Every year, most students have a few nerves about going back to school. This is normal with the change in routine and unknowns of what a new school year will bring. School may also bring unique worries and pressures that cause anxiety, such as:<ul><li>The need to fit in socially and make friends</li><li>Fears of bullying or peer pressure</li><li>Academic pressure to make good grades</li><li>Athletic pressure (to make the team or to perform well on the field)</li><li>Life changes, like entering a new school</li><li>Anxiety about security and safety at school.</li></ul>

Why children get back-to-school anxiety

While the pandemic is no longer a "new" thing, highly contagious variants continue to cause its spread.<ul><li>Students may worry about their health or a loved one's.</li><li>They may also worry about potential interruptions to their school year or extracurricular activities. The stress of the past few years may continue to affect students as well.</li></ul>It's important to validate any concerns your child has by checking in with them frequently. Encouraging children to focus on what they can control is a good way to manage anxiety, too.

Anxiety about going back to school during a pandemic

Children show anxiety in different ways. If you're concerned your child is feeling anxious about school, be on the lookout for changes in your child's behavior and mood.<ul><li>Signs of anxiety can include:</li><li>Disturbances in sleep</li><li>Increased defiance or irritability</li><li>Lack of concentration</li><li>Less energy</li><li>Loss of appetite</li><li>Physical symptoms like nausea, stomach aches, muscle tension or dizziness</li><li>Refusal to go to school</li><li>Sadness or crying.</li></ul>

Signs a child is feeling anxious about school

<ul><li>Pay attention to your child's feelings and listen to their concerns.</li><li>Explain to your child what you know about what the school year or classroom will look like to help them mentally prepare.</li><li>Show children how to behave and how to feel about themselves, even in the midst of anxiety.</li><li>Establish routines. Being consistent with bedtime, mealtime, playtime, screen time and expressions of love can create a sense of stability.</li><li>Coach your child through relaxation exercises.</li><li>Show encouragement and celebrate the wins.</li><li>Seek mental health support if needed. Pay attention to signs of anxiety.</li></ul>

Tips to help manage your child's back-to-school anxiety

Going back to school can bring excitement for some kids, and for others, some anticipation and worry.

The pressures of a new school year can trigger anxiety in kids. A Children's Health psychologist shares ways to help decrease back-to-school anxiety.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

parenting

Parenting

education

Learning & Education

mentalhealth

Mental Health

Back-to-School anxiety: Ways to help your child cope

Mood disorders like depression or bipolar disorder are defined by traits and symptoms that tend to ebb and flow, personality disorders are more of a constant state than a temporary trait.While a person experiencing depression or anxiety can recognize their symptoms and differentiate between their "normal" self and their depressed/anxious self, a person with a personality disorder only knows life through the lens of that disorder.

Personality Disorders With Unawareness

<ul><li>The disorder falls under an umbrella known as "Cluster B" personality disorders, which also include antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.</li><li>On the whole, Cluster B personality disorders are characterized by "intense, unstable emotions, distorted self-images, and difficulty in relationships."</li><li>Whereas the better-understood Cluster B disorders have a clear, disruptive impact on people's lives, it's been harder for psychologists to agree if and how HPD uniquely disrupts people diagnosed with the disorder.</li></ul>

Histrionic Personality Disorder(HPD)

Psychologists may diagnose patients with a personality disorder through a series of clinical interviews and questionnairesTypically, these questionnaires are designed to assess whether or not someone "endorses" or agrees with the point of view of a given personality disorder.Mondimore is wary of diagnoses made through the DSM because several of them have overlapping criteria.

Diagnosis Of HPD

<ul><li>The word "histrionic" sounds like "hysterical" and the old name had misogynistic connotations.</li><li>It is primarily a diagnosis given to women!</li><li>Things that are said to characterize the disorder are vague and often involve a tremendous amount of judgment.</li></ul>

Just Another Way Of Saying That The Woman Is A Nut Case

Psychologists explain the origins of histrionic personality disorder, a controversial and (some experts say) outdated diagnosis, following a psychologist’s testimony that Amber Heard has the disorder during Johnny Depp’s defamation trial. 

What Is Histrionic Personality Disorder?

