A Busy Parent's Guide to Mindfulness

A Busy Parent’s Guide to Mindfulness
Being a parent doubles your reasons for being mindful because living in the moment benefits you and your children. As you increase your own peace of mind, you’re becoming a stronger role model for the rest of your family. Your children will feel more secure and may be less likely to engage in risky behavior
Try these practical tips for living in the present moment.
Tips for Mindful Discipline
Discipline is more effective when you focus on training rather than punishment. When you learn to understand your own emotions and triggers, you build your capacity to respond constructively under pressure.
Try these activities to bring more mindfulness into your discipline:
1. Pause first. If you’re tempted to yell or nag, take a breath first. Consider your options. Maybe your child needs a reminder or maybe they need a more detailed explanation of what you define as keeping their room clean.
2. Think positive. Pay attention to what your child does well, in addition to their lapses. Focus on working together to find solutions instead of imposing penalties.
3. Listen closely. Let your child know that you’re willing to hear their side of the story. Validate their feelings even if you disagree with their behavior.

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4. Prioritize your relationship. Keep mishaps in perspective. Your relationship with your child is more important than any individual episode. Be willing to make exceptions to your own rules when it serves the greater good.
Tips for Mindful Leisure
Even if your free time is limited, you can use it productively.
Use these methods to give your child a head start on developing mindful habits that will enrich their life:
1. Manage technology. Set limits on TV and computer time when it’s not related to school work. Turn off all devices at least an hour before bedtime to promote more restful sleep.
2. Develop hobbies. Encourage your child to explore their interests. Hobbies can help them to reduce stress, express their creativity, and pick up new skills.
3. Continue learning. Support your child’s motivation to learn. Volunteer at their school and read bedtime stories at home.
4. Encourage giving. Mindfulness and generosity reinforce each other as you experience the joys of giving. Volunteer as a family at a local animal shelter or food kitchen. Praise your child when they carry groceries for a neighbor or lend their notes to a classmate.
General Tips for Mindful Parenting
Mindfulness is a way of life. Look for opportunities throughout your day to let go of expectations and make conscious choices.
Consider these strategies:

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1. Eat together. Make family meals a regular habit. Sit down for breakfast each morning or designate at least one night when everyone has dinner at the same time.
2. Create morning rituals. Start the day by sharing a practice that reminds you to stay mindful. Take a walk around the block together. Write in a gratitude journal.
3. Meditate regularly. Seated meditation isn’t the only way to practice mindfulness, but it is one of the most powerful tools. Start out gradually so your children will enjoy it.
4. Play games. Make your mindfulness sessions fun. Draw pictures and listen to songs. Put on a puppet show or wear special costumes.
5. Find an app. If you’re looking for more ideas, browse online. There are many free meditation and mindfulness apps, and some of them are designed especially for parents and children.
Mindfulness is one of the most valuable gifts you can pass on to your children. Help your family members to awaken to their potential and experience more peace and happiness.

Depression

Who does depression affect? Everyone
Where does depression affect you? Every Where
How does depression affect you? Every way
How many times, have we heard of all the implications of an individual being depressed and wondered what it’s like for them and their loved ones.  I am sure you’ve heard of this commercial over and over again, but it’s rather significant to know that depression doesn’t always only affect the person, whom is suffering from the disease. Depression is not just a medical matter. It's a family one, too. The behaviors and mood of a depressed person affect the whole family. There's the irritability, which sets off conflicts and disrupts family dynamics. The negative thought patterns, becomes a never ending cycle of nonconstructive for everyone and can damage years of meaningful relationships. This in turn creates withdrawal within relationships and generates complete feelings of rejection. There are major responsibilities that get misplaced by the depression of a loved one. There is a general burden of stress, and self care. Frustration for families dealing with a depressed member comes from many sources. One source is the feeling of helplessness a family member can feel when she cannot help their loved one recover from feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and constant anxiety about tomorrow. The caretaker, unconsciously begins to do extra, to compensate for the person suffering from depression and soon finds  his/ her life revolving around a depressed person, can become frustrating. If the situation is prolonged without change, or worsens, it leads to building resentment. Some family members, particularly children, may feel guilty as their loved one escalate down deeper into depression. A person is liable to begin blaming himself for his loved one's sadness and dissatisfaction. A child especially might wonder what he has done wrong to cause the depression. When attempts to cheer the depressed person up or help her out don't seem to improve the situation, the family member can feel even worse for letting his depressed loved one down and not helping.
 Interestingly, families can be major forces of care, comfort, even cure. They are crucial to proper discovery and treatment of the disorder, not just at the beginning but throughout. They are the primary factor that the depressed individual gets convinced that hopelessness is temporary and will come to an end. They contribute powerfully to the emotional atmosphere the depressed person occupies, and so can be a means to a matter. Bottom of FormMoreover, The National Institute of Mental Health has done extensive research and has proved that depression has a huge impact on families. And families have a huge impact on depression. Nassir Ghaemi, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard, contends it's not even desirable to make the correct diagnosis of depression without the family. For one thing, many people, particularly those at either end of the age spectrum and those with medical conditions, don't realize they are depressed or may attribute symptoms to other things. The perspective of family members is useful, but it's downright essential for prescribing. "To treat any depression accurately, you have to know whether it is unipolar or bipolar—in other words, whether the person has been manic in the past," says Ghaemi. "Our research shows that 50 percent of patients are not even aware they are manic when experiencing mania. Family members recognize manic symptoms twice as often."
Professionally, at my practice I find, family support to play major role in the lives of those suffering from depression. A close support system makes all the difference in overcoming the symptoms and finding hope and the physiological need to be happy. It’s rather imperative, that family members be supportive of the psychological and medical treatment and recognize, the value of the work. There comes a time when the only thing a family can do is simply accepts the changes that have taken place in a depressed person, for better or for worse. The rupture in the family defeated by depression may be permanent however, if the family accepts and supports their loved one, the chance of the recovering, from depression will improve dramatically. "The greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being."Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama