Capital District Neurofeedback Therapy

  In recent years, there has been an alarming tendency to find adolescents and young adults seeking only the path of ease. In other words, when allowed to apply real effort to learn, grow, or improve…they choose to   ‘sit it out.’   Certainly, a contributor to this is the role of immediate gratification, but we’ll cover that next week. For now, we are looking at the absence of sincere effort and impact on their future lives. The rationale for laziness, from a teenager’s perspective, sounds like this: “Oh, I don’t want to work that hard.” “It’s not worth it. I just want to play my games.” “Mom and Dad work too hard. I don’t want to be like them.” “I do okay without really studying…so who cares!” “I’ll work harder when I get older.” “I will be a YouTube influencer; I don’t have to really work.” “I don’t enjoy working. I just want to have fun.” Seeking the Easy Way Out: The Formula for Misery In many ways, we find that choices based on what requires the least effort are the ...

Daily, the news is filled with horrific incidents worldwide, such as terrorism or the seemingly endless shooting sprees at workplaces, schools, and military bases. In addition, the political climate reflected in the media intrigues many parents and children to become bystanders, absorbing a considerable amount of judgment and conflict. If not thoughtful, fearful headlines and stories are present as adults watch the news, while innocent children absorb the emotional content as they play with their toys or eat breakfast. Many parents are concerned about children’s exposure to many sources of potential anxiety and ask how to handle this. It is important to emphasize that fear is at the heart of anxiety, so our job is to manage exposure and response to fearful events in many ways. Here are a few easy guidelines to think about: 1. Reassurance is beneficial to children. When significant events occur in which people are harmed or injured or when terrorism or tragedy is discussed, children ben...