Counselor's Corner - A Mental Health Blog

Looking for a New Year’s challenge? How about getting your teenager to sleep more hours during the week? New research out this week suggests that this is more important than we’ve realized, and that there are some dire consequences when your adolescent is chronically sleep-deprived. Indeed, teenagers with earlier bedtimes have fewer incidents of depression and think less often about suicide. Also, risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity decrease with more sleep.

Health psychologists have believed for some time that adequate sleep is vital for teenagers, and that teens need nine or more hours of sleep per night, as much as young children. However, as many of us know, adolescents rarely get that much sleep because of after school obligations, late-night texting, and early start times at school. Three New York researchers in a recently published science article in the journal Sleep, suggest in their study of nearly 16,000 teenagers across the U.S., that adolescents whose bedtimes were 10p or earlier were 24% less likely to describe symptoms of depression to interviewers, and 20% less likely to admit to having had thoughts of killing themselves. However, only half of the teens in the study had bedtime set by parents to be 10p or earlier, and as much as a quarter were allowed to stay up past midnight. Professor Gangwisch, the lead author in the Columbia University study, surmises that decreased amounts of sleep affect judgment, concentration and impulse control which could ultimately hinder the ability to cope with daily stress and put a teen at risk for depression.

So even if you find it’s a struggle, it could be worth enforcing a regular and earlier bedtime for your teen. Sometimes, it helps to develop new rules such as lights out, or lights low at a certain time, rather than think that you can make your teen actually sleep. If you are very concerned about your teen’s sleep habits, taking away cell phones and ipods at night can also help. And letting them sleep in for a few hours on weekends can certainly prevent the chronic sleep deprivation scientists are concerned about.

In my practice, I’ve noticed an increase in adolescents who are harming themselves by cutting, burning, pinching or abrading themselves. The research confirms this increase as well, unfortunately. Indeed, an estimated 14-17% of adolescents hurt themselves deliberately. So psychologists are wondering why there has been an increase.

For one thing, the behavior has gained more acceptance among peers and within our culture. Even pop stars are admitting that they’ve cut at some point in their lives (Princess Diana, Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie). Other researchers have found that while some teens do it just because it’s novel and maybe even a little mysterious, other teens are doing it in seearch of self-preservation - an attempt to remind themselves that they can physically or emotionally feel something.

But with an adolescent who is self-injuring, severe pathology and suicide is always a possibility and any teen engaged in this behavior should be seeing a professional. In fact, a study last year from New York’s Stony Brook Univeristy finds that 11% of self-injuring college students are at high risk for suicide attempts. Other research suggests that someone with a history of cutting is nine times more likely to make a suicide attempt than someone without one. So don’t ignore. When your teen is hurting themselves, get them some help.

With flu season here and the frenzy about both flu and H1N1 vaccinations, there has been a flury of new media attention on the reported increase in Autism and it’s causes. About 1 in 150 American children are now believed to have Autism or related conditions such as Asperger’s Disorder. Indeed, there has been as much as a 600% rise in Autism-related disorders in some states. Autism is thought to be a neurological disorder that signficantly impairs social and emotional functioning, making it very difficult for these children to connect in a meaninful way to other humans.

Popular opinion indicates that one of the primary causes of Autism involves introduction to toxins early in development, including perservatives and mercury in childhood vaccinations. Pediatric and developmental researchers who have been researching this spectrum of disorders for decades now believe that there has not been a rise in Autism at all. Instead, many scientists now conclude that there has been an increase in diagnosed cases because of better systems established in school for early detection, as well as broader definitions of symptomatology. Furthermore, many researchers now believe that the connection between the rise in Autism and the use of perserveratives such as thimerosal in vaccinations is coincidental and not truly correlated.

So with these concerns, should parents have their children vaccinated? Talk with your pediatrician. Most pediatricians have been reading and following the research and have also concluded that there is no concern about getting your chld vaccinated. Indeed, many physicians suggest that it is far more dangerous and complicated to expose children to potent diseases that can now be prevented with simple immunizations.

