ADHD has an ability to cause adults with it to be plagued with disorder. The disorder is in every facet of their life. Some forms of disorder can be brought to order though with clearer thinking and various coping strategies and tools.
The article, “How to Declutter with an ADHD Brain: Organization Solutions for Real Life” by Linda Roggli looks at how individuals can declutter their ADHD life through simple solutions. She states,
Suicide is a serious issue. When someone shows signs or reaches out for help regarding suicidal thoughts, it is important that the first person who discovers is able to say the right things and do the right things. An individual with suicidal thoughts may have serious plans or it may be a fleeting thought but one cannot take the chance until a thorough discussion has occurred. There are certain signs and also certain things that need to be said during this conversation to ensure the safety of the person considering or speaking of suicide.
The article, “How To Help Someone At Risk Of Suicide” by Rhitu Chatterjee discusses how to help individuals facing suicidal thought. She states,
“The pandemic has taken a heavy emotional toll on many people, and if you know someone struggling with despair, depression or thoughts of suicide, you may be wondering how to help.”
To read the entire article, please click here
Suicide is a serious claim by anyone and to turn a blind eye to it is a serious error. Please also review AIHCP’s Crisis Intervention Counseling Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to those looking for a four year certification in Crisis Intervention.
Meditation is a call to mindfulness of the present. Many times, individuals are so focused on the past they cannot live in the present, or they are so paranoid about the future, they cannot enjoy the present. Meditation can help one focus on the present. Focus on the present is key because the present determines outcomes. We need to acknowledge the present before it too becomes the past and understand the present as a key to the future.
The article, “Struggling to be more present? Look to meditation” by Marci Sharif looks at how meditation can help individuals be more present in their thinking. She states,
“Have you ever noticed how strangely difficult it is to just be right here, right now? Not recalling the past. Not considering what’s next. Not analyzing, judging, storytelling or narrating, but simply being here, purely in the moment, in a soft and open way. It’s a completely different mode from what we’re used to — a far cry from living in our heads and reflexively reacting to the whims of our conditioned and compulsive thoughts.”
To read the entire article, please click here
Please also review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Meditation Instructor.
Children need to learn at a young age how to control emotions, especially anger. A child who does not learn to control anger can become a destructive adult with numerous issues with the law and society. Hence an important aspect of parenting is properly teaching a child how to control anger. Sometimes reprimands need to be more strict but there are also numerous other ways to teach a child coping mechanisms to control anger.
The article, “:Anger Management for Kids: 7 Healthy Ways to Deal with Explosive Feelings” by Emma Singer looks at how children can learn how to cope with their anger. She states,
“When you’re dealing with an angry kid, it can be hard for even the most even-keeled parents to keep their cool as things start to spiral out of control. And on some level, you kind of get where they’re coming from. Adults are able to maintain at least a modicum of composure when mad, thanks to years of practice at recognizing and coping with the familiar feeling.”
To read the entire article, please click here
Please also review AIHCP’s Anger Management Consulting Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four certification in Anger Management Consulting.
Celebrating the Holidays while grieving is a difficult paradox. It is a time of spiritual and social renewal when families come together to celebrate religious and family traditions, but it also can be a time of great pain for the grieving who have recently lost a loved one.
The contradiction of joy and grief in one time and space is confusing to the bereaved and can lead to a myriad of raw emotions. Emotions of regret, guilt, anger, and intense sadness. Memories of past holidays and the love and good times shared are very present and raw in the emotional heart. These memories resurface for even grievers years after, but are far more present and graphic for recent grievers.
This can lead grievers during the Holidays to avoid celebration or even withdraw from family life for the season. This is not necessarily a bad thing for a person who has lost a loved one recently. This is especially true if the lost is within the calendar year and this is the first Holiday season without the deceased.
It is important to allow the individual to express his or her grief in solace and silence if necessary. It is important to give the griever the space one needs to deal with the lost in one’s own way. It would be unwise to force traditions or gatherings upon this individual.
Likewise, if a griever chooses to be around family and friends and wishes to celebrate, it is wise to gently accommodate the needs of the person with sensitivity and kindness. Ultimately, the griever must choose the path that is best for the griever. Nothing should be forced, refused or restricted.
The biggest thing one can do for the griever during the Holidays is to check on them and be there to listen. Listening is the greatest gift and simply checking in. Whether that is through a call, or by leaving a cookie trey, or a simple card. These small gestures carry weight and can help the griever through these difficult times. Avoidance is the worst thing anyone can do for the griever. A balance and discretion are required to know how much to say or how much to do.
One cannot know the first Holiday season if the griever is naturally experiencing grief in its raw form or pathologically and this is why checking in and listening is so critical in helping the bereaved. In time, the secluded bereaved may become more present during the Holidays. They may seek other family and friends and wish to again immerse themselves in traditions, dinners and gift exchange. Or, they may seek to find new traditions, or even wish to commemorate the deceased.