What to do when there is no energy, enthusiasm or motivation to get up and run?On a psychological level, this all comes down to the recognition that mood follows action. We feel better once we’ve completed the day’s training. You don’t have to feel excited or enthusiastic about the process. Give yourself permission that it’s OK for you not to have those feelings right now.Focus on discipline over emotion. Trust that when you’re lining up for the race, all that enthusiasm you weren’t feeling at this moment will be there, and you’ll be grateful for the time you put into training.

Not Feeling Like Working Out

How do you take the first step out of bed?
The first minute of the morning alarm is the “hero’s minute.” Adopt a challenge mind-set for how critically important these 60 seconds are in your decision making.
The early morning alarm pits us directly between a state of comfort and the importance of achieving longer-term goals. When we are warm, comfortable and tired, we may have a quick mental screen calculating just how much work it would take to gather all our gear, find our shoes, figure out our route, determine our training plan for the day and get out the door.

The Hero's Minute

To win the hero’s minute, try to go to bed with your running clothes already on knowing that you will need to engage in a challenge mind-set when the alarm sounds. With your running clothes already on, you’ll have a physical sensation on your skin that will help ease the transition, providing a reminder of the importance of your goals, and combating against that initiation energy. Make sure everything else you need is ready and your route is planned to help this process.

Winning The Hero's Minute

I’ve gotten into the habit of taking breaks throughout a run when I don’t need them. How do I get out of that habit?Break down the three components of every habit in this situation: the precursor, the behaviour itself and the consequence.  What are the exact thoughts, messages and narratives that enter your mind telling you to slow down or take a break?Bring awareness to those thoughts and develop a pre-run mental plan with a programmed set of thoughts ready to combat those messages.

Run Stop Run

How do you build confidence in yourself in your present state when you are far away from your goal?Setting sights on massive, long-shot goals can be equally exhilarating and daunting. The most compelling place to start is with the ideas surrounding self-efficacy(what we believe we are capable of achieving).The most important factor in developing our self-efficacy beliefs is our own personal experiences. For athletes, we are presented with the opportunity to sharpen our self-belief in relation to our day’s training every day.

The Far Away Goal

How do you take that first step out the door? What’s the best way to approach a big running goal? Your training questions, answered.

health

Health

exerciseandfitness

Exercise & Fitness

How to Get Out of Bed and Start Running: Win the ‘Hero’s Minute’

<ol>
<li>Patient</li>
<li>Disciplined</li>
<li>Keen to learning new things</li>
<li>Able to keep emotions in check</li>
<li>Able to think for themselves (critical thinking skills)</li>
</ol>

The Characteristics of The Intelligent Investor

<ol>
<li>Intelligent investing requires a thorough analysis of the company's (that you'll be investing in) fundamentals</li>
<li>Includes the competency to protect himself from or against severe losses</li>
<li>An intelligent investor must not anticipate extraordinary results therefore keeping expectations low but still aim for an adequate performance</li>
</ol>

What Consists Intelligent Investing

“People who invest make money for themselves; people who speculate make money for their brokers.

The investor believes that the market price is judged based on the established standards of value while the spectator bases all their judgment on market price. 
To distinguish whether you are the intelligent investor or a speculator ask yourself whether or not you would invest on a stock without seeing its chart.
In addition to that, the intelligent investor is not looking for quick gains but rather something long-term and sustainable regardless of the market's volatilty.

The Intelligent Investor vs The Spectator

The stock investor is neither right or wrong because others agreed or disagreed with him; he is right because his facts and analysis are right.

Benjamin Graham stated that the more enthusiastic investors and speculators become in the long run (of investing), the more certain they are to be proved wrong in the short run because the future of the market is unpredictable. 
To be an intelligent investor means to be humble, composed, and that they should be abe to expect the unexpected.

The Rule of Opposite

In Benjamin Graham's book, he defines two types of investors based on the aggressiveness of their portfolios:
<ol>
<li>The active / enterprising investor; and</li>
<li>The passive / defensive investor</li>
</ol>
The former requires continuous researching of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and this type of investor exerts much time and energy, while the latter has a fixed portfolio that runs autonomously regardless of the situation.
If you plan to become an investor, pick the type that best suits your personality to ensure the longevity of the approach.

