Children born after 2010 and before 2024 belong to “Generation Alpha.” We’ve moved from the end of the English alphabet to the start of the Greek, but there may be more of a reset in store for these children.
The phrase “digital divide” dates back to the internet technology boom of the 1990s, a time when only wealthy parents and schools could put emerging information technology in the hands of children and hardly any downside could be envisioned.
When the addiction takes over a life, it can ruin everything, not just for the person who has the addiction, but also for the loved ones around that person. Beating an addiction is a hard task, and many fail multiple times before they take control, so the moment where you break free and overcome your addictions is when you can see true change in your life, and stop the path of destruction that affects more than just yourself. Beating an addiction is like being reborn, and you have a second chance at life.
Anxiety is fast becoming the ailment of this age. The fast pace and pressing life demands are certainly taking a toll on our mental health. What makes it even more critical is that many people have become so used to feeling anxious all the time that they are no longer seeking treatment. However, everyone experiences anxiety in different ways and different intensities. In some extreme cases, anxiety can be debilitating and can get in the way of doing even simple daily activities. No matter how mild or severe your anxiety symptoms are, it’s time for you to get rid of them once and for all.
By Colleen Maguire, NJSIAA Chief Operating Officer NJSIAA
Ridgewood NJ, During the past five months, the lives of our student-athletes have changed drastically. Last March, NJSIAA made the difficult decision to shut down high school sports. That decision was necessary to slow infections and to allow for mitigation efforts to be established. However, cancelling high school sports has come at a significant cost – the emotional and social well-being of our student-athletes. We need to return to sports this fall.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States have been on the increase since March 2020. It is currently the country with the highest number of Coronavirus infections. The country’s national and state government has been on the frontline to come up with ways to cope with the effects of the virus.
The two, in collaboration with other stakeholders, are also looking for ways to reduce the rate of infection. New Jersey, in particular, has devised measures that will help its citizens better handle and cope with the emotional, financial, and economic impacts of this disease that emerged late last year.
With the rapid spread of Covid-19 all over the world in 2020, many people have been forced to stay at home as a precautionary measure to minimize the rate of new infections. While the best thing we can do is to stay safe, the new normal is not easy. Spending a lot of hours indoors can have a huge toll on your physical, mental, and emotional health, especially if you’re used to moving up and down, interacting with many people, and engaging in different kinds of activities. As a matter of fact, many countries around the world have reported an increase in domestic violence and relationship problems among families.
Immense stress, crippling anxiety, and overwhelming depression are just a few underrated symptoms of the Covid19 pandemic. General concerns for our health and our loved ones is a given; the impacts can be felt in almost every home. With financial uncertainty, economies on the brink of collapse, and isolation troubles on the rise, many previously stable individuals are at risk of developing mental health concerns.
Whether you are finding your new work from home life a challenge, or you are burdened with symptoms of anxiety, here’s how you can take back control over your life and your mental health during the pandemic.
Trenton NJ, Senator Steven Oroho is calling for the safe reopening of all businesses throughout the Garden State echoing a plea made by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, the largest statewide employer association.
Ridgewood NJ, in her new book, The Campus Cure: A Parent’s Guide to Mental Health and Wellness for College Students is a first aid guide to your child’s emotional health, preparing you to handle the mental health problems and emotional ups and downs many young adults experience in college. With anecdotes and the latest scientific literature, this book will increase your awareness of common problems, pressures, and crises in college; illustrate how you can support your child and collaborate with campus resources; and provide stories of hope to parents who often feel alone and overwhelmed when their child experiences a mental health problem. While you have the passion to help your child, this book will provide you with the tools to guide your child toward health and happiness in the college years.
After decades as a psychiatrist working with college students, Dr. Marcia Morris took on a mission: to educate parents of high school and college students about the dramatic increase in mental health problems young adults experience, and the practical tools parents can use to help their children. Her 2015 New York Times article, “Dear Parent, Your Child Has Had a Psychotic Break” received widespread attention from both parents and mental health professionals. Her parenting articles have appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, The Conversation, the Gainesville Sun, and the Ocala Star Banner. She currently writes a Psychology Today parenting blog on “College Wellness: Promoting Happiness and Health in the College Years.”
Educating other psychiatrists about university mental health, Dr. Morris has written articles in psychiatry publications about suicide prevention, sexual assault, and medical student stress. In 2017, she presented talks at national meetings of the American Psychiatric Association, American College Counseling Association, and Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education on the role of parents in college mental health. Dr. Morris is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida College of Medicine and the Associate Program Director for Student Health Psychiatry. Dr. Morris received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, a medical degree from Yale University, and psychiatry residency training at New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center. She is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of its College Mental Health Caucus.
Dr. Morris is committed to working with both parents and health care providers to find solutions to the intensifying college mental health crisis. With “The Campus Cure,” she hopes to give parents the tools that will lead their child from distress to success.
New Jersey has lost a step since the Great Recession when it comes to the health and well-being of young girls.
