Fertility & Infertility•
on November 7th, 2010•
By Barbara Saba (2010)
(M.H.C., Grad. Dip. H C., Dip. Ed., Cert. Hyp., QMACA)
Counsellor/Hypnotherapist, NLP Practitioner)
Over the past two decades, there has been a significant rise in the number of people who have problems conceiving. It is not uncommon to take two or three years to conceive a first child. And for those who seek medical help, 30% are told they have “unexplained infertility’ – infertility for which medical science can offer no explanation.
When trying to have a baby, the chances of conceiving in any given month is 20%. For woman over 40, the odds reduce to 5%. In recent years the average age of women having their first baby has increased as women seek to establish their careers first. They are so often faced by a constant barrage from the media and well meaning friends and colleagues about their age and “ticking of the biological clock” -creating a pre-occupation with falling pregnant and increasing levels of stress and anxiety when the test comes back negative. The relationship between stress and infertility is still not very well understood.
There is little doubt that infertility causes stress and now there appears to be a growing body of evidence to suggest that stress may cause infertility. Whilst the exact pathways between fertility and stress remain a mystery, Allen Morgan, MD, director of Shore Institute of Reproductive Medicine in N.J, USA, says that when stress-reduction techniques are used, something happens to women that allows them to get pregnant when they have been unable to do so in the past. Where does hypnotherapy fit in? Our minds have a powerful effect over our bodies. When stress is lifted, the body starts to function as it is meant to.
Hypnotherapy can release your fears and the stress of infertility by: o Clearing the subconcious blocks to conception such as fear of childbirth or parenting.
- Teaching you to relax and gain confidence in your mind and body
- Boosting your self esteem and emotional well being
- Optimizing your chances of conceiving naturally.
A reduction in stress is known to enhance the immune system, restore balance to your hormonal system thus creating a healthier body which is needed to accept and nurture a pregnancy.
What about IVF Whilst the success rate of modern fertility is high, for the majority of couples it has been a long and hard journey to this point and multiple IVF treatment cycles may be necessary before a successful pregnancy. Learning to manage stress is an important step towards realizing this goal. Hypnotherapy offers invaluable support to women undergoing IVF or other medical interventions. Researchers at the University of Oroka in Israel found that hypnosis doubles the success rate of IVF.
These findings were presented to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Conference in 2004. The researchers found that hypnosis had a significant effect on successful embryo transfer in IVF. Studies conducted by Alice Domar, PhD, director of the Beth Israel Deaconess Behavioural Medicine Program for Infertility in Boston suggest unresolved issues about having a baby can be removed with counselling and mind/body techniques such as hypnotherapy.
In the first study published in 1999 in the Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association 42% of 132 infertile women in the program conceived within six months of completing it. In the second study, published in 2000 in the journal Fertility and Sterility, 55% of the previously infertile women who met regularly in a mind/body program conceived, compared with 20% of the control group who used no mind/body techniques and who did not attend meetings.
The causes of infertility remain complicated and diverse and despite daily breakthroughs in medical research, there are no guarantees. What we can do is maximize the chances of conceiving naturally or increase the success of medical intervention. Hypotherapy is safe and complements any medical procedure. By reducing stress and increasing confidence, it instills a sense of control in the client with impressive results.
Stress•
on October 26th, 2010•
by Jorg Thonnissen (2010) Registered Psychologist
We all have been ‘stressed out’ at some point in our lives. In fact, the term ‘stress management’ has gained much popularity over the last few decades. How to practice ‘stress reduction’ when anxiety seems to win the upper hand is a question that many seem to ask. But what is this condition that we call stress, and what does it do? Most importantly, what can we do about stress when we feel all ‘stressed out’?
Being “stressed out” covers a vast array of phenomena ranging from mild irritation to a level of problems that are so severe that they could result in a breakdown of an individual’s health.
The term stress in psychology is defined as the consequences of a person failing to respond appropriately to physical or emotional threats. Here it doesn’t really matter whether these threats are actual or imagined, either way they are real to the person suffering from stress.
