Teen Health

Archive for April, 2010

It’s no secret that alcohol abuse is alive and well in high schools and college campuses across America. New research studies seek to investigate the root causes of teen alcohol abuse: the relationship between heavy drinking and social anxiety.

According to a recent report by the National Institute of Health (NIH), anxiety is a psychological risk factor associated with heavy or problem drinking among teenagers.

Along with anxiety and other psychological factors, the NIH report suggests that an impulsive personality and a family history of alcohol abuse may be additional risk factors for problem drinking.

People with social anxiety, both teenagers and adults alike, can benefit from these findings by taking action to eliminate risk factors for alcohol abuse and address their anxiety. Social anxiety is the most common type of anxiety disorder, affecting 15% of all Americans. Social anxiety, also known as social phobia, is diagnosed as overwhelming anxiety, fear, and self-consciousness in everyday social situations.

It triggers a host of physical symptoms, anxious thoughts, and avoidance behaviors. Often involved is a strong feeling of anxiety that others are looking at or judging them. The stress from this anxiety is often most pronounced during teen years and is often negated by alcohol abuse.

What You Can Do As A Parent?

Ask your teen why he or she drinks. Is it to help alleviate social fears and anxieties? To fit in, and not be judged? If so, explain to them the reality of the situation. They may be using alcohol in a vain attempt to cope with the root cause: social anxiety.

Drinking large amounts of alcohol may mask the problem for a few brief hours. However, once the mask comes off, the anxiety returns as strong as ever. Teen alcohol abuse does not cure social anxiety.

In fact, instead of curing one problem, teen alcohol abuse creates another. Instead of one problem to overcome, there are now two problems, social anxiety AND alcohol abuse.

Here are several ways you can empower your teenager to address the root causes of social anxiety, instead of masking the problem with heavy drinking.

1. Change their expectations about what alcohol can do for their stress level. National Institute of Health research indicates that when a teen EXPECTS that alcohol will relieve stress and lead to higher levels of social acceptance, it leads to increased drinking.

Problem drinkers tend to believe these two thoughts. In fact, there is much debate as to whether this assumption is actually true.

While some studies suggest that low levels of alcohol temporarily reduce the stress response (also known as the fight or flight response), other studies now indicate that alcohol actually INDUCES the stress response by stimulating the release of stress hormones such as corticosterone and adrenaline.

2. Encourage them to build a social support system. Many teens rely on drinking for social support. Instead of using drinking to connect with others, seek social support outside of the drinking environment. This is easier said than done, since it is a catch-22: the social anxiety is what hinders these types of connections in the first place.

Remember, the longest journey is accomplished one step at a time. Start with safe people like a trusted family member, a best friend, counselor, or pastor, and build from there.

Some colleges offer group therapy for people with social anxiety, which gives your teen an opportunity to learn how to overcome her fears in a safe environment with people who understand what she is going through.

3. Encourage your teen to increase his sense of control over social anxiety by learning anxiety reduction techniques. Nutritional strategies for reducing anxiety, deep breathing, guided imagery, and cognitive-behavioral strategies are just a few examples of anxiety reduction techniques that can bring about positive results.

Anxiety reduction techniques can be highly effective tools in helping conquer anxiety. For example, NIH findings indicate that cognitive-behavioral therapy can be as effective as medication in treating anxiety, and even more effective than medication at preventing long-term recurrence of anxiety.

Teen alcohol abuse will likely never be totally eradicated as long as there are both teens and alcohol. By far, the largest factor in preventing teen alcohol abuse is active, positive involvement by the parents in the lives of the teenager.

There is currently a consolation among middle-aged people who flinch at the mere thought of their adolescent days. A new Swedish study revealed that the social standing of an individual as a teenager may be a good indicator of his/her future health status.

Likewise, in a related research, British scientists discovered that mothers who venture into a work outside the home are more likely to have children who would later engage in lifestyles that are detrimental to their overall well-being — including poor eating habits and engaging in less exercise — than children whose mothers stay at home.

