Data from the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America survey indicate that parents generally have no clue about what is stressing their children.  The survey shows that children between the ages of 8 and 17 worry and stress about grades, getting into good colleges and their family’s finances.  But their families don’t seem to notice these concerns or address them if they do.

The next largest source of stress for children is getting along with their friends, yet many parents have no idea about these stressors affecting their children.

Furthermore, more than a third of the children reported headaches in the past month, yet only 13 percent of parents reported that their children had stress headaches. 

Forty-four percent of children reported having difficulty falling asleep and again, only 13 percent of parents believe that their children have trouble getting to sleep.

The economic turbulence of the times we live in has distracted many parents from paying attention to their children’s stress and needs. Regardless of their own issues and stressors, parents need to listen to their children daily and pay attention to what is hurting them.  Hopefully, if this happens, the high adolescent suicide rate will plummet.

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

I am available for phone consultations with athletes around the U.S. and in-person visits with athletes in Southern California.

Jack N. Singer, Ph.D.
Certified, Licensed Sport Psychologist
Diplomate, National Institute of Sports Professionals, Division of Psychologists
Diplomate, American Academy of Behavioral Medicine
Certified Hypnotherapist, American Academy of Clinical Hypnosis

People with chronic illnesses are particularly susceptible to anxiety as they worry about their illness and whether they will ever recover.  The tremendous impact on their life styles also raises their anxiety level.  Prescribed drugs, behavioral therapies and psychotherapy are tools used to combat anxiety, but now there is research showing clearly that exercise, alone, can have a tremendous impact on this anxiety.

Three researchers from the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Georgia Ramsey Center assessed whether exercise training will help improve anxiety symptoms among such patients.  Two researchers independently studied 2914 patients.  They found that, compared with no treatment conditions, exercise training significantly reduced anxiety symptoms.

The largest anxiety improvements resulted from exercise programs lasting no more than 12 weeks, using session durations of at least 30 minutes and an anxiety report time frame greater than the past week. Their conclusion was that exercise training reduces anxiety symptoms among sedentary patients with chronic illnesses.

Armed with this information, exercise can also be used to prevent anxiety and everyone should have exercise built into their weekly regimens.

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

Jack N. Singer, Ph.D.
Certified, Licensed Sport Psychologist
Diplomate, National Institute of Sports Professionals, Division of Psychologists
Diplomate, American Academy of Behavioral Medicine
Certified Hypnotherapist, American Academy of Clinical Hypnosis

I have been invited to conduct a training class at a speaking platform like no other and wanted to invite you to listen tonight.

You can participate in as many classes as you wish from the comfort of your home and convenience of your telephone or computer at no cost.

At this platform you will be trained, motivated and inspired by some of the most respected speakers in the Health, Personal Development and Sales & Marketing Industries.

Please join me tonight at 7 pm PST / 8 pm MST / 9 pm CST / 10 pm EST.

Tuition: No Cost.  Sign Up Now!

Teleclass Description:

So many people are overwhelmed these days with the stressors of job insecurity, economic disasters, the housing market collapse, the threat of world terrorism knocking on our doorsteps, and even the potential impact of global warming. Yet, despite these terrific challenges, some people continue to thrive, relaxed, optimistic and healthy. Are these people just blessed genetically or have they learned how to be resilient, despite the inevitable challenges they face daily? The answer is that they have learned the skills necessary to cover themselves with psychological Teflon and buffer themselves from these stressors.

In this class you will learn how to recognize the exact causes of your stress, how to empower yourself to overcome those stresses and build resiliency skills that can last you a lifetime. The end result is that you will bring life to your years and add years to your life.

Tuition: No Cost.  Sign Up Now!

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

Jack N. Singer, Ph.D.
Certified, Licensed Sport Psychologist
Diplomate, National Institute of Sports Professionals, Division of Psychologists
Diplomate, American Academy of Behavioral Medicine
Certified Hypnotherapist, American Academy of Clinical Hypnosis

Stress in the workplace

According to a study, 40% of the American employees feel that their job is very stressful. As the issue of potential job loss, the economy and related factors causing stress is a persistent one, workplace stress needs to be dealt in a proper way. Otherwise there are chances of stress becoming a chronic problem.