There are a multitude of consequences resulting from stress. The most common symptoms include a feeling of a state of alarm, heightened adrenaline production, exhaustion, irritability and difficulties concentrating. There are also a whole range of physiological problems associated with stress such as tension headaches, aches and pains such as chest pain, increased blood pressure, dizziness and nausea as well as constipation and diarrhoea.
Besides the obvious physiological problems caused by stress there are cognitive as well as resulting behavioural signs that include excessive worrying and moodiness, agitation and irritability, feelings of depression, loneliness and isolation. All of these symptoms can typically result in social withdrawal, disrupted sleep patterns, eating excesses, neglect of responsibilities or procrastination. Consequently nervous habits such as nail biting and increased nicotine, alcohol or drug use can result as a coping mechanism to stress.
The effects of stress have been thoroughly researched and divided into three stages.
1. The first stage is ‘alarm’. This is when we perceive a certain stressor as threatening and in response our body produces adrenaline to be ready for ‘fight or flight’. Consequently, our body produces cortisol which an anti-inflammatory.
2. The second stage is defined as ‘resistance’. If we keep perceiving a certain situation as stressful, we will need to find ways of coping with the stress. However, even though our body aims to adapt to the situation, the continuous threat eventually leads to a gradual depletion of resources which will eventually lead to the next stage.
3. Thus, the third and final stage is ‘exhaustion’. This is the point where the body’s resources have run down to a point where it is unable to maintain its normal function.
It is in this stage that if extended for too long, long term damage may result as a consequence of stress. The exhausted immune system is impaired and illnesses such as digestive problems, ulcers, diabetes, cardiovascular problems or diabetes can occur as a result of prolonged stressors.
In other words, unresolved persistent stress that has not been successfully addressed through coping or adaptation could ultimately lead to anxiety or depressive (withdrawal) behaviours.
Studies indicate that the causes for stress can be manifold and varied. Stress can be caused by pain, relationships, unemployment, employment, insufficient sleep, project deadlines, poverty, exams, abuse, etc. to name only a few.
As mentioned earlier, the effects of chronic stress have been extensively researched and there seems to be no doubt that the body’s immune system can be severely affected by persistent stress. Studies have shown that chronic stress can significantly increase vulnerability to infections and skin disorders, impair developmental growth in children and may even affect the levels of visceral fat production in the body which in turn increases the chances of developing heart disease or other related health problems.
The diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder is probably one of the most extreme types of diagnosis relating to severe stressors. As such it is a severe reaction to a traumatic experience or ongoing experiences.
Understanding the potential damaging effects of ongoing stress it is crucial to understand that stress must be managed if one wants to avoid increased propensity to psychological and physiological illness.
Stress management are techniques that can be learned and which have the purpose to equip people with effective coping skills when faced with psychological stress.
Hypnotherapy has much to offer in terms of stress management and in my experience I found that once a stressor has been removed or the perception of the stressor altered clients quickly find relieve from anxiety and the kind of doom and gloom feeling that hangs over their head most of the time. Sometimes it really doesn’t take much and the world that looked so dark and heavy all of a sudden looks a lot brighter and lighter.
Hypno Birthing•
on October 19th, 2010•
By Barbara Saba (2010)
(M.H.C., Grad. Dip. H C., Dip. Ed., Cert. Hyp., QMACA)
Counsellor/Hypnotherapist, NLP Practitioner)
What is Hypno-birthing?
Expectant Motherhood is a massive life change for all those involved. There are always uncertainties, anxieties and a range of emotions experienced. Many women have now turned to hypno-birthing as a natural alternative to help them through the course of their pregnancy.
Hypno-birthing is a series of hypnosis sessions that deals with the many aspects of pregnancy. It may start at pre conception when a woman wants to be able to conceive and finish weeks after the baby is born. Hypno-birthing helps the expectant mother along in helping to deal with the many aspects of pregnancy. Hypno-birthing helps the mother prepare herself and gain confidence that she is capable to pull from her own resources and experience her pregnancy in a rewarding and stress free manner.
