Finding the Emotional Benefits in Adversity

Martin Luther King, Jr. said the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. King, of course, was speaking of adversity and the power to overcome it.

The ability to bounce back from adversity is called resiliency and it has numerous emotional benefits. While it seems some people seem to naturally cope better when faced with challenges, everyone can become more resilient.

Studies show that adversity early in life can be a risk factor for a range of negative outcomes. However, there is also evidence that some children do remarkably well in spite of serious threats to their normal development. Project Competence, a 20-year study, found that the extraordinary resilience and recovery power of children does not arise from rare or special qualities, but from everyday, ordinary experiences.

In the book The Resilient Self, authors Steven and Sybil Wolin describe a model of development they call the challenge model. The Wolins says that while hardships may hurt children, they often develop considerable strengths as they struggle to prevail. They list seven strengths associated with the resiliency: insight, independence, relationships, initiative, creativity, humor, and morality.

The emotional benefits of adversity do not just apply to children. Resilient adults are better able to maintain relatively stable, healthy levels of psychological and physical functioning, and have the capacity for generating positive experiences and emotions. In a study following September 11, those participants who were more resilient were less depressed than the national average (in non-clinical samples). Adults who manage adversity well tend to use active coping mechanisms when dealing with stressful situations.

Experts in the area of adversity and resilience say it's not so much what we do, it's howwe do what we do that counts. One of the keys to successfully overcoming adversity is having the ability to balance stress and emotions. Recognizing your emotions and expressing them appropriately helps prevent you from becoming stuck in depression and anxiety.

Adequate and positive social support is critical to maintaining good physical and emotional health. Resilient adults have strong support networks. Social support enhances your natural resilience to stress and helps protect you from developing trauma-related psychopathology. While the size of your network and the frequency of social interactions within your network are important, having high-quality relationships is a better predictor of good emotional health. Resilient adults also tend to have a strong moral or spiritual sense of their purpose and future.

Sources:

Ozbay, Fatih, MD, Johnson, Douglas C., PhD, Dimoulas, Eleni, PhD, Morgan, III, C.A., MD, MA, Charney, Dennis, MD, and Southwick, Steven, MD. "Social Support and Resilience to Stress: From Neurobiology to Clinical Practice." Psychiatry 4(5) (2007): 35-40. Web. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921311/

Bonanno, George A., Galea, Sandro, Bucciarelli, Angela, and Vlahov, David. "What Predicts Psychological Resilience After Disaster? The Role of Demographics, Resources, and Life Stress." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 75(5) (2007): 671-682. Web.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56241/1/bonanno_what%20predicts%20psychological%20resilience%20after%20disaster_2007.pdf

Helpguide.org. "Improving Emotional Health."  Web. December 2011.

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/mental_emotional_health.htm

Wolin, Steven, MD, and Wolin, Sybil, Ph.D. "The Resilient Self: How Survivors of Troubled Families Rise Above Adversity." Projectresilience.com. Web.http://projectresilience.com/resself.htm

FamousQuotesandAuthors.com. Web.http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com/topics/adversity_quotes.html

Masten, Ann S. "Children Who Overcome Adversity to Succeed in Life." University of Minnesota Extension. Web.http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/familydevelopment/components/7565_06.html

National Writing Project. "Resilience: Overcoming Adversity and Thriving." Web. 21 October 2009.

http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2937

Finding a Diet for ADHD Children

If you have a child with ADHD, you understand the frustrations of seeing your child unable to focus, struggling with impulse control, and a general inability to concentrate for extended periods of time.  If you are reluctant to agree to potent drugs with poorly understood long term effects to manage your child’s behaviors, then it might be time to consider a specific diet for ADHD.

Dietary Changes to Consider

There has been much written and debated about with regards to diet modifications of children with ADHD, but many experts believe that dietary changes can help control the symptoms to varying degrees.  ADHD researcher Daniel Amen, MD offers the following:

1.    Switch to a high protein diet rich in meats, nuts, fish, cheese, and beans.  Incorporate protein into all three meals and make sure that an afternoon snack with protein is offered after school.  This may help improve concentration.

2.    Reduce the amount of simple carbohydrates offered.  That means cutting out candy, cookies, white bread, refined carbohydrates, sugars of all sorts, and potatoes that are cooked without skins.  This can be particularly challenging for kids as so many of the foods marketed to them are essentially packed with sugar.

3.    Increase complex carbohydrates by sticking to whole fruits and plenty of vegetables and whole grains.  If your child has difficulty sleeping, a snack of complex carbohydrates may help them sleep better.

4.    Up Omega-3 Fatty acid intake.  Extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil, deep sea fatty fish, walnuts, and Brazil nuts are all good sources of this essential nutrient which has such a profound effect upon the brain.  You can even opt to get it in supplements, but make sure you get one with a good reputation.

Track Changes for Accuracy

It can really help to keep track of the changes you are making and your child’s behavior in response.  Keeping a journal of which foods you have added, when they eat them, and how they behave each day will give you an idea of which changes have proven most effective when tailoring a diet for ADHD individuals.

For example, if you have started to include protein in breakfast every day and your child is doing better through the school day based upon reports from teachers, you have a clue that it may be helping.  If adding a complex carbohydrate snack at bedtime did nothing for sleep patterns, consider trying a protein based snack instead.

Nutrition has a profound affect upon how anyone acts; figuring out your child’s needs is part of the process of using diet for ADHD as a natural avenue of curbing your child’s behaviors.

Consider an Elimination Diet as Well

There are a number of foods that can affect behavior negatively.  Adapting to these food changes can take some time. For example, caffeine can help, but it can also exacerbate symptoms depending upon the individual.  Many additives and artificial ingredients have been shown to have a negative affect on the behavior of children with ADHD as well.  In the journal you keep as you make changes in your child’s diet, make sure to note any such ingredients and if you see a pattern of behavior that correlates to such foods.

Opting to treat ADHD naturally may take more effort on your part than just handing your child a pill each day, but the results of using diet for ADHD can be well worth the effort.

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