Moreover stress at work impairs the job activities and also causes physical problems like head ache, back ache and later on heart problems. Extreme chronic stress can even cause death. The Japanese even have a term for it – Karoshi, which can be translated literally as “death from overwork”.  Work related stress results in decreased productivity, increased management problems and increased incidence of illnesses among employees.

Stress related problems are the most common causes of sickness absenteeism all over the world. In one study it was found that 13 million work days are lost every year in the UK due to stress and related problems. The other side of the problem involves the employers, who suffer production loss, earn bad reputations and are prone to litigations resulting in liabilities. The monetary cost of stress related problems runs up to 700 million pounds per year to the employers according to a study conducted in UK and about 150 billion dollars according to a study conducted in US.

Work Related Stress

The common causes of work place stress are

• Unreasonable demands for performance
• Lack of interpersonal communication between the employer and the employees
• Lack of interpersonal relationship among the employees
• The fear of losing one’s job.
• Long working hours
• Less time to spend with the family
• Under utilization of skills
• Underpaid jobs
• A promotion that did not materialize

In a survey conducted to find out the most stressful jobs the following were found to be in the top four professions which caused more stress.

• Nursing
• Teaching
• Managers
• Professionals

Unlike stress in general, the work related stress affects men and women equally. Older employees are affected more than their younger counterparts. Stress at workplace could be due to

• External cause like dangerous working condition or poor interpersonal relationship with the colleague.
• Internal causes like physical or psychological illnesses
• Acute cause
• Long term cause

But in the long run the stress becomes chronic problem causing serious health problems.

Stress Management at Workplace

If an employer finds that his staff is under stress, he should not ignore it. He should take steps to help them. If he finds it difficult to provide a solution for it, he should get the help of another capable person or qualified professional. If the employee is suffering from non-work related stress, it should still be addrssed as it may later lead on to work related stress. There is no single stress relief method. The stress management at workplace thus has to combine steps to eliminate the source of stress and provide relief for the short and long term effects by utilizing popular stress relievers.

For weekly tips on stress management from Dr. Jack Singer please click here.

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 30 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Dr.Jack Singer found on this Website as long as Dr. Jack Singer’s name and contact information is included. Jack Singer, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Pyschologist, Sport Psychologist, Marriage, Family & Relationship Therapist, Professional Motivational Speaker. http://drjacksinger.com, toll free 800-497-9880.

There are plenty of episodes of athletes out of control . . . Serena Williams has a complete meltdown in front of thousands of her fans at the U.S. Open. Oregon football player LaGarette Blount punches a Boise State player after a frustrating game and then losing his cool with a fan. A 2004 melee between the Detroit Pistons and Indian Pacers, where fans were also involved. And a few seasons ago, a brawl between most of the football players from the University of Miami and FIU.

Often athletes who engage in out-of-control behaviors rationalize that everyone in the situation would react that way. Obviously, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, where athletes are provoked continuously and most do not melt down. Another rationalization is that in hockey, for example, fighting is often encouraged by coaches and is condoned as a motivational technique. Research was conducted over the course of one hockey season, in which the numbers of fighting penalties among NHL teams were matched up with their league standings. The results showed a strong NEGATIVE relationship between the number of fighting penalties and the teams’ standings!

Typical justifications for fighting take the form of “I need to stand up for our teammates, or I’ll look soft,” “You can’t embarrass us in our house,” and “You need to respect me as a man/woman.” The sad fact is that emotional meltdowns always trump intelligence.

So, given that there are hundreds of provocations made to elite athletics each season, why do some athletes melt down, while others don’t? The answer lies in team leadership, from the manager/coach to the team captains and whether anger proneness is recognized early on and treated in a proactive manner or ignored. And for individual melt downs, the answer lies in an athlete understanding the triggers to their own anger.

