The Anxiety Workbook for Teens: Activities to Help You Deal with Anxiety and Worries
Anxiety and worry can cause many health problems in teens, it can lead to depression, problems in school and other health issues. Not only does it affect the way your teen thinks about him/herself and the world around him or… Continue reading
Stress Research Sounds Health Alarms for Children
Does it feel like your “stress temperature” has gone up around ten degrees the last few years? According to the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America survey, your kids are feeling it too. The new survey details the impact of… Continue reading
When Does Worry Become Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? Part 1
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH 2009) has produced a 15-point scale that defines various levels of the continuum of normal worrying to clinical obsession or compulsiveness. At the extreme, a score of 13 to 15, the symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) require the individual to be closely supervised while eating, sleeping, or even making minor decisions.
At the other end of the scale, 1-3, the individual spends little or no time in excessive thought or behavior that is ritualistic or compulsive, and there is almost no interference in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). ADLs include things like the ability to pay attention, groom oneself, engage in meaning social interactions with others, and perform those necessary biological functions related to eating and eliminating in a way that does not interfere with one’s normal emotional functioning. In the case of children, this would include going to school, studying, making and keep friends, playing with their friends, and engaging in meaningful recreational or physical activity during their spare time.
Thomas Szasz wrote a book in 1966 called The Myth of Mental Illness. The author basically argued that there was no such thing as mental illness, and that scientists and doctors had attempted to lay the template of the so-called medical model over what he preferred to term as “problems in living.”
If your child is so concerned with making A’s that their worry makes them ineffective at studying, causing them to make C’s when they are capable of making A’s, then this could be termed such a problem in living.
My preference is to use the term problem in learning. That is, the child is attempting to do the right thing, i.e., study hard and make a good grade, but they have not learned how to moderate or regulate their studying behavior in such as fashion as to achieve the goal of learning well and making an A.
Helping Shy Children Become Social Adults
Social science researchers suggest that around thirty percent of the population regularly experience the intense feelings of self-consciousness and shame associated with the experience of shyness.
For children, shyness can be especially painful and intense because of limits on their ability to filter and balance shy feelings against other, more positive social experiences. Shyness in children and teens can transform a classroom into an amplifier for self-criticism and negative thoughts, and an event like a piano recital into a dreaded nightmare anticipated weeks before the event.
“My whole childhood seemed like a series of painful social moments and mistakes,” one young adult described of her shyness, “I always felt like I was broken in some way.”
Adolescent Boys Who Practice Mindfulness Meditation Show Improved Mood and Contentment
Mindfulness refers to being completely in touch with and aware of the present moment, as well as taking a non-evaluative and non-judgmental approach to your inner experience. For example, a mindful approach to one’s inner experience is simply viewing “thoughts… Continue reading
When fears turn to phobias
Bees, costumed characters, germs, thunderstorms: what do they have in common? They all have the potential to cause fear and anxiety in both children and adults. Childhood fears are commonplace, in fact, psychologists view it as not typical if a… Continue reading
Doctor's Notes Not Recommended for School Avoidance
In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, child and adolescent psychiatrist Martin Knollmann and colleagues describe school avoidance due to emotional issues and compare it with true truancy. The truant child will skip school to engage in more… Continue reading
