We answered an appeal from Hoke County to assist with emergency supplies to the residents of the county.  We supplied baby wipes, hand sanitizers, cleaning materials, diapers, masks and gloves, and so forth.

Signs You Need to Take a Mental Health Day

By Rosunnara 

June 9, 2020

When your body and emotions are out of whack, it’s important to recognize the signs that your overworked brain needs a mental health day. If you get the flu or an injury, you have no problem taking a sick day. But what if your mental health is suffering? Just like your physical health, it's important to take time off to focus on your mental well-being.

The day-to-day hustle and commitments of life can cause high levels of stress, which ultimately affect your mental state. It's hard to spot the symptoms because they're not all physical. Here are some signs you need a mental health day, plus a few things you can do to try to heal.

You’re Exhausted All the Time

Everyone gets tired once in a while, but if you don't even have the energy to do simple tasks or your favorite activities, then you may need to take a mental health day. People can feel drained physically, mentally, socially, creatively, emotionally and spiritually.

Many people turn to caffeine when they feel tired. Sometimes, people knock back multiple cups of coffee to power through the day. However, relying on coffee won't help if you're exhausted and unmotivated. In fact, drinking too much coffee leads to dehydration, which slows you down.

Instead of coffee, try using a mental health day to have some fun and restore your energy. You could also take the day to identify the things that are draining you, such as a stressful commute or a messy home. After creating a list of your stressors, figure out how to eliminate them.

You’re Tired, but You Have Trouble Sleeping

After a long day at work, you may feel tired. However, what if you can't fall asleep when you go to bed, even when you’re exhausted? High levels of stress can lead to insomnia, which causes fatigue, poor focus, physical pain and even more stress. Work, financial or relationship problems can create stress.

It's basically a never-ending cycle until you reduce or get rid of the stressors. With a mental health day, you can sleep in, take a long nap or start setting a healthier sleep schedule for your mind and body. Experts have found that getting regular, good sleep helps people heal and recharge.

It’s Hard to Focus

Are you struggling to concentrate, making mistakes or forgetting things more than usual? If the answer is yes, you may be under a lot of stress. "The basic idea is that the brain is shunting its resources because it's in survival mode, not memory mode," explains Dr. Kerry Ressler, chief scientific officer at McLean Hospital and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

By Leada Gore | [email protected]

• Today is Earth Day, a time set aside to celebrate the Earth and learn more about the environment.

• Here’s some more info on Earth Day:

• Earth Day was first recognized worldwide in 1990.

• In 2009, Earth Day was officially renamed by the UN to International Mother Earth Day.

• On Earth Day 2012, more than 100,000 people rode bikes in China to reduce CO2 emissions and save fuel.

• Organizers hope to plant 7.8 billion trees during this year’s Earth Day activities.

• Earth Day has its own flag. It features a picture of the Earth taken from the Apollo 17 spacecraft on its way to the Moon.

What are some Earth Day activities? You can make Earth Day every day by making small lifestyle choices with a huge impact. This could include:

• Avoiding plastic water bottles in favor of reusable water bottles.

• Opting for second-hand instead of buying new, like clothes, furniture, and toys.

• Supporting organizations with sustainable manufacturing practices like the makers of Quilted Northern Soft & Strong®, who use more sustainable manufacturing processes to save 30% more water and 30% more energy.*

Along with April being National Child Abuse Prevention Month, this month also recognizes Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention.

The term sexual assault refers to sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent from the victim.

Some forms of sexual assault include:

Attempted rape

Fondling or unwanted sexual touching

Forcing a victim to perform sexual acts

Rape

Sexual violence happens in every community and affects people of all genders and ages.

There is a social context that surrounds sexual violence. Women being seen as objects rather than humans contributes to the occurrence of sexual violence. Social norms that condone violence, use the scare tactic of power, traditional constructs of masculinity and silence surrounding violence and abuse all play a part in the recurrence of sexual assault.

Nearly one in five women in the United States have experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetime.

But sexual assault is not a women's issue alone, one in 71 men in the United States have experienced rape or attempted rape.

Nearly 3 out of 4 adolescents who have been sexually assaulted were victimized by someone they knew very well (i.e close family friend or relative).

Many sexual assaults go unreported due to reasons such as fearing retaliation, believing police will not be much help and believing it was not important enough to report.

Most cases that are reported do not lead to a conviction.

Information obtained from The National Sexual Violence Resource Center

Take care of yourself. Wealth without health will leave you needy. Needing help, needing support and needing comfort.                                            Mediation can help on your path of improving your health.

For the next four weeks, we will look as emotional baggages and the destrucive consequences of not dealing with it.

Unpacking Emotional Baggage

“Emotional baggage can be defined as unprocessed emotions from past experiences, which often have a negative effect on our current thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and relationships,” says Dr. Nakita O’Leary, Clinical Psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia.

Let’s start with forgiveness. 

Forgiving people who have wronged you and letting go of the desire for revenge can free you from the emotional baggage caused by the pain of their wrongdoing. Also, forgiving yourself for past mistakes is central to moving on and not letting that guilt carry over.

Community Impact

We continue to look at health during Covid-19. As the vaccine is offered to the community, people have different feelings about getting it. Some people are skeptical because of historical issues, some are having problems accessing appointments because of technology, still others are having difficulties getting to a site because of transportation. We hear the community concerns and look at ways we can minimize the barriers.

Health officers continue to reassure the community that the vaccine is safe and encourage everyone to receive it when their age, occupy and health indicators are announced. It will take the village to get the community vaccine. With dedication, we can get it done. In the meantime, we need to continue to practice the 3-W. Wash your hands, Wear your masks, Wait six feet.

The special enrollment period to sign up for health care opens TOMORROW. Remind your friends and family members and head to healthcare.gov to get covered.