The Mental Emotional Health Blog

I have a great guest article today. As a Clinical Therapist I agree with Amy Cook, who has written the following article about sleep for this site. Be sure to check out her site.

Sleep is important. Thanks, Amy!

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How Healthy Sleep Habits Help You Manage StressMany of us take good health for granted, and we often don’t realize its value until we’ve lost it. Not for nothing has it been said that health is wealth and that we must do all we can to ensure that we stay healthy for as long as we live. In order to do that, we need to eat healthy food, exercise regularly, and avoid things that are bad for us like cigarettes, drugs, alcohol and stress. Now while most aspects of good health are within our control, stress is something that is not. We are prone to be affected by it no matter how many relaxation methods we adopt and however hard we try to unwind. Work, relationships, situations – they all contribute to our stress level, and the more we stress, the more we lose our health. One way to combat stress is to follow healthy sleeping habits. When we sleep, our body rejuvenates itself and prepares for a new day; we are in effect recharging the cells that were worn out the previous day. And when we don’t get enough sleep or if our sleep is disturbed, we tend to wake up cranky the following morning and progressively get worse as the day goes on. The average human being needs at least 7 hours of sleep every night. So when you deprive your body of this, you build up a sleep deficit which in turn affects a host of factors – you are unable to think clearly, you lose your edge in crucial situations, your reaction time and vision are impaired and cause you to make serious errors when driving or doing other activities that require your full concentration, your performance suffers, you cannot recall facts, and you are very impatient and cranky all the time. So you can see how your stress level is bound to go up when you haven’t had enough sleep. To bring down your stress and negate any chance of the ailments that are associated with it, you need to:·        Sleep at relatively the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning so that your body is used to your sleep pattern.·        Try taking a power nap during the day – all you need is 15 minutes of shut eye to rejuvenate your body and prevent fatigue (a major contributor to stress) from affecting your concentration and performance during the later part of the day. ·        Avoid drinking caffeine after 5 pm – it could impair your ability to fall asleep at night.·        Try to get a sound sleep at night. If your sleep is disturbed, relax first before hitting the bed. You could listen to soft music, read a light book, drink a warm glass of milk, or take a hot bath to get your body to ease up and prepare for sleep. ·        While you may enjoy your lie-ins on holidays and the weekend, don’t sleep for too long as your body becomes confused and finds it hard to wake up on Mondays which leaves you cranky and stressed at work. ·        Practice meditation to help calm and relax your mind so that you don’t find your sleep disturbed and end up tossing and turning throughout the night.  By-line: This guest article was written by Amy S. Cook, who regularly writes on the topic of lvn to rn . She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: amy.cook@rediffmail.com

Compassion fatigue is what I call a long-term reaction to providing care. This can happen in health care providers, emergency personnel, personal caregivers, and other situations. The term “Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder” is also used to describe this condition. I think that sounds scarier than compassion fatigue, but if it gets a caregiver’s or provider’s attention enough to watch out for and prevent the signs, then I suppose that term is useful.

Compassion fatigue happens after focusing on others’ needs over a long period of time without practicing enough appropriate self-care. Caring for others can give energy and take away energy in general, but over time the energy can drain away and the caregiver can become less compassionate or can feel burned out.

A good website for this condition is here .  The bottom line is:  if you are providing care for others, take care of yourself. Taking care of yourself includes decent eating and rest habits, and probably walking or an exercise program.

I have been guilty of slacking on these at times, and as a clinical therapist I can attest that sometimes I have gotten worn out. Taking care of myself after I haven’t for a while helps me bounce back fairly well. It’s amazing what proper rest, eating, and some regular working out can do to rejuvenate. Vacations are nice too. Most important is breaking up your routine if it is becoming a grind.

Take care of yourself!

I like to get word out about resources that seem useful. Today I am providing some words from the Counselling Directory, which is located in the United Kingdom. I looked through the website and found it straightforward in presenting a good list of resources for finding mental health services.

I have copied some information below. I hope it’s helpful for those of you in the UK.

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Counselling Directory

 

Counselling Directory was set up with a simple but much needed purpose – to put those who need help in touch with those people who provide it.

 

Over an average year, around one in four people will experience some kind of mental health problem - whether it be work-related stress, a family crisis, or something more serious like abuse. Depression is the most common mental illness, affecting one if five people. Counselling provides a welcome alternative to medication, and encourages people to deal with their issues rather than continually suppressing them, which can lead to more serious problems.

 

Of course, the decision to undertaken counselling is not one that anyone takes lightly. Many consider the idea for months or even years before deciding to take the plunge.

 

The main hurdle anyone must overcome before opening themselves up to counselling is accepting they have a problem that needs dealt with. Whether it be an addiction, a mental health illness, suffering abuse or an eating disorder, no one likes to admit they are struggling. Often friends and family will try to encourage the person to accept they need help, but the decision must ultimately come from the person themselves.

 

Finding the right counsellor is essential, and there are many things to consider. Counsellors often specialise in certain areas, so it’s important the individual finds one that addresses their specific needs, with an approach they’re comfortable with.

 

There are practical considerations too, such as location. Despite assured complete confidentiality people may prefer to see a counsellor that is perhaps outside their local area, but still in surroundings they are comfortable in.

