Whether your teenager is a male or a female, many teenagers battle body image due to the judgmental opinions that other classmates, friends, or social media may offer them without any regard to their feelings. The teenage years are heavily influenced by what others think, which can carry into their adult lives. It isn’t easy…
When people think of self-care, they often think of taking bubble baths with aromatherapy candles lit in the corners of the tub, getting a manicure and pedicure at the salon, or practicing yoga. While this may seem feminine, there is nothing wrong with a guy experiencing these same examples of self-care on their own time.…
Trauma changes the way you see yourself, the world around you, and your place in the world around you. Research into PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder, is still new and developing. However, it is clear that trauma changes the way the brain works, starting with the brain’s interactions with the nervous system. Trauma at a…
We certainly aren’t going to put bars on the windows and doors just because our teen is sneaking out of the house, though we might have thought about it. Our teen clearly doesn’t care about our rules, our consequences, or our boundaries. Curfews mean nothing for our household, or the laws of the town in…
At just 19 years old, South Carolina teenager Kaylee Murhart is blind. Her blindness isn’t genetic, the side effect of a disease, or the symptom of a freak accident. Tragically, Kaylee’s blindness is the result of a bad interaction with drugs which resulted in her entering a severe state of psychosis and gouging out her…
Research on the effects of marijuana on the teenage brain has revealed enlightening information in recent years. For example, teenage marijuana use inhibits progress in the prefrontal cortex area of the brain. Some newer research suggested that marijuana use among teenagers could be a catalyst for psychotic episodes. Marijuana use in adolescence has also had…
Published in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, an Oregon State University study examined the effect of both religion and spirituality on a teen and a teen’s mental health. Both religion and spirituality play a different role in helping teens regulate themselves. Religion seemed to help teens regulate their behaviors while spirituality helped teens regulate their…
We heard it almost immediately when we told our teen or adolescent they’re going to treatment for addiction. I can’t. The list of I can’t’s is infinite. I can’t go. I can’t leave school. I can’t leave my friends. I can’t be without my phone. I can’t leave home. I can’t meet new people. I…
Nothing hurts a parent’s heart more than watching a child obsess over their perceived failures while not giving any attention to their obvious accomplishments. We lament the fact that our children have gained such perfectionist qualities to the point of hurting their self-esteem. We want them to be able to recognize what good they do…
Parents are just as familiar with catastrophizing as their teens are. Catastrophizing thought patterns tend to include a lot of “What if’s” followed by devastating assumptions. Parents who have watched their adolescent or teen struggle with active addiction have practically lived in a world of what if. What if they don’t come home? They’ll never…
