Why is anxiety and depression on the rise in teens?
“The pressure comes from parents and educators who worry—and make teenagers worry—that they won’t get accepted into highly ranked universities with increasingly prohibitive tuitions or be prepared for a competitive job market once they graduate.”
Todays teens face the highest level of academic pressure of any generation to date. They are taking on heavier workloads while being faced with fewer guarantees that their hard work will pay off in the end. Check out this moving article from Edutopia that goes into further detail about the factors our youth are facing, as well as some solutions that we can implement today to help mitigate these issues.
Why is there a HUGE disconnect between research and practice when trying to raise mentally and physically healthy children?
“Over the last decade, a growing body of research has significantly strengthened understanding of healthy Mental/Emotional/Behavioral (MEB) development and the factors that influence it, as well as how it can be fostered. Yet, the United States has not taken full advantage of this growing knowledge base. Ten years later, the nation still is not effectively mitigating risks for poor MEB health outcomes; these risks remain prevalent, and available data show no significant reductions in their prevalence.”
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine just published the most recent report regarding this issue. You can download a free PDF by following this link. Just click the download button on the upper right-hand side.
How can we use mindful communication to improve our relationships?
“Simply being mindful of our open and closed patterns of conversation will increase our awareness and insight. We begin to notice the effect our communication style has on other people. We start to see that our attitude toward a person can blind us to who he or she really is. “
Mindful communication can be used to not only increase your own self awareness, but also allow us a clearer view of the people around us. Mindful has written a great article covering the benefits of mindful communication as well as some strategies you can use to improve.
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Looking for more information on these topics and other mental health concerns? Be sure to check out our trainings, events and support groups to learn more on how to help yourself and your loved ones!
