Adolescent Mental Health - 5 Warning Signs That Need Your Attention

By Deborah Clark Ebel

Do you ever look at your teen and wonder, "What's with him (or her)?" If you had your own troubles as a teen, you may silently dismiss your child's negative behavior as a passing phase, hoping that things will improve and that he'll quickly and safely pass through the storm.

Or, on the other hand, you may worry whether things might get worse.

In either case, you must be aware of some signs that your adolescent must be seen by a mental health professional as quickly as possible, and five of those signs are given below.

If your child is thinking or talking about suicide, you must act quickly. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) issued a special press release in 2007 concerning the alarming increase in suicides for young people ages one to nineteen: an 18.2 percent increase from 2003 to 2004. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the United States for fifteen to twenty-year-olds and the fourth leading cause of death for ten to fourteen-year-olds. If your child or adolescent tells you that he or she feels suicidal or wants to die, take them seriously. Do not think that it is "just a joke" or a way to get attention. You cannot take that chance.

Experimenting with drugs and alcohol during adolescence is not uncommon, and there a lot of reasons they do this. The average age at which boys first try alcohol is 11 years, and for girls it is 13 years. There is no way to know ahead of time who will go on to develop a serious drug or alcohol problem, but the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism tells us that adolescents who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21. If your teen is showing signs of unusual fatigue, reddened or glazed eyes, personality changes, poor judgment, dropping grades, or troubles with the law, you need to address the problem.

Expressions of worthlessness or guilt on the part of your adolescent may be a sign that he feels that there is nothing left for live for. Telling you that he doesn't feel "good enough", or that he is caught in a situation that he can't get out of, or that he feels devastated or alone in the world may be your adolescent's way of telling you that he wants and needs help.

Some children innocently harm insects or other small animals when they are very young, but most are guided by their parents and teachers to be gentle with animals ("Don't pull the cat's tail) and quickly develop empathy and concern for any pain that an animal may feel.

Unfortunately, some may continue abusing animals and extend that cruelty on to people. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Northeastern University tell us that those who abuse animals are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people and four times more likely to commit property crimes than are individuals without a history of animal abuse. The American Psychiatric Association considers animal cruelty to be one of the diagnostic criteria of conduct disorder.

Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, has very much been in the news of late, as the media has speculated that some celebrities may be suffering from the disorder. Those persons with bipolar disorder suffer through extreme highs and lows in a cyclic fashion. You may have heard that bipolar disorder affects mostly adults, but these days, many children and adolescents are being diagnosed with the disorder. If one or both parents have bipolar disorder, the chances are greater that their children will develop it, and a family history of drug or alcohol abuse may also be associated with bipolar disorder in adolescents. Manic (high) symptoms include the teen being either unusually happy or silly or very irritable, angry, agitated or aggressive, unrealistic feelings about abilities or that he or she has special powers, having an extraordinary level of energy and the ability to function with little or no sleep, and taking part in high-risk behaviors, such as abusing alcohol and drugs, reckless driving, or sexual promiscuity.

Depressive (low) symptoms include frequent crying, sadness that doesn't go away, irritability, not being able to enjoy favorite activities, and major changes in eating or sleeping patterns, such as oversleeping or overeating.

There are more signs to be on the alert for, but if you are concerned that your child may have an emotional or behavioral problem, seek the advice of a mental health professional immediately.

Deborah Clark Ebel is the author of The Forgotten Future: Adolescents in Crisis, due out in early
March. Visit the author's website at www.debebel.com for more information.

www.forgottenfuture.wordpress.com

www.authorsden.com/deborahclarkebel

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deborah_Clark_Ebel

How to Get Any Woman to Love you Instantly- Make Them Chase you Down and Beg for Attention

By Pushpa Pal Singh

So what does it take to make a woman truly fall in love with you on the very first site? Well love is a very strong emotion and we only fall in love with people with whom we can form strong emotional connections. You see women would never fall in love with you unless you know how to form that great emotional connection and make them feel as if they already know you. Read on to discover some of the most incredible ways on how to make any woman love you instantly and achieve earth shattering results.

Be caring and kind- One of the major aspects of love is being caring and kind towards other people. You see not many people show a lot of care and kindness on the very first encounter.
What you need to do is start caring for people and show them your kindness, Make them feel special and wanted. People like to be appreciated than judged and if you can be the person who would even appreciate a stranger you have just met rather than judge than you would instantly make them fall in love with you.

Be interested- Another thing you need to keep in mind is your level of interest in the other person. When you show active and genuine interest in the other person that person automatically reciprocates with the same reaction.

Get chatty- Your talks can move mountains if you know how to use your words right and similarly it can help you make women fall in love with you. You see it all starts with a conversation and ends with a feeling. Therefore your talks should be such which appeal to a girls emotions and she starts connecting with you strongly on an emotional level.

