Showing posts sorted by relevance for query mental health. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query mental health. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query mental health. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query mental health. Sort by date Show all posts

How to Help Protect Your Teen From Mental Health Disorders

Keeping Teens Safe


From their very first days, your mission as a parent has been to keep your children safe from harm. This involves taking proactive steps to ensure their safety and make sure they grow to understand the potential for negative consequences to their actions. It's so hard to know how to help protect your teen from mental health disorders. Protecting your children from harm is a lifelong job.




How to Help Protect Your Teen From Mental Health Disorders




Like many parents, you likely sought to accomplish this goal by teaching them good eating habits and how totake care of themselves physically. However, the mental challenges that children face, particularly when they

transition into their teenage years, might not have been on your radar quite as much.


It can be difficult for parents to understand the mental struggles that teenagers face in this day and age. Today, teens face a great deal of pressure to live up to a certain archetype and work hard to set themselves up for future success. That being said, from a mental and physical standpoint, teenagers are still developing, leaving them to face such pressures before they even really know who they are or what they want to do with their lives.


As a parent, the best thing that you can do for your teen is take a proactive stance on mental health. With mental health conditions on the rise in young people, and more and more teenagers turning to self-harm and even suicide, it is important for parents to step in and help teens to navigate the burden of this stage of their lives. If you're the parent of a teen, here are a few ways you can seek to protect your teens from developing a mental health condition.


Educate Yourself


First and foremost, the best thing you can do to help your teen avoid developing a mental health condition is

to educate yourself. Learning about the prevalent mental health conditions in teenagers and how to detect

early signs that an issue might be at play can go a long way to stopping the progression of a mental health

condition before things get out of hand.


It's also a good idea to learn about the treatment options available to teens who struggle with mental health disorders. Resources on specific conditions like anorexia and bulimia can be found at edentreatment.com Acquiring information from your family care physician can help you to learn more about the internal struggles that your teen might be facing.


Create a Positive Environment


With busy work and school weekdays, it can be difficult to make time for meaningful conversationsand time together as a family. However, one of the things parents can do to help teens avoid mental health

issues is to work to create a positive and safe environment. Checking in with your teen and leaving the door open for communication is key. Promote a positive sense of self and provide your teen with positive affirmation which can help combat outside pressures to change or act in a certain way that may not align with their personal ethics and morals. Positivity and a happy home life go a long way in helping children cope during the teen years.





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What is Hoarding Disorder?

 

What can you do when someone suffers from hoarding disorder?


Have you ever joked about a friend being a hoarder because their desk is covered in papers, or their home is cluttered? Hoarding is a real issue for some people, and it is very distressing. At first, a lot of hoarders don't notice the issue and they probably can't see how it’s affecting their lifestyle or worrying their loved ones. If they do recognize the problem, hoarders might feel embarrassed and isolated from friends and family. So, what is hoarding disorder, and how can you help someone who suffers from it?



What is hoarding disorder? Are you a hoarder?




Hoarding Disorder and Causes


Hoarding disorder is when an individual keeps a lot of things, no matter what the value of these items.They could have anything from broken appliances to old newspapers stored away in their homes leaving their home untidy, dirty, and a generally unpleasant space to be in.

A person with hoarding disorder feels upset or anxious about getting rid of the clutter because they've often formed a strong emotional attachment to these objects, particularly if the hoarded item represents something sentimental to them. Several mental health issues can be connected to hoarding disorder: severe depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychosis. If the person with hoarding disorder has recently gone through a difficult period in life, such as the death of a loved one, the breakdown of a relationship, or another traumatic event, this may serve as a catalyst for developing the disorder.

Hoarders often find comfort in collecting and saving items for future use. Of course, hoarding disorder can happen to anyone, but it isn’t uncommon for hoarding to develop in people who live alone or grew up in an untidy environment.


What Can You Do About It?


Hoarding disorder is when an individual keeps a lot of things, no matter what the value of these items.They could have anything from broken appliances to old newspapers stored away in their homes leaving their home untidy, dirty, and a generally unpleasant space to be in. 

A person with hoarding disorder feels upset or anxious about getting rid of the clutter because they've often formed a strong emotional attachment to these objects, particularly if the hoarded item represents something sentimental to them.

Several mental health issues can be connected to hoarding disorder: severe depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychosis. If the person with hoarding disorder has recently gone through a difficult period in life, such as the death of a loved one, the breakdown of a relationship, or another traumatic event, this may serve as a catalyst for developing the disorder. Hoarders often find comfort in collecting and saving items for future use. Of course, hoarding disorder can happen to anyone, but it isn’t uncommon for hoarding to develop in people who live alone or grew up in an untidy environment.

