The Benefits of Children's Connection to Nature

Several psychologists are examining the independent play and exploration outdoors and its impact on children's development. Greater evidence demonstrates the various benefits of nature on children's psychological and physical well-being, that include reduced stress, improved physical wellness, increased creativity and greater focus and concentration. Across studies, the findings indicate that nature is great for children. Not only does free and unstructured play outdoors improve health and cognitive capacities, children also attain a sense of curiosity and a profound understanding of their connection and responsibility to care for Mother Earth. Various factors have coerced children indoors such as greater land development, more demands on children's time that may include homework and structured activities that include video games, the internet, the computer and/or parental fear. Today, few children have a deep connection to the environment which sabotages future generations' concerns and relationship to the earth. A significant study conducted by psychologist Dr. Nancy Wells, found that children who had the greatest green space near their home improved their cognitive functioning than those with less natural resources. Also, Dr. Sandra Hofferth's study demonstrated that between 1997 and 2003, the amount of time children between the ages of 9 and 12 spent participating in outdoor activities declined by 50%. You may be asking yourself: "What are children doing instead?" Children are more likely to play video games, watch TV and spend time on the computer. These activities are correlated to a increase in childhood obesity. A 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that one-third of children and teens, ages 2 to 19, were overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. By 2010, an article in the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity predicts that approximately 50% of school-age children in the United States will be overweight or obese. Without establishing a connection to the natural world when children are young they are less inclined to have a relationship with Mother Earth as adults. Many parents are unaware of the benefits nature has to offer to their children. Other parents are unsure of how to tear their children away from the TV or computer. Parents are encouraged to make time to get outside to play, run and explore. The change must be gradual. Parents can start by creating an activity on their front lawn for one hour. Schools are recommended to increase recess time and green playgrounds. Children's symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder improved when they received the opportunity to expend their energy outdoors rather than engage in activities indoors. The goal is to build a child's love for nature through everyday interactions! For more information, please contact Dr. Drecun at Dr.Drecun@a4ct.com or visit us online at Association for Compassionate Transformation.

ADHD: Developmental Delay or Abnormal Development

Scientists have been perplexed by the etiology of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. This buzzword creates deep discussions about the validity of the diagnosis, its prevalence and treatment. Researchers have been asking the question, "Do the brains of individuals with ADHD develop in an abnormal manner or is their development delayed?" New research by psychiatrist Dr. Philip Shaw suggests that ADHD is a brain disorder whose symptoms appear to be associated with a neurological developmental delay. He used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to track changes in cortical thickness (the outer layer of the brain associated with language, memory and thinking) in the brains of individuals with and without ADHD. He discovered interesting results. For children without a diagnosis of ADHD, their cortices reach a peak thickness at around age 7 or 8 and then get thinner as the child develops. In contrast, children with ADHD, their cortices reach their peak thickness at approximately age 10. Across the board, the pattern of brain development was the same for children with and without ADHD. The brain's frontal cortex which is associated with impulse control, understanding long-term consequences, judgment, and attention in children with ADHD is delayed and may explain the inattentiveness common in children with ADHD. Another significant finding, was that children with ADHD attained a developmental milestone earlier than their peers without ADHD. This is the development of their motor cortex which regulates voluntary muscle movements. This early brain development combined with the results of their frontal cortex being delayed may explain the fidgeting and restlessness characteristic of children diagnosed with ADHD. For more information, please contact Dr. Drecun at Dr.Drecun@a4ct.com or visit us online at Association for Compassionate Transformation.

Overcoming Guilt

OVERCOMING GUILT

Maintaining a sense of conscience is essential to being a healthy living person that maintains responsibility for one’s actions and lives in accordance to one’s values. A manner in which we experience and sustain a sense of conscience is by experiencing guilt. As with all aspects of people’s lives, moderation and balance are critical. Any emotion that consumes one can wreak havoc on people’s lives. Guilt is one of those primary emotions that can be very helpful when experienced and channeled appropriately. For those that have been enslaved by their unreasonable guilt, they can understand the poisonous effect it can have on one’s life. The guilt can sit and simmer until it erodes an individual’s sense of self. A memory involving guilt can be replayed in one’s mind as a broken record that continuously repeats itself and only frustrates those listening. Guilt has to do with feeling bad about something one did that is in opposition to our values. This essential emotion drives us to engage in prosocial behavior. However, an overly punitive conscience that uses guilt as a weapon to control and defeat can be toxic to one’s emotional and mental health.