Hypno-birthing also helps the expectant mother learn to work with her body as opposed to fight against it. It also helps the mother understand the changes in her body and feel comfortable with every step along the way.
Things that may be achieved through hypno-birthing:
-Reduced anxiety
In some cases pain free natural childbirth.
-Overcoming fertility issues
- Reduced stretch marks
- Reduced weight gain
- No morning sickness
- Shorter labor
- Lessen the chance of being susceptible to Post Natal Depression.
Hypnosis NLP•
on October 15th, 2010•
by Jorg Thonnissen (2010) Registered Psychologist
We are often asked about if we also use Neuro-Linguistic-Programming (NLP) as part of our Hypnosis sessions here in Perth and Fremantle and the answer is yes…we do. However, it would probably be best to explain what Neuro Linguistic Programming actually is.
In essence NLP is an approach that aims to do two things. Firstly, NLP can be used as a desensitization technique and secondly we can use it to form new thought associations to stimuli that previously brought on some undesired responses.
Now… desensitization techniques are generally an excellent way to eliminate phobias, and the ability to retrain our mind to have new thought processes which help to change behaviours when faced with a certain unwelcome set of circumstances.
There are a number of well known NLP techniques such as for example:
The Rewind Technique – typically used with people suffering from fear and is designed to address the various unwanted thoughts, feelings, fears and memories of situations that are connected to an experience of phobia or trauma. This technique requires a person to dissociate (imagined safe place), and run through the traumatic experience in a specific (safe) way over and over until the fear stimulus reduces significantly.
The Swish Technique – is similar to the Rewind Technique in so far as it requires a person to imagine a problem situation or image that needs to be changed and then swish it over to a more positive image. This is repeated many times until the initial negative stimulus is reorganised.
As mentioned at the beginning, the re-programming of a negative stimulus into something more pleasant is the main aim of NLP. There is no doubt in my mind that the various methods by which NLP is applied to undesired mental stimuli, has in many cases the desired effect. For instance, fears and phobias are generated by traumatic experiences that have been stored in the parts of the brain that are known as ‘amygdala’ and the ‘hippocampus’ because for some reason these parts of the brain have come to identify and label an experience as deadly or severely dangerous to our survival.
Consequently, each time the fear stimulus is triggered, the amygdala encourages the secretion of hormones that puts the sufferer of this condition into a fight or flight response.
However, this fight and flight response is something that most certainly has its rational purpose, which is getting away from danger and survive.
And so in order for us to do this quick enough, as soon as our mind has recognised the fear stimulus the amygdala bypasses the parts of the brain that would slow things down with the aim to bring up all the necessary measures to do what needs to be done to survive the situation (faster breathing, adrenaline production, etc). In other words, the parts of our brain that would normally rationalise and think through things before reacting have been sidelined for the benefit of ‘reaction speed’.
Now… there is just one problem with this process. When we are facing a lion running towards us, reacting like this is probably a good and very beneficial idea, but when we have for some reason come to falsely believe that driving through a tunnel is going to kill us, then that ‘automatic reaction’ will be a challenging nuisance rather than a benefit.
NLP techniques can assist in reprogramming how the stimulus is perceived by using a number of available methods. For example in the Rewind Technique the anxiety sufferer learns to view the stimulus from a safe distance and from a variety of different angles without triggering the anxiety. In simple terms, by doing this over and over again, and from different perspectives, the amygdala ‘releases’ (is desensitised) the disturbing information we hold, and allows the information to be stored in different parts of the brain where it no longer triggers the same sort of response. In other words, the person suffering from the anxiety now has the ability to use those parts of the brain that allows for objectively ‘thinking’ through the experience rather than simply ‘reacting’.