Since hoarding is linked to mental health, typical treatments include CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and counseling to identify the root cause of the hoarding. If the hoarding is associated with depression, antidepressant medication might be prescribed and allow for some relief.

If you're concerned that a loved one has a hoarding disorder, gently suggest that they visit the GP with you. Remember, a lot of people with this disorder don't recognize that there's a problem. Others may feel embarrassed, so be patient with them. Let them know that you care and that you are there for them whenever they feel overwhelmed or when they're ready to talk about their circumstances.

When a hoarder is ready to deal with the issue and start organizing their home, you might also need professional services to help. Hoarder clean up services are specialists in dealing with these situations and understand how emotional and difficult it can be for the individuals who suffer with the disorder. A clean up service will also be able to deep-clean the property to make it a safe, healthy living environment for your loved one. While people might joke about being a hoarder, for many people, this is a serious issue that impacts their daily lives. If you're concerned that you or someone you love has developed a hoarding disorder, speak to mental health professionals for further advice on what steps you need to take.


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Emotional Issues from Childhood Follow You To Adulthood

Are Your Personal Intimacy Issues Affecting the Family Unit?

Is your relationship in trouble? Straying from our regular blog topics, we’ve been writing a series on mental health. Turns out something that sounds like a very adult subject matter, has a wider effect on our personal lives. Personal intimacy issues. Say what? 

This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Emotional Issues from Child Follow You To Adulthood


Generally, when we think of personal intimacy issues we think about sex. However, personal intimacy can also mean emotional intimacy. Many people struggle with emotional intimacy and over time, this alone can break a relationship. You don’t have to be sexually active to struggle with emotional intimacy issues. In fact, emotional intimacy issues can contribute to sexual intimacy. 

Depending on your family situation, you could be setting your kids up for emotional disaster. How do you raise healthy, emotionally intelligent children? Obviously, if we had all the answers, everyone on Earth would be emotionally stable, but life happens, right? 

Depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, bi-polar disorder, and a variety of other common mental health issues can lead to a lifetime of difficulties in interpersonal relationships. If you can’t get along with family members, you’re likely not going to get along with peers or co-workers and your intimate relationships are going to suffer.

If you notice a family member struggling with interpersonal relationships, what can you do? The first step is to identify the problem. What is causing the mental health issue? It could be a chemical imbalance, childhood trauma, abuse, or even neglect.

If your children suffer, the next step is to get help. Whether you seek out a therapist in your community or find help online, getting an outside perspective is key to improving your situation. If the family dynamic is suffering due to personal intimacy issues between the parents, there are many resources online that can help. 

However, I know from personal experience that it can be difficult to get both partners on the same page. Sometimes, one partner would rather throw in the towel than ask for help from an outside source. I’ve been told that if you need an outsider to help, it’s far too late. Other people may feel uncomfortable or embarrassed to talk about their personal intimacy issues. For more information on common intimacy issues visit this link:  https://www.regain.us/advice/intimacy/common-intimacy-issues-and-how-to-deal-with-them/

When parents aren’t emotionally or physically connected, the children often face emotional issues as well, and can suffer from neglect. Parents can get so wrapped up in their personal problems, that they neglect their children without even realizing it. The key to a happy, healthy family is to keep all of the cogs working cohesively. Immediately after the breakup of our family, as they watched me fall apart, my children seemed surprisingly well adjusted. 

However, whether they knew it or not, they were holding it together, trying to be strong for mom. As time passed and I grew stronger and more sure about my own choices, my children began to show the after effects of the reality of a broken family. They withdrew, became emotional, and even aggressive at times. It seemed their entire personalities had changed in a few short weeks. 

Not only were we dealing with the break of our family unit, but the raging hormones of the wonderful land of teendom had conveniently coincided with it.  While there’s no good time for a breakup, note to self, the early teenage years have got to be worse. If I had to go back in time and do it all over again, I would do it sooner. My relationship with their father wasn’t good for any of us. Our personalities were not compatible and no amount of trying or counseling were going to improve it.

I struggled with perfectionism and obsessive-compulsive disorder, admitting the relationship wasn’t meant to be was extremely difficult for me. It took my children growing up and becoming reasonable, rational human beings who could recognize that the situation was impossible to repair, to give me the kick in the butt that I needed to move forward with my life. Unfortunately, all of this took a toll on their emotional well-being. 