These are healthy advances in any direction. They show a respect for the past, a continuation in the presence and hope for the future. Old traditions may end or they may not, or new traditions will emerge after the death of the deceased, but ultimately, individuals who lose a loved one learn how to incorporate the loss of a loved one into the current and future Holidays. No story is the same and not outcome is right or wrong. The way Holidays are celebrated after the loss of a loved one are never the same afterwards emotionally but that does not mean they do not continue into new ways.
Losing a loved one is traumatic any day of the year. Whether it is during the Holidays or before, there will be emotional grief reactions. These reactions will always exist no matter the year, but they become less intense each year. This is not to say the pain is erased and the love vanishes, it just means that people adjust and adapt to loss and learn how to cope with it, even during the Holidays.
If you would like to learn more about the process of grief, please review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Training Program. Qualified professionals can apply and become certified in Grief Counseling.
The terminally ill face the reality of death every day. They may initially deny and bargain but the reality eventually sets in. How the terminally ill are treated is key to their dignity and hope. Hope and dignity to their personhood is key. One does not set out to rid one of hope but one also hopes to care and treat the symptoms of the terminally ill and guide them through reality.
One of the keys of respecting the dignity and hope of the dying is to treat them as the living. Too many times, doctors and other healthcare physicians dismiss the terminal ill as a lost case. Death is not seen as part of life but a defeat. On the contrary, death is an important part of our lives and how we “live” death is as important as how we lived our entire life. In doing so, the dignity of the dying is respected at the highest level by keeping them part of their own dying process. They should not be ignored, left out of decisions, or treated as children. The topic of death should not be avoided as if taboo, but truthfulness and respect should be applied to the dying. They need to be part of the process as much as possible.
In also respecting their dignity, hope should be nourished. False claims should not be presented but an open reality to hope should always exist. To dismiss one’s dreams and hopes is to disrespect the fire and spark of the human spirit itself. One can work with the dying and apply appropriate alternative therapies and give openness to the dying’s hopes and dreams. This does not mean one exists in a state of denial. On the contrary, this means, one accepts the dire situation and the nature of the disease, but also expresses the hope that is inherent to human dignity.
In nourishing both the dignity of living the death process as well as hope, those in pastoral care and pastoral thanatology can better treat the emotional element of the dying. It is as equally important that hospice or health providers not only treat and alleviate suffering of the body, but also the mind. This is why pastoral thanatology is so important in hospice.
If we do not understand the needs of the dying from an emotional standpoint or treat the dying as living, then we miss the entire point of pastoral care for the dying. We also miss the point of the human condition and the importance of death in the entire process of life. Elisabeth Kubler Ross and David Kessler were both pioneers in their field in expressing the rights and needs of the dying. They both dedicated their life to helping others experience death. They also helped train and educate so many people about death.
If we do not understand death now, we will not be able to have a better death ourselves, nor be equipped to help one’s loved one’s experience death. So many regrets and un-needed pains exist because the dying experience was not properly conducted in terms to expression of emotion or inclusion of the dying in their own affairs. Death is seen as the final chapter and as a scary one at that. It is fine to be intimidated by it, but it is part of life and like all aspects of life, it is critical that we live death to its fullest. We need to respect it as much as we respect birth and respond to it properly.
If you would like to learn more about Pastoral Thanatology or would like to become certified in Pastoral Thanatology, then please review AIHCP’s Pastoral Thanatology program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.
Teenage years can be confusing. Bodily changes, emotional swings, and mental challenges all come upon the teen at once. With all of these changes, comes life changes and new adaptations to Highschool and early adulthood. These things can lead teens to be very moldable and sensitive to others and peer pressure. With these changes, teens can have low self esteem and poor body image if they are not encouraged and complimented. These poor images can later in life also re-emerge in depression in adult life.
The article, “Teens with negative body image may experience depression as adults, study finds” by Kristen Rogers looks at this connection. She states,
“Adolescence is fraught with stressful changes, and the developing body can be one of those challenges, especially if a teen’s body doesn’t meet society’s — or that teen’s — standards. Negative body image can threaten mental health, according to new research that found teenagers who were dissatisfied with their bodies tended to experience depression as adults.”
To read the entire article, please click here
Please also review AIHCP’s Child and Adolescent Grief Counseling Program. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified grief counselors who are seeking a sub specialty area in child grief.
Stress plays havoc on health, social life and work. Ultimately it is a killer. For these reasons, it is essential to respond to stress. Without a fight or flight response for many everyday situations, one needs a way to help the body escape the situation or cope with the situation in a healthy fashion. In doing, so there are four types of interventions that can take place in dealing with stress.
