The challenge is made more difficult by the fact that most of us have prescription drugs in our cupboards. When confronting the issue of teenagers and drugs, you have to present a rational argument that distinguishes between necessary medications and illegal drugs. This isn’t easy. Some well known prescription medicines are being sold at school as a way to get high. Kids don’t know that these medications are issued in duplicate or triplicate, as a method to control the use of specific narcotics. Not having experienced a real need for these drugs themselves, they may well come to the conclusion that their parents are enjoying some high that they are for some reason being denied.

One more problem with teaching kids about the issue of teen drug use is that our society does not make any distinction between drugs. Some pharmaceutical drugs have a place, but when it comes to teens and drugs, we say that every drug is bad. This is incorrect. Some kids require prescription medication for actual problems. Used improperly, that medicine can produce a high in a kid who doesn’t need it. Sometimes, that medication can have disastrous consequences when used as a ‘recreational’ drug.

Children are not able to make those distinctions. For example, a person with extreme pain because of arthritis or cancer, could be prescribed codeine or another opiate to help with the pain. Children don’t comprehend that this patient doesn’t get high. That medication only eases the pain. However, in the world of teenagers and drugs, this narcotic becomes an opportunity tocatch a buzz. They don’t realaize the difference.

One big lie that encourages teen drug use is the fable of marijuana. This street drug is posited as the first step to drug addiction, thrown in the same category as meth and mescaline. The minute that middle school child tries pot, the kid sees that although it makes them feel good, they can hide this new habit from their parents and it doesn’t make them crazy. They come to the conclusion that the rest of the warnings about teenagers and drugs are lies. That’s the reason why they fall into the grip of the really dangerous drugs.

As a world village, we need to educate our teens. Explain the effects of drugs. Mescaline, crack, heroin and drugs like ‘ecstasy’ can ruin their lives or kill them. Be honest. We can defend our teens.Addiction is a serious problem in our society today but with the “proper” education we can teach our future generations the realities of addictions and drug abuse.

photo credit: C。Yu

The so-called Baby Boomer Generation grew up with few of the luxuries most children seem to have today. Some would say that the simpler life of the 50’s and 60’s also made for happier children. They had less consumer products, less TV, and no such thing as video games. Can children be happy in the early part of the 21st century without parents spoiling them rotten? The answer is an unqualified yes.

Look at today’s kids. Cells phones, designer clothes, hand-held games, unlimited “taxi” service, and much more. How are children being raised today? Since the boomers did not have any of this, something must be missing in order to fit in all the new. What?

Then there are the role models. Celebrities, celebrities, and celebrities. One has to wonder what our youth think when they read all the “gossip” in the papers and magazines. That is followed by the entertainment tonight shows highlighting the mess their “hero” is in.

We all want to raise happy, well adjusted, children. If this is the result you want to achieve, then there will be times when you must say “No”. If too much comes on a silver platter, then how will they learn to deal with life when they move out? Will you continue to spoil them after they have a major blow-up with their partner? One parent wrote in to a well known columnist saying that they finally learned to say no, and now their married daughter has not answered their calls for 3 months!

If you give your child everything they desire (which in some cases is just based on what they saw a friend get) you will deprive them of experiencing the ups and down of life; which could prevent them from reaching their goals later in life. We will all be disappointed at some point. Better to learn to deal with the facts of disappointment early in life rather than later.

You have heard the saying - “If you don’t expect it, you’ll never be disappointed.”

“Things” are not where it’s at. Values, morals, and the unconditional love that abounds within the family. That is where it’s at. Keep these principles in mind and raising happy children without giving them the world will be easy.

photo credit: Carolyn Coles

There are many kinds of yoga exercises, all which seem to have derived from the original eight stages of reaching a state of bliss. Breathing techniques and different poses ensures good Health through Hatha yoga, which is the most popular form of yoga practiced.

Yoga does not require expensive or fancy equipment to perform the exercises. Bringing yourself with a positive attitude is all you need. Clothing does not have to be special either. Simply wear some loose fitting, non-restrictive clothing.

