We all remember the awkwardness, stumbling through our first relationships. We were too embarrassed to admit that we didn’t know what we were doing, so pretended we did. This led to many experiences that were less than ideal. I know that I would have loved to have had a mentor teach me the basic skills that would have reduced the pain of early experiences, but I didn’t know that these skills existed, yet alone where to acquire them.
I feel very strongly about preventive maintenance. Unfortunately, our society teaches us to not fix anything that isn’t broken, and then we treat only symptoms, not problems. Our medical model is a sickness model, not a wellness model, and people who promote a wellness model often are seen as quacks and alienated. You won’t find many MDs promoting Dr. Robert Mendelsohn’s book How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor. Another book that isn’t commonly promoted is Pete Egoscue’s Pain Free, which helps people to heal and prevent injuries by providing exercises that return the body’s functions to that which they were designed, rather than what we’ve been accustomed to.
I would love to share basic relationship, communication and stress management skills with adolescents, giving them tools to enable reduction of future frustration and heartache. We aren’t born with these skills, and life is much simpler when we know what we’re doing and how to accomplish our objectives. I would rather adolescents have the tools before they need them rather than spend time fixing problems that could have easily been prevented. I would love for our next generation to feel empowered, happy and fulfilled, not continue the pattern of bitterness, resentment, mistrust and hurt. For years, I have reached out to local schools and youth organizations, desiring to volunteer my time to offer relationship basics classes to adolescents. Unfortunately, administrators who would need to approve this haven’t been interested.
Do you feel that you or the adolescents you know have the knowledge to choose healthy, compatible partners and create and nurture healthy relationships? I’d prefer not throwing our next generation into the water without any tools, letting them sink or swim. If there are any adolescents or organizations that agree with what I’m saying and would be interested in learning or providing the opportunity to learn, please reach out to me.
For more information, or other issues, Dr. Levine can be reached at 661-251-7748 or 661-269-4704.