These two studies appeared online on September 29 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Ylva Almquist, the author of the study and sociologist at the Center for Health Equity Studies in Stockholm, said that the results of their study underlines the significance of acknowledging the fact that school is definitely not only about scholastic performance, but is equally so when it comes to the social interaction among children.

The proponents of the study analyzed the data from 14,000 children who took part in the Stockholm Birth Cohort Study, which monitored the long-term health status of Swedes born between 1953 and 2003. Almquist and her team particularly examined specific variables which include levels of popularity, power and status as perceived by the subjects in the study who were in sixth grade in 1966.

The information obtained by the researchers served as a personality baseline.  They then analyzed the students‘ health records spanning a 30-year-period from 1973 and 2003, with hospital discharge records as their primary focus. The researchers determined that the students who perceive lower levels of social acceptance as teenagers were more inclined to be at a higher risk of developing serious health problems as adults. This finding holds true for both sexes.

Here are the other significant findings of the study:

Children who were among the least popular and influential at school were more than four times inclined to seek medical treatment for nutritional, metabolic and hormonal disorders as compared to their most popular and influential classmates. They were more than twice as prone to develop mental health and behavioral issues, including self-harm and suicide attempts. They were more than five times as likely to be hospitalized for inadvertent poisoning. They were likewise considerably more likely to develop dependence on alcohol and drugs, and nine times more likely to develop cardiac disease.

During a time when teens are just learning to form bonds within their peer groups, your body may be wreaking great havoc – making you prone to acne breakouts.

Indeed, being prone to such breakouts doesn’t make the slow transition of self-discovery and acceptance any easier, and many teens who suffer from acne may isolate themselves, feeling conscious about their physical appearance.

Thankfully, there is good news! With the numerous acne products on the market, you do not have to suffer from acne, especially if you can understand and treat the root of teen acne outbreaks.

Common Causes of Teen Acne

Causes of teen acne can vary from person to person and can encompass a number of factors. Genetics can play a factor, as well as the overall health of the adolescent.

Below is a list of some of the more common reasons for pubescent acne. The list is by no means comprehensive, but hits on the more prevalent causes of the skin disruption.

The varying causes of teen acne include:

* Hormonal imbalances

* Formation of dead skin cells

* Hereditary pre-disposition

Foods cannot cause teen acne; however, some teens may have mild food allergies that cause them to experience outbreaks. If this occurs, stay away from those foods.

At the end of the day, acne is a skin condition that can be treated topically or orally.

What Teens Can Do About Acne

There is a multiplicity of acne products available on the market that can help teens combat recurring and chronic breakouts. Whether you have blackheads, whiteheads or a combination of both, suffers can locate something that works well.

* Daily skin treatments – Such treatments include three to four steps that utilize cleansers, exfoliants, and moisturizers. Depending on how bad the problem is, an individual may also need to use an on-the-spot reducer that has benzoyl peroxide of salicylic acid.

* Zeno – This hand-held, portable electronic medical device has been clinically proven to make pimples disappear quickly. When the heated tip is placed on a blemish, the heat will stimulates the follicle, speeding healing.

* Dermatological visits – Regularly scheduled visits to a dermatologist may reveal the underlying cause of teen acne, which will make treatments more effective. Accutane, cortisone shots, and certain antibiotics could even be employed to get your skin glowing and in good health.

You Can Live Acne Free

Acne doesn’t have to stunt your social life. There are acne products available that can help you abolish your teen acne for good.

Due to body chemistry, what works for one person may not work for others. For this reason, it may take a bit of trial and error to find out what will be most beneficial to your individual skin type.

Also realize that some acne products take a period of time to work. A few treatments can even make the problem worse before it gets better. For this very reason, you may wish to wait six to eight weeks before declaring the ineffectiveness of a particular acne medication.

Once you locate acne products that work, stick with it. If you do, you can remain acne free well into adulthood – or at least until after your senior prom!

