Work it Out ~featuring~ Jennifer Edwards, MD

Hello Readers.  Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday!  We are back in full swing. Today we have Dr. Edwards who retouches on the issues of stress but reminds us that it is not only an Adult issue.  For those of us who work in education or those of you who are moms, aunts, big sisters, or even dad's and big brothers (shout out to all of the Sir's who follow along), we have to remember the impact we have not only on each other but on those who look up to us. 

Spiritual and Emotional Well Being for All

We live in a high paced non stop world. Many people are running from the time they get up till the time they lay their head down. Stress is the norm not the exception. In this hurricane we call life many keep going till they burn out or break down. Expectations run high and the demands on our time and our gifts may exceed what is humanly possible to accomplish in any given day. So we have a world filled with people trying to be super heroes that beat up on themselves when they fall short or collapse under the load. This in turn can lead to depession, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy and poor self esteem. Eventually some stop trying not realizing their feats were amazing all along for the human that we all are...

This story is not jut one that applies to the adult but unfortunately is the norm for our children today. The bar has been raised so high by some unknown "THEY" that our children feel penalized or small for just being amazingly a child! This translates to children as young as six or seven talking about being stupid when they cant do things that the average child that age is developmentally not expected to do. We have children already giving up and seeing themselves as failures and they haven't even gotten out of elementary school! When we have children that have barely lived a life time talking about feeling bad or so sad that they dont want to be here anymore! Then we have to say STOP!!!!!

It is said it takes a village to raise a child... WHERE ARE THE VILLAGERS!!! Our children are in crisis now!! We see high rates of psychiatric issues, high rates of drug and alcohol use, high rates of suicide, high rates of assaultive and dangerous behaviors, and high rates of court or police involvement. People complain of the lack of respect and " I dont care attitude " of today's youth. We have to move from a world that is based on me and think in terms of we and us. If the adults of our world dont stop and take stock of themselves and I dont mean the material but their spiritual and emotional well being then we doom our children to be even more damaged than the generations before them. We have to think about the messages we are giving to our children and instead of hiding behind the old catch phrase of do what I say and not what I do!!, truely begin to be role models for all of our children. To not just expect them to do what's right but to be accountable ourselves. To marvel at the wonders that exist in every child so they are not afraid to work on the things that arent and can still feel good about themselves. To truely listen to their voices even if you dont agree and thereby acknowledge their worth. To be brave enough to seek out help for your own issues so that our children can go for help without feeling a failure.

You see in the end not only does the village raise the child but it maintains the village and allows it to thrive!

Jennifer Edwards, MD is a child and adolescent psychiatrist.  She has a private practice in Middletown, New Jersey and is a staff psychiatrist for the children's program of a community outpatient Behavioral Health facility.  To contact Dr. Edwards for more information or to inquire about availability for talks or lectures please e-mail her at  JenniferEdwardsMD@gmail.com