Richard Battista Quincy

15Aug

3 Tips to Handle an Anxiety Attack

August 15, 2016 by

1. Awareness

Many therapists have agreed that when a patient feels a panic attack coming on, it is essential to craft a short checklist to keep in mind while the situation occurs. Although each individual experiences anxiety in a different way, following the below steps is important to maintain some calmness.

Accept the anxiety and try to assess what is going on from an objective standpoint. Try your best to act normal and not let the anxiety overtake your mental state. As difficult as it may seem, do your best to gain control of what is happening.

2. Consult a doctor

Consulting a doctor may be necessary after you notice your panic attacks either increasing or becoming more frequent in your day to day life. It is in your best interests to meet with a doctor on a semi-regular basis. With this in mind, your doctor may prescribe you medication or refer you to a mental health physician for further evaluation.

3. Deep Breathing

Taking deep, consistent breaths is one way to most effectively deal with a panic attack when it comes. While it is common for people to breathe very quickly due to stress, keep in mind that this actually augments the level of anxiety. It is important to practice taking deep slow breaths, even when you are not experiencing a panic attack. In other words, focusing on deep breathing will allow you to relax a bit.

It is important to note that everyone’s panic attacks differ. Consulting a medical professional is highly encouraged as you experience any discomfort. Remember that you are not alone and thousands of other Americans across the country are going through the same issues and experiences as you are. Reading up on how other people cope with anxiety in their day to day lives will also help you try out other ways to improve your emotional or mental health.

20Jun

9 Ways to Successfully Return to Work After a Health Problem

June 20, 2016 by

Regardless of the amount of time you took off to recuperate after a mental health crisis, you need to make sure that you take the necessary steps to maintain your well-being. Working your way back to become healthy again is just as, or sometimes more difficult than actually undergoing the mental health crisis you endured.

However, taking the appropriate steps after an emotionally or psychologically draining event can be overwhelming as you figure out how to assimilate back into the workplace environment.

Seek out help from professionals and stay connected until you have recovered 100%

Gathering enough information from professionals in the psychiatric and psychological fields will allow you to access the point where you are seeing improvement in your day to day. Staying connected with the professionals that guide you in your life is absolutely essential when it comes to making strides to overcome the obstacle you had faced for so long.

Positive thinking

It can be helpful to think about future goals and think less about what happened in the past. Loehr works with a psychiatrist and life coach to focus on where she is trying to go in life, versus focusing on the hurtful situations she has gone through.

As a result, one of the goals of her coaching company is to help spread kindness and provide actual solutions to help prevent people with mental health issues from suffering as much and as long as she did in her past.

Take care of yourself

Often overlooked, simple parts of your routine such as eating healthy (fruits & vegetables), exercising on a regular basis, and communicating with loved ones are vital during this stage of your life. Before attempting to respond to a thousand emails or hopping on an international conference call,

Work is no space for your personal business

While you may have become close with your co-workers, it is also important to maintain a healthy distance and create some boundaries. As the workplace is a professional environment in nature, adhering to this in general is the best way to keep your private life private.

Slowly get back into it

There is a strong chance that both stress and anxiety were primary causes of your work related mental health crisis. In terms of getting back into your job to start this process gradually on both micro and macro levels. Basically, don’t get frustrated or overcommit to tasks or events that you know are not feasible at the moment.

Reach out to people who can help

Although it may be quite difficult, be sure to touch base with loved ones when you are feeling alone or powerless. It is common for individuals to undergo these negative feelings throughout the recovery process.

Getting support from these type of outlets are key ways to overcome any short-lived sadness or rough patch you are going through. Your loved are the emotional foundation in your life and you should receive support from them as much as you can during any hardship you are facing at the time.

Solid work-life balance

Although work is the main priority for many professionals across the country, keeping a solid mental health state by engaging in recreational activities or perhaps taking up a new hobby that you have been wanting to try for awhile. Engaging in activities not only improves your emotional health, but also provides you with a cathartic outlet to showcase another set of developed skills in a new area.

