You Can be Great If You Really Want To

Are you looking for an alternative method, instead of a prescription, for your stressed-out teenager, at home? If you have researched natural methods to lower the levels of anxiety, and stress – Yoga is probably a top consideration, by now.

Before you make any quick decisions, you should discuss your options with your primary care or family physician. If you do not like what you hear, you can always get a second or third opinion. Sometimes, a prescription is a solution, but prescriptions can have side effects, so you want to be aware of all of them.

You can research any prescribed drug by entering the name of the drug, in a search engine, on the Internet. You will find details, forums, or lists of common, and not so common, side effects. You can also check with Web MD.

This is not meant to scare you, but to help you make an informed decision. There are times, when the local pharmacist knows more about the side effects of a prescription than anyone. So, it is worth your while to discuss the subject with him or her.

Prescribed medicine may also be addictive. In order to lower stress levels, CNS (central nervous system) depressants can be prescribed to slow the brain functions down. Some of these are very addictive, so this may be a temporary solution. Yet, prescription medicines are also life savers. Due to the quick results, prescription medicine may be your first choice.

In comparison, Yoga has no such side effects, but the positive results may take weeks or months to see. Depending upon the situation, Yoga may be used as an adjunctive therapy at first. Later on, Yoga may become the primary therapy for stress management.

Yoga has many uses, but establishing family bonds is a valuable part of the practice. What should you do if the family ties between a parent and child were not so strong to start with? Sometimes, a parent and teen are complete strangers to each other.

For example: What if the family became separated, went through a divorce, if the children were brought up by a day care system, or if one of the parents was so career-oriented that family ties were not a priority? It is never too late to re-establish family ties, but there is much repair to be done.

Yoga, and other non-competitive activities, give both parties a chance for joint participation, without an adult being portrayed as the controlling parent or teacher. Activities, which are non-competitive, such as Yoga, give both parent and teen some “breathing room.”

One point for estranged parents to be aware of is – it takes time and a long-term commitment to develop strong family ties. Joint participation, in Yoga classes, gives time to repair the relationship. At the same time, Yogic philosophy guides teens to develop many good health practices.

In Hatha Yoga classes, careful alignment of the spine is emphasized, muscles are strengthened, the body becomes balanced, flexibility is enhanced, and a sound mind is developed.

The value of a healthy spine is overlooked, by those who are lucky enough to take it for granted, but it is a crucial nervous center. The spinal maintenance aspect is a valuable habit to learn at a young age. Yoga practice helps to create some space between the vertebrae, thus extending the life of our spine, and helping us to stay pain free in our later years.

With all the emphasis on good health, and developing awareness, teens that practice Yoga are less likely to be pressured into substance abuse or “following the leader.”

As teens approach adulthood, some of the best gifts parents can bestow on them, beside love, are: Establishing good health habits, the ability to see things as they are, and the ability to think for themselves. Yoga prepares teens for all of their challenges.

Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Teen anger management is something that many people struggle with. The bottom line is to know what level of anger is acceptable and what has gone too far. Teens are under a great deal of pressure, there is no doubt about that. Yet, it goes further to suggest that when anger gets to the point of scaring someone or causing harm to someone or something, then there is too much anger. Often, teens, just like everyone else, need anger management techniques taught to them to overcome these situations.

Teen anger management is becoming a growing problem. This has to do with many things but often has to do with the sheer fact that teens today face a great deal more pressure than they did a few decades ago. They have more disdain for their lives, for their peers and for their parents. This is due to numerous things but usually can be attributed to things like family problems in which they blame themselves, problems with peer pressure including the use of alcohol and drugs and it can be from the responsibilities they take on at school. On top of this, there is stress from relationships as well as employment.

In other words, teen anger management is often lost because they have so much happening to them. As a parent, a friend or a teacher, it is essential to take note of problems with anger because they can and they will escalate. They do develop into more harsh words, physical abuse and they can even become self destructive. Therefore, those that have found their child dealing with anger management need to do something about it.

What Can Be Done?

While it is a very difficult thing to do, it is often necessary for parents to provide their child with anger management counseling when they have gotten to this level. There is one solid reason for doing this. It is the most successful at helping them to learn to cope with anger instead of lashing out at everyone else. Anger management techniques are often taught to the teen to allow them to learn how to cope with, manage and work through their anger instead of blowing up.

Anger management counseling is often the best way to go. The good news is that there are many opportunities to secure this level of help for a child. It can start with the school counselor. Some schools do offer help to children with anger management problems. Additionally, the child’s doctor can also help them to find the best possible solution. It makes good sense that the child would seek help at this level.

Anger management counseling is essential and it readily available to teens. If parents, friends and counselors would take notice of these needs, it can be a step at allowing the healing to really begin. Often, we notice anger management when it has gotten destructive, but if you do nothing for it, it can get even worse. Problems with teen anger management can destroy their lives.

The teenage years are the most difficult period in any person’s life as it is then that being positive in situations can be really trying. Teenagers are more prone to anger. Society too presents teenagers with lots of challenges which anger them. Jealousy and competition is what causes anger in most teenagers. Teenagers are not a compassionate lot and they aggressively fight to stay on top thus wasting the best part of their growing up years fighting with one another. The daily challenges and many obstacles that they have to face in their daily life makes them grow up much faster than they have to. While some teenagers are able to face challenges others just cannot and instead try to defend themselves. It is only when they face confrontations that teenagers become angry to the extent that they can sometimes turn violent which could even lead to deaths.

Teenagers normally find it very difficult to listen to advice, so any anger management programs would not find favor with them. It is important that an anger management program which is designed for teenagers be special so that they find it acceptable. It is really a challenging task to convince a teenager that he or she has behavioral problems. The best way is to make them understand why it is important for them to change their attitude.

Anger when not controlled can actually ruin a teenager’s life. Teenagers when they are consumed with anger normally begin to yell or scream at others by saying hurtful things that are not meant to be said. They will even exhibit violent behavior like punching walls, pushing other people around and at times can even resort to hurting themselves. Though it may be difficult to convince teenagers that anger is a bad emotion it is still important to do so. Teenagers can become successful if they learn anger management where they learn how to deal with their emotions in a positive way. This makes life much easier and enjoyable for them. A positive change happens when they learn how to control anger.

Teenagers should be educated on self awareness, where they learn the reasons that cause anger in them. They should be taught self control where they are asked to stop and think about repercussions of their anger. Once they realize what the reactions would be they are then taught to make choices. This will help achieve effective results from their right choices. Teenagers are taught to act on their feelings so that they can learn all about anger management. Once they learn the technique regular reviews would be necessary so that they successfully implement it in their lives. They can be educated on how to use the plan in situations that make them irritated so that they can overcome the irritation successfully. This will help them to confront all other similar situations with a positive attitude.

Most teenagers have their own opinions about what they like and dislike. Activities like exercises, music, penning journals are effective ways for anger management in teenagers. Only when the teenager is able to accept responsibility for his or her bad behavior can success is achieved in anger management. Helping them concentrate on activities that appeal to them will help them effectively manage their anger. They can be taught to concentrate on these activities when they feel threatened by negative emotions like anger. It is not easy to help a teenager to learn the technique of anger management but it will surely be worth their while when they turn out to be successful adults much later in life.