Riley's story: After brother's suicide, teen shares how she deals with grief, offers advice to those who want to help

By SUE THOMAS

MLIVE ~ “I’m Riley Gortsema and I’m here because my brother committed suicide two years ago.”
That’s how Riley introduces herself at a grief support group for teens.

Tough words to say, but knowing she is with others who are coping with similar losses makes it just a bit easier.

T.J. Hamilton | The Grand Rapids Press

Riley and Travis, two blond, athletic kids just 22 months apart in age, looked like twins and played together as best friends. They shot hoops, went wakeboarding and worked out together. Riley looked up to her big brother and followed in his footsteps.

“He was the most popular kid at school,” she says. “He was one of those kids who fit into every group.”

As a sophomore at Calvin Christian High School, Travis was called up to play varsity football. One Friday night, he scored a dramatic game-winning touchdown.

Four nights later, he hanged himself in his bedroom.

Travis’ family struggled with sorrow and disbelief.

His mother, Julie Gortsema, says medical professionals told her two severe concussions close together might have changed Travis’ brain chemistry, leading him to an action he would not have contemplated otherwise.

Riley’s world was shaken to the core. As a 14-year-old freshman, she suddenly went from being “Travis’ little sister” to “Are you the girl whose brother died?”

The support she received at her school, from her friends and from Travis’ friends was “amazing,” says Riley, now 16 and a junior. Even so, it became hard to relate to her friends sometimes.

“They move on, and you know you don’t,” she says. “They don’t have to go home to parents who are crying, to a family of three that used to be four.”

She found people who understood her pain through Starlight Ministries, a Christian grief support community.

Every two weeks, she goes to a teen group. There, she paints pictures, reads Bible verses, writes in a journal. There’s a room where she can break dishes or rip up phone books to get out her anger.

Sometimes, a discussion topic is raised, and the teens share their thoughts on it. Riley often finds herself saying things she had never even says to herself before.

“You just say stuff you didn’t know was bugging you, and when you do, you feel so much lighter,” she says.

“When you go through grief, your heart actually feels heavy, and your stomach feels like there’s a twister in it.”

With her friends at school, she often doesn’t talk about her grief, and that’s fine with her. “Sometimes, those friends are my escape,” she says. “I have some friends that are so funny. When I hang out with them, it’s like an escape, and I don’t want to talk about it with them.”

Deciding when to talk about her sorrow is a choice she wants to make.

It’s painful when people ask her about brother at inappropriate times — particularly in front of others.

“If it looks like I’m doing fine, please leave me alone. I don’t feel like crying in front of people — or before a math test,” she says.

What makes her feel better are signs that people care, such as notes and Bible verses left in her locker.

“Baked goods are always welcome,” she says with a smile.

And knowing others grieve for Travis helps, too.

“What I think makes me feel people care is when I go to Travis’ grave site, and there’s a worn path,” she says. “People put rocks, seashells, golf balls on it.

“There’s physical evidence that I’m not the only thinking about him.”

Read Riley's Tips for Grieving Teens

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Detecting Body Dismorphic Disorder in Your Teen

By CARMA HALEY SHOEMAKER

FAMILY ~ In the United States, greater than one-third of all women between the ages of 15 and 39 have a condition called body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). This disorder is made evident when preoccupations with body appear and especially when the preoccupations focus on one area. Body dysmorphic disorder interferes with social, career, sexual and personal relations and activities. However, there is no one cause or even one set of symptoms, which makes the issue even more pressing, especially in teen girls.

Wikimedia photo by Mohamed Osman; used with permission under Creative Commons license

What is BDD?

According to Abigail Natenshon, psychotherapist, BDD is about self-loathing, body intolerance and body image disturbance. "It's one thing to be aware of your body; it is another to be over-aware," says Natenshon. "Those who suffer from BDD are preoccupied – or even overly obsessed – with their body, their shape, their size and their weight. It goes without saying that all of these conditions put a person at high risk to develop eating disorders."

