For A Child Who Has Lost Their Way In Life

Psychological Effects of Growing Up Without a Father

Fatherless children are at risk. | Source

The psychological effects of our childhood experiences can have an outsized impact on who we become later in life. Earlier today, I read an article that provoked what one might describe as a panic attack.

As I read this very disturbing article about the psychological ramifications of growing up fatherless, it all just sunk in for me—that I was damaged. My state of mind was completely altered when I finished reading about the scientific studies on fatherless sons.

Unfortunately, I have personally experienced many of the psychological consequences mentioned in the article. Most alarming for me was this statement: “Growing up without a father could permanently alter the structure of the brain.

” Notice the word “permanently.” Maybe I've had my head in the sand (or the clouds.

) I already knew that children from single-parent families tend to have more difficulties in life, but hearing it framed with these words? I was devastated.

This is what I learned about the ly psychological effects of growing up without a father.

Growing up without a father could permanently alter the structure of the brain.

— Ben Spencer, The Daily Mail

1. More ly to be Aggressive
2. More ly to Be Depressed
3. More ly to Have Low Self-Esteem
4. More ly to Do Poorly in Schools
5. More ly to Be Incarcerated and to Commit Suicide
6. More ly to Use Drugs

Psychological studies show that children growing up without fathers are more ly to be aggressive and quick to anger. I've always had a copious amount of anger—not just loud anger, but quiet anger, as well.

For me personally, quiet anger is more insidious and volatile. Silent anger doesn't have a proper release valve, it just builds up a growing monster, maturing right along with you.

I've spent nearly all my life containing myself because I know it isn't particularly productive or acceptable to be outwardly angry.

Do I really want to have children that are aggressive and prone to anger? Would I be doing the planet a favor by just letting it end with me? We all want to think or believe that we are in full control of our actions and goals—but are we really?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, one in three children is without a father in the home in America.

Depression is more ly to be experienced in young fatherless teens. | Source

Teens growing up without a father are more susceptible to emotional distress. This is a hard subject for me to discuss because it forces me to recall very dark times in my life. I get bouts of depression that just seem to permeate every aspect of my life. My natural introversion magnifies the sense that I am alone in the world, and that no one can possibly understand what I am feeling.

Thankfully, I have always managed to pull through these bouts of depression. I attribute this to the ongoing support of my friends and their unrelenting efforts to help me restore balance in my life.

I also remember high school teachers and college professors who went their way to urge me to apply myself and do better. In many ways, life is a team sport.

Don't be afraid to lean on your teammates for emotional support and reassurance.

The psychological effects of growing up without a father can lead to self-esteem issues. Over the course of my life, I've had very few conversations with my father. I always believed there must be a reason why my father wasn't ever there for me.

I made healthy friendships that exposed me to a lot of positivity and optimism.

For a teen looking forward to college, I was also fortunate that I never had trouble dating.

The women I've dated and had steady relationships with have taught me a lot about how to be a gentleman, and how to treat a woman with the utmost respect. Today, I feel good about myself; I'm content with not being perfect.

Concurrent psychological effects have a way of compounding one another; the key is to be more self aware and battle your demons head-on.

Fatherless students are more ly to drop high school. | Source

Growing up without a father can affect your education. During high school, I did just enough to get by and get into a decent college.

I'm embarrassed to say that so far I've dropped two colleges due to lack of effort and motivation.

I've never felt good about this—I've robbed my mother of the pride and happiness of seeing her eldest son walk across a stage with a college degree.

I can't go back and make things right, but I hope one day I will be able to achieve some success that will give my mother some assurance of my worth as a son. The negative psychological effects of being raised in a one-parent household can hold you back in life, but you still have a choice—sink or swim. It's entirely up to you.

Even when factors such as income, race, and parent involvement were held constant, fatherless children—especially boys—are twice as ly to wind up in prison later in life. That is an alarming statistic.

They are more prone to aggression, more ly to drop high school, and are more susceptible to negative influences.

Given those tendencies, it's not hard to see how that can lead to higher levels of incarceration down the line.