A recent study indexed 21 different brain health indicators for people across the United States. Colorado ranked in the top 10 healthiest brain states. What does that mean? Well, as we know, Coloradoans tend to be overall very healthy people compared to others across the nation, and this includes factors for brain health as well. What the researchers found indicated that those in healthy brains states lived a lifestyle that keeps the brain balanced and active well into the golden years. And we do that by making healthy nutrional choices including foods high in DHA or omega-3’s, avoiding toxins to the brain such as smoking, and keeping the mind active with higher levels of personal reading and active game playing such as chess etc. Basicly, what this all boils down to - having good personal balance in your life. Balancing stressful activities such as work with relaxing activities like hobbies are key to overall physical and mental health.

If you don’t think you are being kind to your brain, you can do the following to give it a little boost:
1) Eat foods high in DHA or omega-3, as well as those that provide good defense against free radicals (colorful fruits and vegys like cranberries, grapes, and tomatos).

2) Make wise health decisions - quit smoking, get exercise and try to get adequate sleep daily

3) Keep your brain challenged - try a new puzzle, learn a language, or get some good books to keep your mind sharp!

Trying to quit smoking? Well, new research out this summer suggests that you may have a harder time being successful if you are a woman. Indeed, a review of clinical trials by Dr. Shiffman at the University of Pittsburgh indicates that women have a 25% lower success rate than men who are trying to quit.

New theories among research psychologists outline the role emotions and stress reactions play in quitting for women. Basicly, it seems that relapse back to cigarettes is often triggered in women because of experiencing acute emotion. The researchers aren’t saying that women are more emotional. They are just saying that women turn to smoking when they are dealing with high stress and that cigarettes play a larger role in women’s lives in reducing negative mood, stabilizing weight, and managing the stresses of every day life. Hence, it is harder for women to give up their cigarettes, and they are at higher risk for relapse when something stressful happens.

Physicians have also noticed that women do not do as well with first-line treatments for smoking cessation - nicotine replacement. Women may do better with stress management techniques. So if you are trying to quit, try some of these strategies to manage stress and keep a better handle on your quit program:

1) Try short term therapy
2) Exercise, especially yoga and pilates
3) Talk to friends daily
4) Journal
5) Listen to music or read a good book
6) Deep breathing and muscle relaxation
7) Make sure you’re getting good sleep
8) Be sure to tell yourself positive things about your efforts
9) Pamper yourself
10) Coordinate your quit program around time-off at work

We’ve all heard it over and over again, right?. Eat healthy, and eat in moderation. We are all very familiar about how food can affect our waistline and our health, but do you know how food affects your mood, or even your sleep? Nutritional research is surfacing all the time that helps psychologists learn how important healthy food, especially in the right combinations, can help people have more energy and feel happier.

You know when you’re feel stressed, or you’re in the mid-afternoon slump with little to no energy and you can’t concentrate, you want to reach for a soda (or an energy drink) and some candy to give you a little boost, right? Maybe try tryosine instead. What? Tyrosine is a certain kind of amino acid that boosts norepinephrine and dopamine, the classical neurotransmitters in the brain that have been linked to anxiety and depression when depleted. Foods high in tyrosine can help lift spirits and give energy. Tyrosine is found in lean meats, but other foods that can help counter depression include those high in iron (red meat, eggs, iron-fortified cereal), folic acid, and selenium (Brazil nuts, tuna, sunflower seeds). Lastly, try eating four or five snacks or small meals throughout the day instead of two or three large meals, and of course, the old staple - a brief burst of exercise that helps get oxygen to the brain can most certainly improve energy, mood, and concentration.

So what about for sleep? Diets high in fat and sugar deliver to our body another kind of amino acid, tryptophan, as well as serotonin, both of which help us relax and feel drowsy. You’ve probably heard about the turkey slump on Thanksgiving Day. Well, it’s true. So you want to avoid foods that have tryptophan when you’re feeling blue or having difficulty generating energy. But if you want to go to sleep, foods high in this kind of amino acid can help tremendously, like bananas, milk, cheese slices, cottage cheese, yogurt, avocado, hazelnuts, almonds, beans, and whole grains. Also, try to avoid large, heavy meals before bedtime, spicy food, and of course, caffeine.