Take medication on a regular basis

If you’re taking medication to help keep your mental health in balance, it’s tempting to go off medication once you’re feeling fine. Although you may feel perfectly fine in the moment, this is no way reflects how the medication is helping you in terms of the bigger picture.

Bad symptoms can come back quickly if you stop taking medication, which can be overwhelming. Not taking medication for a said amount of time can also sometimes lead to another crisis that essentially could be prevented by consulting a medical or healthcare professional.

Take time off as you need to

Keep in mind that taking time off work to battle with a mental illness is no different from taking time off to recover from a condition that affects other parts of the body. Healing one’s mind takes a fair amount of time and convey the importance of personal time off as an essential need when communicating with your employer.

Applying all the above tips will not only guide you to most effectively overcome your most recent mental health crisis, but this will also allow you to better prepare or better yet, prevent a similar crisis moving forward. Be sure to remember that nothing is more important that your health, and it is therefore absolutely essential to take care of yourself in every way possible.

01May

Applying Creativity to Help with Life Transitions

May 1, 2016 by

Awareness
When undergoing intense, often times unpleasant or emotionally difficult life changes, it is natural to attempt to ignore the current predicament that you are experiencing. Although this defense mechanism is common, it takes a great deal of mental strength to actually come to terms with this difficult life stage. Becoming emotionally aware of what’s going on around you is absolutely essential to better grow and stay in touch with your feelings about the transition.

Making big decisions such as resigning from a job or switching schools are serious life stages that require substantial thought and emotional preparation. Taking the time to thoroughly process the decision before you make it, or talk it through with family members or other loved ones is a great way to gain relief and support from this hardship.

Facing your fears
Another great way to deal with a new life transition is to normalize any fear that comes with the difficult issue that you are currently dealing with. In other words, an essential way to normalize your fears is to envision these barriers as a form of motivation to move forward in this life stage. Fear that debilitates has the unfortunate power to hinder any emotional progress as you delve deeper into your life transition. By shaping the fear into a motivational source, you can actually mold a more positive mentality in a healthy way.

Lesson learning
A key takeaway when confronting difficult situations is to challenge your perception when dealing with the transition. Take this negative situation and spin it in a way that is more focused on making the environment as positive as possible. Even though the pain or sadness may be unbearable in that moment, be mindful that this extreme emotion you may be feeling is simply temporary.

After an intense or high emotion situation passes, there is a strong chance that this fact will improve over time. Another incredibly valuable lesson to take away from any difficult situation is to master the art of being mentally and emotionally present. In other words, appreciate who and what is currently surrounding you. Even if you are undergoing an emotionally draining situation, taking the time to take your mother out to lunch or spending more time with a friend who is in even a more difficult predicament is allows you to attain a new level of emotional strength.

Experience sharing
After you have gone through this experience, there is no question that you’d be in a position where you can mentor or help guide others who have gone through a similar situation. The lessons you have learned from this experience will allow you to be better equipped with skills and emotional strength to help others in need of guidance from a confident individual who has gone through a similar predicament.

31Jan

Dealing with Depression

January 31, 2016 by

Depression is bound to lower your emotional and physical energy levels. While it can definitely feel like overcoming depression is close to impossible, it’s not. Even though you may not feel it now, you still have some control. Here are a some self-help tips you can use to overcome depression.

Cultivate Supportive Relationships

Support will go a long way when it comes to dealing with depression. Being alone can actually worsen depression. You need to surround yourself with people who will provide positivity, hope, and light in your life. Naturally, these relationships need to be emotionally stable; keeping close contact with toxic dynamics will also worsen depression.

Keep in mind that reaching out for support and asking for help is not a sign of weakness. The moment that thought comes into your head, remind yourself that that is just the depression talking. Depression is a natural thing to experience. Many of us go through it at some point in our lifetime.

So turn to your loved ones and give the opportunity to build a solid support system. Some of the people you may consider contacting are friends, family members, and depression support groups. You can also consider getting involved in miscellaneous social activities. While you won’t necessarily dive into personal conversations during these events, you can still run into people who can lighten your mood.

