Category Archives: Health

Many Useful Links for Mental Health

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What is a Mental Health America Affiliate?

Mental Health America affiliates bring together mental health consumers, parents, advocates and service providers for collaboration and action. As their national association, Mental Health America provides training and technical assistance to these affiliates on issues like managed care, mental health parity advocacy, depression and anxiety disorders education and children’s mental health issues. The National office offers local and state affiliates vital assistance in board development, fundraising plans and program implementation.
Mental Health America affiliates provide public education, information and referral, support groups, rehabilitation services, socialization and housing services to those confronting mental health problems and their loved ones. Many also provide family advocate services to parents and children with serious emotional disturbances, mentoring relationships for adults recovering from mental illnesses, and professional education to those working in the mental health field. They serve as local leaders in the support and development of consumer-run initiatives and primary prevention programs. Finally, affiliates strive to influence public policy at the local, state, and national level to assure fair and effective treatment to the millions of Americans suffering from mental disorders.

If you cannot afford mental health care, check out if you have a local mental health affiliate. They can help you and maybe give you some options. Many doctors work on a sliding scale and some even do pro-bono. It’s definitely worth checking out.

http://www.nmha.org/index.cfm?objectid=E422360D-1372-4D20-C8A0285839C8503C&search=yes

You Can Live Your Life Well

Welcome to Live Your Life Well, the website designed to help you cope better with stress and create more of the life you want.

Maybe you’re holding down two jobs or can’t find work. Maybe you’re the parents of young children or the children of aging parents. Maybe you face a rush of daily demands or one potentially life-changing challenge. Whatever your situation, we are here to help.

The non-profit Mental Health America has been working for 100 years to promote well-being for all Americans. Now we have put together the 10 Tools to Live Your Life Well. Based on extensive scientific evidence, these tools can help you relax, grow and flourish. They can help you Live Your Life Well.

http://www.liveyourlifewell.org/

 

Destination: Recovery

If you live with mental illness, you may be struggling to find treatment, manage your medication and cope with life’s challenges effectively. There is ample cause for hope. You are not alone, help is available, mental health conditions are treatable, and you can take practical steps to recover your life. Here you’ll find interactive tools and resources to help you better understand your treatment options, work closely with your health care provider, learn about the supports available to you, and start on your recovery journey.

http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/recovery

 

My Plan, My Life is an awareness campaign intended as a resource to help inform people with mental illness, their families and health care professionals about the importance of psychiatric advance directives.

Psychiatric advance directives are legal documents written in a time of wellness that express a person’s medical wishes in the event they are unable to make or communicate specifics for themselves.

They may help influence what happens to you during a mental health crisis. They allow you to specify considerations about your mental health care treatment and appoint an agent to speak on your behalf in the event of a mental health crisis. In some cases, you may also give further background information about how you have reacted to past treatment.

http://www.myplanmylife.com/

 

 

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Feeling Good

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It’s been a pretty good couple of weeks. All of my impulse behavior has subsided. My medication switch is going smooth.

Nothing much going on.

Working out has given me so much energy. It feels great! I am making it a habit to work out every morning soon after I wake up. It is an excellent way to get the day started. Helps me feel motivated, and gets me in a good mood (for the most part).

I was having a pity party for myself this morning because I haven’t lost any weight this week. It was upsetting because I have been working out everyday. So I stayed in bed most of the morning and pouted. I then decided, I am not going to do this, I am not giving up. So I got my ass up and did my workout. And the rest of the day has been good. I am glad I chose to get up. This is normally when I give up on working out, at the 2 week mark, because I am not seeing the unreasonable results I set for myself.  I am not giving up! I am going to follow this through. I am determined. Just because I didn’t lose any weight this week means I should quit. I need to think of my long-term goal, the many reasons I am exercising in the first place. Weight loss is only 1 reason and not the most important one. I am going to focus on the other reasons and that should help keep me going.

This weeks personal goal I am going to set is to check into volunteering at the animal shelter.

Maintaining stability for me requires: therapy, medications, exercise, setting and keeping personal goals. When I have all of these going on I am good to go. Sometimes it is difficult to keep all of these going, but I know I can do it, because I have done it before. I know what works… Applying it is a different story. I am on my way up from a serious downfall (relapse). It has taken a while, but I am getting there. NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Week 1 of the Supreme 90 Day System

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I decided it was time to take charge of my weight issues. I didn’t start having weight issues until I started certain medications, 9 years ago. Since then I have been gaining and losing between 20-35 pounds. My blood pressure also skyrocketed. I am 5ft, so even a few pounds makes a difference, I am not allowed much weight being this height. I was always thin, I was also in the Army, so I was able to maintain a healthy weight then because I was basically forced to work out. But now, not having a job and staying home all the time, it is so easy to eat all the time and be lazy. BUT it is also easy to eat right and exercise. I definitely have the time, so I have no excuse.

I have tried numerous workout programs, to include: Hip Hop Abs, The P.I.N.K Method, the 10 Minute Trainer, and a few Jillian Michaels videos. Hip Hop Abs was really fun, and it helped me get into shape when I was at my heaviest. After about 1 month, I hit a plateau and got discouraged, so I stopped working out. The 10 Minute Trainer was just a pain in the ass with all the bands and stuff, I didn’t really like the workouts, so I stopped after about 1-2 weeks. The P.I.N.K Method was fun, but I get bored easily, so I need more of a variety of workouts. I do recommend The P.I.N.K Method for women though (if you don’t get bored easily). The Jillian Michaels videos were also good, but I got bored with them.

I recently found this Supreme 90 Day System, not sure if I saw it on an infomercial or what, but since it is so cheap, I decided to give it a go. Nothing really to lose, except the pounds!! :) I started this system last week and I am loving it. I love the variety of workouts, there are a total 10 DVDs, so you get a different workout every day of the week. The workouts are fast paced and challenging. My muscles have been sore since I started. Muscles I didn’t even know I had, places that have never been sore before, and I love it. I feel stronger and energized. Most mornings I looked forward to the workout. There were a couple of mornings that I had to force myself to do it, but soon I was into it and felt better. It was worth the convincing.

With all that said, I am looking forward to what my body will look like in 90 days! I will post a before and after picture once I reach 90 days. I am doing this for many reasons. One, for my health, to bring my blood pressure down and everything else that improves with exercise, which is basically everything!! Complete well being! Feeling good about myself, being energized and not sluggish all the time. Being in shape to partake in many physically fit required activities. Just getting those natural endorphins to kick in.

Note: I am not following the nutritional guide, I never have, and I still lose the weight. I realize that I would probably lose more weight quicker by following the nutritional plan, but I am lazy on that part. However, I do eat much better than before, and I do watch what I eat. All I used to eat was junk food. I now also only drink water and coconut water. When I stopped drinking carbonated drinks (sodas) I lost 10 pounds without even exercising! I am not saying you should not follow the nutritional plan as well. I just wanted to make a note that I wasn’t.

Weight Starting Week 1: 140

Starting Week 1 Measurements: Chest 37, Waist 36, Hips 37

Weight Starting Week 2: 138.2

Starting Week 2 Measurements: Chest 37, Waist 35, Hips 37

I will be doing weekly updates as to my progress.

Here is a link to the Supreme 90 Day System

https://www.supreme90day.com/?gclid=CIuk8ciP6rACFQ5bhwodc2cfnA