Our mind has undoubtedly the ability to be trained and retrained, no matter what the circumstances we might be facing. NLP provides an approach that can be compared to modelling and projecting a better set of thoughts and associated feelings, and if done repeatedly our mind gets used to the models and projections, and thus when we are facing the ‘real’ situation we are prepared and the ‘better’ image (thoughts and feelings) that we are holding comes into play.
This is similar to being trained as a special-forces soldier. The more soldiers in addition to the actual physical training have been subjected to mental images to prepare them for battle, the more they get used to it and when eventually faced with a real battle, they are able to stay in control and face the situation without panic.
As such, we are all somewhat conditioned to react positively, negatively or undecided to various stimuli. As such, when we come to think of it, even a cup of tea can be associated with danger if someone hits us over the head with a stick each time we want to take a sip. If repeatedly exposed to such treatment, we eventually come to get an uneasy feeling just seeing the cup standing there on the table while part of us already anticipates that ‘something terrible’ is going to happen.
In many instances we have already consciously forgotten why we perceive certain things a certain way and all we notice are perhaps some dull uncomfortable feelings. However, if we bring those feelings into awareness and analyse their source we will quickly be able to make a connection between stimulus and response. Once this is done, we can start retraining our mind to produce a more desirable outcome.
NLP provides some very good easy to use mental imaging techniques that help the restructuring process. Most NLP techniques can be incorporated into hypnosis sessions, which in my opinion, makes them more effective.
Different Approaches•
on October 13th, 2010•
by Jorg Thonnissen (2010) Registered Psychologist
There are a differences in approach between psychiatry, hypnotherapy and psychotherapy (although hypnotherapy can be applied as part of psychotherapy). Typically, psychiatry and psychotherapy deal mostly with the conscious mind, even though there are approaches that are called ‘free associations’. As the conscious mind is regarded as analytical, technical and largely critical of information entering, these approaches usually take a lot of convincing.
Psychotherapy works by going step by step through the problems or issues and talking things through while at the same time looking at the issues from many different angles. There is no doubt that this helps to identify what needs to be addressed and it will eventually lead step by step to behavioural changes.
Nevertheless, this approach in dealing predominately with the conscious mind exclusively can also be a rather long and drawn out process (psychotherapy in some instances can take years to complete).
Psychiatry most typically includes the use of mind altering medicines. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor with a high degree of training in mental health. It is important to note that people suffering from severe mental conditions such as those who have an inability to separate reality from imagination or the desire to harm others or themselves are best directed to a psychiatrist as they can introduce medications that stabilises such conditions. It is not recommended to use hypnosis with people suffering from certain psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia for example, unless a psychiatrist has assessed whether this is the right way to go about it.
Compared to all the approaches I have outlined above, hypnotherapy aims to directly go to the subconscious source of the problem.Thus, in my experience, after initially defining what the problem is that needs to be resolved, the process of hypnotherapy seems to speed up the desired behavioural changes by a number of factors when compared to approaches that deal predominately with the concious (more critical) part of the mind. Most people that I come accross seem to know fair well what needs to be done on a conscious level, but even though they know, it doesn’t mean that unwanted thoughts, feelings and the resulting behaviour necessarily brings about the changes they so desperately desire. We just have to ask a smoker or someone that is a chronic procrastinator to understand what that means. Both people would know what needs to change but they may just cannot bring themselves to actually make it happen. Thus, motivating the subconscious mind through the use of hypnosis to do things differently often does the trick.
Today we know that many of our prevailing mindsets are formed at the subconscious level somewhere in the earlier, formative stages of our lives. But what does that mean? Well…to just use one example, for instance we will come to find that we have formed feelings and emotions that are deprived of language when we were much younger. This makes much sense if we think that a baby or younger children don’t have the same ability of language use or ‘critical’ understanding that a matured person has. When we are young we are much more impressionable and the ability for logic and deductive reasoning is much less prevalent. We take things literally – at face value, the boundaries between imagination and reality are blurred.
