The effects of emotional trauma are often deemed to be very severe and potentially dangerous. Mental health is as important as physical health and people cannot function without having some balance formed.

It is not often easy to see the symptoms of emotional trauma especially if the personal is good at hiding the emotions all the time. However if your child has been through a traumatic event don’t allow them to pull the wool over your eyes.

You have to ensure that your children are fine and that normally the most obvious symptom of emotional trauma is emotional disruption. This type of symptom is one where in the person can suddenly become excessive or withdrawn in their actions. For a child it becomes extremely difficult to deal with trauma in the form of emotions as the human emotion is very complex.

Know How To Identify And Deal With The Symptoms Of Emotional Trauma

By discovering what emotional trauma is, you will be able to spot these when such problems arise. Having a talk with your family doctor about emotional trauma will allow you to identify these problems and if any are present with your child and be able to help before it becomes a bigger problem.

Teenagers tend to be more difficult to deal with since they have most likely grown to being independent thinking that they can deal with everything on their own, but in reality are not able to. It is not always in the form of words that trauma can be identified and fixed, and with emotional trauma the symptoms and solutions can be through the actions. You need to be able to get your children to trust you and through your actions this can be learned.

The most common question we ask our children is if they are ok, sometimes however this is not the ideal way to go about it as they may become more withdrawn and hide away from the issue. Sometimes physical actions like a hug even though it is not always warranted, can be the most ideal one. Try to use less words and instead actually show them that you are there for them. It may not always be easy since people have become accustomed to talking things through and sometimes it is just better to listen and hold them to bring out the issues.

This will require you to have patience and this can be seen as the side effect of emotional trauma symptoms. You have to wait and sometimes take the harsh words in the chin but they are hurting and they don’t know how to make sense of it. You can’t always protect them form the world and its cruelty but at least if they know that they can depend on your love when times get hard, then you will have done your job as a parent.

It is true to say that most folks have difficulties setting goals for themselves and those that do manage it, then have difficulties following them. There are several reasons for this, such as lack of direction, little or no self discipline or perhaps a lifestyle that is mismanaged. Ultimately, they wind up going around in circles getting nowhere fast. No matter what the explanation is, personal goals are not being met and that can result in a downturn in the quality of life for that individual. If you feel that you are spinning your wheels but not getting anyplace as far as your own  personal goals are concerned, maybe the time has come to look into life coaching.

Helping other people to achieve their individual goals and aspirations is what life and personal development coaching is all about. Employing a combination of coaching skills from several disiplines such as psychology and sociology, a life coach will lead by example while providing effective life tips to clients. A life coach must assist you in analyzing your current living situation and have you reach a decision as to where you would ultimately like to be in life. As well as providing tips and guiding you along, they will also assist you in overcoming any obstacles that may crop up along the way.

One thing to be conscious of is that a life coach is not a fix all and cannot resolve your troubles on your behalf. If you have alcohol, drug or  psychological related problems or there are matters pertaining to abuse, your mentor will not be qualified to assist you with these types of problem. They can provide a good example and assist the client seek out specialist assistance but they are not certified to tackle such a problem. Your mentor is not there to push you towards anything which you are not ready for and neither should they show you the way. They merely offer a shoulder should you require their assistance in addressing specific life transitions.

One thing to be aware of is that there is no professional certification needed for leadership mentoring or for being a life coach. There are organizations which do offer membership but there is no training required in order to be a mentor. With that in mind, when you are looking for a life coach, you should be very skeptical of anyone who claims to be able to alter your life or assist you to achieve any unreasonable goals.

Life coaching is a way of life for some people and they get a real buzz out of assisting others to succeed in making their goals, hopes and aspirations become a reality. If you have a longing to start coaching people yourself, just bear in mind that very little good in life comes easily and it can take some hard work to become a life coach, but the end rewards will be well worth the effort.

