Exercise: A Natural, Powerful Way to Battle Anxiety in Teens

Posted on by Joseph Gerard

Written by Lucy Peters

Almost one in three teens aged 13 to 18 will experience an anxiety disorder at some point, as reported by the National Institutes of Health. The rise in anxiety is caused by a bevy of factors, including pressure to succeed academically and at sports, fears of threatening events such as shootings, and the link between their self-esteem and social media. Anxiety, when severe, can be debilitating, potentially stopping children and youths from attending school or leading a healthy social life. It is vital for children to learn how to stop an anxiety attack in its tracks, above all because this ability will place them in good stead for the rest of their lives. One method proven to be highly successful is that of physical activity – something that many children aren’t getting enough of (thus the growing obesity rates).

Exercise and Teen Anxiety

A study by researchers at the University of Vermont on highschool students found that regular exercise significantly reduces suicidal attempts by 23% in bullied teens. Research undertaken at the University of Toronto also found that participation in cardiovascular exercise and sports (including basketball, soccer, and gymnastics) enjoyed better mental health and lower levels of stress. As stated by Professor J. Raglin of the Kinesiology Department of Indiana University-Bloomington, working out regularly can improve clinical anxiety and depression “to such a degree that it rivals medication.”

Taking it Home

Older teens in particular can find it hard to find the time to play sport or head for the gym, particularly when they are preparing for final exams. Exercise in the great outdoors wields unique benefits, since nature itself is a powerful stress-buster. However, kids or parents with limited time can bring the gym home. Children can get their hearts racing by working out to recorded cardio sessions or by working up a sweat on a spin bike or treadmill. These machines have features that allow users to alter aspects like speed and inclination. Kids who are active and energetic can opt for either machine. However, if they have issues like backache or they simply prefer cycling, a stationary bike might be their best option. They are an ideal component of a home gym, which can also comprise a few free weights, space for dancing or doing aerobics, and a corner for a good sound system.

Welcoming Holistic Exercise

In addition to performing traditional forms of exercise, kids might like to try yoga or Tai Chi. Both practices have been found in various studies to lower levels of stress hormones like cortisol (which when present at high levels, can trigger anxiety and panic attacks). In one study published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, researchers found that yoga classes have powerful psychological effects for high school students, improving mood and anxiety. As a deeply mindful activity, yoga can also help children improve self-regulatory skills like resilience and control over how they express anger.

When it comes to tackling anxiety in teens, exercise is a beneficial tool to include in one’s strategy. From playing sports to exercising at home, there are many ways to naturally lower stress levels while also working on improving body mass levels, strength, and flexibility. In addition to cardiovascular workouts, kids should also complete resistance exercises and consider including mindful activities into the equation – to further boost the stress-relieving effects of physical activity.

 

 

 

Please also review AIHCP’s Health Care Life Coach Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.  The program in online and independent study and open to qualified professionals.

Grief Counseling Certification Article on Stuck Points in Grief

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Some individuals while coping through grief deal with difficulties in overcoming the grief due to various thoughts that surround the death or incident.   Trying to escape these thoughts can become exhausting emotionally.  Whats Your Grief refers to these as stuck points, when someone is unable to move past a certain aspect of the loss.

Usually these points challenge pre-conceived notions or values.  The loss makes the griever doubt these notions and prevents them from moving forward but keeps them constantly stuck, re-tracking and falling prey to those thoughts.  This is very detrimental to the grieving process and coping

PTSD and other problems can make individuals stuck in grief due to thoughts that prevent coping and advancement in the grief process

 

The article, “What are Stuck Points in Grief?” from Whats Your Grief states,

“Stuck points refer to thoughts that repeatedly bubble up in a person’s inner (and outer) dialogue that make it difficult for a person to process, cope with, or reconcile their experiences. To me, stuck points are like mean old trolls living under a bridge. Whenever a person tries to gain some momentum in working through their experiences, the troll comes up and says “Nope, you can’t pass. Now go back and think about what’s happened.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Another type of stuck point is a religious view some may contend with.  Many pray to God for cures or good things to occur.  The problem is sometimes that cure does not occur.  Bad things do happen to good people.

This can create a complex within someone that creates a religious paradigm within the individual.  While coping with grief and loss, they may constantly turn back to “Why did God do this to me?” or “Were not my prayers good enough?”

In addition to this, others may begin to see their loss in a form of religious struggle.  If God is good how can he allow this evil?  Or if God is good, then he must not be All Powerful to allow this evil?