For instance, when we are very young and feel ‘hungry’ then we don’t even know what that means in terms of logical reasoning. Hunger is merely a feeling that cannot be described as we are lacking the maturity of an adult mind. Hence we feel ‘something’ such as love, warmth, fear or hunger, etc. and those feelings are strong and leave a lasting and powerful deep unconscious impression. Similarly, a little later on, when someone tells us that they have seen ‘pies fly in the sky’ and Santa living on the North Pole we are inocent enough to belief it. It is ‘real’. So everything, including the belief we hold about ourselves based on our earlier experiences has the potential to influence how we come to see the world around us and ourselves in it.
Many of us will still clearly remember our school days, our first embarrassment, or the feeling we had when things were ‘unfair’ and many of these emotions are still playing into our lives right now. Thus, psychotherapists talk about ‘the inner child’ within.
Consequently, our mind can be divided into different memory systems, one that is ‘childlike’ and the other one adult like or mature. Either way, hypnotherapy offers an excellent approach to change our thoughts and feelings on a subconscious level where many of these childlike emotions play out their part.
Physical Illness•
on October 8th, 2010•
by Jorg Thonnissen (2010) Registered Psychologist
The first thing that we need to understand when we are ill is that it is only common sense to see a medical professional first before attempting anything else. In other words, when we have a broken leg…we should always first and foremost go and see a medical doctor to get it fixed.
As such, there is a clear order of priorities that needs to be followed when one is affected by illness and that involves seeing a medical professional first to get a diagnosis of the problem.
It is important to understand that hypnotherapists should never make ‘blanket’ claims that hypnosis cures medical illness as such. However, having said this, hypnotherapy most certainly has the ability to motivate our mind to work to its fullest potential to assist cure the body more effectively.
For those of us who doubt that there is a connection between our physiology and psychology, research over the last few decades has given a lot of credibility to this notion. To explain further, we all have probably heard of medical doctors who can foretell based on personality how well a patient is likely to be able to cope with stressful situations such as that following the diagnosis of a severe illness. A good example to show how our mind affects our body would be what medical practitioners call the ‘cancer personality’.
This is not a farfetched assumption rather clinical studies have shown that depending on how a person reacts to stressful stimuli based on subjective awareness, as well as conscious perception there is indeed something that can be called a ‘type C’ personality. In other words, studies have shown that people can experience emotional stress with clearly measurable physical effects but they might manage to suppress their actual feelings about the stressful event beyond their conscious awareness.
Thus, the kind of mindset that the ‘Type C Personality’ has come to be associated with is defined as being the type of person who is passive, patient, accepting with a lack of assertiveness and overall extremely cooperative. In short, these are people who have a tendency of suppressing their reactions in order to avoid conflict. This follows that the Type C personality is assumed of practicing a pushing down of necessary emotional responses and with that is somewhat disregarding their healthy need for self assertion.
Based on this research the long held traditional Western medical view of a split between body and mind becomes increasingly outdated and the view that our physiology, including our immune system, is directly affected by our emotions gains more and more recognition. This follows that repressing necessary emotional responses can be thought of as threatening our psychological as well as physiological health by first and foremost suppressing immune responses which in turn leaves a person susceptible to viral or bacterial invaders as well as malignant changes from within.
Seen from this perspective, we can certainly say that our mind is of utmost importance when it comes to our well being. A healthy mind offers the body a better fighting chance. Therefore, it is only reasonable to assume that the expected outcomes of an illness will be affected depending on the given strength of a person’s mindset.
So…how can hypnosis or hypnotherapy make a difference?
Well…it is often mentioned that the subconscious (unaware) part of our mind takes up most mental processes whereas we are only ever really conscious (aware) of the few things that we choose to focus on. In other words, everything other than what we are consciously thinking about is regarded as subconscious or unconscious. For instance our body temperature, our hormones, blood flow or the management of pain are largely regulated by subconscious processes which seem to happen somewhat automatic.