Every now and then, life has a tendency to be overwhelming and it is at these times that individuals find themselves being pushed off course as far as their goals are concerned. Life coaching offers much needed motivation and helps put the person back on the road to achieving success.

The healthy eating advice we hear all the time is ‘eat a balanced diet’. It really is as simple as that. Or is it?

I’ve been thinking about my diet a lot recently. I’m training for a marathon. It didn't take long to realise just how many people are out there offering their ten cents on healthy eating. And most of it is aimed at people who consider themselves to be overweight. Here’s the essence of what most nutritional experts say:

• Eat six pieces of fresh fruit every day - and eat most of it in the first half of the day
• Eat as much raw food as possible - salads, cereals, vegetables and fruit (not raw meat!)
• Avoid processed food
• Avoid eating sugar and foods with a high sugar content
• Don’t eat too much fat, especially fat that is solid at room temperature like butter or fatty red meat
• Eat oily, cold-water fish two or three times a week
• Only eat until you are about 80% full
• Drink plenty of water

All this sounds like sensible healthy eating advice. But it is quite hard to follow to the letter. Try eating an apple when you’ve already eaten a kiwi fruit, an orange, a banana, some berries and a peach. Try asking for your dentist's opinion! Most fruit is quite acidic, and it contains a lot of natural sugars. Your teeth and stomach can take quite a battering.

It's hard to say no to eating processed food, too. It's ubiquitous. It’s convenient. And it tastes good - it’s been designed to. There’s so little nutritional value in a lot of processed food that tasting good is its only virtue. And of course some of it tastes so good that we can’t resist it - in huge quantities.

But let's get back to the marathon. The main issue with a marathon runner’s diet is to make sure you have enough sugar in your blood so you don’t ‘hit the wall’. Runners hit the wall at around the 20-mile mark. Their muscles have burnt all their blood sugar. The body responds by breaking down stores of fat and glycogen in the liver. It causes a lot of pain.

But many experienced marathon runners say, ‘It’s all in the mind.' The 'wall' is a mental barrier. If you want to finish the marathon, you have to go through it - you have to take the pain. And that’s how I have come to view the balanced diet and all the other articles of healthy eating advice. You need the right mindset to lose weight and get healthy. Turn a blind eye to all that processed food. Hitting the Wallmart is a mental barrier. Youcan overcome.

So here’s the ultimate healthy eating advice: you have to want to be healthy. You have to want to be slim. And not just a bit. Badly. Because healthy eating is a state of mind. 

What is an eating disorder?

Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder form a complex and chronic illness.  Nothing ever happens in a fraction of a second.  It takes a long time to develop an eating disorder. For its treatment to be a success it takes even longer time.

An abnormal and extremely unhealthy eating pattern (an eating disorder) is harmful to a person’s normal physical well being.  It is a disorder, which involves both eating too much, and not eating enough.  Purging or bingeing after eating is also termed an eating disorder. 

Eating disorders are usually found in females rather than males, (though evidence shows males are now tending to succumb more nowadays). It is usually more prevalent in the age group of fifteen to twenty five. Being young and slim is what most dreams of female’s are and this in turn results in the development of life threatening disorders. 

Adolescents need a balanced diet. In adolescence the nutritional requirements are very high due to their accelerated emotional, biochemical and physical development. It is a period when that final growth spurt occurs. The demand for energy, protein, minerals and vitamins also increases. So when the requirements are very high any deficiency in nutritional intake will cause problems which will follow them for rest of their lives

The causes of eating disorder are numerous, but the main cause is thought to be psychological factors.  These are related to abnormal obsessions with the amount of food eaten by the sufferer and their subsequent gain in weight. It is a voluntary appetite control where the subsequent alteration in the person’s eating pattern can be controlled by them.

The major eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, hyperphagia, orthorexia, pica, food phobia, and rumination.  

The amount and the pattern of eating depends on many factors such as peer pressure, food availability, ethics in families, their own appetite, imitating role models, concerns about gaining weight, and psychological factors. The major eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, hyperphagia, orthorexia, pica, food phobia, and rumination often start as a mild complication and lead to serious heart and kidney failure and ultimately can lead to death. 

