With technology use increasing day by day, we are faced with the fear of a diminished sense of self. These psychological problems can be related to whether our mind is healthy. The Healthy Mind Platter, created by David Rock and Dr. Daniel J. Siegel provides a baseline metric on what a healthy mind constitutes.

Based off of the concept of a healthy meal plan, David Rock and Dr. Daniel J. Siegel point out that it is essential for us to spend our day doing seven crucial things that will result in optimal brain matter. Doing these seven things will lead our mind to “integrate” which refers to the different parts of our brain connecting. This will, in turn, provide us with optimum mental health as well as stronger connections with people and the world around us.

The seven daily essential mental activities for the Healthy Mind Platter:

• Focus Time: By focusing on tasks in a goal-orientated way, we take on challenges that create opportunities for us to make deep connections in the brain.

• Play Time: By allowing ourselves to be spontaneous or creative, we help make new connections in the brain.

• Connecting Time: By connecting with other people, ideally in person, and by taking the time to appreciate our connections to the natural world around us, we activate and reinforce the brain’s relational circuitry.

• Physical Time: By moving our bodies, we strengthen the brain in many ways.

• Time In: By quietly reflecting internally, focusing on sensations, images, feelings, and thoughts, we help to integrate the brain better.

• Down Time: By doing something that requires no focus, without any specific goal, and letting our mind wander or just relax, we help the brain to recharge.

• Sleep Time: By giving the brain the rest it needs, we consolidate learning and recover from the experiences of the day.

Feel like you could use a little boost? Contact us for more information on the Healthy Mind platter or for other assistance on Anxiety or ADHD.

~Written by Mahida Saifi and Tanya L. Hilber, PsyD

Reference: “The Healthy Mind Platter” http://www.drdansiegel.com/resources/healthy_mind_platter/

Singe Whitson, a child and adolescent therapist, spoke about the importance of identifying rude and mean behavior compared to bullying behaviors. It can be easy to categorize bad behavior as bullying, but it is important to not overgeneralize this term. Although a therapist never wants to minimize a client's situation, we all must learn the difference between these terms in order to not simplify the term "bullying". In reality, bullying is a very serious issue.

Whitson defines rude as, “inadvertently saying or doing something that hurts someone else". These may be seen as social errors such as, burping in someone's face, cutting in line, or kicking a ball at someone. The problem with this is that rude situations are often spontaneous. A child does not mean to burp in someone's face, but without meaning to do so, they are hurting someone else. 

Being mean involves “purposefully saying or doing something to hurt someone once (or maybe twice).” Whitson explains,  “mean behavior very much aims to hurt or depreciate someone….Very often, mean behavior in kids is motivated by angry feelings and/or the misguided goal of propping themselves up in comparison to the person they are putting down.” Although both mean and rude behavior needs to be corrected, it is important to understand how they are different from bullying. 

Bullying is “intentionally aggressive behavior, repeated over time, that involves an imbalance of power….Kids who bully say or do something intentionally hurtful to others and they keep doing it, with no sense of regret or remorse -- even when targets of bullying show or express their hurt or tell the aggressors to stop.” There are many different forms of bullying including, physical, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying. The reason bullying is worse than mean or rude behavior is because of the repeated actions that leave the person being bullied feeling helpless. 

Although bullying has become a topic of greater interest, it can never be talked about enough. Bullying has many long lasting effects on children and adolescents. It is important for parents to be aware of the signs that your child is bullying someone, or being bullied. Preventing bullying will make a difference. 

 Contact us for more information on individuals who are suffering from bullying, people who may have lasting effects such as anxiety or depression, or for help with children who are struggling.

~Written by Allison Parker and Tanya L. Hilber, PsyD

Reference: “A Mighty Girl.” Www.amightygirl.com, 16 Apr. 2018, www.amightygirl.com/?https=true.

According to the article, "Consistent Use of ADHD Medication May Stunt Growth by 2 Inches, Large Study Finds", written by Dr. David Rabiner, "although the benefits of medication treatment on ADHD symptoms dissipate, the impact on adult stature persists". The Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD (MTA Study) tested 600 7–9-year-old children with ADHD. These children were randomly assigned into one of these four groups: 
1. Carefully monitored medication treatment
2. Intensive behavior therapy
3. Medication treatment combined with behavior therapy
4. Community care (parents obtained whatever treatment they want)

After 14 months, the study showed that those children who received carefully monitored medication treatment or medication treatment combined with behavior therapy had lower levels of overall ADHD symptoms and better overall adjustment compared to those children who received intensive behavior therapy or community care. The results stayed the same after an evaluation 10 months later. However, evaluation after 1 year and again after several groups showed no group differences based on the initial group treatment assignments. Therefore, the initial benefits of the medication had disappeared. The study continued annually through age 18 and then reduced visits to age 25. Within this group, individuals were categorized based on their medication usage:
a. Consistent, i.e,. those who had met the minimum threshold during each year;
b. Inconsistent, i.e., those meeting the minimum threshold in some but not all years; and
c. Negligible, i.e., below the minimum threshold in all years. 

