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(561) 223-6568
(561) 223-6568
Stress surrounds us on a daily basis. From traffic delays to work projects, worries about finances or health, and news reports of world events, the demands of our everyday lives produce both positive and negative stress. Stressors (which are the things that cause your stress) can be physical, emotional, theoretical, or environmental. Even positive events like weddings and job promotions cause stress.
Whether negative or positive, one thing is certain – stress raises the body’s anxiety levels. When we’re under stress, the “fight or flight” response kicks in. It raises your heart rate and your blood pressure. It sometimes causes you to lose sleep or feel like you can’t breathe. While this response generally subsides after the stressor is removed, a prolonged or permanent stress response can develop in someone who is under frequent or constant stress. This is called toxic stress and it can affect children just the same as adults.
The incidence of diabetes, obesity, heart problems, cancer and other diseases increases when a child lives with toxic stress. Additionally, a child’s chances of smoking, depression, substance abuse and dependence, teen pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted disease, suicide and domestic violence escalates. So does their tendency to be more violent or to become a victim of violence.
Studies done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that when a child is subjected to frequent or continual stress from thing like neglect, abuse, dysfunctional families or domestic abuse – and they lack adequate support from adults – their brain architecture is actually altered and their organ systems become weakened. As a result, kids who live with stress risk lifelong social and health problems.
Of the 17,000 people participating in the CDC study, two thirds reported an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) score of 1 or higher. Of these, 87% had more than one ACE. By measuring and scoring ten types of trauma ranging from neglect or bullying to childhood sexual abuse and even divorce, researchers could assess the chronic disease risk for the study’s mostly white, middle class participants. Their results showed that the problem of toxic stress isn’t limited to children of certain ethnic groups or those who face poverty – children from all walks of life can have high ACE scores which will affect their entire lives.
If you would like to find out your ACE score and what it might mean for you, go here.
Children who are exposed to toxic stress exhibit:
Research on children who face continued toxic stress shows they are more likely to have:
The key to preventing and reducing toxic stress in kids is awareness. Now that we know about the effects of ACEs, many states have conducted their own research. Some cities formed task forces, while others are working with pediatricians, schools, daycare centers and the justice system to set up screening programs that can turn lives around.
Protecting children from toxic stress involves a multi-faceted approach that targets both the caretaker and the child in order to strengthen family stability. Treatment includes intervention and implementation of methods that reduce stressors and reinforce the child or caregiver’s response to stress.
As more programs are formed, researchers have found that children can benefit even when the solutions are solely focused on their caregiver and aren’t aimed at the child. This is most likely because the caregiver’s altered interaction with the child makes the child feel safer. Parenting classes, family-based programs, access to social resources for parents, peer support and telephone support are beneficial. Cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation methods like yoga and mindfulness are also helpful. Additionally, community-based programs like Head Start have been shown to be effective.
For more information about toxic stress and its effects on child development, contact the Children’s Center for Psychiatry Psychology and Related Services in Delray Beach, Florida or call us today at (561) 223-6568.
The first time you hear the term “executive functioning”, you may think it refers to the leaders of a worldwide conglomerate, but nothing could be further from the truth. Executive functioning is actually a life skill we learn in childhood. It forms the basis of the actions we perform every day. From taking a bath and getting dressed, to getting ready for school or doing homework, executive functioning helps us plan things, organize our lives, control our emotions, and learn from our mistakes. It lets us evaluate information, come up with a solution, and carry it out.
Some kids learn executive functioning with ease, but for others, it can be difficult to choose appropriate actions, develop time-management skills, or anticipate the consequences of their actions. Kids who have poor executive functioning often need constant guidance for simple tasks, such as packing their backpacks for school. They may forget to turn in the homework they worked on so diligently the evening before or have difficulty making decisions because they get bogged down in the mental strain of weighing pros and cons. Fortunately, there are ways to help these children acquire organizational skills. Apps, like our Giant Leap app, are great learning tools for, among other things, teaching behavior strategies and generating lists to help kids start and complete tasks.
Executive functioning learning tools help children overcome struggles with organization and follow-through.
