Wellbeing

Current Trends in Substance Use Among Young People

The Generation Next Podcast host, Andrew Fuller, speaks with Paul Dillon, the Founder of Drug and Alcohol Research Training Australia (DARTA) about the effects of 2020 on young people and emerging new trends in substance use and abuse. 

In this episode:

• emerging new trends in substance use/abuse: vaping, ‘nanging’, cannabis and more
• implications for schools and communities
• how to help young people

Learning Strengths & Overcoming Procrastination

By Andrew Fuller (Psychologist)

When you have momentum, you can fly through things. When it goes missing, everything feels like an uphill slog. It is at those times that we tend to put things off until later and sometimes try to forget about them entirely.

To stop procrastinating, we need to kickstart our momentum. Before doing that we need to understand what is happening to our brain.

Meet Rex

The lower, primitive part of our brain contains 80% of our brain cells. Despite this, it is fairly basic and mainly focuses on keeping us safe and comfortable. It is pretty much the same brain that dinosaurs had. Given its similarities let’s call that part of our brain, Rex (after Tyrannosaurus Rex*).

Meet Albert, Albertina and Alberta

The smarter, more developed part of the brain we could call our pre-frontal cortex but it is kind of cooler to call it our inner Albert/ Albertina/ Alberta after Albert Einstein.

Rex works in one way while Albert/ Albertina/ Alberta works in an entirely different way.

Albert/ Albertina/ Alberta can make plans, stick to schedules and think things through. Rex doesn’t like to think too much, preferring action.

If our Rex is ‘out of sorts’ nothing works well. That is why sleep, food, movement all calm Rex.

Continue reading the article here: