Don’t Let Stress Get You Down!

by MHALC Executive Director Penny Sitler

Stress is something we all have in our lives and it often gets a bad rap. We NEED stress – it’s what excites and motivates us. It’s when stress becomes overwhelming – or turns from eustress, the good variety, to distress that it can cause problems which can affect ability to work, participate in normal activities, and engage in satisfying relationships.

Stress can take a heavy toll on us, adversely affecting us physically, emotionally, and behaviorally. The effects of stress can actually be painful, causing headaches, back and neck pain, and stomach issues. We can become irritable or angry, to the point of lashing out at those we care about.
There are ways to manage stress so it doesn’t control us. Paying attention to key components of our overall wellness will help. We should eat healthy foods and get plenty of rest and exercise. Relaxing our emotions will go a long way toward reducing stress.

How do YOU relax? Many people run, work out, ride bikes or take long walks. I encourage you to take time each day to do something you love. My personal favorite relaxing activity is knitting. Not everyone is going to love to do the same thing, but everyone should have that thing that they love to do. Maybe you prefer weight lifting, reading, journaling, art or woodworking. Whatever your passion is, it should be relaxing. I consider knitting to be therapeutic and I get great joy from creating something beautiful out of luscious fibers while I slow down my constantly humming mind. It’s a repetitive motion which allows my mind to settle down and quit racing.

Research shows that there are stress-reducing benefits of knitting or any hobby that helps you relax. The Craft Yarn Council launched #StitchAwayStress on April 15, 2015 to coincide with National Stress Awareness Month and one of the most stress-inducing days of the year: Tax Day. Of 3100 plus crocheters and knitters who participated in consumer research, 85% reported that these crafts reduced stress; 68% said they improved their mood.

Carol Caparosa founded nonprofit Project Knitwell at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital after using knitting to calm herself there during her infant daughter’s heart surgeries.  She began volunteering to teach parents and older children to knit, ultimately expanding her work to the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Subsequently, two Georgetown oncology nurses incorporated Project Knitwell into their thesis research. Compassion fatigue/burnout is common for oncology nursing staff. The students measured burnout before and 13 weeks after nurses learned to knit. All 39 participating nurses showed some degree of compassion fatigue prior to learning. Each nurse was taught to knit and kits were kept on the oncology floors, so nurses could knit anytime. The results were significant, with all scores improving, especially those whose burnout scores had been the highest.

There is plenty of other anecdotal evidence that rhythmic and repetitive motions like knitting elicit the relaxation response, a state in which heart rate and blood pressure fall, breathing slows and stress hormone levels drop. I hope that each of you has an activity that relaxes you, since there is no health without mental health and relieving stress will improve your health. It’s time for me to go knit a few rows!

A RARE OPPORTUNITY

A RARE OPPORTUNITY

by Shari Johnston

The Girls In Progress (GIP) program is still in its infancy at Mental Health America, finishing its third year of mentorship and empowerment classes for middle school girls in Licking County.  A critical component of the program has been the exposure to professional, successful women in our community who are able to share the tools and life lessons that have helped them find their path and their vocation. 

It was a rare treat for 29 Licking Valley Middle School girls to attend a Licking Memorial Hospital presentation prepared just for them by Sheila Miller, Director of Development at LMH.  Greeted with breakfast bars, fruit, and yogurt, the girls settled in with their own pretty blue water glasses to take home.

Speakers included Debbie Young, R.N., M.S., C.C.M., Vice President of Patient Care Services; Veronica Link, Vice President Development & Public Relations; Lorei Reinhard, B.S., M.T., (A.S.C.P)S.H, Director of Laboratory Services; Anne Peterson, Vice President Human Resources & Support Services; Alene Yeater, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., Licking Memorial Women’s Health; and Holly Slaughter, Director of Human Resources.

The presentations were warm and personal, giving the girls a rare and intimate glance into the lives of successful women who were once just like them, trying to figure out what it was that they were to do with their lives.  Lorei Reinhard shared the struggle that she had with math while in school, and how she found great joy in pursuing a career in a laboratory, relying heavily on both math and science to her great surprise.  Some began at LMH as volunteer candy stripers and worked their way up through hard work and dedication.  One began fresh out of high school in the filing department.  Now a Vice President, she shared “whatever you do, be the very best you can be.  It will stand out.  People are watching, and you never know what opportunities you may be given because of what they see in you.”

Each woman shared her personal struggles and triumphs as she found her way into adulthood.  Fast paced and intimate, the morning flew by.  The girls were very engaged, with many questions and comments.  Teen volunteering and internships where explored, as was the particular educational requirements for various positions within the hospital.  Holly Slaughter finished with an amazingly inclusive overview of Careers In Healthcare, customized by the particular strengths and interests shared by each of the girls.

A great lunch together and an impromptu mini-tour by Sheila finished our time together.  It truly was a rare opportunity for the girls to meet with and hear from such successful professionals, in a setting that was informal, personal, and very encouraging of their own journey as young women.  You could see the wheels turning, and girls trying on new shoes that they never would have imagined before this experience.  A heartfelt thank you to Licking Memorial Hospital, Sheila Miller, and each speaker who took time out of her day to extend a hand to our young Girls In Progress ladies.

Shari Johnston is the Girls In Progress and Compeer Program Coordinator at Mental Health America of Licking County

Panel Calls for Depression Screenings During and After Pregnancy

by Pam Belluck

From The New York Times on January 26,2016Women should be screened for depression during pregnancy and after giving birth, an influential government-appointed health panel said Tuesday, the first time it has recommended screening for maternal mental illness.

