By Ashwood Recovery at NorthPoint
Problem drinking can become increasingly severe, giving way to an alcohol use disorder (AUD) as defined by the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:
“Approximately 7.2 percent or 17 million adults in the United States ages 18 and older had an AUD in 2012. This includes 11.2 million men and 5.7 million women. The severity of an AUD – mild, moderate, or severe – is based on the number of criteria met.”
These criteria include everything from spending a lot of time drinking, to continuing to drink alcohol even though it brings about depressed or anxious feelings, to alcohol causing problems with family or friends.
Under this definition, some people may think that alcoholism takes a specific form and may, therefore, look a certain way. However, some people who struggle with addiction to alcoholism are able to cover up the external signs of this alcoholism – these individuals are known as high functioning alcoholics.
For the further information, go to the original article.
If you would like help dealing with your or a family member’s alcoholism, please feel free to give CornerStone Family Services a call at 614-459-3003.
By Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott
Natural sympathizers tend to find themselves rushing to the aid of their others, whether it is asked for or not. After all, people with sympathetic personalities are more inclined to let their feelings guide them. Their hearts often take precedence over their heads.
However, when it comes to a relationship you need to be sure your sympathy is warranted so you don’t smother your partner. Today, we are discussing ways you can balance your head and your heart, and when it’s best to dive into action.
For the full article, go here.
If you would like help with your relationship or marriage, please contact one of our counselors or life coaches at 614-459-3003.
By Tim and Joy Downs
Pick out a board game—any game will do. Now take off the lid, turn it over, and search for these words:
“Roll the dice to see who goes first. Play proceeds clockwise … ” All games include directions to make sure everyone knows whose turn it is. But conflict, as you recall, is a game without rules. In a disagreement it isn’t always easy to know who goes first, who comes next, and who just got left out.
There’s a simple set of instructions that can help create order out of this chaos. In the game of conflict, the order of play goes like this: Listen long; then speak short—and don’t forget to pass the dice.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? It’s not. Being a good listener is hard. When you do it right, the game proceeds nicely and both of you get to play; when you spend too much time speaking to listen well, each of you thinks it’s his turn and both players are scrambling for the dice.
Here are some helpful suggestions about listening to improve the order of play in your next disagreement.
For the full article, check out the original blog post.
If you would like help in your marriage or relationship, please contact CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003.
by Sam Crabtree
Dear weary parent,
Few things are as burdensome to a parent than a pattern of a small child’s growing reluctance to cooperate with you. Such ache can reflect loving concern for the child. My heart goes out to you in this difficulty.
I’ve heard parents say things like, “I feel like I’ve exhausted all my options. No approach seems to work. I’ve tried praying with him. I’ve tried appealing to his conscience. I’ve tried time-outs, and various consequences. . . and it just seems like things don’t get better, but worse. I’m very weary and discouraged. And weary. Did I mention weary?”
Consider these six things:
First, God himself faces strong-willed children all the time in his own family. All we, like strong-willed sheep, have gone astray.
Let us be careful about singling out the strong-willed child as though his will is more corrupt than ours. The will is strong in everyone, not only in “strong-willed” youngsters. We all want our way. Our children are cut from the same fabric as we. We are all born sinners, including your young child.
And let us be careful to discern. On one hand, dogged determination can be good and very useful in overcoming obstacles later in life. Strong-willed children may have leadership potential. On the other hand, stubborn defiance is bad. Distinguish! There is a difference between precocious and obnoxious. Is the child amazingly focused, or is he overbearing, defiant, rude, pushy, and belligerently demanding?
For the full article go to the original blog post.
If you would like help with parenting, please contact CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003 to talk with one of our excellent life coaches or counselors.
By Lisa Rapaport
Just one in 20 U.S. children and teens gets the amount of sleep, exercise and screen time that doctors recommend for optimal health, a new study suggests.
Children and teens are supposed to get at least one hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day and limit screen time to less than two hours. Kids ages 6 to 12 old also need 9 to 12 hours of sleep, while teens need 8 to 10 hours nightly.
Too little sleep or exercise, or too much screen time, can increase their risk of chronic health problems. Unfortunately, many children and teens aren’t hitting these targets, leading to issues like obesity, which is rising tremendously in the Western world. It’s important that teenagers losing weight is seen as for health reasons instead of for visual appearance to prevent negative body image; you can find out more about staying fit and healthy in your younger years at Nutrition Realm. Other issues that can arise from not exercising or not having a sufficient amount of sleep in your younger years are mental health issues like anxiety and depression, poor academic achievement and unhealthy behaviors like smoking and drinking, the study team notes in JAMA Pediatrics.
For the full article check it out here.
If you would like help as a teenager or with your teenager(s), please contact CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003 to talk to one of our licensed life coaches of clinical counselors.
By Robert Wolgemuth
The core issue here regarding sexual temptation is the condition of our hearts.
“Guard your heart above all else,” a concerned dad warned his young adult son, “for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT).
Many years ago, I had a close friend who made a bad decision to hang out in a hotel bar and stay there until late into the night. This man had never been unfaithful to his wife. But after a few extra drinks, he began a conversation with a woman that continued into the early hours of the next morning.
Before going to their separate rooms, they exchanged cell numbers. When he returned home from the trip, my friend told me all about the woman. “Nothing bad happened,” he said, cautiously defending himself, “But we did share phone numbers,” he added.
I remember this conversation as though it happened last week. My friend and I were in his office. He was behind his desk; I was standing in front of him. And I spoke to him as lovingly and directly as I could.
“Guard your heart,” I pleaded with him. “Guard your heart.”
For the full article go to Family Life’s blog.
If you would like help with your struggles in the area of adultery or with your relationship, please call CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003 to set up an appointment with one of our coaches or counselors.
By Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott PhD
“All that you achieve and all that you fail to achieve is the direct result of your own thoughts.” -James Allen
Most everyone has experienced a bad attitude in their relationship. Believe it or not, there are ways you can turn this negativity around. After all, we aren’t born with bad attitudes – they are developed in our minds over time.
With effort, we can protect ourselves against the bad attitude disease. There is no simple procedure to eliminating bad attitudes forever, but there are ways you can take a negative attitude and nip it in the bud. Today, we want to share four steps that will be a game changer in turning a negative attitude around.
For the full article check out the SYMBIS Blog.
If you are looking for help in your relationships, please give CornerStone Family Services a call at 614-459-3003 to set up an appointment with one of our counselors or coaches.
By Marriage365
While it’s important to give a formal apology in person when you’ve messed up, it’s also good to follow up with a phone call or text to remind your spouse how sorry you really are. Sending “I’m sorry” texts shows that you’re trying to rebuild trust and repair your relationship. Now these texts are to help inspire a more in depth conversation and please make them personal… make them your own…
For the full article go here.
If you would like help in healing your relationship, please contact CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003 to talk with a counselor or coach.
CornerStone is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and accepts donations to further their outreach to the central Ohio community. Accordingly, CornerStone offers reduced fee adjustments (scholarships) for those with qualified need in order to provide access to counseling for those with limited means to pay for services. Each year, Cornerstone provides approximately $180,000 in pro bono and discounted services to over 200 families.
Donors may choose to designate their donation “In Memory of Robert Uhle” by checking the box in the donation form: https://cornerstonefamilyservices.org/donate/
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