Eating disorders may also lead to the following problems:

electrolyte imbalance, amanorrhoea, thinning of hair, functioning of the heart decreases, dental caries, hypothermia, bone mass decreases, liver function is altered, ulcers in oesophagus, reduced immunity in the body and low blood pressure.

Identifying an eating disorder is as important as its treatment. If the patient is willing to undergo the treatment they are easily treatable. Psychiatric treatment followed by behavioral modification, nutritional counseling and medical treatment should always form the start of the treatment.

Some of the famous personalities in recent times and in the past who are thought to suffer from these eating disorders are 

Marie Osmond, Princess Diana, Princess Victoria, Mary-Kate Olsen, Victoria Beckham, Emma Balfour, Fiona Apple, Eliza Donovan, Jessica Alba, Kate Dillon, Roseanne Barr, Tracy Shaw,  Karen Carpenter, and Marie Osmond.

Always remember to eat healthy, be cheerfull and follow a regular exercise pattern. This will help you avoid these problems.

Chances are, you’ve seen, or at least heard of, the A&E TV show called “Interventions.” The host chronicles drug addicted teens, kids who have turned to prostitution, sufferers of bulimia, compulsive shoppers, self mutilators, gambling addicts, plastic surgery junkies and anorexics, as well as the plight of the family members and friends trying to save them. At first, those called in for the intervention program usually react with surprise, anger and resentment, but over time many of these individuals are cured. You don’t have to call a TV station to seek help for a friend or family member who is suffering. If you’ve tried to persuade the person to no avail already, then don’t be afraid to turn to crisis intervention services for assistance.

The most common type of intervention programs are for drug and alcohol abuse. It is nearly impossible for a chemically dependent person to step outside of his or her addiction and begin living a healthy life, without either hitting rock bottom or becoming far-removed from stress factors. With the help of an intervention specialist and support from loved ones, alcohol and drug interventions can be seen as “a new beginning” and gives the individual the “excuse” he or she needs to break free from controlling substances.

The success rate of substance abuse interventions is said to be around 90%. The abusers will learn more about the pain they’ve inflicted on their loved ones through family counseling. In a group setting, substance abusers can identify with others and understand that they are not alone, which will set the groundwork for self-esteem to grow. During one-on-one counseling sessions, the intervention plan is to identify obstacles to happiness, unearth the source of pain leading to the drug abuse or alcoholism, decide upon reasonable goals and develop healthy coping skills.

A sexual abuse intervention program is a vital resource for children and adults to get past feelings of guilt, fear, contempt, helplessness, regret, low self esteem, distrust and callousness. For children, there is usually a family intervention to help everyone cope. A six to eight week crisis intervention agenda will allow a psychosocial assessment and an initial briefing for families and kids. Ongoing treatment helps individuals strengthen interpersonal boundaries, become more self-assertive, enhance communication skills and develop a clear sense of traditional family roles. For young children, play therapy may be helpful, while older victims sometimes find group therapy empowering. For the sex offenders themselves, there are many intervention services, including at-home family therapy, weekly group therapy, parent support groups, individual counseling, family reunification and services to help members transition back into society.

People deal with trauma differently, so it can be difficult to identify when someone needs help. However, a brief intervention is generally recommended for people who have undergone a particularly traumatic experience, such as rape, assault, robbery, a fire, an accident, suicide attempt, or someone suffering with the death of a loved one. At an intervention program like those offered by TIP (the Trauma Intervention Program), short-term and ongoing assistance is offered. Assistants can provide emotional support, arrange for shelter, food, clothing or transportation, notify family and friends, serve as an intermediary between the victims and hospital authorities, help arrange follow-up services and answer questions. It’s important to see a counselor following a traumatic event, even if you feel alright, because repressed emotions can sometimes cause unanticipated effects that reverberate through every aspect of our lives.