Problem children can be life-long for parents

 Carol Forsloff— Even into adulthood, problem children continue to give their parents
heartache, and it doesn’t matter if other children in the family grow up
to be successful, according to a new study of middle-aged parents.

“What this study finds is that the children may have their own lives and
moved on, but their ups and downs are still deeply affecting their
parents,” psychology professor Karen Fingerman, PhD, said  at
the 118th Annual Convention five years ago of the American Psychological Association.  Fingerman, of Purdue University, presented her findings at a symposium focusing on social relationships and well-being.

For this study,633 middle-aged parents in the Philadelphia area rated each of their grown children’s achievements in relationships, family life, education and career. They were asked to rate each child’s successes compared to
other adults the same age. Most parents had more than one child so there
were reports of 1,251 grown children included in the study.

Parents also answered questions about their own psychological well-being, what kind of relationship they had with their children, and whether each of
their children had experienced specific physical, emotional, lifestyle
and behavioral problems. Lifestyle and behavioral problems included:
trouble with the law, drinking or drug problems, divorce and serious
relationships problems. They also considered if each child’s problems
were deemed involuntary, such as a health issue, and controlled for them
within the study.

The research found 68 percent of parents had at least one grown child suffering at least one problem in the last two years. Close to 49 percent of parents said at least one of their children was highly successful. The majority of parents, 60 percent,said they had a mix of successful and less successful children, while 17 percent had no children suffering from problems and 15 percent had no children they rated as being above average on life achievements.

The researchers also found having even one problematic child had a negative impact on their mental health, even if the other children were successful. Simply having at least one successful child was not associated with better well-being. The findings suggest parents react more strongly to their children’s failures than their successes, according to Fingerman

In 2006 previous research found that children's problems caused health problems across the parents life span, especially the more those problems accumulated.

And this is one of the main reasons that more and more support groups have been created and resources available online to help parents know how to manage their problem children.  One of the main problems, however, is how to manage that difficult child after he or she has grown up, left home and continues to be the problem of someone else, like a wife or the child of someone who passes along the problems to the next generation.

Extreme thinking can hurt your heart----literally

[caption id="attachment_11296" align="alignleft" width="305"] Heart - front image[/caption]

Carol Forsloff---Many people pass along politically toxic material, often through emails or on social media, but doing so over the long haul can hurt your heart according to experts.

Stress comes about when we take on arguments with the passion that is often extreme.  Some folks don't let go when someone brings up a different point of view contrary to their own.  They complain about people who differ with them, often in disagreeable tones and with name-calling.  So views that are extreme are then presented in some extreme fashion.

The stress that develops over time from political arguments can escalate to invasion of one's personal and emotional health.  That's particularly true when the arguments occur over something over which an individual may have limited control.  In fact, the less control one has over a key area or idea, the more stressful it becomes.  Often folks worry over things they can't control, and it is these random notions that can impede emotional and physical health, experts tell us.

Everyone has a point of view about everyday politics.  Some are right, and some are wrong, depending on the facts and resources to substantiate and verify them.  Yet when the argument becomes so passionate that reason takes one down to passion, it is then that stress increases.  And stress can kill.

Modern medicine has determined that stress has the same impact on a person's health as smoking.  Therefore, when it comes time to argue about something no one in particular can control individually, and when the facts are distributed equally on both sides, it might be time to walk away.  For in doing that, one can save a life, namely their own.

Conquer stress first before any other New Year's resolution

 

[caption id="attachment_18325" align="alignleft" width="290"] Social worker, likely to have increases in caseloads that causes stress[/caption]

Minimizing or conquering stress is the first step in making sure you are able to meet other New Year's resolution, for as experts remind us:  stress kills and is also responsible for many health problems.

Many people vow to lose weight every year but have trouble doing it.  Others look toward increasing physical activity or finding new ways to meet people or to expand creative outlets.  Yet all of these things can be impacted by stress, for good or ill.

There are a number of ways to reduce stress, experts remind us.  Much of that good information is from health-related sites, like the one managed by the Mayo clinic.  There are also recommendations given by professionals who specialize in helping people resolve emotional issues.

The basics of reducing stress, culled from many areas, include:

1.  Stop bad habits, gossiping, watching negative news and indulging in conspiracy theories and other areas where the emphasis is on the worst behaviors, not the best.

2.  Find like-minded people whose company you enjoy and who offer positive diversions, such as book discussions, visits to museums, dinners out or just a casual evening at home watching a favorite program.

3.  Comedy is a stress-reducer, as research has established.  It also promotes longevity.  If you have a bad moment or bad day, turn the channel away from the negative news to the Comedy Channel instead.

4.  Find time for yourself, even if it's a few minutes throughout the day.  Short snippets of time sandwiched between other activities that require attention, and sometimes involve stress, where you can meditate or relax your mind are important.  Having short intervals throughout the day that allow you to escape the pressures of everyday life is as important as the proverbial eat a number of small meals as opposed to big meals, for the frequency coupled with time allow breaks for the mind to be restored from the stress of its daily chores.

5.  Read a book, watch a play, find ways of creating things that help to restore the mind and heart.  Right-brain activities such as music, drawing and painting are activities that help reduce stress.

So the time that stress strikes, vow to conquer it with as many return "strikes" instead, that offer escapes of the heart, mind and soul that can make way for other New Year's resolutions to come true.

 

Mild stress can interfere with the control of emotions

[caption id="attachment_20020" align="alignleft" width="225"] University health counseling center[/caption]

Editor----“We have long suspected that stress can impair our ability to control our emotions, but this is the first study to document how even mild stress can undercut therapies designed to keep our emotions in check,” said Elizabeth Phelps, a professor in NYU’s Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science and the study’s senior author. “In other words, what you learn in the clinic may not be as relevant in the real world when you’re stressed.”

