Greetings community!

Save and Reflect on Mental Snapshots of Your Summer

This summer really has flown on by. I would like to invite readers to take this moment to allow for self-reflection on the highlights and sweet spots of your summer experience. Once you have given yourself a chance to do so, take a mental picture of these delicious memories, and store them somewhere in your memory bank to easily access when life gets rough as a reminder that sweeter things are sure to come as you turn the corner.

International Overdose Awareness Day

Now, getting back to regularly scheduled programming, welcome to August! There is a very important mental health initiative that is near and dear to my heart occurring on Saturday, August 31st, 2024 which is International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). This is the world’s largest annual campaign to prevent and end overdose, remember without stigma or judgment those who died by the disease of addiction, and to acknowledge the grief of family members and friends left behind.

The Importance of Unity

The theme for this 2024 initiative is “Together We Can”. This slogan highlights the power of our community at large when we all stand together to fight for a change. Addiction is not an isolated disease only affecting those that are afflicted. Addiction is a family and community disease that cannot be resolved individually. Community involvement in addiction recovery plays a crucial role in reducing feelings of isolation and providing individuals with the necessary support, understanding, and sense of belonging on their journey towards sobriety.

Support One Another

We need the strength of each other to lean on, to learn from, and to advocate for, greater awareness of mental health needs and the real-life consequences of untreated substance abuse and addiction. Addiction is not a “phase” that someone will “get over”.  No one should stand alone in our fight to end overdose. Together We Can allows those who are connected to the tragedy of overdose to not feel alone or ashamed. 

Share Your Story

For those grieving family members and friends who have been left behind by a loved one’s overdose, please know that you are not alone. A large part of your healing journey is sharing your story about how your loved one lived, as opposed to how they died. If you would like to commemorate and celebrate a loved one’s life, you are invited to add a Tribute in their honor. Tributes will be posted on this website as soon as they are approved.

Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Hello Readers, and welcome to the month of June! This month, the mental health awareness initiative is centered around raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and ways that our community can help those suffering with PTSD. According to the National Center for PTSD, about 6 out of 10 men (60%), and about 5 out of 10 women (50%), will experience at least one form of trauma throughout their lifetime. While some individuals may recover from their traumatic experience within a few weeks, others may take months, or even years. For some, PTSD symptoms will not appear until long after the traumatic event occurred. It is important to know, and even more important to share, that PTSD is a real and debilitating mental health diagnosis, treatment is available, and recovery is possible. It is crucial to acknowledge the significant effects of trauma and to seek the appropriate treatment, rather than avoiding it. 

What is PTSD?

PTSD is a mental health condition that can develop in some people after they have experienced, witnessed, or learned about a life-threatening event or serious injury. 

What is considered a life threatening or traumatic event?

Some examples of life-threatening events can include combat or exposure to a war zone in the military or as a civilian; natural disasters such as tornados, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, or earthquakes; transportation accidents such as a car accident, boating accident, train wreck, or plane crash; a serious accident that occurred at work, home, or during a recreational activity; exposure to toxic substances such as dangerous chemicals or radiation; being diagnosed with a serious medical condition such as terminal cancer or a traumatic brain injury; physical assault such as being attacked, hit, slapped, kicked, or beaten; assaulted with a weapon such as being shot at, stabbed, or threatened with a knife, gun, or bomb; sexual assault that can include rape or attempted tape, made to perform any type of sexual act through force or threat of harm, or any other unwanted to uncomfortable sexual experience; severe human suffering; sudden violent death such as homicide or suicide; sudden accidental death; or serious harm, injury, or death you caused to someone else.

What are the symptoms of PSTD?

1. 1. Re-experiencing symptoms: repeated, disturbing, and unwanted memories of the traumatic experience; nightmares and flashbacks; having strong physical reactions when reminded of the trauma such as rapid heart rate, sweating, flushed face, and trouble breathing
   2. Avoidance symptoms: avoiding memories, thoughts, or feelings related to the traumatic experience; avoiding external reminders of the traumatic experience such as people, places, conversations, activities, objects, and situations.
   3. Changes and alterations in mood and cognition: having trouble remembering some or all parts of the trauma experience; having strong negative beliefs about yourself, other people, and the world such as “I am bad”, “The world is a dangerous place”, “No one can be trusted”, “There is something seriously wrong with me”; intense feelings of guilt, shame, blame, anger and irritability; loss if interest in activities previously enjoyed; feeling distant and cut off from others; having trouble experiencing positive emotions such as being unable to feel happiness or have loving feelings towards those that are close to you
   4. Increase in arousal and reactivity: irritable behavior, angry outbursts, acting aggressively; feeling “keyed up” or “on edge;” being “on guard” or watchful often; difficulty sitting still; feeling jump and easily startled; difficulty concentrating and making decisions; trouble falling and staying asleep

What are some ways people try to cope with PTSD on their own?

