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3362 Big Pine Trail, Suite A, Champaign, Illinois 61822

No parent wants to think about their child being bullied. If you’ve recently discovered that your child is a victim or suspect they might be, you may feel powerless or unsure how to go about it. By learning a few strategies and understanding what it can look like, you can help your child handle bullying.

What is bullying?

Bullying can be defined by intentional physical, verbal, or psychological torment. It can range anywhere from hitting, shoving, threatening to extort money and personal belongings. With the addition of social media usage in kids, bullies can hurt other kids online. 

Unless your child has told you that they're being bullied, it can be tough to know whether this is the case. Typical bullying symptoms include physical complaints such as tummy aches, worries and fears, and a child not wanting to go to school. Kids typically defend themselves by withdrawing or avoiding the things that cause stress.

Ask questions to get them talking about it. Try to understand which friends are supportive and get along with your child and which ones aren't. Establishing good communication should start well before bullying problems but can always be improved.

What can you do as a parent?

Once you've determined that your child is a victim of bullying, consider utilizing these 4 strategies:

  • Role-play "what If" scenarios. This is a great way to build confidence and help your child feel empowered. You can role-play the bully while your child practices potential responses until they feel confident enough to handle troublesome situations. Teach them how to speak in a confident, firm tone.
  • Maintain open communication—Check-in with them from time to time about how things are going at school. Don't be intrusive, but instead use a calm, nurturing tone, so they're not afraid to tell you if something's wrong. Emphasize that their wellbeing and safety is essential and that they can reach out to you or another adult if there are any issues.
  • Restore their confidence. Being bullied can feel embarrassing, demeaning, and scary. If serious enough, it can affect your child’s mental health. Tell your child the unique qualities you admire about them and continue to talk to them about how they feel. If possible, create opportunities for playdates and social interactions with other friends you trust to be kind to your child to rebuild their social confidence. This process can take time, and your child will need your support!
  • Be supportive. Please remind your child that it's not their fault and they're not alone. Teach them how to identify their feelings to communicate about what's going on, which may require you to talk about your feelings. Your child being picked on or teased shouldn't be accepted. Helping your child deal with a bully will build confidence and prevent a difficult situation from escalating.

While you may find some of these tips helpful, there isn't a clear cut solution to bullying. Working with a licensed and compassionate therapist can also help improve self-esteem, provide resources, and help inform you and your child about what you can do in dealing with your unique situation.

As schools continue to face the challenge of educating their students from a distance, parents are required to be more involved. Unsurprisingly, in-person learning doesn't always translate smoothly into virtual learning. While we continue to adapt and get creative, consider utilizing the following 8 tips:

Create routines, not schedules. Instead of creating rigid plans for how each school day should work, try creating routines for learning. Find something that can signal to your kids it's time to settle down and focus. Many classrooms sing or play a song or sit in a circle at the beginning of the day. Creating routines and habits can help guide your family throughout the school day in a smooth, manageable way. 

Take brain breaks. Adults struggle to sit in front of a computer for eight hours, and kids are no different. Brain breaks can be short and include simple breathing exercises or getting energy out by running up and down the stairs to stay focused and motivated. Or, they could be longer, mid daybreak and have a walk around the block and sitting down for lunch together. Regularly getting up and moving can stimulate learning.

Break things down. If your child has multiple assignments or projects to do, it can help break them down into smaller tasks so they're not overwhelming. If they have to read 3 chapters, create a short term goal to finish 1. Take a break and come back to it later, depending on the amount of time they have. Tackling smaller pieces feels manageable.

Provide an environment that promotes learning. Most parents already have a space set up at home to focus solely on schoolwork. But if you haven't, or it's more of a temporary space, consider spending some time making it into an area they'll enjoy. This might be a fun activity to do with your kids to help decorate and personalize to make it their own.

Encourage physical activity and exercise. Your child will be sitting in front of their computer for long periods. Encourage them to use the breaks in the day to stretch, walk the dog, or do jumping jacks — any movement helps!

Embrace mindfulness skills. Implementing mindfulness strategies can help children regulate emotions, cope with big feelings, and manage stress. Taking balloon breaths, using fidget toys, or listening to a child-friendly meditation app can be engaging and fun for both you and your child. 

Check-in with your child’s advisor or teachers. Working with teachers allows you to monitor improvement and identify problematic areas to keep their education on track. These conversations don't have to just about assignments. If you see new behaviors at home, reaching out to a teacher may help, especially since the teachers aren't seeing their students regularly.

These are challenging times for anyone, especially for kids at home. Ultimately, making these small, mindful changes will have a positive effect on you and your child’s overall wellness. 

Bipolar disorder therapy

Having a stable mood is challenging these days. The only reason behind this is that people have ignored their mental health and considered it as usual. Instead, at this point where you feel that your mental health is not stable, you should immediately consider meeting bipolar disorder therapists. Bipolar disorder cases are increasing day by day. Eventually, it is essential to spread awareness regarding this mental health issue and make people aware of Urbana counseling's importance.

Therefore, in this post, we have mentioned the best bipolar disorder therapy techniques that might help you recover in the best possible way. Hence, make sure to stay with us till the end of the post.

