by Guest | May 7, 2016 | Being Well, Work Well
By Rea Scovill, Ph.D.
We’ve come a long way since 1956, when a famous Chicago psychiatrist told our kind and loving neighbor with firm authority that her son’s autism was caused by her being a cold “refrigerator” mother. Many professionals show more humility about such things now that scientists can view different brains at work with instruments like functional MRIs. Before teaching about particular personalities and behavior, they offer a disclaimer like “We’re in the infancy of understanding the human brain.” Now they’re likely to caution us not to blame parents for all their children’s problems. They also encourage us to try to understand and support, or just accept people whose behavior is different from what we expect (unless it’s abusive).
Science has also made progress in defining how our brains benefit from physical care, like good nutrition, adequate sleep, plenty of exercise and reasonable stress levels. To attain physical fitness, many enjoy wearing special, attractive clothes to go work out at the gym, ride a bike or attend an aerobics class. Hoping to improve brain fitness, people are having fun with lumosity.com and other game-like activities. Physical fitness of all kinds is considered cool and sexy.
Until we approach mental fitness with the same open and positive mind as physical fitness, it’ll remain in the shadows where shame and blame rule. Like physical fitness, mental fitness can only be built when our bodies are rested and healthy enough to support the organs involved. Like physical health, mental health is something we’d like to take for granted. But to prevent, cope with and overcome problems during our lives, we’re wise to seek fitness for both. With mental fitness people can express their most capable, confident and compassionate selves. They find ways to remain optimistic and positive and all this makes them “sizzle” with life.
Isaac Asimov (author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University) wrote: “The saddest thing in life today is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” YOW is tackling this problem, helping us here in Tillamook County gather wisdom for how to manage better both our physical and mental health. For our YOW focus in May on “Healthy Minds” there’ll be many opportunities to learn skills that’ll help you build mental as well as physical fitness. Check these out on the YOW calendar at www.tillamookcountyhealthmatters.com. YOW will also begin offering articles with tips and concepts to help you understand how to take charge and pursue mental fitness.
by Guest | May 1, 2016 | Being Well, Work Well
By DeAnna Pearl, Tillamook County Prevention Coordinator, Tillamook Family Counseling Center
What does it take to build resiliency in ourselves? What is resiliency? The official definition is the ability to overcome challenges of all kinds–trauma, tragedy, personal crises, plain ole life problems–and bounce back stronger, wiser, and more personally powerful.
It’s important because this is what we need to do when faced with life’s inevitable difficulties. AND it’s important because there is a growing body of social science research that explains how you can you bounce back, even from a lifetime of “risk factors” or very painful trauma or tragedy, and how can you help those you care about bounce back.
Can individuals learn to be more resilient, or are some just born with the ability to bounce back from adversity? Both! Research suggests that human beings are born with an innate self-righting ability, which can be helped or hindered. Their findings are fueling a major shift in thinking about human development.
Instead of obsessing about problems and weaknesses (splat factor) to recognizing “the power of the positive” (bounce factor). Identifying and building individual and environmental strengths better support helping people overcome difficulties, achieve happiness, and attain life success.
There are five key supports that are essential to support and build resiliency:
- Having caring adults around;
- Providing safe places;
- Include a healthy start and healthy development;
- Effective education;
- Opportunity to help others through service.
by Guest | Feb 8, 2016 | Being Well
By Stacie Zuercher, NW Senior & Disability Services
Earlier this month, Northwest Senior and Disability Services in partnership with the Year of Wellness, began its year long journey to institute healthy changes that directly impact individuals at risk for diabetes by starting a “Prediabetes Prevention Program (DPP)” in Tillamook.
What does it mean to have prediabetes?
- Someone with prediabetes has higher than normal blood glucose (sugar) levels, but has not reached a diabetes diagnosis.
Why is it important to detect prediabetes?
- Prediabetes increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
- 86 million Americans have prediabetes – that’s one in every three adults!
- 9 out of 10 people with prediabetes, don’t know they have it.
- Up to 30% of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years.
If you believe you could be at risk for prediabetes try the following;
- Talk with your doctor about whether or not you’re at risk for prediabetes.
- Take the prediabetes risk quiz at http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention.
- Contact Stacie Zuercher at Northwest Senior and Disability Services for more information and resources at 503-842-2770.