Due to the stigma, shame, and misconceptions of this diagnosis, many people try and cope by themselves through means that offer short term relief but longer term negative consequences towards themselves, their relationships, and their overall quality of life that can include: excessive alcohol and drug use, misusing prescription medications; engaging in risky sexual behaviors, engaging in other types of risky behaviors such as driving significantly over the speed limit or walking in unsafe neighborhoods; engaging in excessive physical altercations, gambling, overeating, undereating, self-harming, or thinking about or planning one’s death, to name a few.

How can you help someone who is suffering from PTSD?

1. 1. Learn about PTSD and how it can affect the whole person.
   2. Listen to the individual when they say they are not ready to do something about it.
   3. Be there for them with a kind, listening ear, without trying to fix them.
   4. Encourage them to seek treatment from a qualified, trained, licensed professional such as a psychologist or licensed clinical social worker.
   5. Combat stigma: challenge the stigma surrounding PTSD, be mindful of your own language and attitudes, promote open non-judgemental conversations about mental health struggles in your circles, encourage others to see PTSD not as a sign of someone’s weakness or failure, but rather as a sign of a person’s resilience.

Dear Readers,

Dear Readers,

At age 18, our teenage children are now considered to be adults by law. But does the legal age of adulthood match the requisites required to function well as an adult while our young adults’ brains are still developing well into their mid to late twenties?

Understanding Young Adulthood

As we think about young adulthood (ages ~18 through 26) there are many struggles that our young adults face that can create obstacles to optimal functioning and success. Such struggles can include:

1. 1. Having limited ability, courage, and practice advocating for oneself which can engender deficits in one’s self-esteem
   2. Using ineffective strategies to regulate one’s emotions and problem solve when facing challenging situations
   3. Due to the comfort of communicating via the digital world, our young adults now are experiencing a dearth of socio-emotional skills in the real world
   4. An unknowingness of the importance of self-reflection, growth, learning from failures, and personal victories

If you are new to the therapeutic process, or even if you are a seasoned veteran, choosing what to share with your therapist can be an unnerving process. Please note that you are not going at it alone for the total 50-minute therapy hour. You can expect some help from your therapist along the way. The most ambiguous yet simple answer to the question of “What should I talk to my therapist about today?” is “whatever you want.” However, for a more concrete response to this common question, you could think about the rationale and reason on why you decided to embark on therapy in the first place, and start there. Frequently, folks that have made the intentional commitment to begin therapy are aware that there is some aspect within their life that is not working for them, or that is causing psychological distress and suffering.

What Brought You to Therapy? 

Some typical reasons for saying “yes” to therapy are: grief/loss issues, past trauma, substance use/misuse/abuse, difficulties at work and/or in relationships with family, friends, and/or intimate partners, major depression, extreme anxiety, perfectionistic tendencies, family of origin “stuff,” and sexual identity issues, to name a few.

It is almost unnecessary to bring in pre-contemplated material in an effort to fill a full 50-minute therapy session because in most cases, your therapist will also have questions to ask of you; will be able to note on non-verbal behavior patterns; comment on your thought processes and feeling states; and help to guide the conversation. This is especially true if your therapist employs an evidence-based framework utilizing more modern approaches to treatment such as Acceptance and Commitment therapy (like myself!), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and other acceptance and mindfulness-based therapies.

However, if you are ridden with anxiety and feeling stuck, or have no idea why you are experiencing this bout of depression, or are overall well-functioning, for example, some questions to consider are:

• • • Why did I choose to seek therapy at this point in my life? 

    • Is there any place in my life that I feel stuck or stagnant in?

    • What is the quality of my interpersonal relationships? Am I satisfied with them or is there room for change?

The Role of Vulnerability in Therapy

All this to say, do you need an agenda to think about before your therapy session begins? The short answer is no. While it is completely within the realm of reason to not know where to start, the true magic happens in therapy when you choose vulnerability over avoidance, and allow yourself to share the un-sharable. You would be surprised how often I hear from the amazing folks I work with say towards the end of the session “Wow, I didn’t think we’d go here today!” or “Wow, I had no idea I would bring that up with you during this session.” More often than not, the therapeutic dance of back-and-forth banter combined with clinical expertise and courageous vulnerability can lead to rich, informative, and transformational conversation and learning experience.