Originally Published 06-29-09

New research out of the University of Sussex reveals that reading is a very effective tool for reducing stress, and in some circustances, more effective than other tools like taking a bath or going for a walk. Why? It’s because reading takes the mind away from all the other stressors in our life and distracts us with a whole literary world. Their research suggests that reading, even for six minutes per day, can reduce stress by as much as 68%. Those are incredible numbers, and they even showed that reading eases muscles in the body, including the heart. According to the researchers, listening to music reduced stress by 61%, having a cup of tea reduced stress by 54% and stress was reduced by 42% after taking a walk, all of which do not truly distract our mind. Dr. Lewis, who conducted the research, said, “Losing yourself in a book is the ultimate relaxation”. In these tough economic times, however, you are likely to feel more relaxed after using your imagination and creativity in a good novel, than reading the newspaper or a serious magazine. So go ahead and give yourself 20-30 minutes this week to just sit down, relax and read a book that interests you.

Originally Published 06-23-09

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, an influential and independent panel of experts convened by the federal government which sets guidelines for doctors on various health issues, is now recommending physicians go one step further with teens regarding depression in their medical offices. The medical panel is suggesting that physicians and pediatricians screen all teens for depression, in addition to routinely asking them if they are or have been suicidal.

This new step reflects the seriousness of teen depression. Indeed, the journal Pediatrics in April, indicated that nearly 2 million teens suffer with depression. That’s 6% of American teenagers with clinical depression!

This is important, because physicians are playing a key role in helping to detect and sometimes treat mental health problems in kids and adolescents. Routine yearly physicals are a great place for screening and questionairres to be completed about depression, and if there are concerns, adolescents and their parents can enter treatment preventatively before a mental health crisis or serious incident of self-harming occurs.

Originally Published 04-17-09

Got a little one at home that will only eat mac and cheese or chicken nuggets with ketchup? Been doing that battle for a long time, and you’ve tried everything you can think of? Here are a few more tips about how to manage those meal time wars:

Try finger foods and keep things small so they can eat with their hands:

Use fun food shapes, colors and faces so that the food is interesting

Do food bars, like build-your-own taco, pizza, or stuffed potato

Hold the sauce - put sauce on the side or don’t serve at all with little ones

Keep foods separate - avoid battles by not letting things touch each other. Put them on separate serving dishes. If you’re little guy won’t eat a sandwich for instance, put all the incrediants out but in separate piles or on different dishes.

Unless your child is easily constipated, try cheese, cheese, and cheese

Be sneaky - add vegetables into soups, sauces and hidden in casseroles

Use fun props like chop sticks, fancy toothpicks and unbrellas, crazy straws, candlelight dinners, carpet picnics

Don’t be afraid to let your child choose when he is hungry. If he won’t eat, he won’t starve. Remember, kids are better at recognizing hunger than adults are. The key is not letting him choose what he gets to eat. You don’t have to fix three kinds of dinners each night.

Avoid liquid calories in soda, juice and milk before mealtime. Little tummies get full fast.

Close the kitchen and avoid providing snacks and candy before mealtime.

Make sure your kids are getting plenty of exercise and sunshine which build hunger.

Avoid power struggles. When you show frustration and impatience, you are inadvertently making meal times into an ugly place, something you don’t want your child to associate with food. Keep meals calm and peaceful as much as you can.

Originally Published 04-07-09

Think you can’t live without your PDA or phone because it makes your life more convenient, and your work easier? Not so fast.

Guess what? Cognitive psychologists who study workers who are interrupted with pop-ups, email alerts, calandar reminders, and instant messaging, report that users of these kinds of technologies are suffering from distraction overload and continuous partial attention. Their conclusion after much research - you risk never focusing on any thought or perception for long, as well as rarely being able to work straight through to completion on anything. In fact, research at the University of California, found that the average worker spends only 11 minutes on any given project before being interrupted and it takes an average of 15 minutes for most workers to productively resume a challening task after they’ve been interrupted by something as small as an email alert. But even with the virtues of the handheld, that many interruptions can impair higher cognitive functioning such as decision making.

Why? The delay reflects how long it takes to reactivate memories and refocus thinking resources. Interruptions can also dereail brain processes that sort incoming signals, causing memory loss and decreased memory accuracy. And the more brain power that the interruption demands, the more disruptive it will be to the task you’re being pulled away from. So cognitive scientists conclude that there is no such thing as multitasking with your crackberry because it is impossible to process information or use your frontal lobe as effectively, impeding concentration, and creativity. So think again when your boss tries to tell you how much more productive you will be with a Blackberry on your hip at the grocery store, dinner table, vacation beach or in the car.

Originally Published 03-23-09