References: About Prediabetes & Type 2 Diabetes. (2016). Retrieved January 24, 2016, from
www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/prediabetes-type2/
There are many classes and resources available to help individuals manage Type 2 Diabetes. Check our Events page for a list of offerings.
by Guest | Feb 4, 2016 | Being Well
Health science, especially as it relates to nutrition, can often be unclear. For instance, health.gov 2015-2020 guidelines recommend low-fat and fat-free diary options. Miles Hassell, MD (an internist at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland) recommends whole or 2% options instead of lower fat options. In the face of such contradiction from two seemingly reputable sources, it is easy to doubt most nutrition science. Although I am using nutrition science as an example here, it is important to note this can be said of most any branch of science.
By understanding the way in which scientific research works, we can see that there are times to doubt the latest research, but there are also times to invest trust in long-standing findings. Science is a tree that grows with every finding. New findings either support or contradict old findings. In this way, either a hypothesis (e.g. low-fat yogurt is healthy) is strengthened and becomes a more firm branch, or is found to be false and pruned. An example of a very strong branch in nutrition would be high sugar diets being detrimental to health.
Tree created by: <a href=”http://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/tree”>Tree vector designed by Freepik</a>
So how do you decide if an idea is a strong or fledgling branch? Generally, stronger branches will have the following:
- Agreement within the scientific community*
- Been around for awhile
- Many appearances in peer-reviewed journals
*Note: agreement is not always 100%. With over 7 billion people in the world, there will always be those that contradict. However, general scientific community consensus means that you will not have large peer-reviewed journals (Nature, Science, New England Journal of Medicine…) disagreeing with each other.
Science is not always right. Towards the outer reaches of our knowledge, there is a glorious mess of experiments, conclusions, and confusion. Overtime and with more experiments, we prune the tree and limbs become stronger until where was a mess is now a coherent supporting structure. The ideas that increasing exercise, eating at least 5 vegetable servings a day, and reducing soda consumption increases health are long standing beliefs we can invest in.
by Guest | Feb 2, 2016 | Being Well
So your health provider told you that you needed to quit. Wait…there is hope. As a tobacco cessation coach for six years, I have worked with hundreds of individuals who heard these four little words that changed their lives forever.
With heart racing you ask yourself, “How do you start?” First, you need to identify why YOU are quitting? Health, kids, family…. What many soon to be smoke free individuals told me is, “I don’t know if I am ready.” “What if I fail?” I say, any time you quit and start again, it is just an opportunity to practice quitting. We all know practice make perfect.
The act of smoking is often ritualistic. Favorite lighter, same brand, cup of coffee or soda, go to favorite place, smoke # of cigarettes…a small mini vacation. Often time these rituals or habits are hard to change. Small changes can make a huge difference on your road to becoming smoke free. Below are some ideas to step into becoming smoke free:
- If you smoke
- Change where you smoke…smoke outside and not in your car;
- First thing in the morning……brush your teeth first or get dressed first;
- At lunch, move time earlier or later…take a walk.
- Start reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke
- Smoke half of what you normally do;
- Leave cigarettes in office or locker to delay;
- Put your cigarettes in the trunk;
- When you are ready to stop
- Make a plan with the help of family or friends;
- Talk to your health provider for cessation support;
- Contact the Oregon Quit Line (800) 784-8669 or quitnow.net/oregon;
- Try not to replace your hand to mouth smoking habit to hand to mouth food habit;
Yours in Health,
DeAnna Pearl, M.A.T., B.S.
Certified Prevention Specialist
DeAnna Pearl has been in prevention for almost 15 years. She was born and raised on the Oregon Coast and is happy to back home. She and her daughter are asthmatic and appreciate when smokers are conscientious about smoking away from doorways.
Image Source: http://www.freeimages.com/photo/cigarette-1545005
by Michelle | Nov 1, 2015 | Being Well
There are many metaphorical roads: the high road, the long and winding road, and perhaps even, the road not taken. What road on you on? Whatever road it is and where you are on it is most likely a result of your past experiences. Few of us ever create a road map and those who do are rarely able to avoid the inevitable detours life throws at us. But the road is important and the way you are headed determines whether you are fit or unwell, prosperous or struggling, content or resentful.
So it is imperative that we zoom out for a larger view of our life. Where am I? Where am I headed if I keep traveling down this road? Is this really where I want to end up? If it isn’t, how do you stop the momentum to get turned around and heading in the opposite direction? How do you overcome the sense that it is too hard to change course at this point in the journey? What is the alternative to doing nothing? Isn’t it worth making the decision to change? What small step can you make today to begin heading down the road you desire?