Get Moving

Depression can make it really hard for someone to get out of bed, but making the effort to do it will totally be worth it. Many studies show that physical activity can act as an antidepressant as increases mood-enhancing neurotransmitters and endorphins. It also reduces stress and relieves muscle tension. In other words, physical activity will increase your energy levels and decrease your feelings of fatigue. Some activities you may consider are: going for a walk (if you have a pet this can be even easier to accomplish), going for a jog, going to the gym, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and even better, finding an exercising partner who can keep you motivated.

Challenge Negative Thinking

Depression will make you look at everything from a negative point of view. This includes the way you see yourself, the way you perceive others around you, and the way you see your future. Forcing yourself to “think positive” or “think happy thoughts” won’t do the trick. Breaking free from negative thinking is no easy task, perhaps one of the hardest when battling depression.

Instead shifting from one end of the spectrum to the other, consider replacing those negative thoughts with more balanced thoughts. For example, allow yourself to be less than perfect. Instead of damning yourself for not fulfilling your own expectations, cut yourself some slack. Allow yourself to realize that you are not perfect, and that’s okay. Another thing you can try is when you catch yourself obsessing over something you weren’t able to, try to think outside yourself.

Ask yourself what would you say to someone who is going through what you’re going through. Would you be that tough on them? Would everything be so gloomy when you look at it from outside? Lastly, keep a “negative thoughts log.” Sometimes, when you are able to externalize your looming internal thoughts, you are able to put things into perspective. When you’re in a good mood, re-evaluate those recorded thoughts on the log, and see if there was a better, more healthier way of coping with the issue.

When dealing with depression, you will have your good days and you will have your bad days – and that’s totally okay. Just keep in mind that coping with depression takes time, but you can and you will make it.

02Sep

The Truth About Depression

September 2, 2015 by

29Jul

Depression in Teens

July 29, 2015 by

Symptoms of depression arise in people of all different socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, and ages. Adolescents and teens are not immune to it, especially as they are experiencing a rather unsettling stage of life that includes going through a myriad of physical, emotional, psychological and social changes.

Often teens overreact when things don’t go their way based on unrealistic academic, social and familial expectations that they are either putting on themselves or they are feeling from others. While most of these feelings are normal and subside over time, sometimes it can disrupt their daily lives, indicating a more serious emotional or mental disorder: adolescent depression.

How to Cope

Teens require guidance from trusted adults in order for them to take a firm grasp on the emotional and physical changes they are going through. Most importantly, they need to develop a sense of acceptance and belonging. Here are a few coping mechanisms to avoid serious depression:

Make new friends: Emotionally healthy, stimulating relationships with peers are essential to helping teens’ level of self-esteem as well as providing an appropriate social outlet

Participate: Whether it’s after school activities, sports, or diving into a personal hobby, staying busy helps teens stay positive and focused.

Join youth-organizations: Catering to the needs of adolescents and teens, programs offered can help develop additional interests as well as cultivate more peer relationships.

Recognizing Depression

Despite best efforts and emotional support, teens can and will become depressed. Teens become more susceptible to depression as a result of a family history of depression, unavoidable life events, and even side-effects of certain medications.

Adolescent depression is increasing at an alarming rate, with many of them self-medicating with drug, alcohol and sexual promiscuity. In order to avoid any serious implications, it’s important to recognize symptoms of depression, especially when they last for more than two weeks.

Some symptoms include: poor academic performance, withdrawal from friends and activities, sadness and hopelessness, anger and rage, dysphoria, poor self-esteem, changes in eating and sleeping patterns, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts or actions.

Treating Depression

If left untreated, already-serious depression can become life-threatening, therefore it’s extremely important teens receive professional treatment as soon as symptoms are recognized.

Different form of therapy can help teens understand the underlying causes of their depression while giving them the tools to cope with the stresses of daily life outside of therapy. A wide variety of therapies are offered in different formats, including individual, group, and family counseling.