The recommendation, expected to galvanize many more health providers to provide screening, comes in the wake of new evidence that maternal mental illness is more common than previously thought; that many cases of what has been called postpartum depression actually start duringpregnancy; and that left untreated, these mood disorders can be detrimental to the well-being of children.

It also follows growing efforts by states, medical organizations and health advocates to help women having these symptoms — an estimated one in seven postpartum mothers, some experts say.

The recommendation was part of updated depression screening guidelinesissued by the panel, an independent group of experts appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2009, the group said adults should be screened if clinicians had the staff to provide support and treatment; the new guidelines recommend adult screening even without such staff members, saying mental health support is now more widely available. The 2009 guidelines did not mention depression during or after pregnancy.“There’s better evidence for identifying and treating women with depression” during and after pregnancy, said Dr. Michael Pignone, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an author of the recommendation, which was issued by the United States Preventive Services Task Force. As a result, he said, “we specifically called out the need for screening during this period.”

“It’s very significant that the task force is now putting forth a recommendation that’s specific to pregnant and postpartum women,” said Katy Kozhimannil, an associate professor of public health at the University of Minnesota. “Policy makers will pay attention to it. Increased screening and detection of depression is an enormous public health need.”

The panel gave its recommendation, which was published in the journal JAMA, a “B” rating, which means depression screening must be covered under the Affordable Care Act.

For years, obstetricians and other health care providers who saw women during and after pregnancy often felt ill equipped or reluctant to ask about problems like depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

“OB-GYNs thought that if they identify something and don’t have resources to support it, it puts them at significant legal risk,” said Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, the director of the perinatal psychiatry program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Pediatricians have the added caveat that the mom isn’t really their patient — the child is.”

And, she said, many women are reluctant to share symptoms with doctors on their own. If a mother is “feeling so anxious you’re going to come out of your skin or feeling that you’re going to harm your baby, you may think: ‘Oh, my God, I’m having these crazy feelings and nobody’s talking about it. 

Coninue reading  here

Spotlight on Compeer

Spotlight on Compeer

by Jessica Phillips

The mission of Mental Health America of Licking County (MHALC) is to promote and continually reinforce mental health and wellness through education, prevention and advocacy, and eliminate the stigma of mental health issues in our community.  All of the programs at MHALC work to connect mental and physical wellness in order to promote an overall sense of well-being because they believe that “there is no health without mental health.” 

Compeer is a program which helps to promote wellness in those who live with mental illness.  Potential members of Compeer first need to request a referral from a healthcare provider and then the program works with the individual to best fit their needs.  According to Shari Johnston, the Program Coordinator of Compeer, it is critical to help lower the amount of isolation people with mental illness experience.  Shari offers a variety of scheduled activities to give Compeer participants opportunities to socialize. 

One of the popular activities that Shari facilitates is an Art Journal group which allows people to use art as an outlet in many forms including painting, drawing, and sculpting.  Shari talks about the importance of socializing, and this group is a great way to help break the ice and start conversation.  Pat Scanlon noted, “Compeer has helped me by meeting new friends and getting along and having fun going places, doing crafts, and enjoying everybody’s company.” 

Each service tries to incorporate socialization along with wellness services such as “Walk Newark” where people participating walk together in different parts of the community.  Another service enjoyed by many members of Compeer is “Lunch and Linger” which allows members to choose as a group where to go out and get lunch. Whether they’re eating a meal, walking or doing a craft, Shari says everyone looks forward to their time together.  One of the Compeer friends says, “I like seeing the same faces every month or every few weeks.  I like the idea that there are people in the group that we can call if we want to or need to.”  It is clear that Shari is very passionate about her job and is making an impact with the people in her group. 

Many of the services Compeer provides were part of a process of trial and error. Not every activity they’ve tried has been a success while others are very popular.  Shari is not discouraged by this. She simply enjoys planning to make the activities as fun and beneficial as possible.

Jessica Phillips is an intern from The Ohio State University at Newark

Something to Talk About

Something to Talk About

From Out of the darkness: Putting a face on suicide

by Frank Gluck
news-press.com

Family shame, religious views, the stigma associated with mental illness and the mistaken notion that talking about the subject will inspire others to harm themselves are major reasons the subject is not commonly discussed, prevention experts and survivors say. Some, such as Mandie Rainwater and her daughter, hope to change that.

“By not discussing it, by keeping it hidden, we don’t talk about the reasoning behind it, we don’t let the survivors deal with their survivor’s guilt in a comfortable environment,” Rainwater said. “By not talking about them, you turn them into martyrs. You don’t talk about all the problems they could have had.”

Rainwater reached out to a Fort Myers-based suicide survivor’s group, C.A.R.E.S. Prevention, in the months after her ex-husband killed himself.

Within days of doing so, C.A.R.E.S. (Community Awareness in Recognizing & Educating on Suicide) found Morgan a mental health counselor and paid for the treatment. Today, Rainwater sits on the organization’s board of directors.

For every one of the nation’s 41,000 or so known suicide deaths each year, suicide prevention experts estimate there are at least six survivors – those loved ones left behind who suffer depression, anger and other prolonged, intense feelings of loss.

Some, particularly the children of people who die by suicide, are at an increased risk of harming themselves too.

“I was hell-bent to make sure she wasn't one,” said Rainwater, who learned about her daughter’s experience with her father only after it came out in counseling. A suicide prevention activist who regularly speaks on such tragic deaths, Rainwater tears up when the subject turns to her daughter. “Milestones: 16, 18, 21, graduation. It will always be present. It’s a matter of how it’s addressed and how we deal with it.”

INFORMATION: National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255