The Raising Socially Anxious Children Blog

admin April 20th, 2010

Finally…people are understanding more and more just how important it is to understand the early warning signs of mental health. The subject is gaining momentum and no one is happier to see it than me. I found a fantastic article that talks about how not only the parents but the environment and the community are all a part of a childs “social-emotional wellness”.

Three key mental health disorders of young children are: anxiety disorders such as, separation anxiety and social anxiety; mood disorders like depression; and behavior disorders such as Sensory Processing Disorder.

Sometimes, it’s hard to believe that young children are actually experiencing disorders like depression, but it is a reality. Identifying and treating children with these disorders is more complex than, let’s say, a broken arm. But, hopefully, we are just as concerned about our children’s emotional wellness as we are about their physical wellness.

For more information visit Zero to Three

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admin April 20th, 2010

Here’s a great little article about fears and phobias. Take a look!

There are three categories of phobias:

* Agoraphobia – the literal translation is “fear of the marketplace.” Agoraphobics fear that they will have a panic attack when they are in open spaces or a situation where they can’t escape easily or without embarrassment.

* Social Phobia – irrational fear of embarrassment in certain social situations, such as public speaking. Symptoms include sweating, blushing, nausea, anxiety and rapid heartbeat. This phobia can limit a person’s ability to work or to form meaningful relationships.

* Specific phobias – this category includes more than 350 phobias that mostly center on situations, animals and the environment.

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admin April 20th, 2010

On Sunday, May 2 2010, the 9th annual Walk for Kids Help Phone will be raising vital funds for the charity and the hundreds of kids who call in or post every day

Have you ever heard of Kids Help Phone? I have and I know all the good work that they do but here’s a look at how they help in the area of mental health.

The Walk for Kids Help Phone is the counselling service’s most important fundraising event of the year. The 2010 goal is to raise $3M, a vital 25% of its operating budget, in order to remain there for the young people of Canada who are dealing with increasingly complex issues. The funds raised go directly to support the work of Kids Help Phone skilled, professional counsellors; respond immediately to kids’ needs, explore options and equip them with the skills to meet life’s challenges.

Like mental health.

In 2009, more young people contacted Kids Help Phone about mental health issues than about issues related to peers, family, or sexuality. In fact, from 2008 to 2009, Kids Help Phone recorded a 4% jump in the incidence of contacts from children and youth that were seeking information or support around issues related to mental and emotional health.

The 2010 Kids Help Phone study, Mental Health Literacy: Kids in Canada Talk About Mental Health shows that only half of the respondents would seek out help if they were dealing with intense feelings, or were worried about their mental health. Given how common mental health issues are in young people – research indicates that approximately one out of every five people struggle with mental health problems before the age of 18 – this finding is concerning. The importance of an anonymous and confidential service like Kids Help Phone is once more demonstrated by the young people of the survey who clearly identified the conditions needed to make reaching out a possibility.

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admin April 19th, 2010

The April issue of ADAC’s newsletter is available. There is lots of great stuff in this one so if you get a chance take a look!

Yoga for Anxiety and Panic Disorder
Dr. Timothy McCall writes in the Yogajournal.com that
yoga is a great tool to help in dealing with anxiety
and panic attacks. He explains that a good asana
practice will help reduce the nervous energy that can
contribute to anxiety. This is done using yogic
breathing exercises. He goes on to explain that the
practice of pranayama, “leads to greater internal
sensitivity” this allows for people practicing it to be
able to “detect the first glimmer of an anxiety or
panic attack and respond with yogic tools that might
head off the problem”. To read the entire article go
to: http://www.yogajournal.com/for_teachers/2390.

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admin April 14th, 2010

If you come to the site often you’ll notice that now there’s a “Subscribe” button at the top. In an effort to make sure that all you readers get timely updates and to keep abreast of upcoming events I encourage you to sign up. So what’s the blog contest you ask? Well, everyone who signs up between now and June 1st, 2010 gets their name put in for two “Iris the Dragon” books. One is on stopping the stigma of mental illness and the other is on anxiety. So go ahead and see if you’ll be lucky. Either way you win!

