Simple Tips To Avoid Stress

Individuals with no family history of disease still contact illness. Many times this is from unfavorable stress levels. Although a little stress pushes a person to perform well at work and play, today's fast paced, urban jungle lifestyle oftentimes causes too much.

Stress increases the body's levels of the hormone cortisol, which increases glucose and blood pressure levels. Though increased cortisol is physiologic and i necessary for dealing with acute stress situations like speaking before an audience, or driving through rush hour traffic, prolonged and frequent elevated levels can lead to illness. Stress also causes decreased functioning of the immune system, making individuals prone to acute infections.

Fight stress by:

• Engage in regular physical activity
• Get enough sleep
• Cultivate relationships with family and friends
• Set aside time for prayers and meditation
• Take up hobbies
• Say no to people or events that clutter your schedule
• Read a book or watch a movie
• Cut down on caffeine, smoking and alcohol
• Take regular vacations
• Laugh a lot

Tips To Help Children Cope With Traumatic Situation

• TALK. Discuss their experience with them. See if they have questions and help them find the answers to these questions. Let them freely express their own feelings and reactions. Reassure them that these reactions are very normal.

• SUPPORT. Explore different ways for your child to be able to seek the support of others, including parents, other adults (teachers, guidance counselors, relatives), or their peers. Having access to good social support is key to adjusting well.

• EXPRESS. Different people need to grieve in different ways. Encouraging various ways of expressing oneself in a productive and effective manner is ideal. The use of arts and sports is a good example.

• MOURN AND ACCEPT. Our culture has certain rituals to grieve over our dead. Some people offer prayers and light candles. Others might visit the cemetery on a regular basis. These activities are good in mourning the loss of loved ones. It is also a means of helping the children accept the reality of such a traumatic death.

• SEEK HELP. Admittedly, this is a very difficult life circumstance. Seeking the help of a psychologist or a psychiatrist can be valuable.

How Can a Parent Manage Stress

Coping with the demands of work, school and other activities can put a great deal of stress on family members. But there are ways that parents can manage their own stress and also minimize the negative effects of stress on the entire family.

Parents should learn to manage their own stress by making time for relaxation, exercise, meditation and fun activities. By reducing your stress, you can help lessen your children's stress.

Schedule quiet family time with activities like reading, doing puzzles or art projects or just talking. Set limits on your children's use of television and high tech toys, and be sure you and your children get plenty of sleep.

Depresion on Kids

Depression is a disease of the mind and in some adults, severe depression leads to suicide. Kids also can have depression. Children and adolescents who are stressed, experience loss, or have attention, learning, behavioral or anxiety disorders, are at risk of childhood depression. Depression also appears to be hereditary.

Depression in children is different from that in adults. Children do not easily recognize and express their feelings and subtle signs may be the only indications that depression has set in. Here are some common signs.

• Frequent sadness, tearfulness or crying

• Decreased interest in favorite activities

• Verbal expressions of suicide or death

• Thoughts of running away from home

How to Improve Mother and Daughter Relationship

Here are five typical types of relationships and how to improve them:

1. Best Friends. Others envy your relationship with one another. While this is good as you operate on a level playing field, you must also remember that at times, a daughter needs a parent. So both parties need to respect their roles and acknowledge the generation gap.

2. Sisterly. Though not quite best friends, you have a deep connection with each other and like each other. Usually in this type of relationship, there is some sense of competition, even though many families want to repress it. So try to understand what the other is feeling and be especially supportive int hose areas.

3. Clashing Personalities. You're always butting heads against each other, which can be difficult. Mothers should not underestimate their power and overestimate their daughter and vice versa. Adult daughters should listen to their mother's advice even if they don't necessarily have to follow them so that the mother wont feel ignored.

4. Reverse Nurture. Your roles are switching because of age, health, finances or culture. This usually improves relations as daughters feel needed and mothers feel loved. But it's important for daughters to make sure mothers feel more valued as they become less dominant in the family. Take time to talk about traditions and values that you share.

5. Enmeshed. No decision gets made without the others approval in this type of relationship. While you can always count on the other, it;s tough to create boundaries. Because this type of relationship is often driven by fear of abandonment, it is good to slowly build boundaries while still emphasizing the mother's value.

Golden Truths

The vertical file of a library has many nice articles worth reading. Heres one that caught my attention.

The Golden Truth( Things I have Learned from Children)
For those with children, those thinking about it or those who have an excuse not to..

1. There is no such things as child-proofing your house.

2. A four year olds voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

3. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh-Oh," its already too late.

4. Super glue is forever.

5. You probably do not want to know what the odor is.

6. Quiet does not mean don't worry.

7. A good sense of humor will get you through most problems in life( unfortunately, mostly in retrospect)

Trivia

• A child who does not respond to his or her name by the age of 1 year may be more than likely to be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

• At a very early age, an infant begins to curl up and cling to its mother. Their legs bend and curl up, they place their hands on the shoulders or arm of their carrier and they cling. A child with autism or autism spectrum disorder often does not cling.