But why? "Reasons why BDD develops come together in the context of genetic susceptibilities and temperament," says Natenshon. "In these cases, the whole can be greater and more devastating than the sum of its parts. The question why is far less significant than what to do to alleviate the emotional pain that BDD carries with it."

Warning Signs of BDD

While BDD is a dominant disorder, teens do not wear a sign on their neck to let you know it's there. Parents need to learn what it is, what it does and what to look for.

"When a young woman is worried more about what she ate than anything else, it is a warning sign," says Jessica Weiner, a motivational speaker and author of A Very Hungry Girl. "Other important signs to watch for related to BDD are: a withdrawal from friends; severe mood swings; a determined preoccupation with exercise, losing weight and with dieting; preoccupation with body size (both their own and others, often comparing). Basically if your body and your food is all you think about from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep, all of your 'worth' is based on body image and weight, your life has become unmanageable – there is a problem or warning sign there to pay attention to."

It is important to remember that all teens – especially tween and teen girls – have some natural preoccupation with their bodies, as they are changing, growing and developing in many ways. "Being aware of your body as it changes with the onset of the teen years and puberty is healthy," says Weiner. "However, a person struggling with BDD will begin to put their preoccupation ahead of all other things, although secretly at times. The presence of BDD usually develops after some type of dramatic or tragic events but can also be a learned behavior. In addition, events at home can also trigger BDD."

Read the rest of the article here

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Trailer: "Out Of Reach" - Medicine Abuse through the eyes of...

"Out of Reach" is a special documentary created by a teen filmmaker who captures the issue of teen prescription drug abuse as it exists in his world. The issues contained in the film are a reflection of this issue across the country. It was created in collaboration with director Tucker Capps (of A&E's "Intervention") and The Partnership at Drugfree.org's Medicine Abuse Project.

Visit drugfree.org/MedicineAbuseProject to learn more.

Learn more about Teen Medicine & Perscription Drug Abuse Treatment

Real-life stories: Two teenage girls reveal the epidemic of cutting amongst their peers, and why celebrities are exacerbating the problem

By MEL MYERS

CELEBZTER~For many of us, cutting hasn’t always been on the mainstream radar. It was something that was keep hidden– taboo, if you will. 

But in recent years, cutting amongst teens is on the rise. In fact, recent studies claim that 1 out of 5 teens hurt themselves. It includes: cutting 72%; self-hitting 30%; hair-pulling,22%; bone breaking 10% and burning 5%. The figure is shocking and could just be dismissed as a random science study.  But unfortunately, that is not the case.

photos via Celebtzer.Com

Yona Levin and Arielle Firestone (pictured left) are both 15. They have spoken to us about the rise and rise of young teens that they know currently cutting themselves, which in some ways, they say, has been a direct result of how young stars in Hollywood behave. They spoke out in an effort to educate other teenagers out there– that cutting to be cool, is not cool.

According to the girls, cutting is becoming so prevalent, that (just like the recent findings) they personally know 1 in 5 of their friends who are doing it, or who have tried it at some point in time.

“Before, people were depressed and didn’t know how to cope with it, but now celebrities walk around almost publicizing it, it makes it a new fad,” explains Arielle.

“When I was in 5th or 6th grade I heard about people doing it,” she says. “Now, I personally know kids who have cut themselves.”

Yona adds that it’s become so commonplace amongst teens that everyone knows someone who is doing it.

“Everyone has a friend who has done it or is doing it,” she says. “It’s now not abnormal to know someone who is cutting themselves.”

The pair both say that teens lack of role models isn’t helping the cause either.

Read the rest of the post HERE

Learn more about Cutting and Teen Self Injury Treatment 

Teen Gambling and Teen Problem Gambling

By JOHN LEE

How easy is it for a teen to start gambling?