Thanks for reading!

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admin April 14th, 2010

Have you ever thought that you would see celebrities come together in the name of mental health? Well, I have found an organization that does that and if you imagine the names on the board of advisors reads like a big motion picture. Actor Joe Pantoliano is President of No Kidding Me 2 (NKM2). I came across the facebook group the other day and when I dug in further I discovered a wealth of big stars who are putting their faces on the line in the name of mental health awareness and reduce the stigma. How exciting is that? If you go to NKM2’s website you’ll see stars such as Harrison Ford, Delta Burke, James Cameron, Dana Delaney, Matt Dillon, Samuel A. Jackson and the list just continues.

What’s even more exciting is that they have just released a public service announcement called, “All American Brain“. It is absolutely amazing to see and it gave me goosebumps when I watched it. Finally, more voices, well known voices to raise awareness and hope that mental health becomes just as common a topic as heart disease. I look forward to seeing what this fabulous organization is going to do and it too has given me that spring forward push to continue to do the work I have been doing to fight so hard for all of us. I encourage you to take a look at the NKM2 site and be inspired.

Mission

No Kidding, Me Too! is a 501(c)(3) public charity, whose purpose is to remove the stigma attached to brain dis-ease through education and the breaking down of societal barriers. Our goal is to empower those with brain dis-ease to admit their illness, seek treatment, and become even greater members of society.

The Goal

Make Brain Dis-ease cool and sexy. We want a normal conversation in America to be:

“I have bipolar disorder/schizophrenia/insert dis-ease”

“No Kidding, Me Too!”

Who Has The Stigma:

Those suffering from brain dis-eases including anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating, pyromania, kleptomania, compulsive gambling, addictions, paranoia, multiple personality disorder, gender identity disorder, Down’s syndrome, psychosomatic disorder, traumatic brain injury (TBI), tic disorders, and others.

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admin April 13th, 2010

Research shows that people who get regular exercise have fewer symptoms of anxiety, and reduced fears of symptoms such as a racing heart or rapid breathing. It is believed that exercise exerts an impact on neurotransmitters in the brain, much like antidepressants.

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admin April 11th, 2010

Just a reminder that the Parents for Childrens Mental Health annual conference is just around the corner. April 30 & May 1st 2010. Check out the PCMH website for more details.

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admin April 11th, 2010

It is my pleasure to share with you a wonderful website and resource from Lori Lite. Here is a description of what this great resource has to offer both parents and children.

Stress Free Kids offers children’s books, CDs, and curriculums designed to help children manage anxiety, stress, and anger while promoting self-esteem and peaceful sleep.

Our products will introduce you and your children to the proven techniques of deep breathing, progressive muscular relaxation, visualizations, and affirmations/positive statements. The first to introduce research-based, stress management techniques in this unique storytelling format, we have been embraced by psychologists, child life care specialists, teachers, counselors, parents, and most importantly, children.

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admin April 8th, 2010

Every now and again I get people asking me to pass along information about studies that they are doing to further delve into the anatomy of anxiety. This week I was asked by a psychology student from Australia to pass along information about a study she is conducting researching childhood anxiety. As you’ll read below it takes about 35 minutes to complete. If you’re interested all the information is below.

My name is Kathryn O’Brien and I am currently studying my Honours in psychology at Swinburne University, Australia. As part of the degree I have to conduct a research study and write a thesis.

For my research I am investigating the relationship between parental mental health literacy, stigma, and help-seeking in parents.

Parental mental health literacy is broadly defined as parents’ knowledge of mental health information, specifically mental health information that relates to their children.

The study also seeks to explore parents’ beliefs about the treatment, recognition, and prevention of anxiety in children, and to identify what further resources parents would like to have access to.

Participation in this online study is open to any parent with a child aged 6-16 years old.

Access the study

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