Category Archives: General

Inside The Digital Lives of Teens

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Three facts parents should know about social media natives.

By: Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD

Inside The Digital Lives of TeensMost American teenagers have used some form of social media. And 75% maintain an online social profile, mostly through Facebook. A recent research study, Social Media, Social Life: How Teens View Their Digital Lives, provides fascinating insight into the digital habits of today’s 13-17 year-olds and how social media makes them feel about themselves.

When asked how social media affected their emotional well-being, teens overwhelmingly reported positive outcomes. They were far more likely to say they felt more confident, less depressed, more outgoing, more popular, less shy, and more sympathetic to others because of their online interactions. However, for about 5% of young people, the results were more negative.

The majority of teens (52%) say that social media has improved their relationships with friends while only 4% say that friendships have been harmed. Similarly, many more report that social media has helped relationships with family members (37%) rather than hurt them (2%).

From the 40-page study, three findings stood out that will be particularly pertinent to parents of social media natives..

1. Face-to-Face Communication Ranks High

Contrary to fears that digital communications will turn young people into robotic creatures unable to relate intelligently in the real world, most teenagers prefer face-to-face interactions. This finding supports my own research study on civically-engaged youth. While the teens in my study were highly active in the online world, they admitted their greatest learning and enjoyment came from face-to-face relationships.

The reason we observe so many young people texting is because 68% of them do so on a daily basis! Next to face-to-face interactions, texting is king. Why? Teens say It’s quick, easy, and gives them the opportunity to think before responding.

Because they value face-to-face relationships, many agreed that social media takes time away from being with people in-person, which they often perceive as a dilemma.

2. Teens Sometimes Want to Unplug

Like adults, teens often feel the need to unplug from their digital lives. One young person said, “Sometimes it’s nice to just sit back and relax with no way possible to communicate with anyone.”

When asked if they felt “addicted” to their cell phones, 41% answered “Yes.” And they also pointed out that parents were addicted to gadgets too. In fact, many wished parents would spend less time on their devices and felt frustrated when people surfed the internet, checked email, or texted while they are hanging out together.

3. Social Networking Begins Early

Facebook is by far the most favorite social networking experience for teens. Three-quarters of 13 to 14-year-olds frequent social networking sites, and that goes up to 87% by the time they reach 15 to 17 years of age.

While most teens say they understand Facebook privacy policies, many do not. Before your teen posts a profile, this is one of the most important things to help them review and understand. Young people must recognize that their digital profiles will follow them for the rest of their lives.

Among teens with an online social profile, there are three reasons why they enjoy and benefit from social networking. 1) It helps them keep in closer touch with friends, particularly the ones they don’t see regularly, 2) They become more deeply acquainted with students at their own schools, and 3) They are able to connect with people with whom they share common interests.

Should Parents Worry?

Many parents worry that Facebook and other social networking sites will bring emotional harm to their children, either from predators, cyber-bullying, or inconsiderate friends. But the majority of teens don’t believe these sites affect them emotionally, one way or the other.

For young people who do report a change in psychological health, only a small percentage reported a negative change. In fact, emotional well-being was not discernibly different if a teen was a heavy or light social networker.

One troublesome result of this study is how often teens encounter online hate speech. This includes language that is sexist, homophobic, racist, or derogatory in other ways. Forty percent of teens report this to be a common element of online dialogue. It’s a good idea for parents to prepare teens for this and teach them how to respond. Check out the article, Teaching Civility in an F-Word Society, for some guidance.

This study, while limited in scope, can give parents some peace of mind. While cyber-bullying is real and some young people are genuinely harmed by their online relationships, these situations are the exception, not the rule. We should set rules and give children guidelines for online behavior just as we do for behavior in the real world.

The bottom line: Take a deep breath and be grateful for the fact that most teens using social media and digital devices report an overall sense of happiness and confidence. And despite the fact that their lives are intertwined with technology for evermore, they mostly appreciate the face-to-face time they spend with their friends and family. Let’s hope that never changes!

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-moment-youth/201207/inside-the-digital-lives-teens

Does Your Teen Have a Severe Anger Disorder?

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Does your teen have a severe anger disorder?Teenagers are often characterized as over-emotional, prone to outbursts that confuse their parents and leave teachers reeling.

But a study published in the July issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry says 1 in 12 adolescents may in fact be suffering from a real and severe anger problem known as intermittent explosive disorder (IED).