If you’re facing a difficult situation in your relationship, don’t be afraid or embarrassed to seek out help. Don’t wait until the issues are out of control and beyond repair. Though humans are resilient, many mental health issues can get worse over time. Be sure you’re doing everything you can to satisfy the needs of your children and protect not only their physical, but also their emotional well- being.

 

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Helping Your Kids Stay Fit and Healthy

 Get Started with these Quick Parenting Tips Today


All parents want their children to be happy and healthy, but it's often difficult to encourage our kids to follow a healthy lifestyle, especially if they have grown used to sweet treats and like to spend a lot of their time in front of their screens. If you’re a parent who is concerned about their child’s health, or would just like a few useful tips to keep in mind, below are a some simple suggestions on how you can help your children stay fit and healthy. You know how to do it, getting started is the hard part. So, here's your motivation.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience.




Diet

A good place to start is looking at your children’s diet and whether or not there need to be some changes here. You don’t have to feed your kid all organic food to make sure they maintain a good diet, and obviously, not all households can afford the more expensive products. If you want to make sure your kids are eating well, make sure they get plenty of fruits and vegetables and lots of good carbohydrates. 


Strawberry Raspberry Smoothie Recipe


If your kids are fussy eaters, think of creative ways to get them to eat a variety of foods, like making them a healthy smoothie or soup so the veggies and fruits are hidden from view. Also consider taking time to cook meals with your children so they can start to learn this important life skill and about nutrition and what constitutes a healthy diet. We've started ordering dinnerly, an economical food delivery service. Teenagers can cook their own gourmet meals or easy weeknight dinners, you choose the recipes each week.


After School Snack Planning Ideas Printable


Exercise

Sticking to a good exercise routine, can be difficult. Kids are no different. The best way to encourage your kids (and yourself) to get moving is by finding a sport or activity that they truly enjoy. By making exercise fun, kids are more likely to engage and exercise regularly, especially if their friends are involved. Get the family out and moving together on weekends, whether it’s going for hikes or playing Frisbee together in the park.


Outdoor Play Ideas


Oral Hygiene

As well as making sure they’re eating right and getting their hearts pumping, also watch out for your children's oral health. A lot of kids don’t like having to brush their teeth before bed, particularly if they’re already tired and cranky. However, this is an essential routine they need to get into early to avoid problems with their gums and tooth decay, which can be very painful and unpleasant. Make sure your kids brush their teeth twice a day, and be sure to teach them how to floss. If they hate toothpaste, have them brush with water to get the food out and then do an oral rinse.


Is Chewing Gum good for your Teeth?


Mental Health

Physical health is important, but your child’s mental well-being is also crucial to help them stay physically healthy. This isn't always as easy to see, but the best way you can help is by creating an environment at home where your child feels comfortable talking with you about their feelings and problems. If you discover concerning behaviors, ask your kids' teachers if they've noticed anything at school. The pandemic has been rough on everyone, but especially our kids.Make sure you're paying attention, any changes in behavior might be a cry for help. Kids are struggling with depression from being forced to stay inside.


Mental Health articles from Adventures of Kids Creative Chaos


Raising kids is the most challenging thing anyone can do. Keeping your kids fit and healthy is an important part of parenting. Hopefully, these tips will help you find new, creative ways to keep your kids happy and healthy. Be sure to click on the titles between the paragraphs above, for more detailed information on each topic.


As always, thanks for reading. You matter.


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Adopting Healthy Lifestyles as a Family

Everyone in the Family should Live Healthy Lifestyles to Insure a Better Quality of Life



Living a healthy lifestyle is something that many people aspire to do. It's difficult to adopt a healthy lifestyle and keep up the routine. However, if the entire family lives a healthy lifestyle, it's easier to maintain and insure your health goals. Perhaps you have a job that takes up a lot of your time, or you're too busy with volunteer work, school, or anything else that life throws at you. No matter the reason, you need to make the time to become healthy and set a good example for your children.

This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links for your convenience.


Tips on Adopting Healthy Lifestyles as a Family



You're the only one that can change your everyday habits for the better, but it can be much easier to do if everyone in the family acknowledges the importance of healthy living. If our children learn from a young age what it means to eat healthy meals and exercise, they'll take that knowledge with them into adulthood as well.

Why should everyone in the family live healthy lifestyles? When you start living a healthy lifestyle at an early age, it becomes second nature. As you age, you'll be ready to adapt to lifestyle changes that will continue to improve your health and you won't get stuck in those addictive unhealthy habits that can lead to obesity and other chronic illnesses which can be a downer when you're searching for term life insurance quotes. Another added benefit of a healthy lifestyle is the opportunity to enjoy the time with your grandkids as an active participant rather than an inactive observer.