 

In the current climate, price is becoming more and more of an issue. Many counsellors are now offering reduced rates for those unemployment or claiming benefits, and many are very accommodating so that all those that need help can have access to it.

 

Perhaps most importantly is ensuring the counsellor is fully qualified to practise. Currently there are no laws to regulate counsellors. However, there are accrediting bodies and qualifications guidelines suggest counsellors should obtain. There are academic qualifications in counselling - under-graduate, post-graduates and doctorates. Being accredited by a professional body - such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy - means that the counsellor will have met several criteria, such as a certain number of hours of training undertaken, and hours practising under supervision.

 

This is where Counselling Directory comes in. A comprehensive searching tool, the site allows postcode, town and country searches, and produces a list of counsellors registered in this area. Each counsellor has a profile, listing a bit about themselves, their approaches, what areas they deal with, and all their training, qualification and experience and fees. The site shows which counsellors are registered/accredited with a professional body, and full profiles are only displayed after insurance and qualification documents are checked or membership with a professional body has been verified.

 

The site has also become a huge information bank - there are articles written by the counsellors, as well as comprehensive information on all kinds of distress - from depression to eating disorders to abuse, to help people identify their problems and become informed, not scared. There’s also a blog that reports the latest health news and developments.

 

We’ve heard from many people who have found Counselling Directory invaluable, reducing the amount of stress and worrying that can contribute to an already difficult enough process.

 

www.counselling-directory.org.uk

 

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My first job when I was a teenager was as a summer custodian for my town’s middle school. That is where I first learned about asbestos, and the health risks associated with the substance. Today I have a guest post from Richard Moyle from the Mesothelioma Cancer Center.

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Dealing With Losing a Loved One to Mesothelioma

Losing a loved one to cancer (or any other disease) is incredibly difficult for anyone. You occasionally wonder, “Why them? Why did this have to happen to that person?” It’s even more difficult when there’s reason to believe the cancer or illness could have been prevented.

This is the case with a rare cancer known as mesothelioma. The only recognized origin for this type of cancer is exposure to a naturally occurring mineral known as asbestos. Asbestos was valued because of its sturdiness and resistance to fire and it was widely used for the majority of the 20^th century in a number of military and industrial applications. The most widespread uses were insulation, flooring, piping and brake lining.

The greater part of diagnosed cases can be traced back to job-related asbestos exposure. Regardless of the fact that many of the producers of asbestos products were aware of the health risks associated with the material, they kept on mass producing it to maximize their earnings. Countless people who were exposed were not alerted to situation and were never shown the correct ways to avoid exposure.

Other causative aspects to the difficult process of mourning the loss of someone to mesothelioma are the abruptness of the start of noticeable symptoms, diagnosis and the normally poor prognosis. Symptoms of this type of cancer characteristically take 25 to 50 years after primary exposure to begin showing. By this time the cancer is in its later stages and treatment options are usually inadequate. The average life expectancy after diagnosis is about one year.

Clearly when you combine all the factors and circumstances surrounding malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases, it causes quite a few different emotions for both the sufferer and the ones close to them. They may experience anger towards the people who permitted asbestos to be used so extensively with no warning of its undesirable health effects. They may feel aggravated by the typically futile situation mesothelioma presents or shock because of the unexpectedness or rapidity with which the disease progresses.

Persons left behind may deal with these feelings in a number of diverse ways. The anger people feel sometimes inspires them to take legal action against whoever was ultimately responsible for their loved one’s death. The sadness or grief they feel may motivate them to do all they can to raise awareness about this disease to avert further exposure and save the lives of others. Either one of these actions could be seen by the bereaved as a way of “righting the wrong” so to speak.

In general, everyone deals with the same emotions when they lose a loved one, no matter what the situation. But diseases like mesothelioma that can be traced back to the withholding of information for the purpose of making money tend to highlight some of those emotions a little bit more. Always remember that anyone who lets these emotions impede their daily lives may need assistance seeking help from a professional.

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If you visit asbestos.com an entire section on the website is dedicated to the grieving process. The site also has patient advocates on staff that can help families through these tough times.

I thought of this idea for a blog entry a while ago. I’m not sure if it would even be interesting to any of you, but here it is.

It may be obvious, but a therapist experiences several emotions during each client session. Some therapists might deny that or not be aware of it, but it is definitely true for me. So I made some mental notes during a session with one of my regular clients, focusing on the different emotions I was experiencing during the conversation. After the session, I completed the list and it surprised me. These are all from one 50-minute session:

• pleased
• thankful
• curious
• confused
• confident
• tentative
• apprehensive
• anxious
• concerned
• content

With some of these feelings, I was mirroring the emotions I sensed from the client. Other times, they were just my emotional reactions to what was being discussed. In any case, it shows that therapists go through a range of emotions just like clients do.

An important perspective I learned in graduate school that I still hold to today is this: if showing your emotions will help the client then let them out; if not, keep them to yourself. (At least until later, when you do need to deal with your emotions wherever they came from.)  As a therapist, it is crucial to realize that the point of therapy is to experience and use emotions productively. The point is not to get to a “level of maturity” that is emotion-less.

By the way, the client felt better at the end of the session that day than when we started. I felt better later after I processed my own feelings.