Happy Mental Health Awareness Month everyone!
Mental Health Awareness Month is always a time I look forward to because we have the opportunity to include more outings, activities, and events at our facility. I am always looking to expand what we include throughout the month and make it more exciting for both residents and staff.
“To err is human.” And yet, there appears to be a certain “elephant in the room” when it comes to our mental health profession. This is the false assumption that “thinking errors” are strictly a client concern, and we providers are somehow immune to the effects of such cognitive distortion or bias. However, in our profession, such oversights can be as destructive as a bull in a China shop (or an elephant as the case may be). Being aware of one’s biases is an important skill to hone in our work, and below appears several of the common thinking errors we providers sometimes stumble into, without even realizing it.
The definition of hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Many of the clients that we serve have lost a sense of hope. Circumstances and mental illness have brought pain and sadness into their lives. Many become depressed and begin to feel like all is lost. Life holds no happiness in the present. The future only looks bleak and dark.
On March 14th, I had the privilege to be one of hundreds who traveled across the state to attend Mental Health Day at the Minnesota State Capitol. Organized by the Mental Health Legislative Network (fifty members, including MN DHS, NAMI and Wellness in the Woods) this annual event serves to educate and advocate for building the state’s mental health support system.
We all have heard the saying “we are what we eat” and may know that what we consume greatly effects not only our physical health but our mental health as well. Part of our programming at Thrive is not only educating our clients on healthy lifestyles skills, which includes nutrition and healthy eating, but also modeling those skills daily during their stay.
We all can agree that exercise is important to our health. As a wellness counselor in my previous Mayo Clinic career, I counseled people all day about exercise, often getting groans and sighs in response. To many people, the word “exercise” conjures up images and memories of huffing, panting, sweating, and feeling miserable. We do want to include getting a cardiovascular and stretching/strengthening workout into our routine. But this blog isn’t going to address exercise in this sense. This blog’s focus is on another important component of physical activity called Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT).
Hello! My name is Jesse Cebulla and I am a Registered Nurse for Milestones in Alexandria, MN.
What is wellness? The dictionary definition of wellness is, “the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort.”
Due to the fast paced lives we lead it is easy to disconnect, have an increase in stress, and lack sleep. All of these factors can increase our risk of mental and physical illnesses.
In 2019, with all our new year’s goals, why not add Thrive’ s CPR/AED/First Aid Training or a review to your list? It’s easy to sign up for and a great benefit Thrive provides.
Did you know that among 2,000 employees in corporate offices, hospitality, education, industry/labor:
55% of the employees were not able to get CPR/AED/First Aid Training from their employer
If training was available, it was often just CPR or First Aid, not both.
Often times I am met by people in the community asking me what I do for a living, or asking me what exactly being a Certified Peer Support Specialist entails. Moments like these give me a chance to step on my mini-soap box and educate them about Mental Illness, Mental Health, Austin Manor, Thrive, and the impact we have on people’s forever lives.
