We are entering one of the busiest, and most stressful, travel periods of the year. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, travel to a destination 50 miles or more away increases by over 50 percent for Thanksgiving and by almost 25 percent for Christmas and New Year’s.
As we reach the holiday season, it’s not uncommon for someone not in a relationship to feel a need to be with a significant other, or at least to have someone to take with him or her to that office party or family gathering. If you’re in your twenties, the …
People commonly say, “I don’t know, I’m just a little depressed today.” We all have days when things seem off and we’re feeling a little blue. But, in most cases, the sun shines the following day, what was bothering us has disappeared and we’re feeling fine again. However, in some …
Divorce is a fairly common reality in the U.S. While the most-often cited statistic is that 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce, current estimates are that the number is actually in the range of 42 to 45.
Today’s streets and highways are more crowded than ever. If you’re driving almost anywhere these days you’re often encountering bad drivers, traffic jams and road construction.
As parents we like to think we’re the most important influence in our children’s lives. And that’s probably true up to a certain age but then the outside world, in the form of school and friends, intrudes. By the time your child is a teenager it’s almost a certainty that …
Testing is a fact of life for students. Whether it’s a school system required standardized test, or simply an exam or quiz from the teacher to measure progress and understanding, tests can be a major source of stress and anxiety for many students.
With the new school year just underway, it’s an excellent time for parents to have a serious discussion with their children. No, not that awkward sex talk but a conversation even more important, one about illicit drugs and the dangers they represent.
News reports seem to show that in many areas of the country the economy is strong. Housing prices and corporate profits are up and unemployment rates in most places are at historic lows.
Most of us happily anticipate retirement. Even if we enjoy our jobs, it’s likely we’re looking forward to escaping workplace stresses and instead having the free time to do things we really enjoy.
As parents we normally have many feelings and emotional reactions related to our children. Of course we love them, and are happy for them, and sometimes are driven crazy by them, but one of the things research has shown is that we often do a poor job of communicating these …
Seeing a physician isn’t embarrassing if we have the flu, a high fever, or other serious health problems. No one will criticize us for seeking medical help for a physical health problem and, indeed, most people would fault us if we didn’t seek medical help.
One of the hardest things for many parents to deal with is their children’s demand for more freedoms as they grow into teenagers. After years of making most of your child’s decisions and putting your child’s needs first, you find yourself confronting a young adult who wants the freedom to …
Stress is a given in our lives. Whether it’s the news out of Washington, work problems or just the daily issues of life in today’s world, there are plenty of things to stress us out.
All of us, in our younger days, had dreams and hopes about the things that would bring success and happiness to our lives. But for many of us the dreams and goals that we once had just never came to be.
A vacation is a chance to get away from the normal routine of work and demands of daily life. When done right, a vacation should be a period of relaxation, enjoyment and recharging yourself. Research has shown that a vacation with those close to us is a shared experience that …
Do your summer plans include one or more visits to campuses of schools being considered by that teen in your family? Such tours can be very positive and helpful experiences, if done right.
Summer is here and with it more opportunities for teen dating and parental worrying. While we all realize that it’s natural for teenagers to be attracted to one another, most parents agonize over the whole dating experience and all the things that can go wrong.
Yes, you enjoy that glass of wine with dinner, or a cold beer on a hot summer afternoon. Is this a problem? In most cases the answer is no, but for a growing number of people consumption of alcohol doesn’t stop with just a couple of beers. And that can …
Summer family vacations are fun, unless you count that part about driving to the vacation destination with a backseat filled with one or more unhappy kids.
Being a parent is certainly an experience in extremes. There are times when you can be so fulfilled and rewarded for what you’ve accomplished as a parent, yet plenty of other times when the best you can feel is stressed and frustrated.
Whether you’re a highly-paid executive or have a lower-level position, you still are headed to your job each day and try to do your best. But is that job doing its best for you?
While the groundhog’s prediction this year of six more weeks of winter was right on target for many parts of the country, now that we’re firmly into spring it’s a great time to start thinking about being more active.
From elementary through high schools, our children are faced with tests meant to measure just how well the school year has gone. Schools need to know how much of the knowledge that was being handed out all year has managed to sink in.
We all face problems and usually tend to think that the burden of those problems is just ours. Actually, many times there may be real benefit in dealing with such problems by involving those with whom we’re the closest — our families.
For most of us, asking for help can often be difficult. Yes, asking for advice on planting your garden is easy. But for a serious issue, such as our mental health, we may find that we don’t want to admit to the problems we’re facing.