Types of Investors

Once you have your capital, invest 50% of it into bonds or an index fund (depending on market conditions) while the other 50% to be invested on individual stocks. 
However, when investing on individual stocks make sure of the ff:
<ul>
<li>avoid small cap stocks unless they're diversified</li>
<li>current assets should at least double current liabilities</li>
<li>stock earnings show stability over the previous 10 years</li>
<li>look for companies that have a history of paying dividends</li>
<li>PE (price earnings) ratio must be no more than 15 over the previous 3 years; and</li>
<li>if their book ratio is less than 22.5, it's reasonably priced</li>
</ul>

For the Defensive Investor

Before investing your capital:
<ul>
<li>make sure that their current ratio is below 1.5</li>
<li>debt must be no more than 110% of working capital</li>
<li>current earnings per share must be greater than their earnings per share (EPS) from 5 years ago</li>
<li>they must pay a current dividend regardless of the amount</li>
<li>their price to book must be less than 1.2; and</li>
<li>the PE (price earnings) ration must be less than 10</li>
</ul>

For the Enterprising Investor

This is a principle of investing wherein an investor purchases securities only when their market price is significantly below their intrinsic value.
The formula to determine the intrinsic value of something is:
Margin of Safety = Market Cap / Deep Value Bargain Investing
Remember, the market swings wildly from day to day and presents large changes in valuation over periods of euphoria and pessimism.

Margin of Safety

The greatest investment advisor of the twentieth century, Benjamin Graham taught and inspired people worldwide. Graham's philosophy of “value investing”—which shields investors from substantial error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies—has made The Intelligent Investor the stock market bible ever since its original publication in 1949. Over the years, market developments have proven the wisdom of Graham’s strategies. While preserving the integrity of Graham’s original text, this revised edition includes updated commentary by noted financial journalist Jason Zweig, whose perspective incorporates the realities of today’s market, draws parallels between Graham’s examples and today’s financial headlines, and gives readers a more thorough understanding of how to apply Graham’s principles. Vital and indispensable, The Intelligent Investor is the most important book you will ever read on how to reach your financial goals.

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

books

Books

The Intelligent Investor, Rev. Ed

Stress is everywhere and affects multiple biological systems. In the long run, it can damage our health.
<ul>
<li>Stress is harmful because even after the initial stress, it may continue to influence how we think, feel, and behave.</li>
<li>Worry is also linked to poor sleep, unhealthier eating and substance abuse.</li>
</ul>
This suggests that reducing stress could be powerful to reduce the harm to health.

Stress is harmful to our health

Multiple studies found several psychological interventions for overcoming worry and rumination that can be divided into seven broad types: <ul><li>Action planning, such as an appointed worry time.</li><li>Stress management, such as focusing on the more controllable aspects of life.</li><li>Mindfulness and relaxation.</li><li>Psychological detachments, such as switching off from situations like work.</li><li>Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).</li><li>Expressive writing about one's thoughts and feelings.</li><li>Pain management.</li></ul>

Reducing worry and rumination

Create a specific plan about when you are going to engage in worrying. This helps you to stick to it when it gets difficult. It also helps to reduce the potential short-term threat to your health, such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. <ul><li>Schedule a limited time each day during which you allow yourself to think about what is worrying you.</li><li>Consider writing down your worries at planned times. The problem often looks less threatening when you can see it in black and white.</li></ul>

Make a worry plan

Remember that you cannot be perfect all the time. Recognise which of your worries you can realistically do something about and which are not in your control. How to do that:<ul><li>Create a list. Seeing your worries on paper can help in identifying which tasks are important, which are achievable, and which are out of your control.</li><li>Acceptance. Open up to difficult feelings and learn how not to overreact to them.</li><li>Interrupt the habit of worry. When you notice yourself worrying, tell yourself something like "Save if for later' or 'It will get done.'</li></ul>

Acceptance and control

Only focusing on work can lead to burnout, mental fatigue and physical problems arising from stress. Research shows that finding the time to switch off from work is vital to your long-term health. How to do that:<ul><li>Detach yourself from your worries. Listen to music, read a book, do some restful breathing exercises.</li><li>Use your senses. When you feel stressed, spend five minutes paying attention to your breathing or moving your body.</li><li>Get active. Exercise and limited intake of sugar, alcohol and caffeine contribute to a more positive state of mind.</li></ul>

Find time to switch off

Long after they’ve gone, stressors can cause harm to your health. These psychological techniques offer a powerful defence

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

Here’s how to take back your life from long-term worrying | Psyche Ideas

<ul><li>Green tea</li><li>White kidney bean</li><li>Ephedra</li><li>Yerba mate</li><li>Licorice root</li><li>Garcinia cambogia</li><li>Mangosteen</li><li>East Indian globe thistle</li></ul>These are all dietary supplements that claim that they are able to aid for weight loss, however, apparently, they do not have enough evidence to support this claim.Most of these are just soluble fibers and complex sugar products that manufacturers will claim to promote feelings of fullness or block fat absorption.

Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss

These herbal and dietary supplements are generally safe to be consumed, but it doesn't mean that they're effective.Supplement-makers can make claims about weight loss as long as they include a disclaimer that the statement has not been evaluated by the FDA.Unlike pharmaceutical drugs that require rigorous testing and clinical evidence to demonstrate their safety and effectiveness, dietary supplements are not required to prove they work.

Regulatory Loopholes

When you go to visit the supplement aisle, you'll visit the market's see tons of products geared towards athletic performance improvement, sleep, hormone regulation, immune health, and more.To ensure that these supplements live up to their claims you must:<ol><li>Look on the label for independent testing; and</li><li>Be cautious of big promises such as: "proven effective", or "pharmaceutical strength"</li></ol>Supplements may be helpful to some, but they can come with drawbacks and may not have substantial evidence.

Scant Evidence Not Limited to Weight Loss Supplements

Over 100 trials of herbal and dietary supplements find little proof of substantial impact on health.

food

Food

Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss Lack Evidence, Research Suggests

The fMRI employs a magnetic field to collect information about the body. It is one of the most prominent methods in neuroscience for studying the structure of the brain, including differences in the structural characteristics of different people's brains.
It works with a system that produces images of the brain's functions that indicates whether the activity of neurons is increased or decreased in specific parts of the brain and under which conditions.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) And How It Works

<ul>
<li>The BOLD signal stands for blood-oxygen-level dependent. This is a brain imaging signal that shows whether the level of oxygen in the parts of the brain increasing or decreasing.</li>
<li>The fMRI is used to explore how brains function with different psychiatric order, it helps identify the connectivity of high or low activity for people with particular conditions, it investigates parts of the brain that supports social processes, and it illuminates the existence of networks of connecting brain areas.</li>
</ul>

More On The fMRI: BOLD Signal And Its Use In Neuroscience

<ul>
<li>The EEG is used to measure the electrical activities of the brain. The process is non-invasive and is done through the scalp with flat metal electrodes.</li>
<li>Though due to its non-invasiveness what it shows is relatively limited, but regardless it is a valuable tool for analyzing brain dynamics over time.</li>
<li>It helps indicate one's mental processes, mental state, and assists in diagnosing conditions like epilepsy or sleep disorder.</li>
</ul>

Electroencephalography (EEG)

The use of EEG allows further research on the following:
<ul>
<li>Memory processing during sleep</li>
<li>Mental illness</li>
<li>Providing further evidence in the differences in reward processing with those who suffer from mental illness</li>
</ul>
Moreover, the EEG has a mobile version "mobile EEG" that can study brain activities of real-world behaviors like kissing romantic partners.

The Use of EEG In Neuroscience

Emission Computed Tomography is the most invasive method for brain imaging. Its name comes from the emission of radioactive energy by tracers injected into the blood - which is a signature aspect of this approach to understanding the brain.
The two major types of ECT are:
<ul>
<li>Positron Emission Tomography (PET); and</li>
<li>Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)</li>
</ul>
Each of these uses different types of radioactive isotopes and they are monitored in the brain using different tools.

Emission Computed Tomography (ECT)

To use the ECT method is to inject radioactive atoms into the person's bloodstream and have them circulated into the brain. The energy emitted is monitored by external devices that provide information about their concentration in the brain. Lastly, a mathematical model allows the data on radiation to be translated into information about brain processes.
This method allows researchers to analyze one's physiological process in ways other forms of brain imaging cannot, and more.

Using Emission Computed Tomography

How do scientists peer into the brain to better understand what is happening, where, and why? By taking advantage of the brain’s electromagnetic properties or by sending radioactive markers into the body, neuroscientists use brain imaging technologies to create detailed pictures of neuronal activity and physiological processes. They can then analyze how the measurements of brain function vary across different situations—as people are prompted to behave, think, or feel in certain ways—or how they vary across individuals.

problemsolving

Problem Solving

communication

Communication

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

How Brain Activity Is Measured

We all know exercise is good for us but we don't do it. A 2018 survey showed that 50 percent of adults and 73 percent of high school students report that they don't meet the minimum levels of physical activity.
We realise that much of the health industry gives conflicting advice on how much exercise we need, what kind, and how to get motivated.

