The importance of Mindfulness

Mindfulness can enrich our lives far more than we realize.....
Posted by Health, Wellness and Mindfulness on Monday, June 8, 2015

The damage caused by bullying persists much longer then the bullying itself

According to a longitudinal British study just published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the detrimental effects of bullying can lasts for decades and influence a person's socioeconomic status, social relationships, often leading to a poorer quality of life as far out as in their 50s.
As reported by the researchers of the study;

The impact of bullying victimization was not limited to indicators of adult health. Children who  were frequently bullied had lower educational levels at midlife, and men in the labor market were  more likely to be unemployed and to earn less than their peers. Social relationships in adulthood were affected too; children who were bullied were at increased risk of living without a spouse or partner at age 50, were less likely to have met up with friends in the recent past, and were less  likely to have access to social support if they were sick. Bullying victimization also affected adult well-being; being bullied was associated with lower perceived quality of  life at age 50 and lower satisfaction with life so far. Cohort members who had been frequently bullied also anticipated less life satisfaction in the years to come. When  controlling for childhood confounders, bullying victimization became marginally associated with unemployment (for men), net pay (for men), and meeting friends in the  last 2 weeks. All other associations remained significant.
 
In this study data was collected from almost 98% of all births in one week of 1958 in Scotland, England and Wales, leading to about 18,000 participants. Subsequent follow-up were then carried out at age 7, 11 and 16 years in their childhood, and then at ages 23, 33, 42, and 50 years in adulthood. To assess presence and frequency of bullying during childhood researchers interviewed parents. Whereas the psychological distress resulting in adult life was assessed through various standardized test.

It is clear from these observations that in addition to effectively reducing incidents of childhood bullying efforts must be made to minimize its effect on mental, emotional and physical.

To learn more about bullying and to find help please check Stopbullying.gov


References:
Adult Health Outcomes of Childhood Bullying Victimization: Evidence From a Five-Decade Longitudinal British Birth Cohort (American Journal of Psychiatry)
Mental And Physical Toll Of Bullying Persists For Decades (Health News from NPR)
 

We must bring back family mealtime chatting!

I grew up in a family where almost every meal was a sit down with the family and chat time. Although as we grew up it became less and less possible at breakfast and lunch, everyone had different schedules but dinner time stayed the same. Everyone had to show up at the dinner table at the same time, any late arrivals were expected to provide good reason.

But it wasn't just eating together, it was more talking to each other that was special. We talked about school, about issues with friends, family plans for the coming weekend or holidays, extended family updates, dad's job news, mom's social news, current affairs, and just anything and everything. We knew all the names of my mom's friends, dad's colleagues, and each others friends, enemies and frenemies too! And our parents were aware of what was happening in each of our lives. We shared, supported, discussed, advised, joked and teased throughout dinner. Basically we bonded and were constantly reminded that we were together and never alone.
Interestingly when I used to mention chatter at my house to friends, it became quite clear that this wasn't prevalent in every household. The friends who didn't get to sit down to eat and talk with family everyday expressed envy and unhappiness. That made me appreciate those family mealtimes at home even more!
That is also why it was no surprise, when today I read this piece of news 'Talking at mealtimes boosts children's confidence' on BBC World News, announcing that after studying about 35,000 UK children, they had come to the conclusion that eating meals together with family while chatting with each other was a confidence booster. I can only hope that when they do sit down to eat and talk to each other, the kids and parents leave their electronic devices in some other room! :)

P.S:
Talking at mealtimes boosts children's confidence

Something must be changed....

When I read headline like " More Than 6 Percent of U.S. Teens Take Psychiatric Meds: Survey ADHD, depression most common conditions reported by those on medication", my first thought is this should not be an acceptable situation.
How can we just read this and be ok with it? Why are so many teenagers taking such medications? Are our health professionals are being too quick in prescribing these? Or are US teenagers missing some essential element in their upbringing and lives that is leading to a rise in need for treatment.We need to ask ourselves these pointed questions as the parents and do whatever needs to be done.

Here is an excerpt of the article on WebMD from HealthDay News; 

'Slightly more than 6 percent of U.S. teens take prescription medications for a mental health condition such as depression or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new survey shows. The survey also revealed a wide gap in psychiatric drug use across ethnic and racial groups. Earlier studies have documented a rise in the use of these medications among teens, but they mainly looked at high-risk groups such as children who have been hospitalized for psychiatric problems. 

The new survey provides a snapshot of the number of adolescents in the general population who took a psychiatric drug in the past month from 2005 to 2010.Teens aged 12 to 19 typically took drugs to treat depression or ADHD, the two most common mental health disorders in that age group. About 4 percent of kids aged 12 to 17 have experienced a bout of depression, the study found.Meanwhile, 9 percent of children aged 5 to 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, a behavioral disorder marked by difficulty paying attention and impulsive behavior. 

Males were more likely to be taking medication to treat ADHD, while females were more commonly taking medication to treat depression. This follows patterns seen in the diagnosis of these conditions across genders. Exactly what is driving the new numbers is not clear, but "in my opinion, it's an increase in the diagnosis of various conditions that these medications can be prescribed for," said study author Bruce Jonas. He is an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). But these are stressful times and it is also possible that children are becoming more vulnerable to these conditions as a result. "The recession and various world events might be a contributing factor," Jonas speculated. (Full Article)

Men really are from Mars and women really are from Venus!!

Men and women's brains are 'wired differently'

Men and women's brains are connected in different ways which may explain why the sexes excel at certain tasks, say researchers.

A US team at the University of Pennsylvania scanned the brains of nearly 1,000 men, women, boys and girls and found striking differences.

 
The "connectome maps" reveal the differences between the male brain (seen in blue) and the female brain (orange)

Male brains appeared to be wired front to back, with few connections bridging the two hemispheres.
In females, the pathways criss-crossed between left and right.
These differences might explain why men, in general, tend to be better at learning and performing a single task, like cycling or navigating, whereas women are more equipped for multitasking, say the researchers in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The same volunteers were asked to perform a series of cognitive tests, and the results appeared to support this notion. (Complete Article)