Study author Katie McLaughlin, a clinical psychologist and psychiatric epidemiologist, says IED is one of the most widespread mental health disorders – and one of the least studied.

“There’s a contrast between how common the disorder is and how much we know about it,” she said.

IED is characterized by recurrent episodes of aggression that involve violence, a threat of violence and/or destruction of property, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It often begins around the age of 12, but scientists don’t know whether it continues into adulthood. (A similar study which focused on adults found 7.2% met the criteria for IED).

“Intermittent explosive disorder is as real or unreal as many psychiatric disorders,” wrote CNN’s mental health expert Dr. Charles Raison in an e-mail. “There are people who get really pissed off really quick and then regret it, just as there are people who get unreasonably sad and depressed. In both cases, but especially with [IED], it’s really just a description of how people behave.”

In this large study, researchers authors interviewed 6,483 adolescents and surveyed their parents. They excluded anyone who had another mental health disorder, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) or conduct disorder (CD).

Of the teenage participants, 7.8% reported at least three IED anger attacks during their life. More than 5% had at least three attacks in the same year.

McLaughlin said one of the most interesting things her team found was that very few of the adolescents who met the criteria for IED had received treatment for anger or aggressive behavior. More research needs to be done to determine if treatments that have been developed for ODD or CD anger issues would apply to IED as well.

Additional research should also look into the risk factors for IED, she said. “We know not that much about course of the disorder… Which kids grow out of it and which kids don’t?”

Source: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/02/does-your-teen-have-a-severe-anger-disorder/

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New Name and Focus Concerning Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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By Kim Smith

New name and focus concerning post-traumatic stress disorderIt has gone by many names: battle fatigue, shell shock, soldier’s heart. Most recently it has been called post-traumatic stress disorder.

But as the number of identified cases of post-traumatic stress has skyrocketed among soldiers, returned veterans and first-responders — police officers, firefighters, paramedics, etc. — it may soon undergo another name change.

In its revised handbook, “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” the American Psychiatric Association may reclassify post-traumatic stress as an “injury,” rather than a “disorder.”

The hope is that the name change will remove a perceived stigma that may be keeping PTS suffers away from the help they need.

Post-traumatic stress refers to the intense and potentially crippling symptoms that some people experience after a traumatic event, such as combat or horrific crimes. The symptoms can include flashbacks, isolation, hyperarousal and rage.

The idea of a name change was initially promoted by the Army, particularly Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who until his retirement in February led the military’s effort to reduce a record-high suicide rate among the troops.

“No 19-year-old kid wants to be told he’s got a disorder,” Chiarelli told APA members and news reporters. An “injury” may be perceived as more treatable and combat-related. The hope is that active-duty soldiers experiencing PTS will reach out for help and their superiors will be more supportive.

The military has good reason for concern about what PTS is called and efforts to provide help to sufferers. According to recent reports, 1 in 6 soldiers is reporting anxiety, depression or symptoms of PTS. With the total number of soldiers having served in Iraq or Afghanistan now numbering about 1 million, an estimated 100,000 soldiers are expected to require long-term mental health care.

And as these numbers continue to grow, concern is being expressed not just about what to call PTS, but how to treat it.

This spring, the Army surgeon general’s office issued a warning to regional medical commanders about the long-standing use of prescription psychotropic drugs to treat PTS. An April policy memo warned that some of the drugs — or “cocktails” of drugs — could intensify, rather than reduce combat stress symptoms and lead to addiction.

A July 2010 Army report noted that one-third of all active-duty military suicides involved prescription drugs. Combined with alcohol abuse, the long-standing protocol for treating PTS could be lethal.

This is not to say that commonly used psychotropic drugs, in conjunction with counseling and therapy, should be abandoned.

But what is needed — and what is now being recognized by military officials — is the combination of a variety of treatments. Some of treatments that were once dismissed as “unproven alternatives” are now being embraced.

For example, I use neurofeedback to treat veterans at Neurofeedback Train Your Brain in Bakersfield. Neurofeedback is training in brain function based on information derived from an electroencephalogram (EEG). The process can bring fairly rapid improvements in sleep problems, pain, anger management and substance dependency. The Veterans Administration is spending about $5 million on a dozen clinical trials and demonstration studies of three meditation techniques to help veterans manage stress and depression. Other “alternative” treatments include acupuncture, yoga and therapy dogs.

