Health & Wellness

  Hi!   Wow – it’s already the end of the year. We are just putting 2022 to bed and welcoming 2023. It hardly seems possible that this year has passed. Is it just me? Was it also a fast-moving year for you?!   Most of you have probably been busy with end of the year celebrations of several kinds, depending on how you identify. So this will be short and sweet!   Looking back over this year, it’s clear that the world is still in trouble and dealing with many problems. So always be mindful for the present moment, and remember not to be self-deprecating, as you take care of your business, along with your feelings, thoughts, spirituality, and subsequent behavioral choices!   Remember to love yourself as much as you love others. Treat yourself with the same kindness that you treat others, or at least the way you want others to treat you.   This can be very difficult, especially when dealing with people who are not treating you well. Just do your best to be kind a...

  Hi! This is a wonderful time of year, celebrating the holidays. However, as we all know, the food and drinks are often not so healthy! You may have the mindset that in order to be nutritious and good for the immune system, such food and drinks can’t possibly be all that yummy. But wait - that’s just not true! Let’s look at some possibilities for some delicious yet healthy drinks. While you can probably buy them somewhere, you can also consider making them yourself! For instance, ingredients like apples always pair well with cinnamon. Since apples have quite a bit of sugar occurring naturally in them, consider combining cold, pure apple juice with some sparkling spring water. Add a good natural source of cinnamon to it and you can even put a cinnamon stick into the drink because it looks so good! Apples have quercetin, which is an antioxidant that has brain protective properties. Do you want the drink warm? Slightly heat up your drink using regular spring water or add a little rea...

  Hi! ​Can you believe it? It’s the holiday season again. Is time flying by or is it just me?! It is at this time that we expect to feel happiness and joy, but what are some other things that often happen? We can feel stress, anxiety, depression, and more…. It is for many who have suffered serious losses a time of grieving. What does the word grieving conjure up for you? For sure it means heart-felt pain and suffering from some sort of loss. Sometimes it’s the loss of a parent or other close family member through separation (think divorce or someone moving away). Probably more often it is a word we use to describe loss through death. We may show our grief outwardly (we go into mourning) and we often wear black clothing to punctuate that. Or we may be inclined to celebrate someone’s life by wearing brightly colored, happy clothes, singing, dancing, playing upbeat music, etc. to focus on more positive aspects of a person’s existence. How we feel and express our grief is probably as i...

Hi! It’s patently obvious that mental health professionals are also human beings – very much so! I know how human I feel year-round, let alone the holiday season. Therefore, it makes sense that professionals also have to practice self-care, especially during the holiday season. In fact, it is even more important for professionals to keep it together because we are primary role models for our clients and friends and close family members (not to mention the ever-present awareness to keep our behavior totally above-board, ethical, etc.).   If I were teaching in a classroom right now, at this point I would ask everyone what their challenges are, especially during the high holiday season, and how they manage to cope with them. It is very helpful to share burdens and coping mechanisms. So perhaps having a few professionals to informally chat with, like a professional support group, might be a good idea.  While I can’t do that here, I can at least offer some important information and...

  Hi! Have you ever been one of the people who get the holiday blues toward the end of the year? If so, you’re not alone. Whether you are battling a mental health issue or not, it is easy to succumb to the holiday blues. (Did you know that 64% of people who  do  have mental health issues report feeling depressed at the holidays?) Although the suicide rates do  not  spike at the holidays, the holiday blues are very real. It’s been clearly documented that people do feel more stress, anxiety, and especially depression at this time of year. Of course, the majority of people report feeling happy, loving, and generally have high spirits, but at the same time they are also overly tired, still feeling higher levels of stress, irritability, and they report feeling bloated and sad. Some of the reasons for increased stress are time, money, all the commercialism that surrounds the holiday season, feeling pressured to give gifts, and being at family gatherings. Ironically, m...

  Hi! ​While the holiday season is supposed to be festive, create happy feelings, etc., that doesn’t mean it will automatically enhance our mental health. In fact, as many of us are painfully aware, it is not uncommon for people to feel angry, irritable, stressed out, and depressed at year’s end. Stressors include lack of time, money, too much commercialism, and pressures of giving gifts and being at family gatherings. So, if that happens, let’s find out how to turn it back around again! Here are a few mental health self-care tips…some of the best self-care tips in fact! Instead of waiting till the last minute to pull your holiday season and traditions together, if you mark on your calendar to start your prep a couple of months in advance (say no later than September/October) and keep tabs on yourself (create milestones in small steps and mark them on your calendar) – you will probably find yourself feeling more calm. If you have too much to do for the holidays, in addition to work...

  Hi! ​While the holiday season is supposed to be festive, create happy feelings, etc., that doesn’t mean it will automatically enhance our mental health. In fact, as many of us are painfully aware, it is not uncommon for people to feel angry, irritable, stressed out, and depressed at year’s end. Stressors include lack of time, money, too much commercialism, and pressures of giving gifts and being at family gatherings. Over half of participants in a study who had mental illness of some type stated that holidays make their conditions worse. So, if any of that happens to anyone, whether they have a mental health condition or not, let’s find out how to turn it back around again! One of the best ways is to eat healthy, nutritious meals and down-play junk food. Although much of junk food is delicious, it is not usually very nutritious and is well known for supporting depression, irritability, anger, and other unhealthy emotions (which also often result in unhealthy behavior, exacerbatin...