January is mental wellness month, and also a time when many of us consider resetting our goals for the year, sometimes in the form of New Year’s resolutions. While this can be an exciting process, others may be feeling pressured to overhaul their life — whether that’s chasing a fad diet, overexercising in pursuit of a “glow-up,” or cutting out things like coffee, sugar, or social media. The impulse to
You hear all about mindfulness these days. In case you missed the basics, staying mindful means slowing down and paying close attention to this present moment, without judgment. Deep breathing, meditation, walking, and yoga are all mindfulness practices that promote positive wellbeing and mental health. While especially beneficial to those struggling with mental health and addiction issues, the benefits of mindfulness apply to all. The coronavirus pandemic means teens need
Teen Rumination Can Lead to and Exacerbate Depression Depression is a mental health disorder the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V (5th Edition) defines as a mood disorder, which is a class of disorder used to describe all the various subtypes of depression and bipolar disorders. Among depressive disorders, the DSM-V identifies nine subtypes of depressive disorder. DSM-V: Types of Depression Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). This is the
Is There a Secret to Creating Achievable Resolutions? Every year there’s that weird week. The one between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Teenagers are out of school, savoring the last days of vacation. Some adults have to go to work – depending on what days of the week Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on – while others are in the same boat as their kids. They spend the
Daily Stress Management Reduces Risk of Symptom Relapse We all get stressed. Everyone. That includes adults, teenagers, and children: it’s part of being human. Most of the time, stress is a negative experience for the person experiencing it. But we should all understand that not all stress is bad. Sometimes, it helps – but not always. Experts identify two types of stress. First, there’s acute stress. Acute stress can be
Over the past fifty years, treatment for alcohol and substance addiction – now called alcohol use disorder (AUD) or substance use disorder (SUD) – has evolved in several significant ways. The first and most important shift in addiction treatment involved a paradigm shift. Most members of the medical profession and general public now have a new view of the disordered use of substances. The dominant concept of addiction – before
Mental Health Issues in Teens With Chronic Pain According to a worldwide survey conducted in 2019 that included data from over two-hundred thousand children and teens from 42 countries, 44.2 percent reported experiencing chronic pain. In addition, data from 2008 shows that among children and teens who experience chronic pain, 5.1 percent reported pain so severe it prevented them from participating in regular daily activities. The research on chronic pain
Why Residential Treatment Centers (RTC) For Teens Include Exercise in Treatment Programs The benefits of exercise for the mind, body, and emotions are well-documented. Exercise helps people who have no physical, psychological, or emotional disorders maintain a strong body, a sharp mind, and a balanced emotional life. Exercise also helps people with physical, psychological, or emotional disorders restore strength to their bodies, clarity to their minds, and harmony to their
The concept of wellness is not new. Most of us have a basic idea of what it means – in its contemporary connotation – but let’s check and see if this modern vision of wellness coincides with the traditional meaning of the word. The first definition we found reads like this: The quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal. That foregrounds the traditional
Scientists Search for An Answer A recent study performed at the University of Buffalo in New York offers new evidence about mindfulness that runs contrary to the popular view of what mindfulness does and how mindfulness works. The study, which included over a thousand participants, measured physiological responses to short-term stressors in people who reported having various levels of dispositional mindfulness. If you’re not familiar with that phrase, it refers
