A simple walk with the dog to clear the mind.

Teens today often have drug and alcohol problems that affect their current life, rarely thinking about future events.  There are many negative outcomes to alcohol and drug abuse but this next one may not be as well known.  From an article titled “Alcoholics Have Flawed Perception of Memory Abilities” by Selena Chavis, a study reveals that alcohol can have a greater effect on memory than just a “blackout” or slower thinking during the “hang-over” period and have long reaching effects on memory and our retention.

It is common for a heavy drinker to have difficulties remembering things that occur while they are drinking but this new research is linking alcohol consumption with memory tasks even when not drinking.   Even worse is that individuals are not even realizing they are losing their ability to remember and instead overestimate their abilities.  A good example is with needing a list while shopping. We use this list to remember items but more important is that we KNOW we need that list to remember.  Individuals with alcohol problems may have need for that list but often DO NOT realize they need it, thinking they can remember the items on their own and therefore forget items.

Another item pointed out in the study was that individuals with alcohol problems encounter difficulty in memory retention from learning.  Simply stated a student with alcohol problems will study the material and thinking they have retained the information, will take an exam and perform poorer than expected.  They did the work but because they have a greater difficulty with memory retention, will often misjudge their abilities. This situation may be a contributing factor to increased frustration and lack of desire / willingness to learn.  We can also go back to our shopping list example and realize that people with alcohol problems will actually have a greater need for a list.

This new concept sheds a great deal of light on young adults today.   Age and length of time drinking are two of the factors that affect memory over the long run so by starting earlier and invariably drinking longer teens are increasing their chances of memory problems. Even worse is the uncertainty of being able to “get back” the ability to remember / retain information.

It is no surprise today to see a teen smoking, despite all the warnings about health hazards, tobacco use is still popular with our culture.   What may be surprising is that through a recent study in Canada, there is evidence pointing to long term tobacco use contributing to depression / depressive symptoms in teens. Even more alarming is with teens and how they lie to themselves about why they are smoking.

The study was mentioned in the recent article “Teen Smoking Increases Depressive Symptoms” by Rick Nauert, PhD, where Dr. Nauert highlights the various factors the study used when determining its conclusions.   Of interest to me was the association between teens smoking and depression. The teens that appear to be susceptible to increased depression through smoking are teens that view smoking as an anti-depressant.

I will admit that I have not used tobacco in any form in roughly 10 years but I do not recall smoking ever making me feel better. In truth smoking made me ill and I used alternative forms to get my nicotine.   I do know that nicotine withdrawal will create mood swings similar to most drug use / withdrawal; I had a very difficult time when it came to not using nicotine; and it is the mood swings that create difficulty when attempting to stop using tobacco products. I never thought of tobacco as an anti-depressant though and using cigarettes to “feel” better is a little alarming.

Teens call it for what it is, an addictive substance that is difficult to stop due to nicotine withdrawal, and it is the nicotine withdrawal you are counteracting when it “appears” to brighten your mood.  If you want to smoke, at the very least be honest with yourself – lie to others if you feel you must by why lie to yourself? Admit that smoking has an addictive component that keeps you using tobacco products – nicotine.  Please do not shield it under false pretenses of an anti-depressant needed to “feel” better, especially since the Canadian study points to long-term use having the opposite effect.

During my research I stumbled upon a website titled radical parenting and was a little skeptical about the topic of this site.  In short it is a website from a teen’s point of view giving advice to parents about how to parent. After searching through this website and the topic I realized that the concept of getting help from our teens is not uncommon.

The Family Foundation School offers the opportunity for students to Become part of the Solution by offering an environment that is peer based. This environment asks our more mature students to engage in the school culture, to help our new student’s transition at school, and asks that students keep each other accountable to the rules at school.  Through this interaction, our students have an active part in their own success here at The Family Foundation School. The parenting website, asks teens to engage with parents on a healthy level and help out by explaining some of their own actions / thoughts. This method also allows teens to become part of their own success through sharing their thoughts about various parenting topics.

One of our greatest difficulties we face when dealing with teens, or any family member, is that we are often too close to the situation emotionally.  The Family Foundation School offers a way of having a neutral party involved in situations that fit our services, and helps eliminate some of the emotional stress.  The parenting website introduces a teen’s perspective  to parents from sources other than their own teen.  This method helps because it eliminates some of the emotional ties we have with our own family while still having access to what motivates our children: thoughts on issues, the latest trends, TV shows etc…

Both the Family Foundation Schools and the parenting websites method involve teen interaction and added responsibility on the teen’s part.  Both places ask teens to be consciously involved in the choices and decisions they make in their lives. In addition, what I found truly fascinating were the items written by the teens themselves. To have the ability to write about their actions and thoughts in such an open way is truly impressive.

