2 Terrible Truths about Stress Today

So, stress is up! We all know that high stress levels are on the rise all across the nation but what’s the real truth about stress today? Why is it impacting everyone we know- both the young and the old, and why does its negativity reign supreme?
1. Self-care is not a priority. Only forty percent of Americans rate their health as very good or excellent, leaving the remaining sixty percent with less than adequate self-rated health, as stated by the APA. (2) The first terrible truth about stress in America is a lack of self-care. It’s simply not a priority. Instead of managing stress in healthy ways by staying active, eating nutritional meals, and making our personal health a priority we opt to indulge in unhealthy behaviors like drugs and alcohol, over or under eating, and being lazy when it comes to regular exercise.
The APA continues to provide a list of startling facts including, “two-fifths of Americans reported overeating or eating unhealthy foods due to stress.” (3) The terribly sad truth is that we, as Americans are taking part in a viciously repetitive cycle. We choose to eat unhealthy, not be active, and overall not make self-care a priority which in return creates stress in our life. And what do we do because we are feeling stressed? We continue to eat unhealthy, not be active, and not make self-care a priority. Yikes!
2. Lack of willpower is the problem. The second truth in our one-two-punch against stress is the lack of willpower. The APA cites the lack of willpower as being the biggest barrier to adopting healthier behavior and continues to inform us that survey respondents are mistakenly relying on an inner strength to make necessary health changes (4). Similar to standing in front of an empty refrigerator with the door wide open waiting for something delicious to appear, you too should stop waiting for some inner strength to emerge against unhealthy choices.
Willpower is a choice you make, not something that all of a sudden happens within you. Combatting the stress in your life requires better health choices through nutrition and exercise and both of those choices take a strong will power. Don’t be afraid to awaken yours.
Stress is up because self-care and willpower are down. The 2 terrible truths, the first being that Americans are not prioritizing self-care through eating healthy and being active and the second, that Americans have a lack of willpower are society’s downfall when it comes to combatting stress. Want to beat the stress in your personal life? It’s as simple as prioritizing your health and having the willpower to stick to those healthy choices.
Mark D. Parisi, Psy.D. & Associates, P.C. provides counseling, psychological testing, and psychotropic medication management in Mount Prospect and Chicago - serving surrounding Cook, Lake, DuPage, and Will Counties. They accept most insurance and offer extremely affordable sliding scale rates. Call (847) 909-9858 for a free, no-obligation telephone consultation.


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Sources:

1. Stressed In America, 2 Terrible truths, 2011, http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/01/stressed-america.aspx
2. Stressed In America, Americans rate personal health stats, 2011, http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/01/stressed-america.aspx
3. Stressed In America, Unhealthy eating due to stress stats, 2011, http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/01/stressed-america.aspx
4. Stressed In America, Lack of willpower facts, 2011, http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/01/stressed-america.aspx

Is Screen Time Weighing On Your Child?

Between televisions, video games, tablets, computers, and smartphones children today are bombarded with an overwhelming supply of screen technology but is all the screen time weighing too heavily on your child? In 2013 the average 8 to 10-year-old spent nearly 8 hours every day with a variety of different media, and teenagers spent eleven or more hours per day, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).(1). Yikes!
While these numbers may seem shocking, they certainly are not that surprising if you truly take a moment to ponder your child’s day to day activities. Much of what we do with our time as adults requires one form of technology or another- the same goes for our children. Should parents be concerned?
Absolutely! In May, 2014 a prospective study testing the effects of parental monitoring of children’s media use concluded that “encouraging parents to monitor children’s media carefully can have a wide range of health benefits for children.” (2) To help your children begin reaping those better health benefits here are a few tips for monitoring screen time in your child’s daily life.

• Limit. Obviously, enforcing a zero tolerance for screen time is quite unrealistic. After all, when used in moderation, screen time can be beneficial in key areas like education. Instead, try to limit screen time to only 1 to 2 hours each day.
• Monitor. It’s vital to not only limit screen times in your child’s life but to also monitor the media they are accessing. By activating parental settings on media such as internet and television you can better control the media your child is able to view.
• Move. These days, it seems as if every bedroom within a house has its own TV. An easy way to monitor your children’s screen time is by simply moving the televisions out of the bedrooms and having one or two common room TVs for the entire family to share.
• Model. Making a point not only to limit and monitor the screen time of your children, but also your own is a great way to model through active parenting, according to the AAP. (3) Create a family home use plan for media and enforce it together, allowing each member of the family- young or old- to gain the health benefits of less screen time.

With so much of our youth spending 8 or more hours in front of a screen every day, it’s no wonder parents are beginning to grow more and more concerned. By being a part of your child’s media use you can better help them reap the good health benefits that come with less screen time. Begin limiting, monitoring, moving, and modeling your way to better health with a little less screen time.
Mark D. Parisi, Psy.D. & Associates, P.C. provides counseling, psychological testing, and psychotropic medication management in Mount Prospect and Chicago - serving surrounding Cook, Lake, DuPage, and Will Counties. They accept most insurance and offer extremely affordable sliding scale rates. Call (847) 909-9858 for a free, no-obligation telephone consultation.


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Sources:

1. Children, Adolescents, and the Media, Average time spent daily on media, 2013, http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/132/5/958.full
2. Protective Effects of Parental Monitoring of Children’s Media Use: A Prospective Study, Positive health benefits of media monitoring, 2014, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24686493
3. Children, Adolescents, and the Media, Model through active parenting, 2013, http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/132/5/958.full

Can You Fake Mental Illness?

