SPace's PsychoHealth Blog

  How is Your Mental Health? May is National Mental Health Awareness Month .  Beginning in 1949, Mental Health Month has put a spotlight on the importance of mental health and wellness.  There is such a stigma attached to mental illness or mental health in general, that over 70 years of advocacy and education have yet to overcome.  While 1 in 5 people will experience mental illness at some point in their lifetimes, everyone has faced or will face struggles and challenges that affect their mental health.  You don't have to be diagnosed by a doctor or therapist to know if you're mental health is compromised.   Anxiety:   Intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Some symptoms include: Fast heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, and feeling tired. Stress:    Any type of change that causes physical, emotional, or psychological strain. Stress is your body's response to anything that requires attention or action.  Depressive symptoms: Hopeless

This year has brought unprecedented levels of stress, anxiety, trauma, depression, addiction, suicide, and hundreds of thousands dead, and millions infected with a disease that has no cure as of yet. Our lives have been upended, having to accept this new reality for the foreseeable future.  While difficult, it is not insurmountable.  But we have to do it together.  The time for divisiveness is OVER .  It is not about us vs. them or me vs. you or blue vs. red.  We as a people, Americans, are wayyy better than this, and it is time we as a country recognized it and started acting like it.  It shouldn't have to take a traumatic event to bring us together, but after 9/11/2001, that's exactly what everyone did.  We were all Americans and treated each other kindly and with respect.  Now we are in the middle of multiple crises, and what are we doing?  Taking sides, pointing fingers, and spewing hate the likes we have never seen in decades, if not centuries.  Everyone must take responsi

Jaws is a classic horror film released in 1975.  It tells the story of a homicidal, Great White Shark, (a Carcharodon Carcharias if you please) who terrorizes Amity Island.  For the first half of the movie the shark was not seen, he was practically invisible.  If it wasn't for the music we wouldn't even know he was on the prowl.  The town council was in denial about the danger of this man-eater, it was a boating accident, a swimmer just got tired and drowned, whatever, they never had a problem with sharks in these waters...Chief Brody knew better, Hooper declared this was no boating accident, that it was, in fact, a shark, and it will continue to kill people unless the beaches are closed and they do something about this shark.   But Mayor Vaughn said Amity is a summer town and they need summer dollars. To further deflect the situation, he implored Brody to go after the vandal who painted a shark fin on their billboard, THAT was the real problem.  Brody told him

During a time of crisis, any crisis, but specifically one of such magnitude as the coronavirus, people need simple straightforward facts from experts, or those who understand the information presented by the experts. And we need them to tell us when they legitmately don't know the answer to the question but assure the public they will get an answer as soon as possible. We can accept those parameters. The general public is already experiencing unmatched fears and anxiety, with a lot of unknowns. While we need hope and optimism to get us through these challenging times, we do not need false hope, inaccurate information, or one's "feeling" about what certain outcomes will be, especially when they have no expertise or evidence to support it. When someone does give misinformation it is their responsibility to own it and correct it. Mistakes happen, but willful ignorance, selfishness, and ineptitude are inexcusable and indefensible. This is not about an individu

Men:  Fatherhood and Family “My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass.’ ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We’re raising boys.’” –Harmon Killebrew There is nothing that can provide men more of a true meaning of life then fatherhood.  Being a father is rewarding and challenging in ways that most of us probably did not anticipate (prior to having kids).  Our frame of reference was our own dads or father figures growing up.  While our genetics may be similar, our experiences and behaviors may not be.  There are some critical issues that men need to face in order to become responsible and committed dads.    The family of origin influences a father's knowledge, attitudes, values, and behavior about raising and caring for a child.  To gain better insight, fathers should be asked what he learned about being a father from his parents and extended family.  Not only do they learn how to b

Men and Anxiety Having anxiety is a normal part of everyday living.  You may have anxiety facing a problem at work or before taking a test in school.  This level of anxiety is temporary and usually situation specific.  The anxiety becomes a problem when it does not go away, gets worse over time, and interferes with daily activity such as job performance , school activities, and relationships. Our culture expects men to be strong at all times, so they are especially reluctant to seek treatment for anxiety.  Even if they acknowledge something is wrong, they will probably just label it as "stress" and try to manage their problems on their own, or look physical causes, such as heart problems.  The idea that men are too strong to experience anxiety can leave some feeling embarrassed and isolated.  With anxiety, too much time alone can often exacerbate emotions and make things worse,  Pride can also get in the way of asking for help. Another mistake commonly made by men is