In addition, one of the most unnerving statistics is that nearly 65% of youth suicides are associated with fatherless homes. From my own experience I know that children who grow up fatherless are at a much greater risk for depression and, unfortunately, suicide.

Fatherless children are more ly to turn to drugs. When I was younger, I battled several addictions. My mother was justifiably busy holding down a job that supported the entire household.

I would never portray my mother under a negative light; she loves her children, and she did the best she could. My two older sisters were preoccupied with their college studies.

I was pretty much left to my own devices as a teenager.

I always had a circle of friends who were much older than me; whatever they did, I did. They got tattoos, I got tattoos. Suffice it to say, the things they chose to do to pass the time, I ultimately partook in, as well.

It means I can, in good faith, declare that there's hope for me.

According to Dr.

Mark Borg Jr, PhD, psychoanalyst and author of “How We Use Dysfunctional Relationships to Hide From Intimacy”, when children typically grow up fatherless there is an attempt by the child to compensate for whatever they feel, think, and believes is missing from the primary caregiver's life. As a result, it is not uncommon for children to develop care-taking routines in an attempt to care for the caretaker (i.e., overcompensate).This developing of behavioral patterns is meant to help the primary caregiver do a better job of providing ‎parental care to them.

Girls are more ly to ally with the caregiver by developing routines designed to make that person feel capable of providing care.

Fatherless boys will allow themselves to be the family scapegoat by bearing the responsibility for issues that are going wrong with the family system in general.

Both boys and girls are often compelled to take care of parents who they perceive as being unhappy, and boys and girls both, regardless of the circumstances that led to their fatherlessness, experience single caregivers as being in need of help.

Girls are are twice as ly to experience obesity and four times more ly to get pregnant as a teenager when their father isn’t present.

The fatherless label is often simplified. Lots of variables and scenarios come into play when statistics are compiled. A feeling of helplessness can overwhelm us if we automatically react to every stat that we see.

With that being said there are many misconceptions associated with the issue of fatherless households:

1. Children in Fatherless Homes Have Fared Poorly Over the Past Three Decades

A collaborative report from different federal agencies have found that many indicators of a child’s well-being have increased while others have decreased. Youth are less ly to smoke, die, or be victimized while they have made fewer strides with variables that predict economic prosperity.

2. Research on Single Mother Households Proves That Fatherlessness Harms Children

Children’s perceptions of the relationship they have with both parents has a more direct influence on they psychological well-being than having then does physical presence (or absence) of their father.

3. Children Fare Worse in Fatherless Homes

On average, the differences in well-being between children from intact family homes and those from divorced homes tend to be small on average. The stress levels and psychological states of the parents are more powerful influences than income and if two parents are in the home.

Potential role models can be identified in many areas in life. | Source

There are many constructive ways to deal with the pain of growing up in a fatherless household. The measures are not always easy, but anyone committed to their own well-being can conquer the odds up against them. Dr. Mark Borg Jr.

also had this to say on coping, “[i]t is important to express feelings rather than act them out. Self-sufficiency in relationships is a way of acting out old, unprocessed feelings about growing up fatherless or, growing up in a family where it felt the care was not adequate.

The problem is that it is so unsafe to grow up with inadequate care (whether fatherless or not) that most people push this their awareness and it does get acted out behaviorally (rather than processed consciously).

The way to deal with this (adverse affect) is to–one relationship at a time–find and or create safe relationships to allow oneself to express the emotions and needs unmet in childhood.”

Other effective measures of dealing with fatherlessness include:

• Counseling and support groups are effective means for learning about ourselves and our own needs. These mediums assist us in interpreting the past in order to help us to perceive our future as brighter.
• Identifying role models and mentoring programs in the community that display moral ethics and ambition to influence children that grew up in fatherless households in a positive way.
• Acknowledging your anger and hurt feelings. It is never a good idea to rage quietly while putting up a front to the world. Be honest with yourself. Communicate your feelings from the heart rather than just expressing them. The key is to allow yourself the chance for growth.
• Forgiving anyone who has caused us harm takes a lot of grit. Doing it for closure can provide a much needed release and can potentially heal old wounds.

