Mood:  a-ok

Wellness week is coming this September, but you know what - wellness should be year round. The subjects which cover wellness week are so important you need to work on them year round. Be good to yourself. Take the pledge not to take drugs or drink. Those of you who have read my book know that addiction is hereditary. Much has to do with how we metabolize alcohol and/or drugs. Think about the points listed below. They have been put together by SAMHSA. Perhaps you can help to organize some activities in your community. If you have any questions feel free to get in touch with SAMHSA at wellness@samhsa.hhs.gov 

National Wellness Week 2013 Schedule:

Monday, September 16

Overview of Eight Dimensions
Overarching activities about SAMHSA's Wellness Initiative, National Wellness Week, and how the Eight Dimensions help people recover and build resilience, especially when confronted with traumatic, mental health, or substance use challenges.

Tuesday, September 17

Physical Dimension
Activities promoting healthy behaviors, including smoking cessation, physical activity, nutrition, adequate sleep, and safe medication use.

Wednesday, September 18

Intellectual Dimension
Activities encouraging individuals to participate in the Artistic Expression for Wellness national activity, such as writing poetry or developing artwork. Also, messages inspiring creativity and mentally stimulating activities, such as writing poetry or teaching others about one's area of interest.

• Artistic Expression for Wellness national activity

Thursday, September 19

Spiritual Dimension
Activities encouraging incorporating pursuits such as meditation, prayer, or music into one's efforts to enhance recovery.

Friday, September 20

Social and Emotional Dimensions
Activities encouraging individuals to join the Line Dance for Wellness in communities across the country. Dancing is a great stress reliever and also provides social interaction. Individuals can also incorporate the social and emotional dimensions in a variety of other ways, such as volunteering, joining a book club, or simply spending more time with family and friends.

• Line Dance for Wellness national activity

Saturday, September 21

Financial and Occupational Dimensions
Activities promoting tips and support on how to manage one's finances. Encouraging individuals to explore work opportunities that will provide satisfaction in their lives.

• Financial dimension national activity (please check back periodically for more information).

Sunday, September 22

Environmental Dimension
Activities promoting ways individuals can improve healthy environmental surroundings to support their physical and mental health.

***

Posted by answersforteens at 12:16 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 12:32 AM EDT

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Mood:  a-ok

In my last blog I mentioned that it is important that you have resources outside your home. Here is SAMHSA’s most recent holiday info. You can look up SAMHSA (Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration) any time at www.samhsa.gov  Their toll free number is 877 726-4727. They list nationwide all kinds of cool activities such as “running for sobriety”, "awareness walk", "motorcycle rally", "hands across a bridge". If you join one of the groups perhaps you can help them organize a favorite activity of yours.

Posted by answersforteens at 2:26 PM EST

Updated: Tuesday, 3 January 2012 5:43 PM EST

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Mood:  sharp

It's that time of year again - school. Some of you like your studies and some of you don't. Some of you are happy at home and some of you are not. One good thing to do is to keep a journal. Don't write your thoughts on line but in a book with a good old fashioned ball point pen or pencil. Write your thoughts, your ideas, your feelings, your plans, your dreams, your questions, and descriptions. And, then hide your journal. Let it be your private, intimate journal. Let the journal be your hang out for all your feelings. The journal is your private place and only your place.

Posted by answersforteens at 11:33 PM EDT

Updated: Monday, 24 October 2011 6:11 PM EDT

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Not everyone is interested in going to college. As a matter of fact many a high school graduate is going on to study specific skills such as computer management, cosmetology, air conditioning technology etc. so that he or she can enter a specific job market. However, I thought the following statistics might be of interest to all teens.

The following information is presented by Fastweb, a website for scholarship and financial aid info.

* Social media:  The survey found that 49% of teenagers are concerned that their online image could affect their chances of getting into college. Evenly split, 23% of respondents were worried their online reputation would affect them getting a job while 23% thought online footprints are only something that adults should worry about. A mere 3 % of users said they would rather look cool to their friends versus worrying about the consequences of a potentially negative online image.

* What issues keep teenagers up at night: --- 39% cited getting good grades. ---- 19% were worried about getting into the college of their choice ---

* Celebrities: When asked which celebrity 16 year olds would most likely befriend, the high rankers were Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Emma Watson. 

Posted by answersforteens at 12:43 PM EDT

Updated: Monday, 13 June 2011 9:05 PM EDT

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Mood:  d'oh

OOOPS – forgot to tell you that I was asked a few weeks ago when the temperature was still in the 30’s (at least in the snow country)  to contribute to Dr. David Friedman’s newsletter.
Here’s the info:
Show: To Your Good Health Radio w/ Dr. David Friedman
When do we know we are drinking too much?
Written by Edith Hornik-Beer  www.answersforteens.com

Drinking usually starts out socially. We learn how to drink alcohol from our parents. As children we watched them pick that special wine for a dinner party, perhaps have a cocktail before dinner, or consume beer while sitting on the couch watching TV. Our children will learn to drink from us too.

So what causes a person to cross that line between social drinking and drinking too much?  One factor, inherited, is how we metabolize alcohol. If we can drink lots of alcohol without becoming sleepy or sick, alcohol has the opportunity to effect our nervous system adversely and cause us to become addicted to drinking. Many who have a history of alcoholism in their family teach their children to be aware of this when they become of drinking age. Some drink wanting to feel good about themselves. After a drink a man might feel more manly, a woman, more glamorous. A person who feels depressed might hope that drinking will cheer him or her up.

On the other hand who hasn’t come home after a challenging day at work and found a drink relaxing? What cook hasn’t after making an especially good meal found the perfect wine to enhance the taste?

So how do we know when our drinking has left the social stage? If you answer yes to any of the following symptoms you might want to discuss this disease with your physician.  Alcoholism is a required subject in medical school.

1) It isn’t how often I drink but when I drink I feel I had too much.
2) Frequently I don’t wait until cocktail hour to have my first drink.
3) At meals I drink more than I eat.
4) After drinking I don’t remember what I said or did.
5) I often have to sleep off the drinks I had and don’t feel well when I get up.
 
Written by Edith Hornik-Beer  www.answersforteens.com
To Your Good Health Newsletter

Posted by answersforteens at 10:12 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 21 May 2011 10:20 AM EDT

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Mood:  incredulous

If you are a teenage mom or dad, whether single or married, you might feel overwhelmed. Perhaps you want an education, a job or just a good night’s sleep. At the same time you are trying to be a good parent. Some of you might be thinking I want my child to have a better youth than I did. But guess what - we learn to parent from our parents. How were you treated as a child? I want to tell you about a wonderful group called PARENTING JOURNEY. Their link on line is:

You can also email them at lcid@familyserviceinc.org. Along with other front line human services the group teaches each parent to look at how he or she was raised. It is important for each parent to recognize the good and the bad. Once a parent understands what happened to him or her, and what  inner strengths, life skills and networks of resources are really needed that parent can make better decisions. The PARENTING JOURNEY group which started on the East Coast has a division called the PARENTING JOURNEY INSTITUTE which gives counselors the tools needed to work with parents so that they can fortify family bonds and build family resiliency.

Their email is trainingcoordinator@thefamilycenterinc.org.

Reach out. Hope this helps.

　

　

Posted by answersforteens at 2:44 PM EDT

Updated: Monday, 23 May 2011 5:59 PM EDT

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