Dr. Linda Mintle

Category: Family Help

  • Is Your Family SAD?

    Feeling down and blue? Has the gloom of winter gotten you? The sky is cloudy and dark. You feel tired, unable to concentrate, want to eat, crave carbohydrates, and feel like being alone. It’s hard to get out of bed. You feel irritable, anxious and down. It seems like winter will never end. All you can think about is sitting in the sun somewhere in the Caribbean. Actually this is not such a crazy thought. You, like 35 million Americans, may be affected by winter depression. The “winter blues” has a name, “Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)”. It usually begins mid October and ends around April. It’s real and treatable and affects family members. 
     
    Most sufferers of SAD are women in their 30’s (although the disorder affects others including children). SAD is a form of depression that follows a seasonal pattern. The farther north you live, the greater your chance to be one of 10 million diagnosed or 25 million suffering some symptoms of SAD. Why? Because during winter, people in the Northern states get half as much sunshine as those in the South. People with SAD need more light. During late fall and winter, days shorten which means less sunlight. In some cases less daylight can activate depression. So what can you do to stop being an irritable or depressed family member? Move to Florida? You could but there is a cheaper and easier solution. 
     
    Treatment for SAD is surprisingly simple. Get more light. The theory here is that light therapy regulates brain chemistry. When light interacts with the eye through the optic nerve, things happen to affect mood. In very simple terms, light  increases brain chemicals that help depression.                   
     
    Some people are helped more by using intense light in the mornings, while others respond to increased light anytime of the day. There are commercial lighting devices and florescent light boxes. Some insurers will even reimburse you for the light devices. Or you can try 30 minutes of morning light by walking outside, sitting under a fluorescent light while watching TV, reading, etc. However, you shouldn’t  stare into a light source. You’ll only get a headache! Just do a normal activity with the light in your field of vision.
     
    You should be careful not to self-diagnose SAD because you may confuse symptoms with other conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. And if you suffer from severe depression you should consult a mental health professional. Light won’t hurt you but it may not help either.                
     
    Isn’t it amazing that a source of God’s creation–light, can improve mood? Remember the Sunday School song, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine?”  Don’t hide it under a bushel like the song exhorts. Let it shine.  Let it shine. Let it shine! 
     
    Do you think there Christians attach a stigma to admitting to depression?

    For more help with depression, check out Dr. Linda’s book, Breaking Free from Depression (Charisma House, 2002)

  • What do Kids Worry About?

    01 Dr. Linda Kids and Worry

    When researchers interviewed kids, here is what they found:

    Researchers Silverman, LaGreca and Wasserstein (1995) decided to study the normal worries of schoolchildren between the ages of 7 and 12 years. They interviewed 273 schoolchildren and asked them about 14 areas of worry. When a child identified a specific area of worry, the researchers asked more detailed questions. Here’s what they found.

    –The average number of worries per child was 7.64 and covered a wide range of topics but most worried about health, school and personal harm.

    –The most frequent worries were about family, classmates and friends.

    –The most intense worries were about war, money and disasters.

    –Children’s worries related somewhat to anxiety.

    Another community study (Henker, Whalen, & O’Neil, 1995) interviewed 194 children in grades four through eight to find out their worries and risk perceptions about health and the environment. These kids identified concerns about personal issues (e.g., grades), social relations, death and social issues such as homelessness and the environment.

    When you ask kids what they would like to change the most in their lives, the answer is frequently to have parents who are less stressed and tired. Children are reacting to what researchers Miller and Rahe have documented–stress has increased 45% over the past 30 years.

    Information about normal childhood worries also helps us understand the role of worry in children developing anxiety disorders. Weems, Silverman and La Greca (2000) took the normative data on childhood worries and compared it to anxious children referred to specialty clinics. When they did, they found that clinic kids worried about similar concerns. However, anxious kids tend to worry more often, more intensely and more of the time.

    As parents, we need to seriously think of ways to decrease the stress in our homes. Kids need down time and an opportunity to practice relaxation. If you find yourselves running from event to event, it’s time to slow down and rethink priorities. Both you and your children will benefit from the changes.

  • Do Your Homework on Teens and Tattoos and Piercing

    What you should know before your teen tattoos or pierces.

    Dr Linda Helps – Recently, I read a newsletter from a leading children’s hospital in which a pediatrician passed along some helpful information to parents concerning teen tattoos and piercing. Here is a summary of Dr. Bolduc’s remarks. He practices with Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters Medical Group in Newport News, Virginia.

    My intention here is to help parents who may be dealing with a teen who wants to tattoo or body pierce or who has recently done either. Parents and teens need to be informed. I am not endorsing these procedures but want you to know what’s involved.

    · Tattoos can put your child at risk for contracting diseases such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis. Risk is decreased if the shop is clean, safe and professional.

    · Tattoos can bring on skin infections such as impetigo, dermatitis and possibly an allergic reaction to the tattoo pigment.