Through his absence, my father taught me that life isn't fair. There are no guarantees that we will attain anything, achieve anything, or be loved by anyone.

No matter what predispositions we are born with, or what psychological effects may be associated with our childhood experiences, we are the ultimate forgers of our destiny.

I have to believe I can overcome the disadvantages of growing up without a father. I have to believe that I can still determine my future.

1. National Fatherhood Initiative, “The Father Absence Crisis in America,” 2013.
2. Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, “Father Absence in the Monogamous California Mouse Impairs Social Behavior and Modifies Dopamine and Glutamate Synapses in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex,” Oxford Journals, 2013.
3. Sanchez, Claudio. (2017, June 18) “Poverty, Dropouts, Pregnancy, Suicide: What the Numbers Say About Fatherless Kids.” Retrieved from //www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/06/18/533062607/poverty-dropouts-pregnancy-suicide-what-the-numbers-say-about-fatherless-kids
4. Spencer, Ben., “Growing up without a father can permanently alter the BRAIN: Fatherless children are more ly to grow up angry and turn to drugs,” Daily Mail, 2013.
5. Sutherland, Anna., “Yes, Father Absence Causes the Problems It’s Associated With,” Institute for Family Studies, 2014.
6. Wilson, T., (2002). “Myths and Facts About Fatherlessness.” Retrieved from //pdfs.semanticscholar.org/79c4/ab7cc226d0db49fa4eb4e61181d12f4a9237.pdf
7. (2017, July 20). Dealing With Anger From Having an Absent Father. Retrieved from //firstthings.org/anger-absent-father

Источник: //owlcation.com/social-sciences/Psychological-Effects-On-Men-Growing-Up-Without-A-Father

9 Things to Remember if You Love a Person Who Has Lost their Parents

Last Updated on June 13, 2019

Think you have a boring life?

The definition of boring is dull or not interesting. Maybe you’ve been doing the same thing and living the same life for too long, or maybe your daily routine is limiting your growth and happiness.

Whatever your reason is, the following list of 20 things can definitely make any day more interesting.

Some of them are silly, while some are more meaningful, so hopefully just reading the list makes your life less boring and sparks your creativity.

Let’s dive in the list to quit your boring life and start living an interesting (and meaning) one!

1. Channel Your 7-Year-Old Self

What would he or she want to do right now? Color? Paint? Run around outside? Play dress up? Eat with your hands? Play that instrument hiding in the back of your closet that you haven’t touched in years?

Just because you’re a grown up doesn’t mean any of this stuff will be less enjoyable than you remember it. Give yourself permission to play.

2. Go Play with Kids

Speaking of little kids, if you have your own or access to any (in a non-creepy way, they’re your niece or your best friend’s kid, you get the idea) go play with them!

They didn’t create an entire show called Kids Say The Darndest Things because kids aren’t hilarious. They also keep things so simple, and we can really stand to be reminded of this and stop allowing ourselves to get bogged down in boring details.

3. Order a Hot Dog

While you’re eating it, Google: “What’s in a hot dog?” You decide whether or not you want to finish it.

4. For the Ladies: Wear Your Sexiest Lingerie Under Your Work Clothes

Your “little secret” will leave you feeling anything but boring all day!

5. Play Cell Phone Roulette

You’ll need at least one buddy for this. Scroll through the contacts in your phone, stop on a random one and call the person.

You could spark an incredible catch up session or be incredibly awkward. Neither are boring.

6. Fill out a Pack of Thank-You Cards

Give them to random people who probably don’t get thanked too often for doing what they do ever day.

Ideas: police officers, librarians, servers, baristas, cab drivers, sanitation workers, teachers, people behind any check out counter, receptionists, your friends, the guy at the falafel stand, etc.

7. Sign up for a Class in Something You’ve “Always Wanted to Do”, or Something That Makes You Really Uncomfortable

Ideas: pole dancing, salsa lessons, improv, pottery, cooking, knitting (yup, there are classes for this, too!), karate, boxing, something techy the workshops they run in Apple stores, get Rosetta Stone and learn that language you’ve always wanted to speak, etc.