CHOOSE HELP ~ It’s not surprising that sensation loving teens enjoy the thrill of recreational gambling, and since society seems to condone gambling as an acceptable activity, and since gambling opportunities are so easily found, even for those under the age of 18, it’s not surprising that most are already engaging in at least some amount of gambling.

Yet as much as teens may enjoy the excitement of a wager, few that gamble have any real appreciation of the risks involved.

• Teens are more likely than adults to develop a gambling problem, and an estimated 10% of teens from grades 7 to 12 are already problem gamblers
• People that start gambling at a very young age are far more likely to mature into problem or pathological gamblers
• Teens that become problem gamblers also have higher incidence rates of drug and alcohol abuse, risky sexual behaviors, violent acts, mental illness and school and family problems¹

Although we may glamorize gambling in media and though opportunities to place a bet are never far away or hard to find, everyone needs to know that teens that gamble are putting themselves at risk; and that parents who teach their children to abstain or delay gambling do a great deal to reduce the risks of gambling addiction in the family.

Why and Where Do Teens Gamble?

Though most jurisdictions enforce minimum age requirements for gambling, teens and even preteens have very little trouble finding places to lay a bet.

Teens may have trouble gaining entry to a casino, but teens have little difficulty playing lottery or scratch and win cards, wagering at charity events, playing cards for money or betting on sports events or games like pool – and with internet casinos now open for play around the clock, any teen with access to a credit card a bedroom computer can play high stakes card games in complete privacy and anonymity.

Some of the reasons why teens may be attracted to gambling include:

• It can be fun and exciting
• Teens have a preference for low effort/high stimulation activities (because of brain development at this life-stage)²
• There is an opportunity to win large sum of money
• It is glamorized in movies and on TV
• Advertising campaigns for lotteries or casinos promote the behavior
• Society generally condones gambling, as do many parents (Although it’s an addictive behavior, few parents are as worried about gambling as they are about drugs or alcohol use, for example)
• Teens generally don’t see gambling as a high risk activity³
• Few prevention programs exist to educate teens to the risks of gambling (unlike prevention programs which warn against drugs, tobacco and alcohol, for example)

Teens are more or less hard-wired to enjoy gambling and they have no trouble finding places to play – and with this combination of attraction and easy availability, it’s not at all surprising that the vast majority of American teens are already gambling. However, since they’re also more likely impulsive and less able to forecast the likely consequences of their action, they are also at much greater risk to become problem gamblers.

Learn more about John Lee

Learn More about Teen Gambling Treatment

References:

1. Lane County Prevention
2. Lane County Prevention
3. Problem Gambling Canada: Youth and Gambling, Barriers to Prevention

In the wake of a teen's unexplained death, answers about Spice are hard to come by

by SEAN DOOGAN

photo courtesy of DEA

ALASKA DISPATCH~ 

Kurtis Hildreth, 18, came to Alaska after graduating high school. He was living with his aunt’s family in Wasilla to get a head start on the next phase of his life. But Hildreth’s life didn’t get a new beginning in the Last Frontier -- it ended abruptly, the young man found dead inside his room, a pipe filled with the synthetic drug known as Spice and a lighter, on the floor next to him. His family believes the drug killed him. But the state medical examiner and Alaska State troopers aren’t sure. 

Hildreth moved from Florida to spend time with his aunt, Kerri Stevens, and her family at their Wasilla home. Stevens said she wanted to show Hildreth around Alaska and offer him a job in her family’s commercial glass shop. Stevens said she has always been close to Hildreth, her sister Kelli Farquer’s oldest child, and was even there when he was born. She was also there when he died on Nov. 16, 2013, opening Hildreth’s bedroom door to find her nephew’s body crumpled against the wall. Hildreth’s arms were still propped on the windowsill. 

“Whatever hit him, (it) hit him hard and hit him fast,” Stevens said as she recounted her nephew’s death. “The pipe was right there by his feet. He was a healthy kid. The lighter was right there. The pipe was right there. He never had any kind of heart problems or seizures.” 

