National Eating Disorder Awareness Week: Eating disorders Simplified for Teenagers

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National Eating Disorder Awareness Week: Eating disorders Simplified for Teenagers
This week is National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Awareness Week.  As people work to spread the word about this noble cause I often find that we are flooded with information that can be difficult to digest at once.  Sometimes it can be helpful to compile some basic information that is easy to understand and take in.  So here are some of the most recent statistics and health effects of eating disorders I was able to compile as well as some simple, straight forward definitions.  This information is important because eating disorders have very high mortality rates compared with other mental health disorders.  Women are more likely to suffer from eating disorders but men can also be diagnosed.  The last part of this blog talks about how these eating disorder may affect teenagers.
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Teenagers and the Holidays

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Teenagers and the Holidays
The holidays should be a time when you and your teenager grow a little closer together.  It’s not a time for battles or fighting or trying to get them to do exactly what you want.  This holiday season be flexible with your teenagers.  Talk to them about what they want to do and negotiate generous terms where you also get some of what you want.  Make them a part of the process and let them have some limited control over their participation in family events.  Teenagers often push against disciplinary walls that parents put up.  Loosen the ramparts a little extra but still insist that your teenager be safe.
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Teenagers, Football, & Concussions: The Jovan Belcher Tragedy

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Teenagers, Football, & Concussions: The Jovan Belcher Tragedy
Football is America’s favorite sport garnering national interest from nearly all levels of play; high school, college, and professional. The recent tragedy of Jovan Belcher’s murder-suicide leaves the nation once again asking if horrible heartbreaks like this can be prevented. The spotlight returns to a surprisingly unanswered question: does the physical nature of football, specifically repeated head injuries, lead to suicidal and horrific behavior?
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Teenagers and Thanksgiving

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Teenagers and Thanksgiving
As adults we look forward to Thanksgiving in a way that most teenagers cannot really grasp.  We have so many obligations, sacrifices and responsibilities that a day of giving thanks and spending a nice time with our families can be something to look forward to all year!  You may have nice thoughts in your mind about your teenager wanting to spend time with his or her family, having fun doing it, and being involved in the preparations.  However, teenagers may see Thanksgiving as exactly what we are trying to get a break from – tedious obligations.  And trying to mold their emotions and behaviors to fit your ideal thanksgiving fantasy could turn into setting yourself up for a disappointing and frustrating thanksgiving.
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Nurturing Mothers Boost Their Teen's Brain Power

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Finally! Scientific evidence that supports what mental health professionals have been saying for decades. When you nurture your child it is good for their brain. According to the article below children with nurturing mothers have a significantly larger brain structure, called the hippocampus, compared to children with less nurturing mothers.
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Affluent Teenagers - Privilege and Risk

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I recently read an article published by the National Institutes of Health about the mental health characteristics of affluent teenagers as compared to teenagers living near poverty. Before I read the article I assumed that teenagers with the stresses of poverty would have more significant mental health issues than the teenagers of affluent parents. According to this research I was wrong. Here is the link to the article:
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