For this reason, it is paramount that we understand the root of guilt and the type of guilt that is being experienced in order to effectively deal with the guilt. Guilt is an emotion that can weigh heavily on one’s spirit and drain one of the joys of life. It can also influence the important choices people make. Given guilt’s massive impact on who people are and what they do with their lives, it is imperative that people adequately address guilt in a fashion that will help rather than hinder their identities and how they evolve as human beings. Carrying guilt is detrimental to one’s health. It keeps people frozen and stuck. Knowing where guilt comes from allows people to consciously deal with the guilt by making amends for something, processing the guilt or letting it go through forgiveness.

Guilt may manifest itself in several ways:

1. Natural Guilt: or remorse over something that one did or failed to do.

2. Free-floating/Toxic Guilt: The core feeling of not being a good person.

3. Existential Guilt: the uncomfortable feeling that is derived from the injustice that is observed in the world and one’s indebted responsibilities to life in general.

Natural Guilt

A person experiences natural guilt when they feel guilty about a situation that is specific and recent. For instance, you said something hurtful to someone you care about out of anger, hurt or frustration. You comprehend that this type of guilt is natural because it is specific to an event and it is recent. Natural guilt is upsetting, particularly when a severe transgression has occurred. Despite the severe transgression, natural guilt is reparable. You have the option of making amends by asking forgiveness, paying your debt and making a commitment to changing your behavior. Once you make amends, your guilt should dissipate.

Natural guilt is serviceable. It functions as an internal alarm that assists you in identifying unethical behavior and proceeding in a manner that is consistent with one’s beliefs. Natural guilt influences you in being a responsible person. Natural guilt prompts you to turn in wallet that you found. Psychologists believe that natural guilt arises from our ability to empathize. As one imagines a situation from another’s perspective, it places one’s response in a social context that sparks understanding, compassion and responsibility. Natural guilt allows us to connect socially with compassion to other’s suffering. It removes us from our self-centeredness and reconnects us to our interdependence. Our concept of social justice is based on this premise.

Individuals that possess a healthy relationship to their personal guilt do not crucify themselves over guilty feelings. They are not overly punitive and do not perceive themselves as inadequate. Rather, people handle their guilty feelings by being proactive. They use the guilty feelings as a cue to change their behavior. For example, a person deals with their natural guilt about not going to class by making it to class. Or a person apologizes for hurting another person and making a sincere effort to not say what was hurtful. If guilt is derived from a situation that you cannot change, you learn to forgive yourself. For example, if you cannot make it on time for dinner every night with your family, you practice giving yourself a break.

Be cautious because natural guilt can also have a dark side. Natural guilt can turn into a secret weapon for social control. People may find themselves being manipulated by family, friends, coworkers, bosses and spiritual groups. Extreme punishment, manipulation and control are signs that natural guilt has become toxic and is no longer functional. As guilt becomes radical, people find themselves feeling unworthy or defective because the punishment has become excessive. This natural guilt then transforms itself to toxic guilt.

Toxic Guilt

Toxic guilt occurs when natural guilt lingers. It exhibits itself as tormenting feelings of global badness. It sends the message that you and your life are flawed. Such a free-floating guilt is the most difficult to address because it is not specific and comes from your deep subconscious. People are not consciously aware of this free-floating guilt that is non-specific and permeates their very being. This agonizing and inclusive experience makes it arduous to address because individuals are unsure of what they did wrong and how to fix it. If a person is cognizant of what they did and it seems irremediable, it may not seem viable to eradicate the guilt.

It is vital to address toxic guilt because of the unnecessary pain it causes. In fact, toxic pain compounds previous accumulated feelings of guilt which exacerbates current minor transgression making them greater than it really is which impacts people detrimentally through negative self-talk and feelings. Rather than experiencing a proportionate amount of guilt to the transgression, the person finds themselves feeling awful and disgusted with themselves for a minor event.

