OFFERING ENCOURAGEMENT — Steve Wize, president and founder of Mental Fitness LLC, told students at Steubenville High School they have control over feelings that can affect their approach to life and encouraged them to seek help if they are feeling troubled or depressed. -- Warren Scott

STEUBENVILLE — Steve Wize, a mental health specialist visiting Steubenville High School on Wednesday, asked students how they would rate their lives on a scale of one to 100.

Wize said for adults participating in such a survey, the average answer was 70.

“The average adult gives themselves a C-minus for their lives. That offends me,” said Wize, whose talks at the high school and other area schools have been supported by the Josh Merriman Foundation of Wintersville.

Wize told the students he wants to • help them live a life they find satisfying and a good way to do that is to be wary of negative thoughts they may have.

He said seven common, negative thoughts are:

• I can’t. When faced with a goal or a challenge, if you think that, you most likely won’t accomplish it, Wize said, because you won’t try.

• I need. Wize said it is better to seek satisfaction from within than from external sources. Too often people are overly concerned with seeking the approval of others, he said.

• Makes me. Wize said making excuses or blaming others for one’s failures.

“Circumstances don’t define you. You do,” he said.

• Should/shouldn’t. Wize said the most successful accept things they can’t control and focus on what they can do.

He said often depression results from regretting the past, while anxiety is spurred by fear of the future, both things over which people have little or no control.

• Always/never. Wize said a mindset that is self-limiting or self-defeating often is self-fulfilling.

“Belief in yourself is the biggest prediction of success in anything,” he said.

• Have to. Wize said there are many things in life that youth and adults must do. People can feel weighed down by them if they don’t consider the long-term rewards or benefits of them.

• Happens to me. Wize said some frame themselves as a victim, feeling the world is unfair, uncertain or unpredictable only for them.

He said while some receive much in life, they don’t always appreciate it.

“Adversity builds character. The world, even high school, is a gym for building your character,” said Wize.

Wize said for many years schools have offered instruction in physical fitness but not in mental fitness, “how to take care of our minds.”

A licensed clinical social worker and the founder and president of Mental Health LLC, Wize said he’s working with the University of Pittsburgh to develop a course through which schools can expose students to positive approaches to fostering good mental health.

During his talk, he offered several examples of people who overcame adversity or challenges to become successful.

They included Craig Dietz, who was born with no arms or legs but went on to become an attorney and endurance athlete; Pittsburgh Pirate Andrew McCutcheon, who shifted goals when a serious injury prevented him from pursuing a career in professional football; Serena Williams, who rose from crime- and poverty-ridden Compton, Calif. to the world of competitive tennis.

In his closing remarks, Wize offered advice for anyone who is struggling emotionally.

“Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness. There are people who will help you with your mental health and get you back in the game,” he said.

The Josh Merriman Foundation was established in memory of a Wintersville native and student-athlete at Robert Morris University who took his life at age 21.

His parents, Bob and Colleen Merriman, said the foundation’s goal is to educate the public about suicide prevention, traumatic brain injury (which may have led to Josh’s suicide) and mental health in general.

To support such programs and an annual scholarship given each year in Josh’s name, the group holds a golf outing and other fundraisers.

Last year, 54 four-player teams competed in the event.

This year’s golf outing will be held on Aug. 9, with tee times at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Those interested in participating should call Michael Barber at (740) 424-3909.

The Josh Merriman Foundation also promotes the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which can be reached at (800) 273-8255 or 988.