What’s good about joining an interest class is that you will also meet new people!

8. Interview Your Grandparents About Their Lives

You can bet they’ve had some crazy experiences you probably never knew about.

9. Get up on Stage at an Open Mic Night

Whether you’re funny or not, get up on stage and just talk funny. And if you’re not, memorize a few of your favorite jokes and tell those!

10. Do Something for Someone Else That You Wish Someone Would Do for You

We all have a few ideas on this list. I promise you will feel amazing after and anything but bored.

11. Start a DIY Project in Your Home

It doesn’t have to be super complicated. If you need ideas, there’re plenty on Pinterest. Or you can also check out these 30 Awesome DIY Projects that You’ve Never Heard of.

12. Plan a Weekend Trip or an All-Out Vacation

This will give you something to look forward to.

Even if you don’t have the time or money to go on a vacation, plan for a staycation, which is same fun and relaxing!

Scroll down to continue reading article

13. People Watch

Find a bench in a crowded area (centers of transportation airports, bus stops and train stations are great for this!) and just observe.

People are infinitely interesting.

14. Eat Something You’ve Never Eaten Before

Bonus points if it’s a random fruit or veggie.

15. Dance

You can get your friends together for a night on the town or just pull up a video on  and bust a move from your own living room.

If you’re feeling extra brave, you can even dance in public and get other people involved.

16. Go to and Search “Funny Pets” or “Funny Babies”

This is also a great quickie ab workout as you will be laughing hysterically.

17. Pick up a Book and Start Reading

Check out the NY Times Best Sellers lists and grab a new book you can get lost in.

18. Step Away from the Computer and Go Get Some Time with People You Care About in Real Life

stalking doesn’t count as real social interaction. You can even share this post with your friends and vote on which one you’d to do together!

19. Check out a Museum You’ve Never Been to Before

OK, depending on your interests, this one might actually be boring. If you love learning, art or different cultures though, this one is for you!

20. Write a List of Things You Desire and Truly Want

This is a great way to help you figure out the real reason why you’re feeling bored about your life. Maybe you haven’t really done things that you truly enjoy? Maybe what you’ve wanted to do all the time has been left behind?

Think about the list of things you really want to do, and ask yourself why you aren’t doing these things (yet). Then start taking your first step to make what you want happen.

Now go make your life interesting and live your dream life!

More About Living a Fulfilling Life

Featured photo credit: Kev Costello via unsplash.com

Источник: //www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/9-things-remember-you-love-person-who-has-lost-their-parents.html

Supporting a Parent Who Has Lost a Child

Advice on offering help and support to a parent whose child has died

Last updated: 25 August 2016

If you have a friend or relative who has lost a child, they will be going through one of the most difficult experiences in life. Their world has been completely changed forever, and finding a way to help them through grief may feel almost impossible.

Understanding grief

It is impossible to imagine the pain and confusion of losing a child unless you have experienced it yourself. Even then, everyone’s grief is unique so you cannot assume that a bereaved parent will feel certain things or behave in a certain way. Try to accept that you cannot know what they are going through, but you can try to be supportive and understanding.

Something as traumatic as the death of a child will have a profound impact on a parent, which may affect how they behave. Here are a few things to bear in mind if you are trying to support them:

• They may seem cold or distant. If your bereaved friend isn’t showing any emotion, is avoiding speaking or seems detached, this could be shock. This doesn’t mean they are grieving in the wrong way. When emotional pain is too much to bear, this is the mind’s way of protecting itself. Don’t pressure them to confront their grief before they are ready.
• They may be unable to perform daily tasks. Trauma and grief can leave the bereaved feeling physically incapable of doing basic chores such as cooking, cleaning, or even getting up in the morning. Don’t judge them for not being proactive – instead offer to help with household work.
• Grief does not have a time limit. A parent who has lost a child will grieve for the rest of their life. Although that child is gone, they will always be their child. Do not expect your friend to ‘get over it’. Even 20 years from now they may need support with grief.
• They need to grieve in the best way for them. Everyone grieves differently. Unless they are in danger of hurting themselves or those around them, let them cope with grief as they see fit.
• You cannot fix grief. Know that there is nothing you can do or say to stop them hurting, so don’t try to cheer them up or convince them that it’s not so bad. Often the bereaved just need someone to be there, rather than offer advice or solutions.
• Losing a child at any age is painful. It does not matter how old a child is, whether they were stillborn, a newborn, in school, or a fully grown adult, that parent still knows them as their baby. Do not assume that a loss is easier or harder because of a child’s age.
• Children cannot be replaced. Unfortunately, bereaved parents can hear a lot of hurtful comments after the death of a child, usually ignorance rather than intentionally being cruel. Saying things “You can always have more children” or “Well at least you have two other children” suggests that their child is replaceable, or that they should not be grieving. Try to avoid making comments this.