Sometimes individuals experience toxic guilt as an uninvited guest that moves in and never leaves; and in the meantime places a dent in our overall self-worth. The toxic guilt may latch on to someone as a leech which becomes a part of their personality. When toxic guilt forms such a relationship with a person, there is no need to have an external trigger for it to arise; rather it occasionally and spontaneously comes into one’s conscious, causing people to feel defective and unworthy. For others, the toxic guilt can be activated by a mistake the person makes. A minor event can elicit the toxic guilt. Not answering the phone correctly at work, an argument with a lover or forgetting to do something you promised someone can cause it. As toxic guilt becomes excessive, the person reports feeling that they are walking on eggshells and especially cautious to not engage in a behavior that will expose their innate unworthiness.

Toxic guilt most often has its roots in early childhood. Mistakes that children make and were perceived as a big deal and reprimanded by parents, teachers or any authority figure in their lives can create the toxic guilt. The main characteristic of toxic guilt is that it is not related to what you did. Instead it is a pervasive feeling that remains within you regardless of what you do, which makes the minutest situation seem unforgiveable.

Existential Guilt

Existential guilt has to do with an awareness in which we understand that it is impossible to live on this earth without having a negative impact on others, whether it is the wild life that lost their home to build yours. Existential guilt comes from knowing that the resources we use are at the expense of others who go without those resources. The western part of the world especially is affected by existential guilt because we live lavishly in comparison to a large portion of the world. Living in the United States offers people a privileged life that the majority of the world can only dream about.

We all encompass debts to others as a result of living and being helped. When we do not pay those debts by giving back and making a contribution; we suffer from existential guilt. Sadly, modern society has trained individuals to have a consumerist and expendable attitude toward people, material things and spirituality. This sense of entitlement has contributed to the lack of intact families and communities. People have lost touch with the web of life in which we are all connected. If toxic guilt and existential guilt cross paths, individuals may believe they are responsible for everyone’s suffering.

Overcoming Guilt

Unhealthy guilt may immobilize us and make us prisoner to our mental anguish. There are many ways that we can cope with distressing guilt. It is imperative that we identify which type of guilt we are experiencing. If we are experiencing natural guilt, we can remediate the situation by paying a debt, changing our behavior and asking for forgiveness. If the guilt we are enduring is toxic or existential, practice the following:

· First it is important to acknowledge that while we are flawed we still encompass an essential goodness.

· Stay optimistic

· Think positively

· Practice gratitude

· In addition, it is important to give as we take. Donating our time, things and money is a manner in which we can give back.

· We should practice compassion toward ourselves and others by caring for each other, the environment and our spiritual essence.

· Ask for forgiveness of yourself

As we make contributions to others and look beyond ourselves we understand that our happiness and suffering is interconnected. Knowing this we no longer need to carry our baggage of guilt.

For more information, please contact Dr. Drecun at Dr.Drecun@a4ct.com or visit us online at http://www.a4ct.com.

Autism and Parenting Stress

New research conducted by Dr. Estes indicates that parenting a child with autism may be more stressful than mothering a child with a developmental delay. Mothers were requested to rate their level of stress on the following areas:

• related to parenting
• not related to parenting
• behavioral problems in children
• degree of difficulty doing day-to-day tasks for their children

Mothers of children with autism reported higher levels of stress in both parenting and in their daily lives than parents of developmentally delayed children. Dr. Estes's findings suggest that problematic behaviors characteristic to autism increase parents' levels of stress, such as:

• irritability
• crying
• agitation
• inappropriate speech

Mothers did not report greater stress in the daily caring of their children. It appears that mothers are able to cope well with the daily tasks of parenting that include dressing, feeding and getting their children to school. The implication of this study is that early intervention would be beneficial in alleviating parent levels of stress by improving children's behavior. This research is helpful in that it points to the effects of autism on the family rather than solely focusing on the child with autism. For more information, please contact Dr. Drecun at Dr.Drecun@a4ct.com or visit us online at Association for Compassionate Transformation.