Some keys to building executive functioning abilities are:
For children who can’t read (and even those who can), the colorful images on an app can make all the difference. Eye-catching charts and graphics give the child something to focus on. They also make it easier for these kids to understand the bigger picture – for example, by showing when a task needs to be completed or by listing action steps that need to be taken.
Once parents set up their child’s chart, these visual aids help the child see the tasks they need to complete. Additionally, engaging images capture kid’s attention, making it more likely that these visual reminders will instill the routine in the child’s mind.
Some apps, like our Giant Leap app, are customizable. This flexibility allows parents to generate personalized charts with the specific behaviors their child needs to learn. Giant Leap gives children executive functioning issues an easy way to stay organized and can support their unique needs. Additionally, Giant Leap permits parents to update their child’s charts in real time within the app and allows them to print each chart out for daily or weekly use.
Apps encourage consistency and make daily routines easier to set and follow. When a child completes the tasks on their chart, they not only begin to acquire executive functions, they also gain self-confidence. Successfully learning organization skills translates to self-reliant, responsible in kids and gives them the tools they need for future success.
For information about how our Giant Leap app can help your child improve their executive functioning skills, contact the Children’s Center for Psychiatry Psychology and Related Services in Delray Beach, Florida or call us today at (561) 223-6568.
The nation has been horrified to hear about another school shooting. For many in South Florida, however, the trauma surrounding school violence has hit particularly hard because this week’s shooting happened right in our own backyard. Many people likely know someone or know of a family with a child who attends the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. Because of this, you might find it challenging to deal with your feelings about the event.
Keep in mind that it is normal to experience strong emotions, such as anger, fear, sadness, grief, and shock – even if you don’t know someone who is personally connected to the shooting. You might also have trouble concentrating or difficulty sleeping and you may even feel numb when talking about the incident with others. All of these reactions are typical responses of trauma psychology.
It will take a while to move past this heartbreaking tragedy, but we have some tips for managing your emotions during this horrific time. Following these guidelines can help you build resilience – the inner strength that you can draw on when you’re exposed to trauma or adversity.
*If you can’t move past this school violence or another traumatic event that has happened in your life, it may be beneficial to seek out a support group or turn to a qualified, licensed mental health professional in order to move forward. It is especially important to do so if you are unable to carry out the daily tasks of living, such as sleeping, eating, and other functions.
Our Children’s Center has specially trained clinicians on staff to help those who need help dealing with the school shooting or other traumatic situations. For more information, contact The Children’s Center for Psychiatry Psychology and Related Services in Delray Beach, Florida or call us today at (561) 223-6568.
We’ve gotten through the first month of a new year and many of us have already abandoned our New Year’s resolutions. As adults, we have good intentions about goal setting for things we want to work on or change throughout the year. Stating a goal is easy, however, while actually seeing it through can be much tougher. Goal setting and accomplishing objectives can be even more challenging for kids because they have a much harder time envisioning the future outcome, which makes it difficult for them to keep their eye on the prize. But, what if there was a way to help children learn how to set specific goals and teach them how to attain them? This is where working on SMART goals can help.
SMART is an acronym that stands for:
For kids (and some parents), goal setting through the SMART goals method teaches an important life skill that simplifies an ambition and breaks it down into actionable steps, making it more likely to be achieved. The great thing about SMART goals is that this method can be used for any type of goal setting, ranging from something like aiming to read a certain amount of books as a child, to more difficult tasks like paying off debt as an adult – and everything in between.
A goal is an outcome that will make a difference when you achieve it. Measurable goals can’t be too ambitious that they’re out of reach, but they also shouldn’t be so simple that it’s not challenging to attain it. The goal should be realistic, but should require attention and effort to achieve it. That’s one of the reasons goals need to be trackable and time-limited, and why measurable action steps need to be step up. That way, you can keep track of progress and make adjustments to the steps as necessary.
Breaking down each step, here are some SMART goals examples:
The biggest barrier to attaining goals is that they are often too lofty and hard to achieve. By using the SMART goals method of goal setting, you can break your goals down into detailed, manageable chunks and set up action plans and benchmarks that will keep you focused on the end result.