Ways to help

Sometimes it is difficult to know how to best support a grieving friend, especially if they are coping with something as traumatic as the death of a child. Here are a few ways you may be able to help and be a good friend to them in the weeks, months and years after the death:

• Don’t ignore them. It can be daunting talking to someone who has lost a child, but staying silent or avoiding them can be really hurtful. It can make them feel even more isolated.
• Don’t avoid the issue. Don’t be afraid to talk about their child, especially the first time you see them after the death. Acknowledge that something awful has happened to them by saying “I’m so sorry” or something similar. Ignoring their loss won’t undo it – it will just make them feel as though they should be ashamed of grieving.
• Support them in practical ways. Everyday chores may feel pointless and empty to the bereaved. Doing things grocery shopping, driving them to appointments, cooking or cleaning can be helpful and give them space to deal with their grief.
• Be patient and listen. It may be a while before they talk to you about their feelings, if they ever do. Feel free to ask them how they are doing, but don’t pressure them into sharing. If they do share, just listen. You don’t need to give advice or opinions unless they ask.
• Invite them to events. Social occasions can be a welcome distraction, depending on how the bereaved is feeling on that day. Start small – perhaps dinner at your house with a few friends. Give them an ‘escape route’ by letting them know it’s okay to cancel at any time or excuse themselves from dinner early. Most importantly, you might want to avoid events with children, especially if they are of a similar age to the child who died, as this could be painful.
• Don’t be discouraged if they reject invitations or your help. Just because your friend turns down help today doesn’t mean they won’t want it tomorrow. Keep inviting them to things and keep making small gestures of support without pressuring them to say yes. One day it might be just what they need.
• Don’t disappear after a few weeks. A lot of people are eager to help in the days and weeks after a bereavement, but offers of help often get fewer and fewer a month or so after the funeral. However, the months and even years after the death can be as hard, if not harder, than the initial bereavement. Try to keep in touch and continue offering support when you can.

Grieving for the child

It may be that you too are grieving after the death of the child. If you are a grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin or family friend, you could also be experiencing symptoms of grief such as shock, sadness, anger and anxiety. Even if you didn’t know them very well, the death of a young child can be very upsetting.

While you support the grieving parents, it is also important to let yourself grieve. Acknowledge what you are feeling and find some way of it expressing it. You might want to talk to a close friend or relative – as long as it is not the grieving parent.

For more information on how bereavement affects parents, you can read our page on coping with the loss of a child, or contact a bereavement support organisation for expert help and advice.

Источник: //www.funeralzone.co.uk/help-resources/bereavement-support/helping-the-bereaved/supporting-a-parent-who-has-lost-a-child

9 Ways To Support Someone Whose Child Has Died

We’re not really a society that handles death, tragedy, and grief very well.

It’s awkward to talk about painful even, and not because of the difficulty of the emotions that arise when we remember a tragedy, but simply because we are not very good at knowing what to say or what to do to help someone who is in mourning.

This is a shame, of course, but it’s also really surprising considering how common death, disease, and tragedy are. Certainly everyone is touched by it somehow?

I was 6 years old when my newborn brother died, just days into my first grade year. At the time I was sad because my baby brother was gone, and I didn’t get a chance to hold him or play with him. As I’ve grown up, his life and death have come to mean different things to me.