    · Risks associated with piercing involve: chronic infections, prolonged bleeding, scarring, hepatitis B and C, tetanus, HIV, skin allergies, abscesses or boils, irreversible holes, chipped or broken teeth, choking and speech impediment.

    · Piercing a tongue can breed bacteria.

    · Eyebrow skin is extremely sensitive and thin.

    · Cartilage at the end of the nose can wither away because blood can’t get to it properly when the nose is pierced.

    · Ear lobes are usually OK to pierce because medically they are made of fatty tissue that allows for good blood supply after the piercing. This helps ward off infections.

    · Piercing places should use an autoclave to clean needles and instruments.

    · Shops should use single service equipment–all needles and tubes are individually packaged, dated, sealed and autoclaved.

    · The person who tattoos should use guidelines created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the handling of body fluids.

    · The person doing the tattoo or piercing should wear gloves.

    · Don’t pick or tug on the area of piercing or tattoo. Clean with soap not alcohol.

    · Tattoos are sensitive to sun and need sunscreen protection of SPF 30 to protect.

    · A new tattoo needs to be dressed like an open wound with antibiotic cream for several days.

  • Teens and Wall Hangings

    Question: Do I have the right to tell my teen to take pictures off his wall?

    Dr Linda Helps – My 15-year-old son likes sexy pictures of half naked girls on his walls. His current girlfriend thinks these pictures are “hot” and has even given him a few. His dad and I find these pictures offensive and not appropriate on the walls of a Christian home. We know these images can’t be helping him deal with sexual temptation. He says we are overreacting and that we don’t have a right to judge. What do you think?

    Dr. Linda: I’m surprised that you even have to ask me this question given the fact that you already know the answer. If they are offensive and will cause sexual temptation, tell him to take them down and explain why. You are his parents and in charge of his moral training. Depicting women as sexual objects to be physically desired is neither honorable to women nor appropriate for a Christian teen. The fact that his girlfriend encourages this says something about her lack of moral standard, self-esteem and own view of women.

    Why is it that so many good Christian parents like you are afraid to take a stand with teens? You say you are afraid of telling him no and inciting rebellion when in reality, rebellion usually comes from lack of moral grounding and meaningful teaching in the home. Don’t just yell at him and tell him to take the pictures down. Explain what you know and believe—these pictures will not help him control sexual temptation (dad could have a lot to say here as a male) and that this is not a healthy way to depict women no matter what the culture and his girlfriend say. Women are not sexual objects to be adored and glorified.

    As far as your right to judge, his view is incorrect. You have every right to judge what comes in and out of your household. Can he go behind your back and see things elsewhere? Yes. But if you keep your relationship with him strong, discuss why things are problematic and teach from a moral and spiritual position, he will listen.

    Teens today live in a secularized culture and are repeatedly exposed to sex and violence. All the more reason you have to help teens sort out what is appropriate and inappropriate. They are teens. Not adults. They think they know things when they don’t. The key is to help them understand how exposure to certain things affects their spiritual life and moral decisions.

    Don’t be afraid to raise up a standard in your home. There are moral absolutes that must be taught no matter what the culture says.

    Your son is pushing the envelope. He needs limits and direction. He also needs parents who are loving but firm about appropriate behavior. Ask him to tell you how these pictures are helping his spiritual life, edifying women and helping him resist temptation. Most likely, he’ll come to the same conclusions as you.

  • Do Violent Video Games Really Harm Kids?


    Dr Linda Helps – Question: My mom and dad don’t want me to play violent video games. My friends say they are really fun and only entertainment. It seems everyone plays these games, and they aren’t shooting people at school. What’s the big deal?

    Dr. Linda: The big deal is that violent video games can lead to aggression. Studies support the idea that violent video games increase aggression and delinquency–two things you, your parents and friends should care about. Here’s what recent studies tell us about violent video games:

    · They aren’t just entertainment. If you play violent video games, you can think and act more aggressively. If you are male, you may even see the world as hostile after playing these games.

    · Violent video games can teach you violent ways to think.

    · Violent video games allow you to practice being violent.

    · If you practice violence in games, you can access this information for real-life situations.

    · The more knowledgeable you become about violence, the more it may affect your personality (not in a good way!).

    · There is a relationship between playing violent games and delinquent behavior. The more violent video games played, the more delinquent behavior occurred.

    · There is a relationship between playing a lot of video games (any games) and poor grades. More time playing games led to poor academic achievement.

    So the big deal is that we don’t know how much those games affect kids in terms of violence and shooting people. We do know that you are affected, and one effect is increased aggression. So why play these games?

    Let me also reassure you that not everyone is playing these games. Some parents have enough sense to know that putting violent images in the head of anyone is not a good idea. We think a lot of stuff doesn’t bother us when in truth it does. Listen to your parents. They aren’t trying to make your life miserable. They’re on to the potential dangers of these games. They probably want to do everything they can to prevent you from doing things that will hurt you. Sounds like you have great parents!

    Conclusions based on research published in April 2000 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, “Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life”.