Get enough rest. To have good mental and emotional health, it’s important to take care of your body. That includes getting enough sleep. Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep each night in order to function optimally.
Learn about good nutrition and practice it. The subject of nutrition is complicated and not always easy to put into practice. But the more you learn about what you eat and how it affects your energy and mood, the better you can feel.
Exercise to relieve stress and lift your mood. Exercise is a powerful antidote to stress, anxiety, and depression. Look for small ways to add activity to your day, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or going on a short walk. To get the most mental health benefits, aim for 30 minutes or more of exercise per day.
Get a dose of sunlight every day. Sunlight lifts your mood, so try to get at least 10 to 15 minutes of sun per day. This can be done while exercising, gardening, or socializing.
Limit alcohol and avoid cigarettes and other drugs. These are stimulants that may unnaturally make you feel good in the short term, but have long-term negative consequences for mood and emotional health.
Improving Emotional Health: Strategies and Tips for Good Mental Health
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
As I look back over my life
I've been hesitant to share this event, but I almost died on November 9th. I think I had been trying to down play it - especially to my kids, but the absolute truth of the matter is that I could be dead and gone.
On Sunday, Nov. 8, I had been out of breath and having pains in my chest all day. It continued throughout the night and I didn't get much sleep. I just decided that I would call my doctor in the morning when I got to work. So I got up, got dressed and went on into work. As I usually do on Monday mornings, I stopped by the Fire Academy to talk to Lt. Stallings and Lt. Davis - both of whom are paramedics as well as instructors at the fire academy. I just happened to mention to them my "little problem" and Yolanda (Stallings) immediately took out her bood pressure equipment and took my pressure. It turned out to be 220/168. She told Lt. Forrest to call 911 and I said "No - for what. Take the other arm that must be wrong." So, she took other arm and it was about the same. But I HATE hospitals and was refusing to go. Yoland just put me on oxygen and the next thing I knew the ambulance was there. Ok - so I agreed to go the hospital as long as they didn't take my to Einstein or Temple. So they took me to Roxborough.
On the way, I rec'd two shots of nitroglycerin under my tongue and two baby aspirin. Blood pressure stayed elevated.
Alright - to make a long story shore - the Dr. at Roxborough took 2 EKGs and told me that "your heart is trying to go into cardiac arrest, but it wont." She looked kinda baffled as I recall. I know i was baffled - and still refused to see the seriousness of the situation and wanted to know how long before I would be released. She kindly let me know that I wasn't going to be released - I was being transferred to Hanemann Hospital where they would check for clotting and blockage - of whicH THERE WAS NONE! The only thing they found was that my heart was shaped very abnormally...like it was twisted. (maybe my heart actually did break when it felt like it broke when my mom passed away.)
So, I got my Christmas miracle early this year - just in time for Thanksgiving. It wasn't even until after Thanksgiving that I really sat down and thought about what had happened to me...I was still in denial. But there is no doubt that logically speaking, I should be dead...but I'm not.
I guess my work here isn't finished yet.
On Sunday, Nov. 8, I had been out of breath and having pains in my chest all day. It continued throughout the night and I didn't get much sleep. I just decided that I would call my doctor in the morning when I got to work. So I got up, got dressed and went on into work. As I usually do on Monday mornings, I stopped by the Fire Academy to talk to Lt. Stallings and Lt. Davis - both of whom are paramedics as well as instructors at the fire academy. I just happened to mention to them my "little problem" and Yolanda (Stallings) immediately took out her bood pressure equipment and took my pressure. It turned out to be 220/168. She told Lt. Forrest to call 911 and I said "No - for what. Take the other arm that must be wrong." So, she took other arm and it was about the same. But I HATE hospitals and was refusing to go. Yoland just put me on oxygen and the next thing I knew the ambulance was there. Ok - so I agreed to go the hospital as long as they didn't take my to Einstein or Temple. So they took me to Roxborough.
On the way, I rec'd two shots of nitroglycerin under my tongue and two baby aspirin. Blood pressure stayed elevated.
Alright - to make a long story shore - the Dr. at Roxborough took 2 EKGs and told me that "your heart is trying to go into cardiac arrest, but it wont." She looked kinda baffled as I recall. I know i was baffled - and still refused to see the seriousness of the situation and wanted to know how long before I would be released. She kindly let me know that I wasn't going to be released - I was being transferred to Hanemann Hospital where they would check for clotting and blockage - of whicH THERE WAS NONE! The only thing they found was that my heart was shaped very abnormally...like it was twisted. (maybe my heart actually did break when it felt like it broke when my mom passed away.)
So, I got my Christmas miracle early this year - just in time for Thanksgiving. It wasn't even until after Thanksgiving that I really sat down and thought about what had happened to me...I was still in denial. But there is no doubt that logically speaking, I should be dead...but I'm not.
I guess my work here isn't finished yet.
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