The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By: Christine Hammond LMHC “This is ridiculous,” James said after witnessing his soon-to-be ex-wife losing it because she didn’t get her way. She sounded like a 2-year-old who didn’t get a piece of candy with the same level of irrational reasoning. Her arms were flinging around, she threw a few small objects, her voice raised a couple of octaves, and she puffed out her chest as if she was ready to fight. All of this was over a location adjustment for exchanging their child. This wasn’t the first time James watched this display. In fact, her erratic behavior greatly contributed to their pending divorce. Her fits of rage were unpredictable, volatile, forceful, absurd, and even threatening. He encouraged her to get help but she refused, insisting that if he just did what she asked then she would never get mad. Desperate to keep the peace, James even tried giving into her demands. But it was not enough. The more he caved, the more she expected. He became a shell of hims...

By: Christine Hammond, MS, IMH Do you have a senior from high school or college who seems to have shut down and is no longer productive? Maybe they were productive in the past but now they are procrastinating, their grades are sliding, they don’t care about the things that mattered to them in the past and their tempers seem to be higher than normal. Or perhaps they seem to negatively obsess over a class, another student, or a family member. In short, your senior is different and not for the better. Change is difficult for most people and transitioning from a high school student to a college student or from a college student into the workforce can be more change than they are prepared to handle. Stress levels are high whenever someone moves but add to that a change in status, change in environments, change in friendships, and change in expectations. Now you have a recipe for one stressed out senior. So how can you help? By paying attention to their behavior and acting acco...