Anger mastery programs help. Once such program is my athletes Anti-Provocation Training (APTitude)Program.

This program is based on the athlete learning the exact triggers which provoke his/her anger and temporary loss of control. For example, in Serena’s case, I’m sure that her embarrassment while her match was in jeopardy (to huge underdog Kim Clijsters) set her up for losing control of her emotions and the unusual and rare foot fault penalty put her over the top.

Once the athlete recognizes his/her trigger points, alternative thought patterns are taught and rehearsed, so that the “bang-bang” reaction is interrupted by a more rational thought and plan of action.

My program involves a ten-step strategy, where the end result is calmer heads prevailing, separation skills, active listening skills and an immediate cooling down.

For more information on Dr. Jack Singer’s Anti-Provocation Training (APTitude) Programs please call toll free at 1-800-497-9880.

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE 30 minute phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Dr.Jack Singer found on this Website as long as Dr. Jack Singer’s name and contact information is included. Jack Singer, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Pyschologist, Sport Psychologist, Marriage, Family & Relationship Therapist, Professional Motivational Speaker. http://drjacksinger.com, toll free 800-497-9880.

Seventy-nine percent of those surveyed believe that they cannot avoid stress and in the month prior to the survey, 77% of those surveyed experienced stress-related physical symptoms, including  headaches, GI problems, and  fatigue.  Seventy-three percent admitted to emotional symptoms, including feeling nervous, lack of motivation, irritability, and anger.  In addition, nearly half of Americans (43 percent) reported that stress negatively impacted their relationships with spouses or partners.  A fourth of Americans believe that in the past five years, their personal relationships suffered because of stress .

STRESS AND YOUR BODY

Much research has shown the direct link between stress and health.  A study appearing in the British Medical Journal in 2002 showed that workers in Britain who suffered from job stress or who perceived that their performance was not appreciated, were twice as likely to die of a heart attach or stroke, than those not reporting job stress or feeling unappreciated.  Other studies have found a direct link between stress and fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, gastrointestinal diseases, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and macular degeneration.

We now understand that stress also impacts cholesterol levels, platelet activation (causing heart attacks), and shortened life span.  Mental stressors, such as loneliness, depression, depression and isolation, also are associated with serious illnesses and shortened lifespan.  Since sleep disorders negatively impact the immune system and lifespan and since stress is one of the main causes of inability to fall and stay asleep, you can see the tremendous impact of stress on our health and longevity!

A DOZEN WAYS TO MASTER YOUR STRESS LEVELS

It is important to remember that occasional or low levels of stress may actually be protective of our health!  So, totally eliminating our stress is not only impossible, but is probably not a good idea.  It is the prolonged and severe stress that is the culprit.

The National Mental Health Association and the American Psychological Association offer many recommendations to prevent and master prolonged and overwhelming stress levels:

• Become assertive and learn to say “no” to unreasonable time pressures and responsibilities.
• Exercise regularly, engaging in aerobic activities
• Build relaxation time into your life and enjoy your family, music or reading during those times
• Have a relaxing hobby that you enjoy and give yourself permission to engage in it each week
• Do one task at a time instead of multi-tasking
• Use the power of visualization to picture yourself in relaxing and healthy pursuits
• Use imagery, meditation or self-hypnosis to imagine accomplishing your goals peacefully, while you let go of your stressors
• Maintain good nutrition and diet to keep your body and mind healthy
• Laugh each day, whether it’s from hearing or repeating jokes, watching funny videos or hanging around with funny people
• Stay away from highly tensed, negative people
• Get with and play with a pet each day
• Get professional help if you still feel overwhelmed and stressed

Call 1-800-497-9880 now for a FREE phone consultation with Dr. Jack Singer.

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Dr.Jack Singer found on this Website as long as Dr. Jack Singer’s name and contact information is included. Jack Singer, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Pyschologist, Sport Psychologist, Marriage, Family & Relationship Therapist, Professional Motivational Speaker. http://dr.jacksinger.com, toll free 800-497-9880.