Empower the future. Cultivate drive. Understand your mind.
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While it’s a common realization that the world has become a connected global village, it’s also a fact that we are seeing increasing divisions based on ideology, culture, class, race, religion, family values, and politics. With each passing day, differing attitudes, cultural values, perceived social norms, and political ideologies are pulling people further apart. This increased polarization is also making people feel isolated, demoralized, or angry since dialogue often ends up in arguments, hostility, and further division rather than listening, connection, problem-solving and social cohesion.
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While it’s a common realization that the world has become a connected global village, it’s also a fact that we are seeing increasing divisions based on ideology, culture, class, race, religion, family values, and politics. With each passing day, differing attitudes, cultural values, perceived social norms, and political ideologies are pulling people further apart. This increased polarization is also making people feel isolated, demoralized, or angry since dialogue often ends up in arguments, hostility, and further division rather than listening, connection, problem-solving and social cohesion.
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It would not be news to say that excessive use of technology is negatively affecting children of all ages. Screen time not only affects children’s mental health, but can also negatively impact parent-child relationships, attention span, self-esteem, self-identity, academic performance, physical fitness, and social development. According to a survey, around 70% of parents these days struggle with excessive tech use at their homes. Be it smartphones, tablets, or laptops, parents are finding it hard to manage the screen time of children. The issue does not end here; managing tech use is also a key concern at schools as devices continue to be an integral part of learning. This makes us eager to learn and understand the idea of tech withdrawal—behaviours and emotions children exhibit when technology use is diminished or removed. In this blog, let’s learn about tech withdrawal, what it is and what parents and teachers can do to manage it effectively.
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Summer camp has always meant facing a certain amount of challenges – mosquitos, making new friends, learning to play new sports and games. In other words, it’s an opportunity for kids to become more resilient. Over the past several years, resiliency – being able to withstand difficulties and rise to the occasion when necessary – has become one of the qualities parents want most for their children, as most of us have come to believe that the coddled children of helicopter parents won’t make it far in this world.
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As society has progressed, many of us have swapped physical interaction for online interaction and daylight for artificially emitted blue light – including our children. We’re seeing toddlers with faces glued to smartphones and tablets, and as kids reach school age, they’re often encouraged to spend time on iPads and other devices to do schoolwork.
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When “Tyler” was a child, he was anxious. He may have inherited his tendency to worry from his mom, who was obsessed with “what ifs” and what others thought. Or maybe it was his father, who pushed him hard in school and extracurricular activities. Whatever the case, his parents often tried to solve his problems for him, which greatly diminished his ability to cope with adversity as an adolescent.
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“Sam” – whose real name I’m not using to protect his privacy – was a first-year college student when he was referred to me. He was taking English and music, and he had slashed his arms with the bow of his violin. He told me it was not a suicide attempt but rather a protest against his childhood.
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Tigertown is a pushing, demanding, and stifling workplace. The hours are long, the management is predatory, the employees are solitary, and there is little community — definitely no mentors, and no time for fun or collegial bonding. Tigertown is an incubator for an insidiously growing problem: workplace bullying.
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In honour of April’s Stress Awareness month, I wanted to take this time to touch upon a subject that many women of the 21st century are struggling with in silence, day after day, whether they are aware of it or not. During this month, many experts in all fields of health will come together in hopes of spreading awareness and increasing public understanding of this growing issue that is seemingly harmless and often overlooked. Because for many of us, we may not realize its creeping effects on our health until we fall extremely ill, or it is too late. And in an increasingly complex and competitive world where studies have shown that women are more affected by this today and in bigger numbers than ever before in history, we need to ask ourselves when is enough, enough? And what can we do about it?
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My personal mission is to spread the message that a balanced lifestyle with enough play, social connection, and downtime is vital for human health. My work as a psychiatrist and research in addiction and motivation combined with my experiences as a mom of three kids – ages six, nine, and 11 – led me to this goal. I’m the current medical director of child and youth mental health for the city of Vancouver, and clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia.
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As a psychiatrist specializing in teens and young adults, I bear witness to an alarming and insidious toxin that has increased in potency over the 15 years of my practice: online pornography. Though often dismissed as harmless, pornography has had a devastating impact on the well-being of many of my patients, and it can affect a person’s mental, physical and social health.
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Most of us have probably been there. You say to yourself “today is when I finally stop putting things off” or “this is when I shed those extra pounds.” Perhaps it was, “I’m going to stop buying those things I don’t need and climb out of debt” or “quit smoking” or even “wasting time on the Internet.” We start off with the best intentions and feel committed when we set these goals for an improved self, or else we probably wouldn’t bother.
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Sex and gender are clearly common topics for societal issues. Unfortunately, it is not always a positive conversation. Signs of a hypersexual, gender-stereotyped culture clearly pop out with a quick scan of recent news headlines. We see gender insults in the current presidential campaign, deep concern about the presence of rape culture on college campuses, judicial blocking of gender-neutral bathrooms in schools, and backlash to the UN’s appointment of Wonder Woman as the honorary ambassador for women and girls.