These spiritual dilemmas are a result of primitive understanding of faith.  First, prayer is not contract.  When prayer is seen as contract, it fails to meet the relationship that exists.  A covenant of mutual care not necessarily answers that we demand if we do this or that.

Second, God is All Powerful and All Good, but he has given free will to others.  This permits evil.  One can also not see the over all view of existence within our temporal realm.

Loss can challenge preconceived notions of life and the universe, as well as previously held religious and spiritual beliefs. This can cause intense anxiety during the grief process

 

The article also does a good job at looking at other world views that are not religious.  The ideal of the world being a safe place when violence occurs to a loved one can have long lingering effects.

Grief is difficult enough to deal with.  Coping with a loss can be difficult but when certain ideas regarding that loss start to affect one’s coping and emotions, then they need to be analyzed and understood.  As the article states, one should document in a diary how common these thoughts are and relate them to reason as opposed to emotion.  If necessary, talk about these thoughts and try to get passed them.

If you would like to learn more about Grief Counseling, then please review our Grief Counseling Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.

The program is a home study program. It is online and self paced.  As an independent study program you go at your own pace.  After completing the required four courses, you can proceed to apply for certification.  Certification is four years and can be renewed as needed.

 

Christian Spiritual Counseling Article on Spirituality in Children

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Spirituality is very lacking in the modern world.  Excess narcissistic behaviors and materialism are abound.  Spirituality is key in leveling one’s child and balancing him or her to the true reality.  A healthy balance is important.  The child needs to understand what is most important.

Do we meet also our child’s spiritual needs in life? Please review our Spiritual as well as Christian Spiritual Counseling Programs and see if they meet your needs

The article, “7 Ways Parents Can Help Foster Healthy Spirituality with Their Child” by Lindsay Elizabeth discusses how to instill spirituality in our children.  She states,

“Parents spend time, money, and effort to make sure that their children are brought up to the best of their abilities, but, as a society, are we lacking the influence of spirituality in their young lives?”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review both our Spiritual as well as Christian Spiritual Counseling Programs and see if they match your academic, spiritual and professional needs.  In the meantime, realize that part of parenting is instilling good morals and spiritual values in our children.  Neglect of a child spiritually is as negligent as any other temporal need.

Pet Loss Grief Counseling Training Article on a Grieving Dog

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

When our dogs are sad, we are sad.  Dogs are family and when a dog is not feeling well or is grieving the loss of another person or pet, then we naturally want to comfort our dog.  Dogs display emotion and sadness in different ways and we need to identify that grief and also be able to spark joy into their lives again.

What should you do when your dog is grieving? Please also review our Pet Loss Grief Counseling training and see if it meets your needs

 

The article, “How to help a dog who is grieving the loss of a loved one” by Lisa Walden states,

“Dogs experiencing a loss can show signs of confusion, fear or depression. If it’s the loss of their owner, you may notice dogs trying to figure out where that person has gone. If it’s another pet who has passed away, your dog may spend more time in their bed or favorite places, often with the hope that their friend may return.”

To read the entire article, please click here

ADHD Consulting Program Article on Untreated ADHD

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Interesting article below that looks at ADHD and how it can also appear as depression.  This type of manifestation is different and can lead to false diagnosis of an individual.

Untreated ADHD can cause hardache and various mental issues. Please review our ADHD Consulting Program

Please also review our ADHD Consulting Program and see if the training offered meets your academic and professional goals in helping those with ADHD.

 

Grief Counseling Certification Article on Taming the Grief Monster

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Grief can become a difficult thing in life.  It can scar one forever but it can also take control of life if one is unable to properly cope with its elements.  Learning to embrace grief and what comes with it is the best strategy instead of trying to avoid it and not express.  Repression creates a bigger grief monster.

Coping with grief and finally finding joy in what was once is a difficult step in recovery. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification

 

The article, “Taming the Grief Monster” by Linda Zelik looks at when the joy of possessing what was lost eventually overtakes the pain of losing it.  In particular the tragic loss of a child.  She states,

“Traversing this path of profound grief may be the most difficult thing you ever face in life. Unfortunately, there are no magic wands or quick fixes. How could there be? A parent’s love for their child is total and unconditional, unlike any other kind of love. Even if we didn’t always like their actions or choices, our children held our love and it never wavered.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals

 

Mindfulness As A Panic Attack Treatment For The Modern Age

Posted on by Joseph Gerard

Written by Lucy Peters

Roughly four million American adults experience panic attacks, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. While therapy, medication, a good diet and plenty of exercise are commonly prescribed for panic disorders, meditation is often overlooked. But it shouldn’t be. Filtering one’s thoughts can prevent, or stop, panic attacks just as effectively as any other technique. Although there are a few ways to meditate the panic away, mindfulness is especially effective for panic disorders that are enabled by contemporary culture.