One of the most troublesome problems teens and young adults encounter at times is dealing with depression.  We all can have a bad day at times, where we are just down in the dumps regardless of what we do.  Unfortunately there are some individuals that frequently have down days and in those times a little knowledge of what depression is may prove beneficial.

Depression is a constant state that involves your whole being.  From Psychology Information Online “a depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood” and an interesting item to note is that having 1, 2 or even 3 bad days may not mean you have a problem with depression. The time frame for depression, from my understanding, appears to require a slightly longer time frame.  I have even read where weeks may need to go by before coming to a definite conclusion about just being depressed vs having depression.

There are signs and symptoms that occur some of which include isolation / withdrawal, anger / irritability and pessimism. There are even extreme signs when a person is feeling so down they lack the desire to practice basic hygiene or even get out of bed. These signs can vary though and more can be found within the article “Understanding Teen Depression”.

Some things to ask yourself when you are feeling down is why you are feeling that way, and how long has it been like that.

• Do you have stress currently that could be bringing you down?
• Do you have ups and downs throughout the day – happy in the morning but sad in the afternoon? Anything going on that may cause that?
• Do you find yourself affected by the weather outside? For example on rainy days do you just not feel as motivated as you do when it’s more cheerful outside?

All these items affect us and may bring us down but that does not mean that we have a depression disorder.  It is also important to note, especially with adolescents and young adults, that with today’s technology and media influences we find ourselves having to live up to higher standards so we can ‘fit into’ our peer group. This struggle greats a burden on ourselves; which we often do not realize; and can have a contributing factor in our mood.

It is important to remember that depression – in its true sense – is not something that just goes away one night but is a lingering state of mind that occurs over weeks.  Another important item to note is that if you do have concerns about yourself, ask for professional advice, this is not something you can diagnose yourself.

It may be of little surprise to most parents that consistency when raising a child is very important.  What may surprise you though is that adolescents with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) respond differently to the frequency and level of consequences than others in their age group.   In addition, the level of reward gained from their action usually has a greater allure for them, thus having a definite impact on their choices.

For some adolescents a warning may suffice followed by a server reprimand if the behavior continues.  We do this with our children as a learning process to offer them an opportunity to ‘do the correct thing’ although we need to take into consideration that the child’s goal may outweigh the after-effect in their mind.  When the goal outweighs the aftermath for the child, we often have to institute negative outcomes for our children. When we are dealing with an adolescents with ODD their goal, which is even more compelling for them, makes that same consequence even less important. This is one of the reasons why we often find ourselves having more struggles with adolescents having ODD.

In an article written by Nestor Lopez-Duran, PhD ~ “Kids with Oppositional Defiant Disorder respond to frequency but not intensity of consequences!” a recent Dutch study was cited as showing results to how ODD adolescents respond to rewards, outcomes, and frequency.   The study shows a trend towards ODD personalities and the attraction towards high reward situations outweighing the level of repercussion.  The study also demonstrates that more frequent negative outcomes; even if lower in intensity, tend to dissuade ODD personalities better than a high level of infrequent consequence.   Or as Dr Lopez-Duran points out in the article concerning adolescents “ … do not respond to increasing the intensity of consequences … they are as responsive to consequences as their non-affected peers if the consequences increase in frequency rather than intensity”

With this in mind it seems even more important to be consistent with ODD adolescents in terms of consequences emphasizing frequency over level of intensity.

Reference:

Lopez-Duran, N. Phd (2010, April 14). Kids with Oppositional Defiant Disorder respond to frequency but not intensity of consequences! Retrieved from http://www.child-psych.org/2010/04/oppositional-defiant-disorder-what-type-o.html

In an article by Carl Pickhardt, titled “Adolescence and the problem with problems” Dr Pickahrdt describes how problems, be their very nature, stem from an individual’s point of view and what one person may perceive as a problem another individual would think nothing of it.   I find this article intriguing since it lends weight to how we can find ourselves in arguments; with most anyone; in a very short time, never mind our own children who we have a natural vested interest in.