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Just a few weeks earlier, Jesse was excited to start grade five and share with his friends all the good stories he had from summer camp and playing baseball. But this past week, Jesse’s father noticed his son’s behaviour was changing quite dramatically. Usually eager to share what he was learning in math and science, Jesse gave a simple shrug of his shoulders and said, “It was pretty boring to be honest, Mom” when asked how the class science experiment went.
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With the official end of summer and start of school, come changes to routines, new schedules, and certain adjustments. This sudden change of pace for families can sometimes leave parents feeling like they are performing a difficult juggling act!
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The Roman playwright Terence once said, “I am human, and nothing of that which is human is alien to me.” If everyone shared and behaved according to this empathetic belief, bullying certainly wouldn’t be as prevalent as it is. With 14 per cent of U.S. students (PDF) reporting being bullied and five per cent bullying others in 2014, bullying is a regular affair both inside and outside schools.
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Some things only money can buy — better access to education, health care, and security, not to mention iPhones, BMWs and exotic vacations.
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Summer, where did you go? It seems like I blinked and all of a sudden your alarm clock free mornings, warm beach days, and carefree weekends were instantly gone.
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Deputy Kevin Sumner, working as a school resource officer at Latonia Elementary School in Covington, has been sued by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for allegedly handcuffing an 8-year-old boy with ADHD, by his biceps at the back, because the wrists were too small, as a part of punishment given for not complying with orders. ACLU’s Disability Counsel, Susan Mizner has said that using physical punishment for the purpose of disciplining students with disabilities “only serves to traumatize children.” Physical punishment could also further aggravate their behavioral issues Mizner added.
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Who killed summer vacation? That’s the million dollar question — literally. Long gone are the days of casually taking a few weeks off with the family to go on a road trip, or jetting off to a remote destination where the real world ceases to exist.
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A couple weeks ago, I was invited by CBC Radio to speak about a rather controversial topic brewing amongst parents and their teens regarding teenage clothing choices. This subject was recently spotlighted after a 17-year-old high school senior in Moncton, New Brunswick, made a statement by wearing a full-length halter dress against school policy, exposing her shoulders (including both bra straps), to which she was told by the school’s vice principal to cover up. In response, the subject wrote a three-page letter voicing her feelings about the hyper-sexualization of females in society and most notably states that if a boy at her school gets distracted by her back, he should be “…sent home and practice self-control.”
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Have you ever felt that fluttering feeling in your stomach? The kind that rises up into your chest and makes your heart race and even though you couldn’t possibly have any idea why you’re feeling that way, all you know is that the decision you’re about to make feels either very right or extremely wrong? Those feelings and that reaction in your body are based on human intuition. And the impulse to act on your intuitions, are based on your instincts.
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Laura was a first year university student when I met her in the hospital emergency room. She had slashed up her arms with the bow of her violin. She told me it was not a suicide attempt, but rather an act of desperation to cope with her feelings of exhaustion and anxiety. As a child, Laura was a star student excelling in academics and music, and she spent a lot of time in those activities. Laura’s mother solved many of her problems for her and protected her from everyday stresses, such as doing chores, because she didn’t want to interfere with Laura’s success in winning awards and medals. Things changed around the age of 16, when Laura began to have trouble with a curriculum that required critical thinking, creativity and collaborative group projects. Once in university, things became much worse and Laura admitted to me that she slashed her arms after she cheated in an English assignment that she was at risk of failing.
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In honour of April’s Stress Awareness month, I wanted to take this time to touch upon a subject that many women of the 21st century are struggling with in silence, day after day, whether they are aware of it or not. During this month, many experts in all fields of health will come together in hopes of spreading awareness and increasing public understanding of this growing issue that is seemingly harmless and often overlooked. Because for many of us, we may not realize its creeping effects on our health until we fall extremely ill, or it is too late.
NEW
In honour of April’s Stress Awareness month, I wanted to take this time to touch upon a subject that many women of the 21st century are struggling with in silence, day after day, whether they are aware of it or not. During this month, many experts in all fields of health will come together in hopes of spreading awareness and increasing public understanding of this growing issue that is seemingly harmless and often overlooked. Because for many of us, we may not realize its creeping effects on our health until we fall extremely ill, or it is too late. And in an increasingly complex and competitive world where studies have shown that women are more affected by this today and in bigger numbers than ever before in history, we need to ask ourselves when is enough, enough? And what can we do about it?
NEW
Tigertown is a pushing, demanding, and stifling workplace. The hours are long, the management is predatory, the employees are solitary, and there is little community — definitely no mentors, and no time for fun or collegial bonding. Tigertown is an incubator for an insidiously growing problem: workplace bullying.
NEW
Let’s be serious. Most immigrant parents do not have the time, money, resources, or will to be over-controlling, hovering, tiger parents.
As a best-selling author, international speaker, and expert contributor to prominent media outlets, Dr. Shimi Kang has influenced how millions of people approach self-development and mental health. Understand innovation and achievement, book Dr. Shimi Kang as a keynote speaker, a media appearance, or a medical consultation & empowerment coaching today!