Many people like to practice yoga in a class but there is no reason you cannot simply find a quiet spot in your house to start. Ensure that there are no distractions, it is quiet, clean and has plenty of air flow.  A soft mat may be handy together with a blanket and a pillow which will help give you some form of support and added comfort for the laying or sitting down positions. Yoga is normally practiced barefoot, so you don’t need any expensive shoes though you may wish to wear some socks or soft shoes.

Try not to eat a heavy meal for at least two or three hours before doing any yoga exercises. Eating too much can leave you feeling too full which is not comfortable as you move through the exercises. You can eat some fruit or an energy bar and drink a glass of juice an hour or so before doing yoga. As you exercise you will want to make some water available though as the exertion will tend to dehydrate you.

Many people like to practice yoga first thing in the morning as it helps to revitalise the mind and body using the postures and breathing techniques. Others prefer to exercise at night to help unwind from a busy and stressful day. It is perfectly fine to do both. Yoga can be performed anytime and anywhere, you just have to find best time.

Yoga positions for beginners always start with easy poses, building up to the more difficult poses. Take a pause if you feel pain or too much fatigue. Relaxing in between difficult exercises is also considered to be beneficial.

Daily yoga exercises is optimal. You can do as little as 15 minutes of exercises and 15 minutes of breathing and meditation each day and you will start to reap the benefits.

photo credit: Letting Go of Control

Growth Central - Anxiety  There IS Professional Help Available

If you’re experiencing anxiety, you are not alone.The world today has become extremely open with their feelings about being overly anxious.  But at the same time, there is a connection between anxiety and depression, and one can often lead to the other.  What is that connection and how does this happen?

Two Separate Conditions

Sometimes anxiety and dDepression Symptoms are things that are experienced by a patient separately, one from the other.  A person may simply have depression as part of their physical and chemical makeup and then be experiencing anxiety on top of it.  This anxiety can be caused by outside factors such as a job loss or financial problems, family problems, or other stresses.  They may just be an overly anxious person due to their own nature or personality; some people are just more “high strung” than others.

Their depression is a separate factor than their anxiety, and in these cases anxiety and depression are not related.  You might compare it to how being obese can sometimes lead to diabetes, but sometimes a person might already be diabetic and then gain weight over time.However, Anxiety and Depression are still two seperate conditions.

Similar Symptoms for Anxiety and Depression Causes

In addition, there are many symptoms that are similar when it comes to anxiety and depression.  Anxiety can lead a person to be distracted, angry, upset, frustrated, and want to avoid other people and situations.  Depression can have many of the same symptoms.  Being depressed doesn’t always mean just being sad, but it can also mean being angry and frustrated and isolating oneself.  In cases such as these a person may assume that they have both anxiety and depression when in reality just one set of symptoms is overlapping the other.

Anxiety Leads to Depression

When a person is overly anxious for an extended period of time, this is damaging to them mentally, physically and emotionally.  The body is not designed to be at a heightened state of emergency for days or even hours on end.  When a person suffers anxiety, depression may be a result of that heightened state of awareness.  They are simply wearing themselves out and the body’s only way of coping is to force itself to become depressed.

Additionally because a person is anxious over outside factors these same factors may make him or her feel depressed.  Family problems, job problems, financial setbacks, a divorce or death, needing to move to a new area, and many factors that cause anxiety can also cause a person to suffer from depression.  They have both anxiety and depression because of these outside factors.  In this way the two conditions are intertwined.

Dealing with both anxiety and depression is a very difficult set of circumstances for anyone, and even for the family of the sufferer.  While we can’t always remove the causes of our anxiety and cure depression, it is possible to treat and cope with these conditions.There are many different avenue’s to go for for help besides medicine there are therapies to assist.

DepressionKnowledge.Com is a new website that has been created for you to give you all of the best and free information on all aspects of Depression. If you go to the website today, you will get a FREE EBOOK ON DEPRESSION just for stopping by. Visit DepressionKnowledge.Com today to get your FREE EBOOK on DEPRESSION!