During my teenage years, he was someone I sometimes felt close to, wondered about, and even confided in on occasion. As a newlywed, I wondered more about what he would be doing now, and how our family would be different if he’d grown up with the rest of my siblings.

Now that I’m a parent, I see the situation much differently and understand better the impact his death had on my own parents. And sometimes the scar of loss opens just a little and I mourn him again.

But my understanding of death and tragedy, and how to deal with it, has also been influenced greatly by my sister-in-law, whose second baby was stillborn at 37 weeks.

This week the Huffington Post published Suzanne Leigh’s list of mistakes people make when a friend’s child dies, and I’d to add a few more thoughts on how to mourn with someone when they are dealing with the loss of someone they loved particularly a child.

1. DON’T JUST OFFER TO HELP

“Is there anything I can do for you?” is a great question. However, it is so open ended and vague that it is practically useless. People often don’t know what you are actually capable of or willing to do.

And sometimes trying to accommodate your offer can add more stress to the situation.

Of course you want to help, but if you are going to offer, be specific: “Can I come over tomorrow morning and do your laundry?” or, “I can pick people up at the airport if you need me to,” in case there are people flying in for a funeral.

2. DO GET TO WORK

While a specific offer of help is good, it is sometimes better to just show up and get to work. One of my most vivid memories from when my brother died is that for weeks we had friends and neighbors bring us dinner. Suzanne Leigh offers other suggestions: taking the dog for a walk, mowing the lawn, grocery shopping.

Anything is better than nothing. (At Anna’s graveside service, Great-grandma read a poem she wrote for Anna.)

3. DON’T AVOID TALKING ABOUT THE SITUATION

I’m guilty of talking around the situation, thinking that my presence is enough to show my support and that talking about the tragedy might be painful or awkward for them. I realize after reading Ms.

Leigh’s piece that talking about what has happened gives the grieving a chance to remember their loved one and to release any feelings they may be struggling with.

Any acknowledgement is better than “waiting” (or avoiding them) until they have time to process it on their own.

Again, anything is better than nothing.

4. DO LISTEN

If you are able to be there with them, let them talk. Don’t feel you need to fill the silences. Ask them how they are doing, and then really listen to them.

5. DON’T CHASE AWAY LAUGHTER

Our perception, often, is that mourning is a heavy time that cracking a smile would be disrespectful or rude. But laughter has healing properties, and being able to smile, laugh, and be goofy helps.

This picture is one of my favorites: at the lunch after my niece’s funeral, my sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and grandmother-in-law and everyone else found something to laugh about.

My sister-in-law still, more than six years later, says that this moment was so much fun.

6. DON’T MINIMIZE THEIR LOSS

I think it is natural to want to look on the bright side, to say that it could have been worse. But, for the person who has lost their child, it couldn’t have been worse. It is the worst thing in the world to lose a child.

Both my sister-in-law with her stillborn baby and I with my baby brother have had people say, “Well at least you didn’t really have a chance to get to know them.

” At least! Or maybe the loss is even greater because we were deprived of that privilege as well?

7. DON’T SAY, “I COULD NEVER DO THAT.”

I believe this is kind of a backhanded way of saying they are strong, right? But really, it’s not they chose to have their child die, or to develop cancer, or whatever. The only reason they are “doing that” is because they have to. And you would do it too, if you had to.

8. DON’T SAY, “I’M SO SORRY.”

These are the words that seem to automatically come out when someone tells you they’ve lost a loved one. But try to keep it in.

When you say, “I’m so sorry,” how are they supposed to respond? “I’m sorry too”? Or maybe, “Yeah, this totally bites”? More often than not, when you say “I’m so sorry” to someone who has lost a loved one, they end up consoling you: “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” But really, it’s not “okay.” It’s hard, and it totally bites.

9. DON’T FORGET

Living with loss is not something will ever go away. There will always be times in which the loss is more prominent: holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations. Those are times to reach out and let your friend know that you are thinking about them, that you love them, that you remember them and their loved one.

More On Article Posted 5 years Ago

Источник: //www.babble.com/body-mind/9-ways-to-support-someone-whose-child-has-died/