Tips on how to achieve a healthy lifestyle together as a family:



Kids Learn from Their Parents
Kids look at parents as their role models, which is why it's paramount that parents do their part and teach their children about what it means to live a healthy lifestyle. Whether it’s eating healthy and nutritious meals, or the importance of staying active, you can always make a difference in the type of habits that your children adopt.


Use it as an Opportunity to Spend Time Together
Living a healthy life as a family gives everyone an opportunity to spend quality time together. Be mindful and add these tips to insure better healthy lifestyle results for your efforts.


1. Exercise

Rather than exercising alone, go for a walk outside with your family members. This also gives you an opportunity to properly talk to one another. It's a great way to bring up those difficult conversations you've been meaning to get started but never seem to find the time to do. Get fit with these fitness gift ideas.


2. Weekend road trips

Don't forget about road trips with kids This is the perfect opportunity for everyone to destress and improve mental health while enjoying some family fun, making lasting memories together, and insuring that your bond is strong. Road trips are also a great way to get to know each better. Share happy stories of your childhood, but remember to stay away from difficult subjects or anything stressful.


A Future Health Routine
It’s important to find a routine that everyone in the family will benefit from. If you plan on being active, why not do it while everyone is together? Plus, the activities your children pursue from a young age will impact their future, as well.

When your kids are grown up and they're young adults, who is to say that they'll not end up becoming personal trainers, physiotherapists, yoga instructions or something else that is a result of the activities they participated in as a family when they were younger? Often kids who sign up for football and discover a passion for it end up wanting to pursue this in the future, whether as a hobby or a potential career.


The same can be said for other jobs that are considered health and wellness careers. Of course, this is all based on a person's individual personality and what they enjoy doing. Perhaps you found an interest in personal training as a result of working with a trainer to improve your health. That might lead to a career change.


Don’t forget that no matter what you choose to do in the future, you'll have to acquire the necessary qualifications that allow you to make a career out of your health and wellness lifestyle. This is the case for those interested in personal training, for example, they can complete an online fitness course Leicester in order to get certified, making it an easy way to get educated on healthy lifestyle fitness careers. Keep in mind that different career paths will require different steps. Some will require certifications, some will require degrees.


Adopting a healthy lifestyle as a family is a win-win situation. Of course, you want the best for your family. So why not prioritize adopting healthy habits as a family into your daily routine? This will improve your quality of life, both in the short and long-term, improve your chance of obtaining affordable health insurance, and likely get you the best possible term life insurance quotes. You'll find yourself saving money on bad habits, insurance, and feeling much happier as a result of it all! These simple lifestyle changes can bring your family closer together. As always, I know you can do it!



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Can't We All Just Get Along?

The last few articles have been on the subject of mental health and the breakup of the family unit. As the family situation changes, so do the matters of family concern. Of course, how you deal with these changes affect the future mental health of your children, but don’t forget to take care of yourself. As mentioned in a previous article, “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” My advice is this, self-care is a key element to a happy, healthy family, but be careful, don't over do it.

                                                  This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links.

healthy relationships how to get along self care  quote


If you’ve come off a long-term, unhealthy relationship, chances are you’ve been neglecting self-care. Self-care is key to your happiness. Newly separated or divorced individuals might choose to jump out into the dating scene. At first, it's exciting and new. If you've been in a bad situation, going out on dates and having fun can feel like self-care, but you need to be careful that all that good time fun having doesn’t lead to an even more unhealthy rebound relationship. Just like our children, we need to make healthy choices.

Practice being alone. I can’t emphasize this enough. Spend time alone. As much time as it takes for you to get over the pain. And as much time as you need to grow as a person. Learn from your mistakes and take care of yourself.  As I age, I see intelligent women jumping into relationships. Perhaps, they’ve been a stay-at-home mom. Maybe they’ve never held a full-time job. Some never had the chance to go to college. They’ve never managed their own finances. Often, they feel like they just can’t handle the responsibilities of taking care of themselves and their children. So, they go out on a man hunt. The goal is to find a better man than the last one. Some are looking for a man to meet their financial expectations, others are looking for companionship, and some are looking for a father figure for their children. Whatever the reason, they jump into a relationship too soon. Been there done that. 


Healthy Family


I got married while still in college. It was okay. Just okay. I wanted to be happy, but we were young and a lot was missing in the relationship. At that point in my life, the idea of a wedding was more important than the idea of a marriage. We were friends and companions struggling to find common ground, but something was always missing. Both of us had placed our focus on gaining knowledge and prepping for a career and little attention was given to intimacy. As starving college students, there was no money for fun things and then we jumped into buying a house, and then another house, and then it all just got way too overwhelming. There was simply no fun to be had.