Mindfulness Meditation

This type of meditation emphasizes the non-judgmental awareness of one’s thoughts as they arise. It also directs your awareness to the present rather than the future. Since panic attacks are generally caused by an overwhelming fear of a hypothetical future, mindfulness can be incredibly beneficial in such situations. When the feeling of panic strikes, people who have learned mindfulness techniques can investigate the panic, decide that it’s not worth being stressed about, take deep breaths to relieve the physical discomfort that accompanies a panic attack, and focus on their breathing to release negative thoughts and ground themselves in the moment. Mindfulness masters like Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn can literally visualize the negative thoughts coming and going away, thus freeing themselves of suffering. Once this practice has been repeated and mastered, they will have control over the panic disorder, rather than the panic disorder controlling them.

The Cultural Cause

While there are countless causes for panic disorders, many experts agree that social media can exacerbate the anxiety symptoms that lead to panic attacks. This means that the cultural component of panic may be larger than in previous generations. People who use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat may be susceptible to feelings of inadequacy, dissatisfaction and paranoia: inadequacy because they compare their lives to those of the more affluent social media users; dissatisfaction because social media highlights events that they wish they could have been a part of; and paranoia because social media is a sensationalized version of the news. Since children devote a larger portion of their lives to social media than adults (2 hours 55 minutes a day for Gen Z versus 2 hours for Gen X, according to Global Web Index), they are more at risk of these social-media inspired cognitive distortions. To curb these feelings before they conspire for an all-out attack, both children and adult social media users should engage in mindfulness. In fact, meditation sessions can be a family affair. Parents can introduce mindfulness techniques to their children: members of a generation that is, according to the APA Stress in America survey, 12 percent more likely to report poor mental health than the generation that came before.

Living A Panic-Free Life

Once meditation has been incorporated into an individual’s self-care routine, there is no limit to what he or she can accomplish. Think of mindfulness as a superpower that is activated whenever its host is feeling mentally unwell. Meditation doesn’t only work on panic attacks, but on anxiety, depression, addiction and everyday stress and sadness. This person is then able to thwart negative thoughts of any kind with rationalization, deep breathing, and moment-by-moment awareness.

Although panic disorders are most often associated with adults, they can be experience by anyone, especially if they are entrenched in social media. While social media is not the sole cause of generational anxiety, it’s definitely an enabler. Luckily, mindfulness exists as a counterbalance.

 

Also please review our Meditation Instructor Certification and see if it matches your educational and professional goals.

 

Pet Loss Grief Counseling Article and Losing a Dog

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Losing a pet is not a minor thing in life.  A cat, dog, or horse is a long term companion.  To some, the pet is even family.  Learning to live without the pet is something harder to do than other people may imagine.

Losing a dog is like losing a family member to many. Please also review our Pet Loss Grief Counseling Program

Please also review our Pet Loss Grief Counseling Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals

ADHD Consulting Certification Article on ADHD Medications and Your Child

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Good article for parents regarding ADHD medications.  Parents and doctors work with trial and error to see what type of medication, dose and times to give the child the needed amounts.  This can take time but ultimately can lead to a better result for the child.

Finding the right medication and dose is key to helping your child with ADHD treatment

 

The article, “How to Troubleshoot Your ADHD Medications”  by Thomas Brown, Ph.D, takes a closer look at this process of finding medication is best for the child.  He states,

“ADHD medication helps the vast majority of patients, but no one can predict which type, formulation, dosage, or timing for taking the medicine will best control symptoms for any individual. Trial and error is the key to finding out. Here’s the best way to approach it.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our ADHD Consulting Certification and see if it meets your professional and academic needs and goals.

Grief Counseling Program Article on Grief and Holidays

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Grief is difficult but it becomes more difficult with the holidays.  Holidays can remind us of times spent and re-open wounds of loss.  This is why Christmas or Thanksgiving can be so difficult to navigate for those dealing with a loss, especially a recent loss.

Grief can be more difficult during the holidays because it reminds us of the past
Please also review our Grief Counseling Program and see if it meets your academic needs

The article, “Navigating the Holidays with Grief” by Laura Wade looks at the particulars of dealing with grief during the holidays and how to better cope and deal with loss.  She states,

Holidays are typically considered happy times celebrating with family and friends. However, when someone has experienced a loss, the holidays can magnify the feelings associated with grief such as sadness, anger, guilt or regret.

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Grief Counseling Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.