Tips for May

By Heather Whisenand, LPCC, NCC

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and boy, has it been a YEAR of changes in mental health across the board. Just over a year ago seemingly everyone went from living life with their regular worries to having them turned completely upside down. We have seen an unprecedented increase in the number of people dealing with some type of mental health issues, more specifically depression and anxiety. These increases had a variety of factors affecting it, such as isolation, constant fear and worry about the unknown, job loss, illness and death, financial burden, and so many more.

As we return to a seemingly more "normal" life again, I urge you to make sure you are taking care of yourself, your mental health, to the best of your ability. Have some self-care established, where you take specific time to just focus on yourself. Be mindful of how you are feeling, and don't ignore or push those feelings out of the way and coming in to see someone if you are struggling with more anxiety or depression. Taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health!

I would also like to note that as we are seeing more and more patients, we have 5 providers now on our team that can serve our patients in different capacities. Sue and Mary are available for Telehealth, Sharon is seeing patients both in person and through telehealth, and Pauletta and I are both in office to meet with patients.
Here are some quick things you can do for yourself to help soothe any negative emotions using your senses:

Vision - Go for a walk somewhere nice and pay attention to the sights.

Hearing - Listen to something enjoyable such as music or nature.

Touch - Take a warm bath or get a massage.

Taste - Have a small treat -- it does not have to be a full meal.

Smell - Find some flowers or spray a perfume or cologne you like, use essential oils for some aromatherapy.