teens

You have likely noticed a change in the workplace with the arrival of the ‘Millennials’! From a leadership point of view, are we embracing this change or are we sticking to how we believe ‘things should be’? [Read more…]

On Tuesday 6th February I will be supporting Safer Internet Day 2018 by extending my my free and confidential Mental Health Guidance question & answer service to provide guidance on internet safety and wellbeing and sharing other resources around the related issues.

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Almost 4 years ago, I wrote a piece about the effects of bullying because when I’m meeting and working with those who are psychologically distressed, I found one cause can frequently be attributed to the experience of being bullied in their early years. So, I asked if this is A Lifelong Legacy? especially as I have seen the effects from the ages 11 to over 60.

Sadly, even with all the awareness raised about bullying, this subject is still of great concern. We still see some concerning statistics that 43% of teens report that they have been bullied and that 90% of those who witness cyber bullying ignore it. [Read more…]

Just a few weeks after a horrific incident on Westminster Bridge in London, we faced further sadness when a bomb went off just after Ariana Grande’s concert at the Manchester Arena. Whilst all terror attacks are horrific and saddening, this one is particularly heartbreaking as this seems to be affecting our younger generation more so when they heard of the children and teens (particularly) who were caught in this terror. [Read more…]

Tim, who has become our resident guest post author, explains why he has always hated Christmas, New Year and some other days.

I have always hated Christmas and the New Year…

I also hate my birthday.

I hate some other days, too.

Let me try to explain why.

When I was a child, before I was a teenager – indeed, up to and including my thirteenth birthday, all in my life was, at least outwardly, rosy. I had the wonder of childhood, was mostly unmolested by the demons of puberty, I had a safe home (though I had what I imagined were the usual rows with my parents) and I felt happy when both festivals arrived. I was given presents, some quite wonderful, others mundane. All was right with my juvenile world. Well, probably, anyway. [Read more…]

Studying, wherever or whatever the educational environment, is nothing new yet the pressures today have arguably never been so intense. So how CAN WE reduce the associated stress, anxiety, depression and other turbulent symptoms before they become embedded and define our lives?

We cannot rely on others for our happiness, we have a choice to own some accountability!

Taking Responsibility

Meditation is one important way we can reduce and remove stress, replacing it with a dose of inner peace. However, it can be a challenge to meditate without a guide. Guided meditations literally walk you through and help you find a calm and peaceful state, one step at a time. I’ve created something here for you to complement this post.

Take just 13 minutes to find some peace and become more grounded. This will enable you to get the day off to the best start, to re-set yourself during the day, or of particular benefit, last thing at night to aid with sleep. (Best listened to via earphones, click the player below.)

Top 10 Tips to Reduce Stress

1. Get more Productive & Focused – Studying and trying to focus for longer periods without a break increases the time taken to absorb information. Get away from the study area and practise a few minutes (or more) of being mindful. Use a breathing exercise and some centering thoughts before an exam – to focus just on one question at a time, not the outcome!

2. Grab Regular Breaks – Taking breaks each hour will increase your performance and allow the brain to absorb and ‘sort’ information already received. Set a timer to nudge you!

3. Get Playful – Manage fatigue by scheduling ‘play-time’ as well as rest or other down-time. Seven hours’ restful sleep is sufficient for many of us, despite the belief we might need Twelve!

4. Stay Hydrated – Avoid de-hydration if you want a clearer mind and to reduce the incidence of headache (dehydration being a common cause of headaches).

5. Alcohol – Another major contributory factor to dehydration is alcohol. Clearly downtime is often going to include alcohol consumption so do make sure you replace the elevated loss of vital fluids and electrolytes after the party! Do expect less optimal performance for that exam the morning after alcohol!

6. Eye strain – Look after your eyes, this is another limiting factor for some of us. I suffer dreadfully if I don’t take breaks to rest my eyes. Do make sure you’re on top of your eye health exams.

7. Exercise – Whether it’s simply 30 minutes per day, exercise such as walking, taking in the environment, swimming, going to the gym or other low / high aerobic impact activity, all will reduce the effects of anxiety and depression and provide a natural, healthy high.

8. Socialise – It can become too easy to become ‘hermit’ like and ‘veg out’ then study and ‘veg out’ again, losing touch with others. Try to stay connected. We unconsciously learn to gain understanding when others are feeling and thinking how we are – facing challenges and doubts.

9. Eat Healthily – Our fast-food friends make it all too easy to grab some junk food – and now and again, why not indulge? But our moods and foods are very much intertwined so, if you want optimal performance, look after your physical house with foods that make you feel good, and think well.

10. Perspectives – Much of our anxiety is around perceptions and cognitions. If we can come to our breath and body by way of a regular daily practise, we can retain a more realistic sense of our reality in this moment. Spending study and down-time ruminating over the potential for success or ‘failure’ (expectations not being met), serves only to distract you from what you are supposed to be doing!

I hope this goes some way to providing a measure of what can be possible while we attempt to reach our goals, and to live more optimally. For more advice via Skype or in-person, do call or write to me.

I’ll be creating more guided meditations in due course. If you enjoyed listening to today’s podcast, why not sign up to receive each one FREE, together with my fortnightly posts?

If there’s one sure thing about parenting, it is the sympathetic looks you get from other parents once your child or children have hit their teenage years. Trying to navigate these years can be a challenging task for even the most committed parents, as it seems almost a force of nature when a teenager and an adult do not see eye to eye. It is perhaps helpful to understand that this may be out of your teen’s control. Amy Williams, our guest author, delves into this.

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Please read and share this helpful infographic for keeping teens safe online. The data is useful anywhere around the world for challenges that simply must not be ignored! Some surprising figures to consider!

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Congratulations! How proud are you? Your wonderful offspring are about to start college or uni; or recommence term and you could not be more pleased. All those years of cajoling them to do their homework and gain great grades have finally paid off!

So, that’s ‘you’ as parents sorted then! How are the kids – the students feeling? [Read more…]