In “The State of Girls,” a 2017 report from the Girl Scout Research Institute, New Jersey ranked 12th among the states for girls’ well-being. The state ranked third in 2007.
Compared to a decade ago, a higher percentage of New Jersey girls are suffering from emotional, behavioral or developmental issues, the report states. Sixteen percent of girls aged 5 to 17 are living in poverty, compared to 11 percent in 2007.
According to the report, a larger percentage of girls in the 6 to 17 range watch TV or play video games at least three hours per day, while a smaller percentage are involved in community service or volunteer work, or participate in any organized activities.
“I think that has a huge impact on how the girls are feeling and their emotional well-being,” Stacy Petti, director of recruitment for Girls Scouts of the Jersey Shore, told New Jersey 101.5.
Ridgewood NJ, Don’t miss the second annual Good Life Ridgewood- Wellness Festival 9.25.16 in Van Neste Square! For more information [email protected]
The Mayor’s Wellness Festival. The program goal is to bring attention to Ridgewood as a destination for healthy living and wellness.
Come for the free yoga, stay for the great performances and the best wellness vendors in Ridgewood and beyond! The Good Life Ridgewood Wellness Festival has it all! Join us this Sunday 11-3 in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square
11:00am Yoga Flow with Active Life Fusion
12:00 – 12:30 Art of Motion – Dance Ensemble
12:30 – 1:00 Musical Performers from Ridgewood
1:00 – 1:30 The Jig Factory – Ridgewood Irish Dance Academy
1:30 – 2:00 Ridgewood High School Students – Musical Soloists – Vocals & Guitarists
2:00 – 2:30 Taekwondo All In – Demonstration
2:30 – 3:00 Ridgewood High School Varsity Cheer Squad
Through the Good Life Ridgewood Festival, local businesses will connect with residents to foster long-lasting relationships, while energizing and empowering our community.
The event will be held Sunday, September 25, 2016 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Van Neste Square Memorial Park. The first of its kind to be held in Ridgewood, this festival will bring residents, visitors, businesses, and professionals together to show off what our community has to offer: social services, health lifestyle businesses, healthy places for kids, mental health services, alternative medicine, local medical/dental specialists, nutritionists, and much, much more.
Good Life Ridgewood is self-funding—meaning no Village of Ridgewood funds are being spent to bring this exciting event to our town.
If you are interested in sponsorship/participation Do not hesitate to email the executive committee at [email protected].
BY COLLEEN DISKIN AND JAMES M. O’NEILL
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
Twelve health care companies have expressed interest in taking over Bergen Regional Medical Center, including an overture from a coalition of local hospitals and a long-term-care facility.
County officials said the health care entities responded to a “request for qualifications” from those who might be interested in managing the county-owned, 1,000-bed hospital when the contract of its current for-profit operator expires next year.
A long-awaited report from a commission formed in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut recommends reforms to the state’s mental health programs to help curb violence. S.P. Sullivan, NJ.com Read more
SEPTEMBER 6, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2015, 1:20 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The operators of Bergen Regional Medical Center have applied for state approval to add 10 beds to its drug- and alcohol-detoxification unit in the face of an epidemic of heroin-related cases in North Jersey.
News of the move came less than two weeks after three freeholders urged Bergen County Executive James Tedesco to “pursue a dialogue” with the private operator of the county-owned hospital in Paramus to expand its 54-bed detox unit.
Bergen Regional CEO Susan Mendelowitz responded in an Aug. 26 letter to Tedesco, noting that the hospital had already applied to add 10 more beds to the unit. She said the additional beds were in response to what she called “the intensity of the drug and alcohol epidemic we face.”
She also noted that the hospital has two other longer-term units, including one for patients who also have mental-health disorders plus an outpatient treatment program for substance abuse.
“I believe we are all on the same page with our commitment to provide appropriate care and treatment options for this ever increasing epidemic,” she wrote.
Tedesco spokeswoman Alicia D’Alessandro called the hospital’s decision “a step in the right direction.”
SEPTEMBER 4, 2015, 5:14 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015, 5:22 PM
BY TODD SOUTH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
One day after a federal report showed workers at Bergen Regional Medical Center had faced waves of assaults by patients, Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco called for the county-owned hospital’s private management company to immediately explain the incidents and present a plan to fix the safety problems.
In a statement released Friday, Tedesco said he’d contacted the hospital and was scheduling a meeting with its management staff.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration findings, released Thursday, detailed cases in which at least eight hospital employees were attacked this year by patients.
As a result of the citations listed in the OSHA report the agency has recommended a $13,600 fine.
Patients had barricaded employees in rooms, punched a lab technician who was trying to draw blood, kicked and bitten a security guard and pushed a nurse to the floor while the nurse intervened during one patient’s attack on another patient, according to the report.
The hospital has been run for the past 15 years by a private management company through a contract with the Bergen County Improvement Authority, according to Tedesco’s release. The company’s contract expires in March 2017.
Tedesco said he was “alarmed” at the OSHA citations of the “private management company for failing to protect the hospital’s employees.”