Best bipolar disorder therapy techniques

If you are living with bipolar disorder, then you face countless mood swings daily. The intense fluctuation of the mood swings is the hallmark of bipolar disorder conditions. Also, with the increasing and the repetitive episodes of these bipolar disorders, It is essential to meet or considering Champaign therapists.

These mood swings can interrupt your life and affect your daily life in the worst possible ways; These mood swings also have the power to ruin your career or relationship completely. The best part is that there are many cures for this situation, and we will mention the best in this post.

CBT for bipolar disorder: how it works

Usually, people have this general question about what exactly causes the high and low mood swings. According to a study in the journal Psychology and psychotherapy, these mood swings are influenced simply by your thoughts.

Excessively negative thoughts can prevail in your mind and can even take a permanent place in your mind. Bipolar disorder may also lead to depression.

CBT techniques for bipolar disorders

Here are the techniques followed by CBT for the treatment of the bipolar

Accepting your diagnosis:

The first step in the treatment process is to acknowledge and accept that you are facing this disorder, as it is often difficult for people to get that they are facing such a condition. Therefore, teaching and learning about the signs, symptoms, causes, and course of the disorder is essential.

 Monitoring your mood:

Usually, you need to keep track of your mood with the help of a daily journal. Later, this journal is then reviewed by your bipolar disorder therapist for better evaluation. People are asked to rate their mood on a scale of 0-10. The purpose of this mood file is to get more aware of the spirit and other emotional triggers.

 Undergoing cognitive restructuring:

This technique involves focusing on correcting the evil thoughts and fears of the person facing such disorders. They are asked to be vulnerable and let everything irritate or trouble them, causing such intense mood swings. At the same time, the therapists teach the patient how to scrutinize the thoughts by looking for the distortions or distractions and how to work on them to achieve positive results.

Conclusion

So, here are the essential techniques that you need to know about bipolar disorder. Also, make sure to consider the symptoms and consider visiting the therapist as soon as possible. Ignoring the signs will make your situation worse. This might even ruin your life and make you live in the complete darkness of depression, And as a responsible person to lead a happy life, you should always make your mental health your priority and discuss the issues with your close ones and visit the doctor. Hence undergoing the treatment for bipolar disorder will help you in leading a better and healthy life. Therefore make sure, not to ignore the symptoms.

Contrary to the unrealistic, glamorizing versions of anorexia we tend to see in the media, anorexia is a serious mental health condition. It’s defined by a limited or restricted amount of food intake which results in lower than expected body weight and a negative body image. Without proper recognition and treatment, it can create a devastating reality, resulting in severe health consequences.

While it is a disease that mostly affects women, anorexia doesn’t discriminate. Regardless of your gender, age, race, and body type, anorexia comes with a number of emotional challenges and fears, experienced by each person differently. 

The following list includes some of the most common signs and symptoms in individuals with anorexia. 

Physical symptoms

The physical symptoms that present in cases of anorexia can also be found in other medical conditions, so it’s important to get a proper diagnosis from a professional. 

A few common physical symptoms can present as:

  • Abdominal pain or frequent stomach aches
  • Anemic and bruises easily.
  • Brittle nails
  • Cold hands and feet
  • Constipation
  • Dry and thinning hair
  • Extreme dehydration
  • Hair loss
  • Feeling lightheaded
  • Loss of or a delayed menstrual period in females.
  • Low blood pressure and heart rate
  • Muscle loss and weakness
  • Pale, dry skin
  • Sensitivity to cold
  • Significantly low body weight

Behavioral symptoms

These are signs that are often more easily noticed by family and friends of someone who is struggling with anorexia. They may be observed before the physical signs and can look like the following: 

  • Denial of hunger or refusal to eat 
  • Desperate to exercise even when inappropriate
  • Perfectionism
  • Fatigue, loss of energy, or feeling tired
  • Insistence on wearing layers of clothing
  • May seem obsessed with food-related topics-such as cooking or cooking shows on TV.
  • Particular eating habits-refusing to eat certain foods, extreme changes in diet
  • Strange food rituals, such as an insistence on using specific utensils
  • Weighs themselves often, fears gaining weight 
  • Withdrawal from friends and family

Emotional symptoms

Some of these symptoms might be more challenging to recognize from an outsider's perspective. Along with anxiety or depression symptoms, family members and friends may be able to identify some of the following warning signs.

  • Strong desire for approval-determines self-esteem or self-worth by appearance and weight
  • Easily irritable
  • Extremely self-critical
  • Little to no motivation to engage in hobbies or relationships

Getting help

Anorexia nervosa can cause several severe health consequences, but recovery is possible. Seeking treatment early on improves the chances of successful recovery. If any of the above sounds familiar, contact your local physical or mental health care provider for an assessment.

About Insight Therapy

Insight Therapy is a professional mental health private practice located in Champaign - Urbana. Insight Therapy offers individual therapy, couples counseling, and family counseling to clients of all ages and issues.

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Contact Information

Insight Therapy, LLC
3362 Big Pine Trail
Suite A
Champaign, Illinois 61822

Phone: (217) 383-0151
Fax: (217) 633-4555

Practice Areas

Depression, Anxiety, Trauma, Addiction, Couples Counseling, Eating Disorders, Sexual Abuse Survivor, School Anxiety, Women's Issues, Relationship Issues, BiPolar Disorder, Personality Disorders, Family Issues, Couples Counseling, and more!