There is no doubt that these processes can be manipulated with the help of modern medicine but often we also have to take the undesired side effects into consideration that the introduction of medications could bring. Hypnosis on the other hand aims to encourage the body to do this naturally through stimulating the body’s own resources. Nevertheless, it would be foolish to exclude either option available to us when dealing with illness, and as mentioned earlier, the first priority is always to seek medical advice first before considering other approaches.
Depending on the kind of illness that is experienced, there is certainly merit for the application of both, medical treatment first and foremost and hypnosis to strengthen our mind with the effect of strengthening our body. These two approaches can be seen as working together in a body/mind approach to give a sufferer of disease the best possible outcome when going through the different stages of illness.
Today there are several recognised applications of hypnosis in medical settings. For example, in addition to dealing with pre and post surgery anxiety, as well as general anxiety, hypnotherapy is commonly used in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Hypertension, Multiple Sclerosis, and pain management in general.
Celullar Hypnotherapy•
on October 7th, 2010•
By Jorg Thonnissen (2010) Registered Psychologist
Many people ask me if our thoughts can truly affect our body. I guess because I have just so firmly come to accept this, that it still surprises me that one should think that this may not be so. In fact, our mind has the power to affect our cells in a most fundamental way. For this to happen we don’t even have to be in a hypnotic state. For instance, the mind can select specific cells and ignore others. For those of us who find this hard to believe, let me outline a few scenarios where this becomes quite clear.
For example when walking down a restaurant strip we may encounter the smell that reminds us of our favourite food and this stimulus makes us salivate and if the desire is strong enough we may stop by and buy one of those seemingly irresistible food items. Now…if we simply keep walking and thus get out of reach of the stimulus this desire would eventually come to pass and salivation stop. Looking at it from this perspective, we can say that the mere thought of food (instigated by the smell which we associate with the food) has influenced us on a cellular level to display a physiological response.
Similarly, the mother of an infant hearing a baby cry will automatically lactate even if the baby crying is not hers. This process operates on a subconscious level without the mother even needing to be aware of it. Likewise, the mere thought of sexual activity can potentially arouse us without physical sexual stimulation needing to be present.
So, one could easily argue that thoughts are most definitely influential on the physiology of the body. Thus, it is no surprise that many people believe that our thoughts have the power to substantially alter the course of illness and disease. If the right sort of suggestions is given, the body will actively respond.
Self Esteem•
on September 9th, 2010•
by Jorg Thonnissen (2010) Registered Psychologist
A study shows that children & adolescents high in task or goal orientation have higher self-esteem. Accordingly, Baldwin (2002) believes that in order to increase self-esteem, one’s expectations have to be lowered or successes have to be increased. Abel (1997) on the other hand, views high self-esteem as adaptive as it is associated with an individual’s greater capacity for a number of personality characteristics such as self –regulation, persistence and successful performance as well as higher expectations of success.
In other words, if persistence exceeds expectations where performance is related to efforts, a person of high self-esteem will experience success that will heighten self-esteem.
However, there is a clear distinction between typical (realistic) and atypical (unrealistic) expectations, as the latter often presents itself as an individual’s maintenance of goals in situations where failure is the obvious result. Thus, one has to consider the effects of attainment and non attainment of future expectations (expressed as realistic or unrealistic goals or tasks) as it will have a direct effect on a person’s development of self-esteem.
Studies found that a ‘positive goal discrepancy’ is achieved when performance exceeds expectations. On the other hand, a ‘negative goal discrepancy’ is achieved if performance fails to meet expectations.
Thus, the consequences of failing to meet expectations are likely to be expressed as a lowering of expectations each time failure occurs, creating highly stressful and emotional situations negatively affecting judgment and the failure of setting realistic goals in future. In other words, under such circumstances self-esteem is in systematic decline.
On the other hand, success will lead to the willingness to ‘raising the bar’ each time a task has been completed. Therefore, the setting of realistic goals is of crucial importance if self-esteem is to be increased. However, in order to truly increase a person’s self-esteem, it needs to be understood that it is one’s own observation of self that is of prime importance to the development of self-esteem.