What you don't know yet- Ever tried to wonder what's in a woman's mind? What is she thinking about? Do you know that women do not always mean what they say? They might say something and mean the exact opposite. But what do women actually want? Do you know there are some secrets women don't want men to know but men absolutely must know these secrets in order to succeed with women? Read on to discover some of the most "Shocking Secrets" women don't want men to know- 9 Most Shocking Secrets Women don't want men to know

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pushpa_Pal_Singh

Attention Restaurant Owners - How to Create a Menu for Success

By Jeffrey Hauser

This is addressed to the one million plus restaurant owners in the US. You are in business to make a profit. Sure, you also want to pass on your great recipes, watch happy people eating and create a legacy for your children. But, when all is said and done, you are in business to make money. Doing so is another issue.

It begins with a plan, including the type of food, location, and marketplace. Who will eat there and how much will they pay? How will you attract them? What are your long-term goals? How about a short-term goal of creating the restaurant and surviving the first year?

There are so many elements in the process, yet it’s fairly easy to list them, not necessarily in order:

• The basic business plan
• Arranging the financing
• Securing the property
• Seeking out a contractor
• Creating the cuisine
• Looking for employees
• Obtaining insurance, accounting and legal resources
• Planning the marketing approach
• Setting a timetable
• Designing a menu

The last one is not the least, in order of importance. It might even be the first. Without a menu, you have no restaurant. Why? Because it sets the tone for the whole operation.

It lists all the items you have for sale. It shows the public your pricing structure. It gives other information such as payment types, catering, banquet facilities, delivery or takeout, and other details about your business. If it doesn’t, it should. It’s a mini-advertisement or billboard, that eventually ends up in the hands of every single customer, therefore it’s terribly important. So, how much time did you spend on it’s content and design? Probably not nearly enough, but now you have some food for thought (pardoning the pun).

Now, a few words about my background. I worked as a sales consultant for the Yellow Pages for 25 years and encouraged all my restaurant accounts to place their menus in the directory. The problem was the need for a full page to accommodate the menu. That proved to be rather expensive and therefore, not an option, for many family-run restaurants.

Today, there are several online versions of the directory that allow this feature. Luckily , there are some more specialized sites only list restaurant menus, but they also retype them for some reason. I prefer an online copy of the actual menu, which helps display the flavor of the restaurant. I think most people prefer to see the real menu for that reason. One such site even asks for restaurants to post them on their site for free. Menuelephant.com is my choice for placing your free menu. It will gain you maximum exposure with a zero cost investment. You have no excuse not to go there and try it. Where else can you get free advertising and a purple pachyderm as a business partner?

Jeffrey Hauser was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising and has a Master's Degree in teaching.
He had his own advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design firm, ABC Advertising. He authored a book about his directory years, "Inside the Yellow Pages" which can be seen at his website, http://www.poweradbook.com and he is currently the Marketing Director for http://www.thenurseschoice.com a Health Information site and http://www.menuelephant.com which posts restaurant menus on the "site you'll never forget."

Attention Women - How Paris Hilton is Ruining Your Dating

By Shawn Hill

Think all this coverage about Paris Hilton has had no effect on your dating life. You could not be more wrong. With her picture splashed over newspaper and TV from MTV to CNN this coverage has been incredible. All this because one person is going to jail. Heaven help the poor girl if she actually killed somebody.

Anyway, I am not here to pile on her. Really this article is not even about her so much as it is about the effect this is having on your dating. The more that she is seen, the more that guys are getting a picture of what a woman is and it is not looking good.

1. Thin, rich and white. She looks like a living Barbie doll. The more we see her, the more this image is being held up as what is attractive. Guys of all races are being feed this image everyday. Unfortunately this picture is not the average woman or even most women.

2. Privileged. When the justice system does treat people differently it is bad, but when this becomes representative of women, this hurts you. More and more guys that I have talked to believe that women get the best end of the deal. They are saying if this had been a guy he would not have walked so easy even if he was a celebrity.

3. Whiny. The pictures of her crying just makes her look whiny. Never mind that most of us would look the same way if sent to jail, this is just not a good image. Now when you complain or cry about a situation that you are having, do you think you will get the same type of compassion as you would have before. No.

Like I said, I am not here to pile on the young lady. I hope she gets over this situation and is better for it. But the media coverage and the images have made it much more difficult for men to see women in a positive light.

FREE REPORT-BEST PLACES TO FIND GOOD GUYS! http://www.datingtherightman.com Frustrated by the lack of quality men that you are meeting? Disappointed in the lies you are being told? Looking for an honest relationship?

Get this report and find out where the good guys are. Don't worry, if you don't get it, the other women will...www.datingtherightman.com