Eating Disorder Pro

Is your child failing in school?  Does he/she seem to lack the hard work gene?  Forget hard work, does he/she appear to be phobic about doing anything at all productive?  Can they look you straight in the eye and say “I don’t like studying/doing chores/working…”  as thous that were explanation enough for why they shouldn’t have to do these things?

Are you terrified that your child may flunk out of school, never get a job and live with you for the rest of his or her life? Or worse, turn to drugs and alcohol, to avoid responsibility?  You are not alone.  It seems that we have raised a generation or tow of individuals who become anxious when they are asked to engage in any activity that they do not deem to be leisurely and/or pleasurable enough to suit them.

As a nation, we have come to expect immediate gratification.  This message is quickly communicated to children who learn how to leverage it at a very young age.  Many parents become uneasy when their children are not happy or when they do not appear to be having a good time.  What we seem to be teaching them is that if they are not happy all the time, with every activity, there is something wrong.  Some children internalize this philosophy and believe that there is something wrong with them if they are not happy, while others externalize it and believe that there is something wrong with the authority figures in their life.  Both responses can cause significant disruption for family members.  The internalizer’s, who are easier to manage from a behavioral point of view, suffer more, and are more likely to have anxiety disorders and/or depression.  The externalizer’s, on the other hand, though they may have a better self-image and less anxiety, suffer less, but are extremely difficult to manage and/or motivate.  In other words they are making your life miserable!

I can help.  As a trained family therapist and a neuropsychologist, practicing in the greater Cincinnati area, I have worked with hundreds of families over the past 30 years.  Whether or not your child is in grade school, high school or college, the dynamic is often the same; i.e. the child appears to lack the basic motivation needed to live a healthy life and the parents are unwilling or unable to let the child experience the natural consequences of non-productive or blatantly irresponsible behavior.