Recession Stresses Men More Than Women

The American Psychological Association conducted a survey on stress between the genders in America and found interesting results. For the first time, middle-aged men are reporting greater stress connected to work stability, their job and money. Stress levels were collected on more than 2,000 adults. Each age group had fascinating results. In the 45 - 54 age group, 86% of men stated that money was a great concern. On the other hand, women in the same age group reported a decrease in financial related stress from 83% to 78%. Within this same age group, men also reported work as a greater stressor than women. The same pattern was found in the 35 - 44 age group between men and women. Traditionally, women have reported greater stress than men. What may be causing the change in perception of levels of stress in the genders? Researchers are speculating that the current recession is causing greater layoffs in male-dominated industries. Men greatly attain their identities from their work and their ability to support a family. When these two areas in their lives are being challenged economically, many men are perceiving the current situation as very stressful. As men take on greater responsibility for the levels of stress in the home, it may give women a small break from assuming full responsibility for the stresses the family is encountering. During times of stress, healthy coping mechanisms are crucial.

• Eat Well
• Stay Physically Active
• Utilize Support Systems
• Maintain Gratitude
• Maintain a Positive Outlook.

For more information, please contact Dr. Drecun at Dr.Drecun@a4ct.com or visit us online at Association for Compassionate Transformation.

Do We Know What Makes Us Happy?

Sadly, many people are depressed and not satisfied with their lives. Given that a significant number of people are experiencing discontent with their lives; does this finding suggest that we are unsure of what makes us happy? Researcher Dr. Chistopher Hsee is exploring the idea that individuals struggle with predicting what makes them happy. He further suggests that humans are not built to be happy. Rather we are built to survive. As modern society has advanced, survival is no longer a major concern. Consequently, an existential concern of pursuing happiness becomes more important. Various factors were identified and studied to determine what makes people happy. Money does factor into well-being, however it does not produce happiness. However, what people do with their free time does impact our sense of satisfaction. Money is critical in keeping us safe, warm and fed. Once those basic survival needs are meet, money no longer plays a large role in happiness. However, if we are spending our leisure time in a way that is congruent to our values, we experience joy. A simple question is, "Are you doing the things you would like to be doing?" To illustrate this point take the following example. Individuals that receive a raise are temporarily content with their raise because they do not use the raise to engage in the activities that they would like to. Instead, they focus their energy on the next raise, rather than use their current raise to pursue what makes them happy. The questions remain: How can you take advantage of your free time or make time to engage in things that make you happy? What are you willing or unwilling to compromise? Your actions speak volumes of what is a priority in your life. Does your priority list match your values list? If not, how can you expect to be happy? What adjustments are you willing to make to spend your free time enjoying your life? For more information, please contact Dr. Drecun at Dr.Drecun@a4ct.com or visit us at Association for Compassionate Transformation.

Does the Economic Recession Have a Silver Lining?

Social psychologists are discovering an interesting trend among Americans during this economic recession regardless of whether they have been directly affected by the financial downturn. Researchers are recognizing that Americans are decreasing their spending, clipping coupons, not frequenting shopping malls, and planting fruit and vegetable gardens in their backyards. In addition, the Monitor on Psychology (July/August 2009) stated that households planning to grow their own foods rose to 19% over the last year. In addition, American's are wasting less and trash has decreased by 30%. Plastic surgeons are also reporting a decrease in cosmetic surgical procedures. The consumerist mindset has lead people to acquire materialist items and ignore what is truly important to them. This credit-fueled over-indulgence is decreasing due to the recession. People are reflecting on what is most important to them, such as their family, friends, and health. A lack of financial extravagance helps individuals reconnect to their values and whether they are leading their lives in congruence to those values. The question remains, "Will Americans revert back to their old habits of over-consumption once the economy rebounds?" Is it possible that the economic crisis is an opportunity for positive change that leads to less greed, egotism and more social connection? Research suggests that materialism does not bring happiness, rather our relationships and spiritual connection gives us a sense of purpose in life. Our connection to our community is essential for our survival and mental and emotional health. For more information, please contact Dr. Drecun at Dr.Drecun@a4ct.com or visit us online at Association for Compassionate Transformation.