Inside the pipe was some partially burned synthetic marijuana, commonly known as “Spice.” The drug is gaining popularity as a legal marijuana alternative. It is, in reality, an unknown combination of chemicals usually made in China and shipped to the U.S., where it is sprayed on plant material and packaged as incense or potpourri. Most of the packages have labels that say “not for human consumption” on them. And at $20 for two grams, it is extremely expensive -- for incense. But everyone knows what the mixture is really used for: to get high.

Stevens and Farquer are certain Spice killed the otherwise healthy Hildreth. But the Alaska Medical Examiner’s Office has listed his death as “undetermined.”

Officially, no one has died as a result of smoking Spice in Alaska. As in many suspected cases, an autopsy of Hildreth’s body did not turn up any medical conditions or problems. A toxicity screening of his blood, bile and other body fluids did not turn up any signs of illegal drugs or alcohol. Hildreth’s death -- like an average of 28 others each year in Alaska -- will likely go unsolved, medically speaking. But not if Hildreth’s family -- and an Illinois mother who started an Internet crusade after the Spice-related death of her own son -- has anything to do with it.

Read the rest of the article HERE

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Counting All the Time

by Unknown

One,three, six, ten .... not being able to focus on anything but counting has really concerned me lately. Why do I do this, and what causes it? Counting has become an everyday, normal part of my life. I do not just count numbers, I also group them and add them up in my head. In school I usually count and add the numbers on a clock, or I group and add the number of people in my class. In a car, I count the numbers on license plates, the letters on billboards, even the white dashes on the interstate.

My problem became clear to me two years ago while watching"Dateline." I discovered I am not the only person with this problem,and that it has a name: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

OCD is an anxiety disorder that may have genetic origins and is believed to be caused by an imbalance of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is a chemical that acts asa messenger between the orbital cortex (the front part of the brain) and the basal ganglia (deeper structures of the brain). When the serotonin levels are unbalanced, messages that go from one part of the brain to another get messed up,resulting in repetitive thoughts. These intrusive impulses are called obsessions,and they drive people with OCD to act out time-consuming rituals or habits known as compulsions.

My time-consuming rituals finally had a name and reason. My counting was not because I was insane, but because of a chemical imbalance in my brain. 

People suffer from different types of OCD. Obsessions are thoughts, images or impulses that occur over and over again out of a person's control. They feel disturbing and intrusive, and a person usually recognizes that they do not make sense. Excessive worries about dirt and germs and being obsessed with the idea that they are contaminated, or may contaminate others, are major concerns of someone with OCD. They may also have obsessive fears of having accidentally harmed someone, even though they usually know this is not true.Obsessions are accompanied by uncomfortable feelings such as fear, disgust, doubt or a sensation that things have to be done "just so." 

People with OCD typically try to make their obsessions go away by performing compulsions. About 90 percent of those with OCD have both obsessions and compulsions. Compulsions are acts a person performs over and over again, often according to certain "rules." Each person has their own set they follow. For example, someone with an obsession about contamination may wash their hands until they become raw or even bleed. A person may count objects over andover because of an obsession about losing them.

Counting is one compulsive disorder, others are washing, touching, arranging, hoarding, saving and praying.While my compulsive disorder, counting, seems to have a reason - an obsession - I am not sure what my obsession is, because the fear of losing something is not my problem.

Oh, wait - as I write this, my obsession has become clear to me! I have an obsession with even numbers. I count and add all the time to get even sums. To me, even numbers are the only ones that are "real." I cannot stand odd numbers; they almost terrify me. This is going to sound really weird, but odd numbers do not have friends, and even numbers do. At some time I must have felt I needed the comfort of knowing someone was always there for me.

