Month: January 2015

Don’t Gamble With Your Heart: Be Heart Healthy

By: Yesenia Noriega Garcia

February fast approached us this year and we cannot help but to think of it as the “love” month. You start noticing the stores turning into a sea of pinks, reds, and hearts everywhere you go. It’s almost as if it’s unavoidable, the stores start shifting in colors, people tend to become more per say nice and start showing appreciation to one another. Who wouldn’t want that right!? Well yes, we can all use some type of love and appreciation in our lives. It is the perfect month to learn about the risks for heart disease and how to stay “heart healthy” not only for yourself but for your loved ones as well.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) -including high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease is the number one killer among both women and men. According to the American Heart Association statistical update the United States CVD costs are over $300 billion each year. (Includes medications, healthcare services, and loss productivity) Many of these CVD deaths could have been preventable if only people practiced healthier habits and healthier lifestyle choices.

Often times having a Cardiovascular disease prevents individuals to engage in family activities, affects performance at work, and disengages them one way or another. Ask yourself, “Do my loved ones matter?” If yes, then so should your heart! It’s never too late to start on a new healthier you. Where there is a will there is a way. Let us guide you into the path of a healthy heart and a better you. Let’s start one step at a time, learning the risk factors and preventable measures to live a quality life.

Here are a number of risk factors for CVD you can control: diet, tobacco use, obesity, physical activity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol. Plan for prevention for better heart health, you’ll be surprised how these tips can become lifelong habits!

First thing, work with your health care team. Getting yearly checkups is highly advised, your medical doctor can test for risk factors for CVD that often go unnoticed. Choosing a healthy diet is a wonderful alternative that will help you avoid complications in the future. It helps if you limit the amount of sodium intake but you must also eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Maintaining a healthy weight can help you decrease your risk for CVD. Being overweight and or obese can increase your risk; get in check with your body mass index (BMI) to ensure you are at a healthy state. Exercising regularly helps maintain a low cholesterol level and healthy weight, so why not practice it? Physical activity is extremely important for your overall health, whether it is a 10 minute walk or a 1 mile run, it all helps.

Other preventable ways are to not smoke and to limit the amount of alcohol use. Smoking cigarettes greatly increases your risk for CVD, if you smoke consider quitting if you don’t then great for you. The downside of alcohol is that it increases your blood pressure which is also a risk factor for heart disease. Women should be limited to one drink per day and men two drinks per day if you decide to consume alcohol.

As you begin to incorporate small changes into your lifestyle it is important to not get overwhelmed. Bring a partner along, invite your coworkers for a walk during lunch hour and exchange healthy recipes. Although it may seem hard to adjust to and you may not follow all the tips precisely, do not get discouraged! Get a good night sleep, rest up and do what you did not finish tomorrow. Find things to do that you enjoy, that are fun and decrease your stress level. Remember that it is okay to reward yourself once in a while, keep the motivation flowing. After all, you are beginning a new healthier version of yourself, embrace it.

References:

  1. Go AS, Mozaffarian D, Roger VL, Benjamin EJ, Berry JD, Blaha MJ, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2014 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2013 [Epub ahead of print].
  2. CDC.Vital Signs: avoidable deaths from heart disease, stroke, and hypertensive disease—United States, 2001–2010. MMWR. 2013;62(35);721–7.

 

It Inject or not to Inject? The #MV Issue.

aapaz

We recently asked Dr. Arturo Gonzales, Child pediatrician and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics-

What is the most important thing to talk about right now when it comes to children?

He said:

“Measles: Vaccinate your children. It will save them and others against this very contagious and potentially fatal disease. Talk to your Pediatrician or primary care provider.

Vaccines are safe. Tell your friends.” 1

A lot of people are losing their children because they refused to get their children vaccinated (aka Injected). “Tell your friends” to get their children vaccinated. Save a life.

Reference:

Dr. Auturo

Arturo Gonzalez, MD FAAP

http://www.azaap.org/

Google Helps Small Business

 

Need help connecting with opportunities?

Google’s Small Business Supplier Diversity Program  is designed to connect more minority-, women, veteran- and LGBT-owned businesses to opportunities within our supply chain and procurement system, while offering access to tools and training to help them grow on the web.

google.com/supplierdiversity

It’s an amazing program! Check it out!