I couple this article with an email I recently received from a young man who is recognizing that he is letting his anger get the better of him when it comes to talking with his parents. The young man found, and requested, and article from Jeff Brain titled “12 steps for Angry Teens” in searching for methods in helping him communicate with his parents.

When I initially read the young man’s email and his request for assistance, I had not read Dr Pickhardt’s article but I now cannot help but wonder how much of his situation is stemming from what Dr Pickhardt is describing.  In essence his anger and arguments with his parents arise from different parties having different viewpoints on various topics.  In some situations, depending on circumstances, we need to understand the viewpoints perceived may not even be correct/incorrect just different.

When entering into situations concerning problems both articles have some common themes in dealing with problems: 1) Do not let our own emotions get the better of us – it is often easy to get swept up in our own anger and focus only on the negatives of the situation instead of attempting to find a common goal and 2) Take responsibility for your own actions – identify what your point of view is, how you perceive things to be, and why you think your side is so important to have created this problem.

As Dr Pickhardt points out “…a problem is a judgment call, it is always a matter of choice – whether or not to take issue with some conduct, circumstance, or condition.”   It is in how we take a stand with our judgment calls that cause the tension; it is not caused by the problem itself.

A fascinating lecture on the cognitive trap of the remebering self as opposed to the experiencing self by Nobel laureate and founder of behavioral economics Daniel Kahneman at TED.

By Richard Reeve

Much of the cutting edge brain science is sending a clear message:  brain damage is caused by adolescent drug use. This new study, focusing on the effects of ecstasy and cocaine use in adolescents continues to reinforce the message that drug use during the teenage years causes damage to the developing brain.

“The results highlight that the so-called “reinforcing effects” are greater in adult mice treated with ecstasy or cocaine during adolescence than in adolescent mice not exposed to these drugs. “Adolescence is a critical stage in development, during which time drug consumption affects plastic cerebral processes in ways that cause changes that persist right through to adulthood”, adds the scientist.” Read the full article at Shrink Rap

At first this seems like an expected finding.  But if we consider how our culture has treated teen drug use over the past fifty years, brain damage has never been one of the main reasons presented to youth to avoid drug use.  It’s important that the relevance of these findings be recognized not only because of the  seriousness of what they present, but because they are presenting a new concern relating to adolescent development.

By Richard Reeve

How Schools Can Hurt and How They Can Help…

A NATSAP Conference presentation by Hannah Mariotti and Sarah Wagner from Shortridge Academy in New Hampshire focused on the findings of neuroscience concerning trauma and explored how the general framework in American education can often times create a traumatic environment.

Not only the experiences of violence, bullying and abuse were explored, but also the often times reinforced negative experiences in the classrooms across America. The emphasis on order, conformity and compliance, teacher-centric practices, the predominance of memorization and recall exercises, peer competition, a prevailing belief that ability is fixed, narrow standards of performance expectations, intolerance of differences, tracking, labeling, standardized testing, large classes and large schools, and lack of teacher support were all cited as elements in the educational system that create traumatic stress.

Do we know what trauma looks like in the classroom? A need exists to educate teachers to be on the lookout for and know when to intervene when the symptoms of trauma and the experience of the fight, flight, or freeze response loop, begin to manifest. These can include hyperarousal, dissociation and numbness. It was noted that trauma impacts the students ability to learn, reduces memory volume, and decreases problem solving skills.

A number of solutions that can be implemented by therapeutic programs to promote healing were explored. It was suggested that the impact of the any event or environment depends on the child’s hope and resilience, their capacity to transcend. Primary in the healing process is the educators presence and relationship. It’s the caring person, someone whose crazy about the kid that can move the student into a safe and new beginning. Along with nurturing relationships to extend hope, opportunities for play that foster creativity and imagination were also emphasized.

A fascinating new study examines the link between school burnout in teens and parental job burnout:

“School burnout is a chronic school-related stress syndrome that is manifested in fatigue, experiences of cynicism about school and a sense of inadequacy as a student.”

and

“The results showed that experiences of burnout were shared in families. “Experiences of burnout were shared most particularly between adolescents and parents of the same gender, i.e. between daughters and mothers and between sons and fathers. The parent of the same gender seems to serve as a role model for the development of burnout,” says Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro who led the research. Read more at Shrink Rap

A model that traces behavioral issues effecting family systems is not new to those working in therapeutic boarding schools.  Addiction and alcoholism are both often defined as family diseases.

A poignant question was put forward in a Telegraph article on the same subject, speculating on the potential impact of the prolonged global recession and the stress it is causing on families and young people.