This problem must have started with my parents' divorce; they split up when I was in first grade and I started counting soon after. It is estimated that one million children and adolescents in the United States suffer from OCD, which could mean three to five children with OCD per average-sized elementary school and about 20 teenagers in a large high school. 

Treatments for OCD vary. It can be treated with a mild anti-depressant, and behavior therapy is effective,too. A combination of these two helps most sufferers find relief.

When I first realized I had OCD, I did not think it was that bad, but then I started recalling everything I count. I amazed myself; not only do I count people,letters and numbers, but also pictures on the wall, windows in my house, chairs at a table, doors in a building, lights in a room, icons on a computer screen.The list goes on and on. You would think doing this must exhaust me, but the truth is I barely notice. I will be in the middle of counting something, and realize, Oh, I'm counting again. 

I'm debating treatment. It is scary to think that counting and adding are not normal. If I were to get treatment I would have a lot more time to concentrate on more important subjects. I guess I will just have to wait and see what feels right.

Read more by Teens

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Aspergers Teens and Social Difficulties

by MARK HUTTEN, 
M.A. - Counseling  Psychologist

The primary aspect of Aspergers that characterizes it as autistic is the problem of human connectedness. The term most commonly used to describe this core weakness of human connection is “reciprocity.” This refers to the teen’s ability to engage other people in a way that makes others feel connected or not. In social conversation with a teen with Aspergers, eye contact is often poor, fleeting, or absent. Aspergers teens may not be able to read subtle gestures and facial changes or to interpret subtleties in language such as irony or sarcasm. They do not read or respond as most people do to small changes in body posture or to gestures. They seem either distant, stiff, or in other ways unconnected. 

Aspergers teens not only seem disconnected, but in some cases uninterested in being in relationships with others. They may generally have very little interest in the feelings, experiences, other human qualities, or possibilities of others and, hence, lack empathy. They do not seem to derive pleasure from engaging others, learning about them, talking with them, or sharing experiences. In the many cases where the symptoms are milder, the teenager may wish to connect with others, but simply does not know how. He may have feelings for others, but can’t seem to mobilize the demonstration of those feelings. 

At first, “neurotypical” (normal) teenagers in common social contexts (such as a school football game) may see peers with Aspergers as shy and retiring, quiet, stiff, or withdrawn. As the uninitiated begin to talk with Aspergers teens, it may appear that they seem to respond robotically. They have a monotonic voice that often comes across as reminiscent of the aforementioned geeks or nerds. The initial impression is that one is dealing with an eccentric. 

Aspergers teens seem to lack warmth to their more socially apt peers. There is a sense that the teen just isn’t there when he is interacting with you. He may not know what to do when someone has finished making a point. He may not know when to stop talking and may seem overly interested in his topic of conversation and not yours, unless you are equally fascinated with his areas of interest. 

All too frequently, however, teens with Aspergers seem not just alien and unconnected, but preoccupied with one or two subjects, which they will talk about endlessly. They may take offense easily over unrelated trifles or become upset when others do not share their enthusiasm for a given area of interest. There is a kind of immaturity or somewhat fixed developmental delay, in which the needs, interests, feelings, perspectives, and thoughts of others just aren’t real or important to them. Intervention in teaching about the lives of others is important here. 

In conversation with an Aspergers teen, you may find yourself doing most of the work in the exchange, asking most of the questions, and waiting for obvious follow-ups that don’t occur. His frequently robotic language and responses seem to suggest that others might as well be inanimate. It is not just a question of only lacking the ability to read social cues. There is an output problem, not knowing how to engage and maintain relationships with others, and most certainly an internal problem, in which social/emotional information is absent, confusing, undeveloped, and/or not valued. He may not have labels for feelings. 
Read the rest of the article here

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Does Your Child Suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder?

by CHRISTINE CADENA

YAHOO~ Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), once classified as Multiple Personality Disorder, described the psychological condition in which an individual possesses two or more identities, each uniquely different from the other. While one personality may appear to be dominant, any of the personalities can impose control over the DID sufferer.