Recognizing the need for help is a giant step towards recovery for teens, yet few of them actually want to seek out help, and encouragement and acceptance from those supporting them is key.

The most common and effective forms of adolescent depression treatment are:

Psychotherapy teaches teens coping skills while providing an opportunity to explore troubling and upsetting events and feelings in a space space.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy addresses negative patterns of thinking and behaving and provides teens the tools to change those patterns for the positive.

Interpersonal therapy focuses on the relationships at home and school, often focal points in teens lives, and how to make them healthier.

Medication often paired with an additional form of therapy, it can help relieve some serious symptoms of depression.

15Oct

Senior Healthy Living Classes Encourage Not Sitting Down

October 15, 2014 by

YMCA Instructor, Nancy Johnson, advises her seniors to “never sit down” if they want to practice best health.

The Stateline Family YMCA offers a variety of senior fitness classes, for a variety of fitness levels. Their Senior Fit class accommodates more active seniors, requiring a fair share of standing during the various exercises. Alternatively, the Silver Sneakers class is tailored to those seniors that wish to stay active, yet struggle to maintain overt exercises for extended periods of time; most or all of the exercises are completed from within a chair. The YMCA has such a large senior population in its membership, they have decided to dedicate October to celebrating said senior members, as they host Senior Appreciation Month. During the event, the staff will work with seniors to develop healthy lifestyles. In the process, the employees will use social media to promote their message of senior fitness and honor several of their active members.

According to an article recently completed by Beloit Daily News, Nancy Johnson instructs one such class that consists of some of the YMCA’s regular senior members. Johnson is a fighter in her own right, having survived breast cancer, which has now been in remission for eleven years. In addition to this, Johnson is a recipient of open-heart surgery. The combination of these two experiences equips Johnson perfectly as the instructor of the class. Her motto, which results directly from her struggles, is to “never sit down.” To Johnson, this motto is the best means of living a healthy lifestyle and, as a result, she applies this belief to every single class she instructs with her seniors.

The class, therefore, relies on quite a bit of movement. The instructional period starts with some low-key aerobics walking, before carrying on to more intensive practices, such as weight training, balance exercises, stretching, jumping jacks and other various practices in leg work. Through her dedication, Johnson has helped the class grow significantly; in the ten years she has been teaching it, the class has grown from eight participants to over forty students, all by way of word of mouth.

29Sep

MasterChef Winner to Headline Cruise

September 29, 2014 by

Courtney Lapresi closes this past season of MasterChef as a winner of not only the title, but a cook book deal and a $250,000 price prize.

Recently, Fox cooking reality television show MasterChef’s fifth season came to a close, pronouncing another winner in the process. Courtney Lapresi outlasted dozens of competitors and managed to tolerate the terrible tongue of Gordon Ramsey—the show’s infamous host—to win the title of the MasterChef. With the title came a cook book deal and a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar price prize.

In addition to this achievement and winnings, recently Lapresi’s notoriety from her victory on MasterChef has earned her a new position; she has been chosen to headline a cruise, according to an article recently completed by USA Today. The position is on a culinary cruise on Holland America Line’s Westerdam; the cruise takes place from the fifteenth to the eleventh of November. One thousand eight hundred and forty eight passengers will call the cruise home for the duration of the journey, as it pursues an itinerary through the Eastern Caribbean. Stops on the trip include Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and Half Moon Cay, Holland America’s private island.

The Westerdam of Holland America Cruise Line prepares for an Eastern Caribbean culinary cruise.

The cruise is Holland America’s first MasterChef endeavor; Lapresi is the first headlining chef to run the culinary component of a cruise for Holland America to come from the reality show. For Lapresi’s contributions to the cruise, she will hold several panels. One panel will focus on showing amateur chefs various tricks of the trade employed in professional kitchens. Another panel focuses on tips for finishing touches to be placed on various dishes. Specifically, the tips provided seek to help make dishes more appealing or delicious—small final flairs to add just a touch of something different, unique and tasty. In addition to these panels, Lapresi will also be responsible for holding cooking sessions and mingling with guests at cocktail receptions. Finally, Lapresi must take part in a mystery box challenge—an obstacle which seeks to replicate a challenge that Lapresi first faced in her time spent on MasterChef.