A unique, local pilot project that is being conducted under the auspices of Kern County Rotary is an example of what can be accomplished when a need is recognized and addressed.

The Rotary Clubs’ Kern Post Traumatic Stress Assistance project (www.kernptsa.org) provides education, resources, treatment options, community outreach, fundraising and support to veterans and first responders and their families in Kern County. The project is the first step in a global movement of Rotary International to provide resources and support to individuals and families suffering from PTS. On the project’s website are listings for support groups, government agencies and treatment providers, such as Neurofeedback Train Your Brain.

The good news is that PTS finally is receiving the level of attention that the disorder (or injury) and its sufferers deserve. It is bringing together government agencies, community groups and mental health care providers in a campaign to honor soldiers, veterans and first responders by giving them the help they deserve.

Kimberly Smith of Bakersfield is the neurofeedback clinician at Neurofeedback Train Your Brain (www.kerntyb.com).

Source: http://www.bakersfield.com/archive/x791381896/New-name-and-focus-concerning-post-traumatic-stress-disorder


Mapping Your End-of-Life Choices

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By JANE E. BRODY

Mapping Your End-of-Life ChoicesRobert H. Laws, a retired judge in San Francisco, and his wife, Beatrice, knew it was important to have health care directives in place to help their doctors and their two sons make wise medical decisions should they ever be unable to speak for themselves. With forms from their lawyer, they completed living wills and assigned each other as health care agents.

They dutifully checked off various boxes about not wanting artificial ventilation, tube feeding and the like. But what they did not know was how limiting and confusing those directions could be.

For example, Judge Laws said in an interview, he’d want to be ventilated temporarily if he had pneumonia and the procedure kept him alive until antibiotics kicked in and he could breathe well enough on his own.

What he would not want is to be on a ventilator indefinitely, or to have his heart restarted if he had a terminal illness or would end up mentally impaired.

Nuances like these, unfortunately, escape the attention of a vast majority of people who have completed advance directives, and may also discourage others from creating directives in the first place.

Enter two doctors and a nurse who are acutely aware of the limitations of most such directives. In 2008, they created a service to help people through the process, no matter what their end-of-life choices may be.

The San Francisco-based service, called Good Medicine Consult & Advocacy, is the brainchild of Dr. Jennifer Brokaw, 46, who was an emergency room physician for 14 years and saw firsthand that the needs and wishes of most patients were not being met by the doctors who cared for them in crisis situations.

“The communication gap was huge,” she said in an interview. “The emergency room doctor has to advocate for patients. I felt I could do that and head things off at the pass by communicating both with patients and physicians.”

Sara C. Stephens, a nurse, and Dr. Lael Conway Duncan, an internist, joined her in the project. Ms. Stephens flew to La Crosse, Wis., to be trained in health care advocacy at Gundersen Lutheran Health System. Through its trainees, tens of thousands of nurses, social workers and chaplains have been taught how to help patients plan for future care decisions.

“People often need help in thinking about these issues and creating a good plan, but most doctors don’t have the time to provide this service,” said Bernard Hammes, who runs the training program at Gundersen Lutheran. “Conversation is very important for an advance care plan to be successful. But it isn’t just a conversation; it’s at least three conversations.”’

Read more: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/mapping-your-end-of-life-choices/

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Heart Attacks Can Trigger PTSD

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By Angela Haupt

PTSD a Risk Among Heart Attack Patients

Heart Attacks Can Trigger Post-Traumatic StressHeart attacks can trigger post-traumatic stress disorder, new research suggests. As many as 1 in 8 people who survive a heart attack develop symptoms of PTSD, such as frequent nightmares or flashbacks; intrusive thoughts; and elevated blood pressure or heart rate. These symptoms also appear to increase the risk of having a second heart attack, according to findings published in the journal PLoS One. PTSD, an anxiety disorder that develops after a traumatic event involving the threat of injury or death, often affects soldiers returning home from war. A heart attack is a terrifying experience in its own right, the study authors say. “About 1.4 million people [in the United States] have heart attacks every year; that’s as many people as are in our entire active military,” study author Donald Edmondson, an assistant professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, told Time. “That feeling that your life is in danger — the loss of control when your body turns on you — is something that these people have a hard time forgetting.”