What causes Dissociative Identity Disorder to develop? Research has shown that patients who develop DID generally do so in result to a traumatic experience which occurred over a very long and extended period of time. The associated trauma, whether physical or sexual, often results in the sufferer, before developing DID, to experience complications associated with depression and anxiety and may often complain about feeling as if they have left their own physical being.

In children, a diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder can take several years to confirm. For this reason, many children are not promptly diagnosed until they reach adolescence or even early adulthood.

So, how do you know if your child or adolescent is suffering from DID? A common trait among all individuals with Dissociative Identity Disorder is the appearance that they are essentially zoned out or not paying attention. Most often, in children or teenagers, the concept of time is lost. For many, there is confusion over mealtimes and day versus night. The reason for this lies in the ability of the individual to displace themselves from reality, resulting in a loss of hours or days.

For children developing DID, especially in response to trauma, there will be an overwhelming presence of depression and moodiness. This, like most trauma cases, is quite common. But, in addition to depression and moodiness in the child or teenager, parents may also notice the child is frequently losing objects or forgetting important issues. Psychologists believe this may be attributed to the fact that the child, or teenager, is essentially sharing their thoughts with other personality sets, resulting in confusion or memory loss.

As your child begins to verbalize emotions and issues of concern, do you notice he or she may be referring to themselves as a "we" or "us"? If so, this may be a clear sign the child, or teenager, is developing Dissociative Identity Disorder.

As with any psychological condition, especially those in response to traumatic events during childhood, it is important to secure the assistance of a psychiatric professional to ensure the condition is diagnosed and treated properly, and early, into adulthood. Without early intervention, the child may grow into an adult who begins to experience more complicating social issues and, ultimately, deteriorate the DID condition further.

Learn more about Christine Cadena

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Get Your Teeth Checked

by Paulina Pinsky

photo credit:visualpanic via photopin cc 

Columbia Spectator ~We were driving back from a family dinner at a posh Los Angeles restaurant, the kind whose clientele doesn’t dare to touch the breadbaskets. My mother could not stop blabbing about the owners of her gym, because that’s what you do when your daughter is home from her first year of college: “One time I went to dinner with them and they both ate steak and one order of French fries. But they still look amazing. But they split the fries...” I felt like I couldn’t even hear her. My ability to listen to my mother talk about her gym owners had disappeared when I had hit rock bottom four months prior and had put myself into therapy. Purging eight times in one day to cope with the emotional stress of being home during spring break had finally scared me enough to take action. And here I was again, stuck in a car with her. 

Without even thinking, the words erupted from my mouth.

“Well I’d rather have an over-eating disorder than an under-eating disorder.”

She said, “You don’t mean that,” to which I replied, “Yes I do. I’ve already had an under-eating one.”

Without missing a beat, she responded, “No, you haven’t.”

I paused, but before I knew it, the words were out of my mouth. “Yes, I have. I’ve been throwing up since the seventh grade.”

All of the air was sucked out of the space we both shared. This was not the way I wanted to tell her; this was not what I had planned. I had imagined a triumphant moment that involved eating a whole cake with my hands without breaking eye contact and saying, “YES, I HAVE BEEN A BULIMIC AND ANOREXIC FOR SEVEN YEARS. BUT NOW I AM BETTER. I AM EATING THIS CAKE BECAUSE I WANT IT AND I’M HUNGRY. AND GODDAMN IT TASTES GOOD.” But the words flew out of my mouth before I had a chance to take them back. The following moment was the longest and most painful silence of my life; I felt like my stomach was going to fall out and that I was going to projectile-vomit onto the windshield. After a silence that lasted far too long, she responded.

“Well, get your teeth checked.”