Eventually, we talked to friends, family, and clergy. We attended counseling. It all pointed to the same thing, we just didn’t have the same goals or the same outlook on life. We ended the relationship in an amicable fashion. And that’s when my real troubles started. I briefly dated, but playing the field has never been my thing. Dating in your late 20’s is an experience that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Ugh. It’s a brave new world. With my thirtieth birthday looming over my head, I really wanted to settle down and start a family before it was too late. I had some great men to choose from, two were truly amazing with interesting careers. One was neither amazing, nor did he have a great career. He was lucky to hold down a job. But he had what I wanted. A little girl. My family doctor and the counselor both advised against any serious relationship or even dating after the first year of a breakup, but my biological clock was ticking. Tick tock. Having been told I likely could never have children, I jumped at the chance. 

However, that wasn’t the only thing. He was fun. Oh so fun! He loved to dance, hike, bike, play sports, cook, and clean. One day, he called me one of the “cools.” I had been feeling lost. I was never cool. I wanted to do all those things I felt I’d missed out on in high school and college. Except I didn’t. I was still that goody two shoes inside. His risky lifestyle stressed me out. We fought. Among other things, he drank. He was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. It was like a dark movie from one of those cable tv channels for women. That was my first rebound.

After that, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to pick myself up again. I had a lot of counseling. I saw a psychiatrist. I took various medications. Was I suicidal? Not really, but it seemed like life had gotten the best of me. I felt like a failure in every way imaginable. No kids, no career to speak of, and no real chance to recover from all the despair because, in my head, I was old. Oh, so old. I turned to online dating. It was uplifting to have so many men interested in dating me. It was also terrifying. That was the start of rebound number two. Not only did I not wait a year to date, in only a few short months I had moved in with a man and was pregnant. At the time, it seemed like he had everything I wanted. A good job, two kids, pets, a nice home. He was a widower and that (like the alcoholism before him) fulfilled my need for codependency. I had something to do, people to take care of, and dreams to fulfill. Except, we were less compatible than the previous rebound relationship. Shortly after my son was born, I became pregnant again.

Things weren’t ideal, but I always questioned myself. Why not? Maybe I was the problem. I should’ve been content. I was determined to make it work. I mean, after all, he wasn’t abusing me. He yelled a lot. It triggered old feelings from the previous relationship. I cried a lot. It made him mad. I cried more. It was an endless cycle. We barely knew each other. We met online. We were both lonely. As it came to be that he was my only friend for many years, we were really never friends. We both tried. The harder I tried, the more difficult it got. And now, there were kids involved. I didn’t want to break up the family unit. I didn’t want my kids to come from a broken home. Ugh, the damage I did to all of us by trying to stick this one out. We were the absolute opposite of compatible. I will spare you the gory details.

I had so many health issues. I spent months in bed, with nothing more to do than reflect on my past. I knew it had to end. But I was scared. Could I do it alone? Was I strong enough? I started stepping up my game, working harder from home, seeing various specialists and improving my health, and building credit. Once I knew what had to be done, I still wasn’t ready to do it. Things finally worked out in a way that made ending the relationship the most logical decision. It was difficult, but I didn’t need to seek counseling. I threw myself into my work, my writing, and the remodeling of my new house.

After years of thinking about it, deep down, I knew if I were ever to have another relationship again, I’d have to be strong. I’d have to take care of myself first, I’d need a break. I wrote down the pros and cons of dating. Months passed. I thought about what I wanted. What I needed, who I wanted and why. I realized I didn’t need a man to be happy. But I wanted that companionship that had eluded me for most of my life.


Why it's okay to Need a Man


It was always the same set of traits that had always led me to the same conclusion. But, I didn’t want to make the wrong choice with the right choice. So, naively, I  attempted to play the field again, but I didn’t date. I just talked. I talked to several old friends and acquaintances. This time no online dating, no strangers. I weaned them all out. I settled on one for an attempt at dating. We talked for weeks before meeting in person. I knew him from high school. He seemed to fit the criteria. But low and behold, it was a mistake. A big mistake, but one I wanted to cling to because I was sad and lonely. I had basically given up. I was about to turn fifty. There was no more time for mistakes. If I thought dating in my late twenties was hard - whoa. In your fifties, it’s a whole new frontier. Casual dating wasn’t an option for me. 

I took a few weeks to get myself together. I pulled out my list again, and this time, I realized what I always needed had always been there. Sometimes, you just need a friend.


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