Source: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/06/21/health-buzz-heart-attacks-can-trigger-ptsd

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More courses on PTSD: http://www.pdresources.org/Courses/Other/Online/CourseID/1/ptsd

Why You Should Practice Being Optimistic

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Why You Should Practice Being OptimisticPracticing positive character traits like optimism, curiosity and humor could boost your well-being, a new study suggests.

A study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies shows that when you purposely train a positive character trait, it is linked with a higher reportage of well-being, evidenced by being in a good mood or being cheerful more often.

The study included 178 adults, who were split up into three groups. The first group was told to practice character traits of curiosity, optimism, gratitude, humor and enthusiasm, while the second group was told to practice creativity, kindness, foresight, appreciating beauty and love of learning. The third group wasn’t told to practice any character traits.

The study participants practiced their assigned traits by doing things like writing thank-you cards to people to practice gratitude, or by recognizing a beautiful object or situation in order to train appreciation for beauty.

Life satisfaction was highest among the first group, though both the first and second groups did experience an increase in well-being, researchers found.

Recently, an AARP study of more than 4,000 adults showed that health, relationships, pleasures and accomplishment are some of the biggest factors in happiness.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/18/practice-character-traits-optimism-humor-positive_n_1606707.html

Big Jump in Vaccine Delays

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By Linda Carroll

Big jump seen in Oregon parents delaying vaccinesAn increasing number of parents may be choosing to delay or limit certain vaccinations for their young children, a new study shows, even as cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, continue to rise nationwide, with recent outbreaks in California and Washington.

The study, which examined medical records for 97,711 Portland children, found an almost four-fold increase between 2006 and 2009 in the percentage of parents who delayed or skipped vaccinations, researchers reported in the journal Pediatrics. Experts say that by delaying certain vaccinations, parents may be putting their children — and those of others — at a far greater risk of contracting deadly diseases, such as pneumonia and pertussis.

The new study examined the vaccination histories of children born in the Portland area between 2003 and 2009. Between 2006 and 2009, the number of parents who rejected government recommendations and made up their own vaccine schedules rose from 2.5 percent to 9.5 percent.

While the researchers could not say how typical the Portland results are compared to other areas around the country — Portland schools reportedly have some of the highest vaccine exemption rates in the U.S. — a 2011 study published in Pediatrics found that 13 percent of parents nationwide were using alternative schedules. Another study published in Public Health Report in 2010 found that almost 22 percent of parents were deviating in some way from the CDC’s recommendations for infant vaccinations — either by delaying shots, leaving out certain vaccines, or skipping vaccinations altogether.

The vaccine delays may not completely explain recent whooping cough outbreaks in states such as California and Washington, but “they certainly don’t help,” said Dr. Jaime Deville, a UCLA professor of infectious diseases in the pediatrics department.

The main reason parents give for delaying shots is fear their children will be harmed by receiving multiple vaccines at the same time, according to the study’s lead author, Steve Robison, an epidemiologist at the Oregon Health Authority. The vaccines most likely to be delayed by 9 months were for hepatitis B and pneumococcal disease (pneumonia).

For example, at both the two- and six-month visits the CDC recommends kids get a total of six vaccines. Even with some of them combined that adds up to a lot of shots. By age 4, children receive up to 28 vaccinations, based on the CDC immunization schedule.

Some parents believe they’ll get the same benefit if they spread the vaccinations out over more doctors’ visits rather than getting them all at once.

“There are rumors out there that your body can’t handle that many vaccines, that your body won’t be able to respond appropriately if you get several all at one time,” Robison said.

Experts say vaccines pose no harm to babies; even though multiple shots can be painful for a few moments, they say the consequences of delaying vaccinations can be much worse.

There are reasons for concern over the delayed vaccines. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention there were 2,325 cases of pertussis in Washington state through June 9, 2012, compared to 171 during the same time period in 2011. A 2010 outbreak in California led to 9,143 cases — including 10 infant deaths — the most cases in that state since 1947.

“We’d like parents to know that the recommended number of doses of a vaccine is what is needed to build adequate protection levels both for their child and for the community,” Robison said. “One dose of a vaccine, such as for pertussis, doesn’t build enough protection.”

By 9 months, infants on an alternative vaccine schedule had fewer injections than those with parents following the government recommended schedule — an average of 6.4 versus 10.4 shots — and more doctors’ visits for vaccinations.