***

Two years later, I can say that for the first time in my entire life I have a functional relationship with my mother. Part of my recovery has been essentially creating a new relationship with her from scratch. Our bond has become stronger as a result of my letting her get to know a more genuine side of me. And as we get closer, I finally understand her reaction to the first time I opened up to her about my relationship with food. She needed me to be perfect, something that neither I nor anyone else can be.

My mother was not the only one demanding perfection from me. I was the pretty blonde girl who was a cheerleader and an ice skater. I got good grades, had a boyfriend, and was thin: I was living the life everyone had always told me I should want for myself. But I was suffering under the weight of “perfection” in a way that even I didn’t completely understand.

And how could I have understood it? My 13-year-long figure skating career fostered my eating disorder, which was normalized by the people around me. Both inside and outside the world of figure skating I was repeatedly praised for my “perfection.” Everyone constantly inquired about my thinness, asking how I did it and how they could emulate it. My hunger didn’t matter, I was told, because it was merely a means to an end. A friend’s mother told me that if I went to bed hungry, I would lose weight. And it was true. I began to realize that people liked me better thin. I had boyfriends who never failed to comment on how “amazing” and “beautiful” I looked; my friends and their mothers asked me what I ate and how I worked out. Thinness became my entire identity. Everyone needed me to be thin and, even worse, I needed myself to be thin.

I’m not the only woman who has suffered, though. Women are supposed to be small. As I watched my football-playing brothers stuff themselves with spaghetti carbonara, steak, and hot fudge sundaes, I would pick at my salad, as my mother did the same. It wasn’t just I who had been affected by society’s demands for my body. It was my mother and her mother before her.

As I started to let go of my mother’s mistakes, she started to let go of the idealized image she held of me. Only one month ago, I went shopping with her and she did not body-shame me by stewing in silent judgment when I needed a bigger size. That shopping trip is engraved as deeply in my mind as the infamous “teeth” moment. We laughed at the sweater that made me look like a butterfly-turned-cat lady. We zipped each other in and zipped each other out. The size of our bodies wasn’t the issue; the fit of the clothing was. In these two years, I’m not the only one who has grown—she has as well.

My grandmother lost all of her teeth when she was 20 years old. My mother has veneers because she didn’t like her smile. And me? I’m obsessive about my teeth. I brush them at least twice every day but, thanks to my genetics, I still get cavities. As with my teeth, when it comes to body image, I can’t expect a change overnight when the problem is not just mine but that of generations before me. Normalizing eating disorders reaches so much further than my nuclear family, where “diet and exercise” is our religion. We live in a society where an ideal of streamlined bodies occupies our every day. I’ve come to realize I can’t subject myself to that anymore. I am meant to have a butt, and “Czechoslovakian-baby-bearing” thighs (inherited from my great-grandmother Marie, according to my mother). That’s not to say that there aren’t women who are naturally thin and fit the ideal; no woman deserves criticism for her body. And no woman—neither I nor anyone else— can reverse generations upon generations of damage. We can, however, make our generation better than the one that came before it.

I am 21 years old and I still have all my teeth. But honestly, I’m a work in progress. Rather than punishing myself for the body I inhabit, I’m starting to care for it. It’s much easier, I’ve found, to like myself the way I am... and to make sure I brush my teeth every day.

Read more by Paula

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Don't Conceal, Please Feel, Let It Show

by MORGAN HEGARTY

Huffington Post ~ If you aren't familiar with the popular hit Disney film, Frozen, not only have you missed out on a cinematic masterpiece, but you have not experienced the negative consequences that come with concealing your feelings.

Earlier this week on my personal blog, I admitted that I have been having a bit of a personality crisis. My usual chirpy demeanor has been overtaken by a bit of a funk, and I am on a quest to bring happy back!

The choice to share my current crisis with others was one I battled with for a bit. While the actual post was only written a day before I published it, the ongoing war between sharing my secret or not was one that I had been having for weeks. And it wasn't until I told myself that it was going to fine showing weakness that I actually put my feelings into words. Now, back to Frozen...