While you may be thinking, “Why would anyone want to fake a mental illness,” you may be surprised to learn that while mental illnesses have their obvious negatives, they also offer a handful of positives. Some of which are even believed to be worth faking it for.

We see hideous crimes committed regularly in society. There is almost always something horrific in the news that you would think, “Clearly that person must be insane to commit such a horrible crime against humanity.” And so, we watch as they choose to plea insanity. Now, the significance of proving insanity in the court room is that if you are deemed insane you are no longer eligible for the death penalty and cannot be held responsible for your actions in the same way a sane person would be, according to the U.S. Criminal Resource Manual. (1) An obvious draw for completely sane people to want to fake a mental illness, right?

You certainly don’t have to commit a horrible crime against humanity to consider the idea of faking a mental illness. Average people, leading average lives attempt to fake mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety often. Again, you may be asking yourself, “Why?” People with mental illnesses, similar to physical illnesses, receive attention. People want to hear about your struggle and help you cope or even help you overcome your mental illness. People who strongly desire attention may seek it through faking sick, mentally. But is it possible?

According to the Queensland government, “It is extremely difficult to ‘fake’ mental illness, particularly for an extended period of time.” (2) While someone may be able to imitate depression-like or insanity-like symptoms for a short period of time, eventually ones’ true colors will begin to show. In addition, a series of tests have been specifically put in place to weed out any potential fakers when it comes to pleading insanity within the court room.

It is important to note that while people who attempt to fake a mental illness for whatever benefit entices them often has an underlying root cause. They may have a great need for attention from others or enjoy lying and fooling people. Or they simply want an escape from the responsibility of the crimes they commit. Whatever the case may be, it’s important for us to look beyond the failed attempt to deceive.

From the court room to the dinner table and everywhere in-between, you may witness someone who attempts to fake a mental illness. Whether it be insanity, depression, anxiety, or another form of mental illness, there are a variety of benefits that comes with faking it. But don’t be alarmed. Faking a mental illness is extremely difficult, especially for an extended period of time. It turns out, you can’t fake it!

Mark D. Parisi, Psy.D. & Associates, P.C. provides counseling, psychological testing, and psychotropic medication management in Mount Prospect and Chicago - serving surrounding Cook, Lake, DuPage, and Will Counties. They accept most insurance and offer extremely affordable sliding scale rates. Call (847) 909-9858 for a free, no-obligation telephone consultation


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Sources:

1. Criminal Resource Manual, Perks of pleading insanity, 2015, http://www.justice.gov/usam/criminal-resource-manual-634-insanity-defense-reform-act-1984
2. Frequently Asked Questions about Mental Illness, Difficult to fake mental illness quote, 2006, https://www.health.qld.gov.au/forensicmentalhealth/indigenous/docs/ind_fs1.pdf

5 Ways Sleep Deprivation is Affecting Your Teen

“Sleep is essential for health and well-being,” according to the American Psychological Association (APA). (1)Especially in your teenage years, the amount of sleep you receive each night is affecting you either positively or negatively. If you are someone who either doesn’t get quite enough sleep or more seriously- struggles with sleep deprivation, odds are you are reaping more of the negative effects.


According to the National Sleep Foundation, 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders and 60 percent of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more. (2) It’s obvious sleep deprivation is a large problem nationwide but how is it affecting your teen?


1. Learning. Roughly one fourth of all teenagers go to bed between the hours of eleven and midnight. With such late bedtimes and early morning wakeups for school, these teens are simply not getting the adequate sleep they require to learn. Absorbing information and applying it takes work, without sleep you can expect your teen’s educational performance and ability to learn will worsen.
2. Behavior. Studies have shown that teens who suffer sleep deprivation are more likely to experience emotional distress and act on impulse. Your teen may experience an inability to focus and the need to be hyperactive.
3. Mental health. When your teen lacks adequate sleep they are at a higher risk of feeling sad, hopeless, and depressed. Because of these emotions they are also more likely to have suicidal thoughts. According to one psychologist, “Sleep deprivation and depression go hand in hand.” (3)
4. Obesity. Because lack of sleep has been linked to serious health issues such as obesity and diabetes, it goes without saying that your sleep-deprived teen is at a higher risk for developing both.
5. Substance use. With sleep deprivation comes an increased risk for both substance use and abuse with teens. Over-tired teenagers are more likely to turn to alcohol and drugs and because of this, they are also at an increased risk to drink and drive, binge drink, and even participate in sexual behavior.


With 40 Million Americans suffering from sleep disorders, taking into account the teenage population- it begs the question, how is sleep deprivation affecting your teen. If your teen isn’t getting the appropriate amount of sleep you can expect them to experience negative effects such as worsened educational performance, hyperactive behavior, depression, obesity, and also an increased risk for substance use and abuse.


Mark D. Parisi, Psy.D. & Associates, P.C. provides counseling, psychological testing, and psychotropic medication management in Mount Prospect and Chicago - serving surrounding Cook, Lake, DuPage, and Will Counties. They accept most insurance and offer extremely affordable sliding scale rates. Call (847) 909-9858 for a free, no-obligation telephone consultation.
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Sources:

1. Sleep, Sleep is essential quote, 2015, http://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/index.aspx
2. Getting a Good Night’s Sleep With the Help of Psychology, Number of Americans with sleep disorder stats, 2004, http://www.apa.org/research/action/sleep.aspx
3. Sleep Deprivation Linked to Depression in Teens, Psychologist quote, 2010, http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/09/sleep.deprivation.depression/