At the last evaluation, age 25, participants self- and parent-reported, and doctors measured the patient's height compared to other individuals around the area that had not been diagnosed with ADHD in their childhood. Based off of the medication categorized above, only 14.3% of participants consistently used medication through age 18. After comparing the other participants, participants with ADHD maintained substantially higher ADHD symptoms over time regardless of their initial treatment. It was clear that ADHD symptoms in young adulthood are not related to patterns of medication use through adolescence. 

There was thus no indication that consistent medication treatment over a number of years had any persistent impact. However, there was a relationship found between persistent medication use and adult height. According to Dr. Rabiner, "Students in the Consistent and Inconsistent medication treatment groups had average heights — combined across these groups — that were about an inch shorter than those in the Negligible treatment group. And, participants in the Consistent Group were nearly an inch shorter on average than those in the Inconsistent group, i.e., nearly 2 inches shorter than those in the Negligible group". 

Overall, the study concluded there was substantial persistence of ADHD symptoms into adulthood and although the benefits of medication treatment on ADHD symptoms dissipate, the impact on adult stature persists. However, it is possible that some other factor that contributed to some participants taking medication more consistently, e.g., more severe symptoms, also explains the reduced height attainment in this group.

There are many take home messages:
1. Relatively few youth with ADHD use medication consistently over their development.
2. Many individuals with ADHD will continue to struggle with ADHD symptoms into adulthood. 
3. Although medication helps control symptoms in the short-term, it is not a cure.
4. It is unknown whether optimal medication treatment maintained over many years would have a greater impact.
5. Parents and clinicians need to balance the need for persistent treatment in some children with the likely consequences of reduced adult height. 

Due to the symptoms that may occur from using persistent medication, an optimal solution would be to find the lowest effective dose of medication, or combine medication treatment with other behavior therapy and/or other approaches.

If you have questions about ADHD and how it can affect you or your child or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact us. For more information on therapy, visit FAQ at Hilber Psychological Services. 

~Written by Allison Parker and Tanya L. Hilber, PsyD

Reference: Rabiner, David. “Consistent Use of ADHD Medication May Stunt Growth by 2 Inches, Large Study Finds.” SharpBrains, SharpBrains, 28 Mar. 2018.

Sometimes suffering from anxiety can be hard to understand if you don't suffer from it yourself. People without anxiety often think "Just breathe and you'll be fine" or "What's the big deal?". But to people with anxiety, it's a really big deal. Here are the top 7 things anxiety sufferers want those without it to know. 

1. People with anxiety obsess over the little things. 
Things that seem like little things to you, are actually really big things to people who suffer with anxiety. Something as "small" as being looked at wrong or ignored can be very daunting. Situations like these stick with them throughout the day causing even more problems. So the next time something "small" happens, recognize it can be big to them. 

2. People with anxiety have every intention of going to an outing, but at last minute cancel. 
As these daunting ideas continue through out the day, our decision to go out to the movies or dinner becomes the worst idea in the world. Although people with anxiety want to go out, their thoughts often get the best of them and lead to only one decision, canceling. 

3. We are exhausted. 
The constant thinking and question can take a toll on a person who suffers from anxiety. Distracting thoughts throughout the day lead to staying up late at night constantly thinking. This leads to a lack of sleep and struggle to wake up in the morning. Waking up is a struggle for everyone, but imagine what it's like for someone with anxiety. 

4. Anxiety sufferers replay conversations in our head.
When your mind is constantly thinking and running through every possible scenario, you often start to explain a topic faster than possible. All of a sudden, what you're saying isn't making sense. This can be embarrassing for someone who suffers from anxiety. With that feeling of embarrassment, they often shut down. This doesn't mean they're in a mood, they're just struggling with that moment. 

5. Anxiety sufferers compare themselves to others. 
It's hard for someone with anxiety to understand how easy it is for people to get over things. When they see in person or on social media everything that is going on in other people's lives, they often question why it's so much harder for them. This causing even more of an issue when they begin worrying about why they're so worried all the time. 

6. Anxiety sufferers obsess over mistakes and beat ourselves up over it:
When something goes wrong, they often blame themselves. Therefore, when they make a mistake, they obsess over it. Doing things wrong and believing they're not good enough can lead to bigger problems. It's no surprise they're perfectionists. 

7. Finally: please, please don’t give up on us.
Sometimes, when a person with anxiety has no other option than to give up on themselves, they really need YOU to not give up on them. Although it can be frustrating and hard to understand, don't give up on them. 

People who suffer with anxiety are aware of how irrational they may sound. They know what they are going through and they're trying their hardest. Before giving up on them, try to understand them. 

While this information is geared towards individuals who suffer with anxiety, this same information about empathy and understanding emotions can be used to all individuals with disabilties. 

 Contact us for more information on individuals who suffer with anxiety, learning and expressing emotions, or for help with children who are struggling.

~Written by Allison Parker and Tanya L. Hilber, PsyD

Reference: Mazza, Laura. “Top 7 Things Anxiety Sufferers Want Those without It to Know.”Love What Matters.