What’s more, few had caught up with the recommended number of vaccinations by the end of the study.

One big problem with the modified schedule is that parents are bringing children who haven’t been appropriately vaccinated into the doctor’s office more often — thus putting other kids at greater risk, said pediatrician Dr. Andrew Nowalk, an assistant professor at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Deville is especially concerned about parents who are choosing to delay the pneumococcal vaccine until age 2. Infants are most vulnerable to pneumonia during the first year of life. “Parents who delay the vaccine until age 2 are leaving their children vulnerable during the period where it occurs at its highest frequency,” Deville said.

An added advantage of the pneumococcal vaccine is that it lowers the amount of bacteria living in kids’ noses and throats, Nowalk said. “So the children who aren’t getting vaccinated are more likely to be carrying the bacteria without being infected and spreading it to others,” he added. “When you don’t vaccinate your child you’re not only putting your child at risk but also those of others.”

Further, Nowalk said, there are lots of kids out there with immune deficiencies — those with leukemia, or depressed immune systems because of organ transplants, for example — who can’t get vaccines. So they have to rely on everyone else getting vaccinated.

“When enough of the population is immunized, transmission is essentially stopped,” Deville explained. “The bottom line is that immunizations are extremely safe. They have the most value of any of our interventions when it comes to prolonging life and preventing diseases – not only for our own children but also for the community.”

Source: http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/18/12243047-big-jump-seen-in-oregon-parents-delaying-vaccines?lite

 

4 Ways To Help a Man Fight Depression

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This guest article from YourTango was written by Julia Flood.

4 Ways To Help a Man Fight DepressionYou’ve noticed that your partner seems sad, irritable, or overly critical. Maybe he has expressed hopelessness or guilt. You have noticed a loss of interest in his usual activities, concentration trouble, or changes in his sleep pattern. All these could be signs that your man is struggling with some form of depression.

Depression isn’t only hard for him; mood disturbances also have a big impact on your relationship. But how do you bring up the subject? Many men have difficulty talking about their feelings in the first place. The prospect of having a mental health disorder is difficult to hear for anyone. Even gentle suggestions that the problem may lie within himself will likely not be appreciated.

As the saying goes, “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” So what can you do to help?

Let me start by explaining what not to do.

1. Don’t say “Look on the bright side.”

People with depression may have a long list of what is wrong with the world. You as a non-depressed person may not agree and will want to convince your partner otherwise. The goal however isn’t to fix a problem on the content level or even to change his negative feelings, but to help both of you feel less isolated. So don’t talk him out of it — this doesn’t work!

Instead, aim to be fully present and willing to listen to his strong feelings. Don’t take it personally. What he says is not so much about you, but a window into his experience. Connecting during the dark times will help heal your relationship.

2. Don’t ask “Why?” and “How come?”

While it is good to show interest in his feelings and adapt a curious, non-defensive attitude, these questions are too analytical. What you’re going for is not a rational explanation, but helping him vent the feelings that will otherwise fester.

Better questions are: “Tell me why this is important to you.” “What is the most difficult part for you?” “That really bothers you, doesn’t it?” “You sound worried, what are you afraid of in this situation?” Or simply, “Tell me more!”

3. Don’t blame each other.

Even though your partner may be nagging at you, many people suffering from mood issues secretly blame themselves. He may also worry about overwhelming you with his burden or fears you may leave him if you find out how dark his thoughts are. It might help to externalize the problem. Depression can be a “third party” in the relationship and must be acknowledged as such. If the problem is neither him or you, but “it,” you can be allies in battling this together, just like you would with any other illness.

4. Don’t hesitate to encourage professional therapy.

The timing and tone is important here. “Man, you really need therapy,” is blaming or dismissive, but if you have done the work of being present and demonstrating your willingness to listen to your partner’s feelings, education on the illness can have a tremendously normalizing effect.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 16% of US Americans will get Major Depressive Disorder at some point in their lives, and there are many other types of “low-grade depression” as well. Depression is very treatable with psychotherapy and/or medication, so getting a thorough medical assessment is very important.

One last piece of advice: Don’t lose sight of your own needs in the process. Sooner or later you will need attention or assistance from your partner as well, so don’t postpone your desires and requests for him indefinitely. Make sure to take good care of your own body and mind, and surround yourself with people who can be supportive to you both.

Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/06/12/4-ways-to-help-a-man-fight-depression/

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