Teenage Stress - Implications for Adult Health

We all know that stress affects us. We see its effects in our clear (or not) thinking, our shorter fuses, our tired bodies at the end of the day. We also figure our kids are resilient and can get through a lot of what life doles out. However, here's an alert for its long-term affects on our youth.

A new study through UCLA (Andrew J. Fuligni and colleagues) has shown that normal teens who reported negative interpersonal interactions (with family, friends, or school personnel), experienced stress that not only affected their psychological state, but were associated with higher levels of an inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein, CRP). CRP has been associated with developing cardiovascular disease later in life. 

Mark Wheeler from UCLA writes the results suggest "the association of interpersonal stress with inflammation exists regardless of individual teens' psychological appraisal of stressful experiences or any tendency to be particularly sensitive to social rejection." 

Go to the UCLA Newsroom website http://newsroom.ucla.edu "Teenage Stress Has Implications for Adult Health" for the full article.

What to do? Arm your kid with stress-busting practices such as the "balloon breath," a basic form of meditation. Meditation has been shown to be a great antidote to the stresses of modern life. You'll be able to read more about this and other transformational tips in my upcoming book, The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success, being published by Perigee/Penguin NY August 4th (www.amazon.com for preorders).

Warmly,

Dr. Charlotte

Welcome back and Intro to Intent.com

It's been ages since I've blogged and all because I've been hard at work finishing up my new book, The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success to be published August 4th, 2009 by Perigee/Penguin NY. I'm thrilled and hope the information will help many, many families and professionals.

Today I want to introduce you to a wonderful website, www.Intent.com. It's a premier wellness site where people can connect and support each other's intentions relating to personal, social, and global wellness.

Deepak Chopra, Don Miquel Ruiz, Debbie Ford, Marianne Williamson, Larry Dossey, Ed Begley Jr., Barbara Marx Hubbard, Fran Drescher, and Russell Simmons all contribute to Intent. And now, so do I. In fact, just for today they are featuring one of my articles on their Home page with three other contributors. Just go to www.Intent.com and look for the box of changing photos near the top of the page and click to the right, "Can't Sleep? Try Imagery." Deepak Chopra is also featured today with "What is Dharma."

His daughter, Mallika, created the site out of her dream to "create a place where we can all find inspiration, connect with others, and become who we aspire to be as individuals, as a society, and as a planet."

I invite you to this special site and hope you all find inspiration and connection.

Warmly,

Dr. Charlotte