Reference: Information provided by Google.

All Stressed.

As a human we carry a lot of stress. Everyone has different types of stressors. Some people don’t have a home. Others don’t have the ability physically to do something, others bear everyone’s issues, and others advocate or fight for your others, your dinner party isn’t going right and many others have different types.. All in all, everyone has stress. Some people need help reducing their stress, and that too is ok. No one is excluded. Just because you are or are not educated doesn’t make your stress any less or more than the next person. It just means that you are going through something and that in this moment in your life your body is reacting towards something that you are either going through or went through. The question is how will you work through it?

There are many types of ways people work though stress. Here are a few.

You can always talk to your doctor. You can talk to your psychotherapist. You can do both and integrate coping skills. (That’s what therapist call things that can help you reduce the intensity of behaviors, feelings and what not).

Here are some basic coping skills that can help you through until you have your doctors & therapist appointment. They will help you have an individual plan to help you through your stress both physically and mentally, they usually play hand in hand.

1. Wake up a few minutes early to give you “you time.”

2. Eat breakfast. Eat your recommend meals (talk to a registered dietitian).

3. Take a brisk walk with a friend.

4. Yoga? That’s my fav!

5. Breath 25 times (in through nose, exhale through mouth).

6. Read a book

7. Watch a happy movie.

8. Spend time with friends.

9. If your family doesn’t give you anxiety, spend time with them! 😉

10. Drink your recommend amount of WATER.

11. Stop drinking too much coffee. Some is ok, talk to your doctor about that.

And follow up with your doctors.

Making sure you get help and learning to ask for help only means you take care of you.

If you don’t have a doctor, Get Covered. You have until February 2, 2015.

Mental Illness and Mental Health: The Psychoeducation of the difference between.

Mental Illness and Mental Health: The Psycho-education of the difference between.

So what is the difference between Mental illness and Mental health?

Mental Illness: According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (2013, nami.org) a mental illness is a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.

Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder. The good news about mental illness is that recovery is possible.

Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion or income. Mental illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character or poor upbringing. Mental illnesses are treatable. Most people diagnosed with a serious mental illness can experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individual treatment plan.

So what is Mental Health?

Mental health, as defined by the Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health, “refers to the successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity.”

Mental health refers to our cognitive, and/or emotional wellbeing; is how about how we think, feel and behave. Mental health, if somebody has it, can also mean an absence of a mental disorder. Mental health also includes a person’s ability to enjoy life – to attain a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience  (October 19, 2013, Newstoday.com).

Jes Notes:

One thing I find that I psychoeducate a lot about is that a mental illness, because there are different types, can be like the Cold or flu, at some point someone has had a mental illness. A big one being anxiety. I have yet to see a human not have anxiety in this lifetime. It’s a normal response to life sometimes. It’s a natural response to help you alert you… What then makes it an illness is when you don’t know how to work through it.  And note I said THROUGH it. Because just like a cold or flu, it is a process. You have to let the symptoms takes its course. And No, I am not saying that a mental illness is a virus. It’s a simile.  So let me give you another example, Its like having headaches… it’s a response to your body that alerts you, that makes you see that something is off your personal balance.

You see, people who live, that would be us… go through life and push through and are resilient and make things happen, because we are “health” that does not obtain us from having anxiety when we are stressed or sadness when someone passes. All these things being, it is a “normal” response to how our body reacts to pain.

It’s when it gets out of “control” that we begin to suffer with the Mental illness labels.  If you don’t rest and you keep chugging with a simple cold, it can turn into pneumonia (label) right?  So a mental illness is the same.

As a psychotherapist, I’m constantly psychoeducating how a mental illness is not a fault of anyone. It’s an illness. Just like the flu where you have to rest up and take meds if you need to and then try to sort it all out and get better. It takes time, want and patience. Just like a lot of things we already go through in this world.

I hope this gives you a little bit of new or supportive knowledge.

Kindly,

Jes Sofia

Disclaimer: If you do need help, please seek it. Call your physician, doctor, mental health therapist, advocate, 911 if it is emergent, or contact your local NAMI offices for support.