We don't exercise, even if we know it is good for us

Humans were meant to move but not to be active for no reason.
When you study modern hunter-gatherer tribes, you see them sitting around a lot, doing nothing. They do move a lot, but that is because they have to. They are about as fit as modern people who exercise an hour a day.

Exercise isn't natural - neither is being sedentary

Many of the health problems we attribute to ageing are due to modern behaviours and lifestyles. They are a mismatch between how we were designed to live and how we really do.
<ul>
<li>Type 2 diabetes was almost unheard of in the hunter-gatherers, yet it is the fastest growing disease in the modern world.</li>
<li>Before WW2, heart attacks were not a big issue. Medical science hardly felt the need to study them.</li>
<li>An Italian study showed that between 1760 and 1839, less than one percent died from cancer.</li>
</ul>

Many diseases are due to modern behaviors

Research shows that runners sit as much as less athletic people. Another study of Danes found no association between time spent sitting and heart disease.
But leisure-time sitting predicts mortality, suggesting that exercise habits in the mornings, evenings, and weekends affect our health. That means we should combine our exercise with occasionally getting up from the chair.

The problem is not too much sitting

Studies show that in the vast majority of cases, more exercise is better.
<ul>
<li>There is a 30 percent reduction in mortality in individuals who exercise one hour a week compared to sedentary individuals.</li>
<li>People who exercise three hours a week lower their risk of death by another 10 percent.</li>
<li>Those who engage in 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week and weight train twice a week will reduce their risk of premature death by 50 percent.</li>
</ul>

How much exercise is enough

Motivation for getting moving comes down to two things: A good reason to move and to socialise.
<ul>
<li>Consider a sport, or learn a skill like martial arts or dancing. Once you have a goal, it is not pointless and can even be fun.</li>
<li>For activities like going to the gym, do it with something rewarding like listening to audiobooks or podcasts.</li>
</ul>

A simple way to start exercising

If you're going to lead a long, awesome life you need to exercise. Here's what science has to say about the best way to do it...

This Is How To Have A Long Awesome Life

Behavioral psychology deals with analyzing patterns in our actions and behaviors to understand why we act in a certain way.
Whether it is not waking up early, eating junk food, or not going to the gym, we can learn from the science of behavioral psychology and use the various techniques to successfully lose weight.

Behavioral Psychology And Weight Loss

<ol>
<li>Goal setting: Creating an intention makes us change our behaviour. The good news is that even non-specific, vague goal-setting works. Large goals work better.</li>
<li>Self-monitoring: Measuring the quantity and quality of our intake works towards healthier choices. Weekly monitoring of weight is an ideal strategy to stay motivated.</li>
<li>Social Support: Friends, family and coaches involvement creates a sense of accountability. Actively engaging other people in your diet and exercise routine leads to fewer missed days and slip-ups, as our behaviour changes when we are with other people, or if we have to report our progress.</li>
</ol>

Three Ways Behavioural Psychology Can Make You Lose Weight

Behavioural psychology aims to help us understand why we make the choices we do.

Three ways behavioural psychology might help you lose weight

<ul>
<li>Put the phone away: a big obstacle in your way is light.</li>
<li> Ignore the clock: it’s only add to your stress.</li>
<li>Don’t be afraid to get up: Do some stretching, light reading or a puzzle.</li>
<li>Engage in deep breathing exercises: in through your nose and out of your mouth in a rhythmic cycle.</li>
<li>Focus on what relaxes you: focus on mental images of what's most relaxing to you.</li>
</ul>

Tips for Getting Back to Sleep

Amid the whirl of the holiday season, many are vaguely aware of the approach of the winter solstice, but how much do you really know about it? Whether you're a fan of winter or just wish it would go away, here are 10 things to note-or even celebrate-about the solstice.

Back-to-School anxiety: Ways to help your child cope

What Is Histrionic Personality Disorder?

How to Get Out of Bed and Start Running: Win the ‘Hero’s Minute’

The Intelligent Investor, Rev. Ed

Here’s how to take back your life from long-term worrying | Psyche Ideas

Juliana L.