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Issues with teen self image also known as body image, which is the way they internally picture themselves, can be a major ordeal particularly during adolescence.Teens and tweens are bombarded by the media leaving them with an unrealistic view of the perfect body. Sometimes this causes them to under appreciate their own abilities and interests. During adolescence their bodies are going through hormonal changes which they have no control over. As they become so preoccupied with their teen self image they, in some cases, develop an eating disorder and have little regard for their developmental health.

Teens have a picture in their minds of what the perfect body is and they try to measure up to that image. If they are are happy with their body shape they generally have a positive teen self image. On the other hand, if they don’t measure up – their teen self image becomes more of a psychological issue. The way teens see themselves and the way they believe that others see them is an emotional reaction. In other words, they change their ideas of their own bodies according to their emotional well being and that of others around them. Adolescent girls are more susceptible to having poor teen self image and developing an eating disorder. They tend to be more focused on appearance giving the impression of self worth. When in reality their teen self image is low and this leads to poor self esteem and the potential for psychological or eating disorders.

Body image is a modern day issue that has slowly developed over the years. There was a time when being thin was a sign of being poverty stricken and of poor health. Clothing has changed the way teens look at themselves. As the newest fashion comes out they want to look good in the newest styles. Along with the change in fashion is our teens lifestyles. Adolescent girls are dating at younger ages than before leading to problems with their teen self image. Magazines, television, and Hollywood have fueled the desire to be more body conscious.

Teenage is probably the most exciting part of oneâ??s life as it brings new changes and even a new outlook towards life. However, for some teenagers it could turn out to be the most stressful stage of their lives as it brings physical and emotional changes too. The teenage years are likewise the stage which coincides with puberty. It is the phase of a biological cycle wherein a childâ??s body becomes an adult body. It is during this critical stage when teen eating disorders commonly surface among teenagers.

Teen eating disorders post a serious threat, simply because teenagers are still within the growth years and the impact of an eating disorder on their developing bodies can stall the process. There is no single identifiable cause of eating disorders. In fact, experts link eating disorders to an interplay of factors which include family relationships, psychological problems, and genetics. The teen may eventually have low self-esteem and feel depressed and dejected.

There are two kinds of eating disorder, one in which the teen tends to starve himself/herself by not eating and the other one in which the teen eats uncontrollably. The one that exhibits loss of appetite is called anorexia whereas the other that involves overeating is called bulimia.

Anorexia nervosa is generally characterized by an indulgent obsession with dieting and exercising in order to lose weight. Anorexic teens exert extra effort to conceal their weight loss, which is why parents often fail to detect them. Furthermore, anorexic teens will usually try to explain away their deranged eating behaviors once confronted. However, as anorexia progresses, the signs and symptoms become glaring and difficult to deny. Some of the most common symptoms include dramatic weight loss, strange or secretive food rituals, skipping meals, fixation on body image, use of diet pills, laxatives, or diuretics, etc.

Bulimia refers to a condition characterized by recurrent binge eating, followed by compensatory behaviors called purging. The purging can involve many techniques including self-induced vomiting, fasting, the use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics, over exercising, etc. Purging is done because the teen does not want his or her body to gain weight. This eating disorder has a wide range of symptoms symptoms, including strict dieting followed by high-calorie eating binges, visiting the bathroom after meals, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or other medications, excessive exercise, withdrawal from friends and family, depressive moods, amongst others.

Teens with eating disorders are frequently in denial that something is wrong. The problem starts when parents are unaware of the symptoms because the teen typically keeps them hidden. Parents must understand that these are psychological disorders, and grounding or punishing the teenager for having these disorders will only complicate the problem. Parents who suspect that their teen may be suffering from an eating disorder should seek professional help as soon as possible.

A combination of treatments which include cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressant medication would most likely help teens to recover from bulimia. On the other hand, anorexia appears to be a more serious problem, so the treatment protocol usually involves nutritional feeding, medical monitoring, and psychological treatment.