for parents today and children’s needs can so often be overlooked,” said Samantha Maltin, EVP, Chief Marketing & Brand Officer, Sesame Workshop. “We know that caring for a child means supporting their whole circle of care, whether that’s parents, teachers or other caregivers. We’re grateful for our partnership with the Ad Council and ‘Love, Your Mind’ campaign through which we can reach even more children and caregivers with these emotional well-being resources.”
The Ad Council announced a Mental Health Initiative in November of 2022 to unite brands, marketers, media companies and nonprofits in addressing the mental health crisis for people of all ages throughout the U.S. “We all have a role to play when it comes to supporting and destigmatizing mental health, and parents and caregivers are an important part of that equation,” said Heidi Arthur, Chief Campaign Development Officer at the Ad Council.
Parents and caregivers can find more resources to support children’s emotional well-being, from managing big feelings to coping with more acute mental health challenges, at sesame.org/mentalhealth and follow Sesame Workshop on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok for more.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."