29Sep

Ceremony to Honor POW/MIA Service Members

September 29, 2014 by

National Prisoners of War and Missing in Action soldiers’ were honored for 24 hours at a vigil in Meadville, Pennsylvania.

On Friday, an event was held to commemorate National Prisoners of War and Missing in Action soldiers’ day. The event was entitled the Twenty Seventh Annual Twenty Four Hour Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Vigil, according to an article recently completed by The Meadville Tribune. For this year’s vigil, Nikki Mendicino, a POW/MIA advocate from near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, served as the keynote speaker. Mendicino kept her comments brief, with perhaps the most noted part of her speech serving as her simply stating that she and the audience had come together to honor and remember all the heroes of war that did not make it back home.

In attendance of the vigil, there were a series of a few noted guests. Phil Davis, a veteran of the Vietnam War, introduced one of the most notable Prisoners of War attending the event—Harold Beerbower of Meadville. The article offered Beerbower’s background, including how he found his way into the army and imprisonment in the opposing soldier’s camp. Beerbower quit school and joined the army in 1951 to join the Korean War effort. By April of that year, he served as a member of D company 7th Infantry Regiment, third Infantry Division. However, on the twenty fifth of April 1951, he was captured. For the next twenty eight months, Beerbower was kept as a Prisoner of War in a camp.

One small blessing was that Beerbower was not alone in his imprisonment; Harold Andrews, a Crawford County native, was interred in the same prison with Beerbower. The pair was held in the prison together until their release in August of 1953. Typically, both Prisoners of War attend the Annual Twenty Four Hour Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Vigil together, in the hopes of someday helping in the return of the Missing in Action heroes. However, unfortunately, this year Andrews had a family obligation and was unable to attend alongside his friend. Regardless, Beerbower proceeded to attend the event , as per usual, and continued to work towards bringing missing soldiers home.

13Aug

The Organizational Influence of Chefs

August 13, 2014 by

A great chef is extremely organized and prepared with only the necessary tools and ingredients that he or she needs for that specific dish.

If you are seeking a more “ordered” life, then maybe you should think about adopting some of the organized behaviors of a chef. In an article by NPR, we are made aware that Americans have been enjoying following and eating like celebrity chefs. They have even been interacting with them on social media websites, like Twitter. People try and learn as much about food and cooking from their favorite celebrity chefs, but could they actually learn more from them than just food? What about how to be more organized?

According to recent research of consumer habits, Americans have been spending a great deal of money, $10 million to be exact, on self help books. This has made the market huge and very profitable. People speculate that the market is so big because most colleges and grad schools don’t teach their students about organization and how it should be used in their day to day lives. One place that does teach these types of life skills is in culinary schools and in professional kitchens.

One way chefs and kitchen workers organize themselves in the kitchen is by planning and setting out ingredients and supplies before they need them. This saves time and energy for later when they actually need the supplies. The system or mantra that kitchens use is a French phrase “mise-en-place” translation “put in place.” It means to the French, gathering and placing the ingredients in an order for cooking. However, for many chefs and their staff in America, the phrase has a deeper meaning. They view this phrase as a way of life and a way of “concentrating your mind to only focus on the aspects that you need to be working on at that moment and to rid yourself of distractions.” This is according to Melissa Gray, a senior at the Culinary Institute of America. This is a skill that many students take with them to their daily lives and into their work lives. For example, after Melissa was taught this phrase in class, she was able to go home and reorganize her home office in such a way that the items she used the most were in arms reach for her.

It is apparent that when you apply organization in one aspect of your life, it becomes natural to apply it elsewhere. Careers as chefs and kitchen workers are of course not the only careers in which organization is necessary or executed, but it is a solid foundation to refer to when it comes to the day to day logic.