Interventions to stress or in many ways we look to fight it within a civil and acceptable way. Since we cannot like our ancestors flee or fight a situation, we do not want to internalize stress and damage our bodies. It is important to look at each stress and see what type of intervention is the best way to deal with it.
Life change interventions are one important way to fight stress. It may involve changing how we handle things via organization to a complete restructuring of a career. The changes may be minor, or may be major depending on the level of the stress. Some stressors are internal while others are external. Some we have more control over while others we cannot control. Our life changes all hinge upon that in how severe we can alter a life style. Some changes may alter the extremity of the stress, while others may limit the duration of the stress. Some life changes seek to avoid the stress or limit the stressor’s affect on one’s life. Ultimately, the life change depends on the person’s situation and the stress. Each person is different and what stresses some, may not stress others. Hence the life change is subjective in many cases.
Does one change a career completely, or make smaller changes within the paradigm of the work itself. Hence these changes are based on the person’s individual needs and their ability to deal with the stress.
Not all stresses require outward life changes, but can be managed other ways. One way include perception. How one perceives things ultimately shapes one’s world outlook on life. One can be a glass is half empty person or a glass is half full person. If one perceives a stressor as something that will destroy them, then it will cause a great amount of worry, but if one sees such stressors as challenges or ways to improve oneself, then this outlook totally changes the stress reaction within the person. One may lose a job and see new opportunities, while others may see the loss of income and fear of unemployment. Again, it ultimately lies within the person’s perception. The ability to alter one’s perception to stress is a key way to manage it and make situations better.
Another intervention against stress is emotional response. We can help our emotional responses to stress through a variety of interventions. One includes meditation. Meditation is correlated with many health benefits. Individuals who meditate regularly overall have better health and are able to refresh themselves against stress. Besides meditation, biofeedback is a helpful tool. Biofeedback looks at how our body responds to certain stimuli and understanding what our body does when affected by stress. Most of these functions are subconscious, such as our breathing and heartbeat. Individuals can identify stress and how the body responds and use techniques to control heartbeat and breathing to reduce the damage of stress. There are a multitude of other ways one can emotionally reduce the power of stress in one’s lives. Utilizing these methods can help one deal with a life situation that cannot be altered or changed.
Equal to emotional release, physical and physiological methods of reducing stress are critical to health. These interventions and responses tie deeply with the fight response. Physical response to stress in the gym can be very beneficial. One can lift weights, punch a bag or run to escape the reality of stress. The body responds well to exercise not just for health but also mental health. Endorphins are released that help the body overcome stress damage to the organs. Those in high stress fields, should consider a regular exercise regiment to cope with the daily stresses of life.
Stress interventions are key to good health. Stress kills and one must be able to alleviate the responses of the body through a variety of coping strategies. These strategies can help one cope with stress and increase good health.
Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program and see if it meets your standards. Qualified professionals can earn a four year certification through AIHCP’s independent study and online program in Stress Management.
Virtual schooling during the pandemic has been difficult for many families. The adjustments of learning online and parents taking a more active role in the education of their children is a big shift, especially for working families. Add the stress of computer glitches and other parental duties supervising their children’s progress plus the need of day care possibly, then one can see the numerous issues that can arise. If one adds any learning disabilities, such as ADHD, then the situation is even worst.
The article, “Children with ADHD Adjust to Different Schooling” by Ryan Schmelz looks at some of the challenges. He states,
“The organization Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or CHADD, and educational therapist Shari Gent, M.S., NCED released several takeaways from asking ADHD students about remote learning, including the need for time to socialize and take breaks from sitting, a regular schedule with teacher interactions, having a parent or adult present for younger students, recording sessions, and minimizing the number of platforms students and families need to learn. ”
To read the entire article, please click here
Homeschooling families have been teaching through online programs and home for years. It may be worth taking a few tips from these families.
Please also review AIHCP’s ADHD Consulting Certification. Qualified professionals can earn a four year certification by passing the online and independent study courses.
Depression and anxiety during and after pregnancy is not uncommon for women. Many women suffer from this due to the many physical, emotional and mental changes that occur, especially the chemical changes within the body. It is not something to be ashamed of or not spoken but addressed.
The article, “Addressing Taboo Topics: Anxiety and Depression During Pregnancy” by Elle Kehres looks at this issue that some women face during pregnancy. She states,
“Depression that occurs during pregnancy, or within a year after delivery, is called Perinatal Depression. While many women have a variety of mood symptoms in the aftermath of delivery, Kimmel said 80 percent of women feel Postpartum Blues or “Baby Blues” for a short time. However, these symptoms usually subside one to three weeks after delivery and should not be mistaken for Postpartum Depression.”
To read the entire article, please click here
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification. Qualified professionals can apply and earn a four year certification. The program is online and independent study.