Some may think some mild stress might be okay and have little effect on the emotions, but that's not what researchers have found, as Dr. Phelps maintains.  They have determined from their studies that even mild stress can interfere with emotions.

The information is being presented in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,  that point to the limits of clinical techniques while examining the barriers that must be overcome when providing therapy for fear or anxiety.

Cognitive therapy is one of the interventions therapists use with their clients to help them reshape their thinking and the way the client looks at problems.  The therapy is designed to help the client change his or her emotional response.  But the research has found that the therapy might include focusing on positive or non-threatening aspects of an event or stimulus that might commonly bring about a fear reaction.

Researchers set out to determine whether these cognitive therapies as used ordinarily work and whether or not they are able to combat minor issues and diminish fears.

It was found, however, that those experiencing minor stress did less well in how they responded to tests that included pictures of snakes or spiders and then deal with fear.  Research found cognitive techniques did not produce a reduction in fear in those presented with minor stress.

“The use of cognitive techniques to control fear has previously been shown to rely on regions of the prefrontal cortex that are known to be functionally impaired by mild stress,” Phelps observed. “These findings are consistent with the suggestion that the effect of mild stress on the prefrontal cortex may result in a diminished ability to use previously learned techniques to control fear.”

“Our results suggest that even mild stress, such as that encountered in daily life, may impair the ability to use cognitive techniques known to control fear and anxiety,” added Candace Raio, a doctoral student in NYU’s Department of Psychology and the study’s lead author. “However, with practice or after longer intervals of cognitive training, these strategies may become more habitual and less sensitive to the effects of stress.”

The study’s other co-authors included: Temidayo Orederu, an undergraduate at Hunter College; Laura Palazzolo, a medical student at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine; and Ashley Shurick, a doctoral student at Stanford University.

Workplace seen as potentially risky for development of depression

[caption id="attachment_18422" align="alignleft" width="300"] Social workers have long hours and stress[/caption]

Editor--What are the risk factors for depression?  According to recent scientific findings, what happens at work can lead to depression, and these are some of the risk factors at your job.

Americans are working longer at their jobs, and the long hours and high job demands are taking their toll on the mood of Americans at work.

As employers demand more, after cutting back on numbers of employees, the extra work falls on the remaining employees.  These employees feel the pressure and with many workers the stress becomes a trigger for depression.  Targeting the problem means reducing those risks , according to a report by Drs. Takahashi Amagasa and Takeo Nakayama of Kyoto University School of Public Health.

Researchers also found that the more workers remained in the long hour-overworked status, the worse the risk of depression.  Scientists tell us in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,  "By targeting LHO, especially changes in LHO status, mental health measures that effectively reduce the occurrence of major depressive disorder will become possible by controlling factors in the occupational environment."

The Mayo Clinic provides a listing of additional risk factors, which combined with those at work can create major influences on the rate of depression in the population as well as individual risks.  That’s particularly true given the numbers of people with diabetes and hypertension that continue to grow in the normal population.  Some of these risk factors include:

• Having biological relatives with depression

• Being a woman


• Having traumatic experiences as a child


• Having family members or friends who have been depressed


• Experiencing stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one


• Having few friends or other personal relationships


• Recently having given birth (postpartum depression)


• Having been depressed previously


• Having a serious illness, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's or HIV/AIDS


• Having certain personality traits, such as having low self-esteem and being overly dependent, self-critical or pessimistic


• Abusing alcohol, nicotine or illicit drugs


• Taking certain high blood pressure medications, sleeping pills or certain other medications (Talk to your doctor before stopping any medication you think could be affecting your mood.)

According to the National Institute of Mental Health depression is the most prevalent mental illness in the general population.

Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers vulnerable in disasteraftermath

[caption id="attachment_5418" align="alignright" width="286" caption="PET scan of brain of Alzheimer's patient"][/caption]

Carol Forsloff - SPRINGFIELD, Mass., While many folks wonder how survivors of disasters are able to cope with the devastation brought by the kind of storms that have hit the United States this year, the otherwise vulnerable, such as Alzheimer’s patients, face increased risk in the aftermath of serious weather emergencies.

It is easy to forget the needs of people  like those with Alzhemier’s disease as there are so many problems that occur in the hours after a major storm, however the Alzheimer’s Association in a recent press release reminds us that the consequences to folks with memory problems can be overwhelming for patients and caregivers

"In an emergency, people with Alzheimer's may become separated from caregivers who are familiar with their condition and unique needs," said James Wessler, President/CEO of The Alzheimer's Association, MA/NH Chapter. "Families dealing with Alzheimer's disease face increased stress due to the disruption in their lives, and in some instances, people may find themselves in the role of caregiver for the first time and may not know how to care for someone with Alzheimer's."

Like other states, Massachusetts has a large population of Alzheimer’s patients, most of whom are taken care of at home.  When a disaster occurs,  there is overwhelming stress and confusion among the victim, which can cause those with memory difficulties to become even more anxious than usual and to have feelings that can lead to agitation and wandering behaviors.

Planning for emergencies is an important variable in the care of Alzheimer’s patients according to the  Alzheimer's Association.   The group recommends key supplies, documents and important information be immediately at hand, including doctor and emergency service contacts.  Those in need of special attention should be registered with MedicAlert + Safe Return.  The latter group returns individuals who wander off or have a medical emergency.  Additional tips can be found through the Red Cross website.

"Although the threat of tornados in Massachusetts may be comparatively small, the events of this week remind us that disaster can strike at any time," said Wessler.  "Our thoughts are with all of those families impacted by the storm, and we are working to help people with Alzheimer's, their families and caregivers who have been affected by this disaster."