Our Giant Leap app contains customizable charts that give your child a visual reminder of their SMART goals. Eye-catching charts and graphics give kids something to focus on and makes it easier for them to understand the bigger picture – for example, by listing actions that need to be taken. In addition, the app’s colorful images engage and hold children’s attention, which is particularly important for young children who can’t read. For added convenience, Giant Leap lets parents update their child’s charts in real time within the app and allows them print charts out for daily or weekly use, if needed.
For more information, contact the Children’s Center for Psychiatry Psychology and Related Services in Delray Beach, Florida or call us today at (561) 223-6568.
As of this blog post, 30 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico have all approved the broad use of medical marijuana. In addition, several other states allow limited medical use and 8 states (plus the District of Columbia) allow recreational use of pot. Even though the use of marijuana is becoming more acceptable, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) still classifies pot and weed (marijuana) as a Schedule I substance, meaning it is likely to be abused and it completely lacks medical value. Because of this classification, there hasn’t been much research into the efficacy of the drug for medical conditions. In particular, we lack long-term studies that would tell us whether it is safe and/or effective when used over a long period of time.
What we do know is that, in our clinical practice – and in those of colleagues in other practices – we have seen an increase in the number of incidents of anxiety, depression, panic attacks and even psychotic reactions since marijuana use has become more mainstream.
Whether it’s used recreationally or medicinally, both forms of pot are the same product. The medical version contains cannabinoids just like recreational marijuana. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the main chemicals found in the medical form.
Although medical marijuana is used for many conditions (among them: multiple sclerosis (MS), seizure disorders, cancer and glaucoma), its effectiveness hasn’t been proven. “The greatest amount of evidence for the therapeutic effects of cannabis relate to its ability to reduce chronic pain, nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, and spasticity[tight or stiff muscles] from MS,” says Marcel Bonn-Miller, PhD, a substance abuse specialist at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.
As we’ve said, right now there aren’t many studies out there on the relationship between marijuana use and mental illnesses, such as anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. However, there was a study done in 2017 which examined marijuana use in conjunction with the depression and anxiety symptoms in 307 psychiatry outpatients who had depression (Bahorik et al., 2017). The results of this study showed that “marijuana use worsened depression and anxiety symptoms; marijuana use led to poorer mental health functioning.” In addition, the research found that medical marijuana was associated with inferior physical health functioning.
A big part of the problem with using marijuana either medically or recreationally is that there is no way to regulate the amount of THC you’re getting in the product, because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t oversee it. This means that both the ingredients and the strength of them can vary quite a lot. “We did a study last year [in 2016] in which we purchased labeled edible products, like brownies and lollipops, in California and Washington. Then we sent them to the lab,” Bonn-Miller says. “Few of the products contained anywhere near what they said they did. That’s a problem.”
Another area of concern is that, as we know from regulated psychiatric medications, one dose may affect you differently than it affects your sibling or a friend. People are unique – each person’s reaction to a medication will vary, which is why psychiatric medications are monitored by the prescribing doctor so that the dosage can be adjusted for your specific needs.
In summary, if you choose to use marijuana either recreationally or medically, be careful. Talk to the physician who authorized it, or speak with a mental health professional if you find yourself experiencing the symptoms of depression or anxiety, or if you have panic attacks that begin or worsen while you are using marijuana. Additionally, be sure your doctor knows your psychiatric history before they authorize medical marijuana for you, especially if you have been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, experience panic attacks or have bipolar disorder or psychosis.
We can answer your questions about marijuana use and how it affects anxiety, depression, or other conditions. The mental health professionals at The Center for Treatment of Anxiety and Mood Disorders in Delray Beach, Florida are here to help. For more information, contact us or call us today at 561-496-1094.
Reference: Bahorik, Amber L.; Leibowitz, Amy; Sterling, Stacy A.; Travis, Adam; Weisner, Constance; Satre, Derek D. (2017). Patterns of marijuana use among psychiatry patients with depression and its impact on recovery. Journal of Affective Disorders, 213, 168-171).