In the film, sisters Elsa and Anna are very close until Elsa's magical ice powers (Yeah, she produces ice from her hands. It's awesome.) causes Anna to be hurt and have magic removed from her brain permanently. Elsa, in an effort to keep her sister safe, is told to "Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show" when it comes to her magical powers, keeping her fears as her powers grew stronger to herself. And it isn't until she runs up to the North Mountain that she is actually able to be free about the things happening to her. Now, back to me...

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Study Finds 1 in 3 Bipolar Teens Become Substance Abusers

By RICK NAUERT PHD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D.

PsychCentral~As published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, researchers found that approximately one in three teens with bipolar disorder developed substance abuse.

The new study also identified several risk factors that predicted who among these teens was most likely to develop substance abuse.

Researchers studied teens who became substance abusers for the first time, during four years of follow-up.

Using data from the Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth (COBY) study, a group of researchers led by Dr. Benjamin Goldstein examined 167 kids, ages 12-17 years.

Participants in the study were interviewed an average of seven times over the course of four years in order to examine their symptoms, functioning, stressors, and treatment. Investigators then documented the frequency and possible predictors of first-onset substance abuse.

Researchers found that 32 percent of adolescents in COBY developed abuse or dependence of alcohol or drugs, on average 2.7 years from the start of the study.

Repeated experimentation with alcohol at the start of the study was the single strongest predictor of later substance abuse, although experimentation with cannabis also predicted later substance abuse.

Five other factors present at the start of the study also predicted later substance abuse: oppositional defiant disorder, panic disorder, family history of substance abuse, low family cohesiveness, and absence of antidepressant treatment.

Among teens with three or more risk factors, 54.7 percent went on to develop substance abuse, compared to 14.1 percent of teens with 0-2 risk factors.

The COBY study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, is the largest longitudinal study of children and adolescents with bipolar disorder.

The three-site study enrolled participants at Brown University, UCLA, and the University of Pittsburgh. COBY is continuing to follow these adolescents into their 20s and 30s.

According to Goldstein, the risk associated with experimental substance use “in the case of adolescents with bipolar disorder, even so-called recreational substance use is playing with fire.”

He concluded “we appear to have this window of two to three years during which we can attempt to prevent substance abuse in these youth. This study provides some clues regarding the types of preventive strategies that may be useful.”

Healthy New Year’s Resolutions for Teens

How will your life look different in 2014?

Livefree~While "now" is always the best time to make healthy changes to your lifestyle, the new year provides a regular opportunity to evaluate your current habits and start working toward a healthier tomorrow. The earlier you settle into the right habits, the easier it will be, and the more effective they will be as you age. Teens, this is the year to start taking your health seriously! Consider these resolutions to get on the right track.

Start meeting your nutritional needs.

Healthy eating habits aren't just for those trying to lose weight or lower their cholesterol – when you are skipping fruits and veggies in exchange for greasy fast food selections, you'll feel sluggish, your immune system will suffer, and you'll set yourself up for an unhealthy future.

Be nice to your lungs.

If you've started smoking, now is the time to quit. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to break the addiction. Don't smoke? Remember that secondhand smoke can be just as dangerous. Don't breathe in your friends' bad habits!

Protect your brain.

There's a reason why the legal age for alcohol is 21. If you're a teen, your brain is still developing, and alcohol can leave lasting damages. Recreational drug use poses an even greater risk. Find other ways to enjoy your weekends.

Give your body the time it needs to recharge.

If you're sacrificing sleep for extra study time or time in front of the computer or television, you aren't doing yourself any favors. Sleep deprivation can lead to a compromised memory, a weakened immune system, or a vulnerability to depression and anxiety. Make it a priority to get eight or nine hours of sleep each night.

If your New Year's resolutions include an end to underage drinking or recreational drug use, LiveFree! can provide the support you need. Learn more about our commitment to preventing and treating substance abuse in our community.