Seen from such perspective, an individual’s achievements are only seen as appropriately reflecting the self, if they have been internally caused. Externally motivated achievements on the other hand, are said to have little effect on self-esteem. This view is consistently supported by a number of self perception and self attribution theories which indicate that when people perceive their behavior as internally motivated, the consequences for the self are stronger. Therefore, the importance of achievements and attainments based on self direction are of crucial importance for the development of self-esteem.
Self Esteem•
on September 9th, 2010•
by Jorg Thonnissen (2010) Registered Psychologist
How people maintain their self-esteem has been extensively researched. It is believed that after formation, it enables those who are high in the construct to maintain high feelings about the self, whereas those with a lesser degree of self-esteem, are proportionally less able to do likewise.
The results of a study in which participants were given success or failure feedback on intellectual ability assessments seems to supports this. In the assessment, participants with high levels of self-esteem reported consistently higher feelings of self esteem, than those whose levels were low.
It was consequently discovered, that in order to achieve this, participants with high self-esteem employed various strategies to protect, promote, and thus restore their feelings of self worth by methods such as the attribution of failure to the selection of ineffective strategies.
Such strategies have been described by Mullis & Chapman (2000) who found that adolescents with higher self-esteem used different coping styles than those considered lower in the construct.
For example, adolescents with low self-esteem preferred to rely on emotion based strategies (emotion focused) such as the ventilation of feelings for example, whereas those of high self-esteem were more likely to rely on strategies designed to solve problems (problem focused).
Perhaps it is this difference in coping styles which leads to the perceived success or failure of an individual’s goal or task achievements. For example, Tafarodi (1997) associates low self-esteem with an individual’s tendency to show decreased efforts following a performance failure which in turn affects the individual’s willingness to be persistent in his/her pursuit of future goals or targets.
Self Esteem•
on August 29th, 2010•
by Jorg Thonnissen (2010) Registered Psychologist
Parental behaviors have a strong influence on children and adolescent self-esteem. For example, Nielsen et al (2002) reports parental affection and support to be positively related to the development of self-esteem in children.
Researchers found that good support from parents was an adequate predictor for mental health. Generally, vulnerability and low self-esteem was greatest in those children and adolescents whose parental support was low, this applied especially for males. On the other hand, a study investigating the relationship between family dimensions and self-esteem in early adolescents indicates that girls’ self-esteem in particular is strongly related to a parent behavior, that displays an intellectually cultural family orientation, whereas boys’ self-esteem was positively related to their parents’ moral global orientation.
Overall, children and adolescents from high conflict families reported lower Self-esteem, higher levels of anxiety and weaker inward control. This can be seen in support of a study that found that the greater the perceived happiness of parents, the higher their children’s self concept. In addition, parents who avoid the use of guilt, anxiety and the withdrawal of love in order to control children/ adolescent behavior are likely to strengthen the self-esteem of their children.
However, parenting styles utilizing moderate levels of discipline at the same time are believed to further enhance the construct, whereas excessive parental control has the opposite effect (Nielsen et al, 2002). Besides strong evidence of parental support as a factor in developing self-esteem in children and adolescents, there is also reason to believe teacher and peer support to be of similar importance.
For example, low teacher and classmate support have been linked to low self-esteem and consequently behavioral problems. There is a relationship between low self-esteem and peer rejection as well as low academic achievement in children and adolescents.
Further, as youth evaluate themselves across adolescents, contemporary social influences have a major influence on the formation of their Self-esteem. This is unsurprising if one is to consider the impacts of media and advertising on social trends and lifestyles.
For example, the ‘perfect body’ may be something to be idealized by many, however, achieved by only a few. Similarly, children and adolescents may idealize a particular brand of footwear or soft drink used by the ‘in’ group, thereby perceiving themselves as ‘outsiders’ or as ‘lesser’ individuals for as long as these ‘brand icons’ haven’t been achieved.
