Among the more important things we can do regarding the Coronavirus is to have good conversations with kids about it. This video is less than four minutes long but offers some great tips and “how to’s.”
Category Archives: Mental Hygiene
Anyone can save a life
September is Suicide Prevention Month! And, yes, anyone can save a life. I asked Paul Stearns, Representative for Maine District 119, if I could repost the following article from his E-Newsletter. While it emphasizes the point that health care providers often have an opportunity to intervene, anyone can. let me call your attention to the Suicide Safer Care Portal mentioned in the article. I’ll be adding this Portal to the resource page of this site as it is a gateway to some great resources. Note also that I am teaching several Suicide Awareness and Prevention 90-minute courses in the the near future. You can save a life!
To mark National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in September, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) is sharing the message that suicide prevention is up to all of us, and that anyone can save a life. Maine CDC promotes the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s #BeThe1To campaign (www.BeThe1To.com) and encourages individuals to recognize and intervene when someone they know may be at risk of suicide.
Support for Mainers at risk of suicide is critical. Since 1999, suicide death rates have increased in nearly every state, rising more than 30% in half the states. In Maine, suicide death rates increased by 27% from 1999 through 2016, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among Maine youth and adults ages 10-35. Family members, friends, and co-workers can all play a critical role by helping find care and support for those struggling with thoughts of suicide.
“Asking someone if they are thinking about killing themselves does not increase their risk of attempting suicide,” said Maine CDC Director Nirav D. Shah. “For someone contemplating suicide, knowing that someone cares and can connect them to help may be the thing that saves their life.”
“The statistics regarding youth suicide are alarming,” said Dr. Todd Landry, Director of Maine’s Office of Child and Family Services, which oversees child welfare and children’s behavioral health services. “Suicide is more common among vulnerable youth, so I encourage adults to engage with the youth in their lives – talk to them, ask them questions, and connect with them. For a youth who is struggling, that connection to a trusted adult who loves and cares about them can have tremendous importance.”
Doctors and counselors have a chance to intervene with those at risk. Sixty-four percent of people who attempt suicide visit their doctor in the month before their attempt and 38% do so in the week before. The Maine CDC is promoting the Suicide Safer Care Training Portal (sweetser.academy.reliaslearning.com/), a resource developed in partnership with the Sweetser Training Institute, to help providers reduce the risk of suicide among people in their care. This resource offers free, evidence-based online training in suicide risk screening, intervention, treatment, and support.
“Screening and high-quality care for suicide risk should be as routine as screening and caring for a person with diabetes,” said Director Shah. “People need to know it is a sign of strength to say they are struggling, and that help is available.”
If you are thinking about suicide or are aware of someone who is, reach out for help. Contact the Maine Crisis Hotline at 1-888-568-1112 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Register for Suicide Prevention Workshops
Due to the current situation with COVID-19, our workshop schedule is indefinite. Check with RSU 19 Adult Education in Newport, MSAD 53 Adult Education in Pittsfield. Both of these Adult Education Providers are offering the Suicide Prevention Workshop.
Organizations interested in sponsoring/hosting a workshop, please let us know. You can email or call Walter at 207 343-1842.
Course Sponsors, Contact Information
TRELG | The Real Estate Learning Group |
800-796-5308 | |
AVP: | |
207 343-1842 | |
PVAEC | Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative |
207 564-6525 | |
RSU19 | RSU 19/Nokomis Adult Education |
207 368-3290 | |
SAD53 | MSAD 53 Adult Education |
207 487-5145 | |
RSU 73 | Spruce Mountain Adult Education |
207 897-6406 |
You’re Not busy, are you?
I haven’t counted but I do know I’ve heard a lot of people whining lately about how busy they are. Perhaps I’ve done my fair share, although I try not to, partly because of a bias I developed a few years ago when I was asked by a client to teach “time management.” Since I believe prescription without diagnosis is malpractice in medicine, management, and education, I took a look at what was going on in his organization.
My conclusion was that time management wasn’t the issue. Priority management was the issue. The corporate culture had developed an unintended value that appearing overworked and stressed was important. I joked that most employees appeared to be too busy to do any meaningful work.
There’s an old joke about the company president who issued the memorandum that “We will keep having meetings until we figure out why nothing is getting done.” Talk about confusing activity with accomplishment!
I suppose it’s always been true but lately, it seems like being busy equates to some sort of badge of honor. The busier you are, the bigger and shinier badge you get to wear. I think it’s contagious. I know it’s competitive.
If you’re a social media buff, see how many timeline posts you can find claiming, “Well, I don’t have much to do…” Contrast that with those who are compelled to report their entire day’s schedule. It has a humorous aspect. “Gee, I’m so busy I barely had time to find these cute cat/puppy pictures to share.”
I’m sorry to say, I’m not impressed by busyness, particularly when it becomes a reason (excuse) for failure to do something others are depending on. I know several people who actually will spend a lot of time explaining how busy they are and how much they have to do and how sorry they are they haven’t gotten to… I bite my tongue so I don’t observe out loud they could have crossed a few things off the list in the time they spent telling me their story.
I had the good fortune to attend a few lectures by Ned Hermann back in the late ’80s. Ned was a true pioneer in the field of creative thinking and reasoning. He was also a great storyteller. In one of his lectures, he was explaining “theta” — those low-frequency brain waves associated with the early stages of sleep and the process of dreaming. They are also associated with enhanced creativity. He shared that he was sitting in his recliner, pushed back and relaxed, consciously entering a theta-like state. When his wife called to him to take out the trash he replied, “Can’t now… I’m working.”
I don’t think it would have been any less true if he’d said, “Can’t now… I’m busy.” What might appear as “doing nothing” may have great value. It really is about value.
Busy is about being engaged–it’s not about being overworked and overwhelmed. Busy is not a bad thing when it means the busy person is anxious to contribute and is seeking action.
The question we may need to ask ourselves occasionally is whether or not we are busy (engaged) with things that are truly important. How we decide importance may be a different topic for a different day. For now, let’s agree being busy for the sake of being busy isn’t effective or efficient. When we think we’re too busy to do certain things, we’re really saying those things aren’t important. Or at least they aren’t important enough to make time and find the energy for along with the other stuff.
It sounds rude, but I’ve found myself wishing people would be more honest and offer the explanation, “That’s not something I’m willing to make important right now.” Being honest might be as important as being busy.
I don’t care how busy I am – I will always make time for what’s most important to me.
Kevin Hart
You’re not mad, are you?
One of the more “touristy” things we did while in Canada was to visit the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. For the record, it’s a beautiful and extremely educational spot. When we entered the building and approached the ticket desk, a tour member slipped in front of us to approach the bright and chipper “ranger” (the museum is a provincial park). She began peppering Ranger Rachel (not her real name) with questions, requests, and observations that bordered on demands.
Ranger Rachel kept her composure throughout even while it was apparent that Terry Tourist was, for the most part, not really listening and unlikely to be satisfied with anything Ranger Rachel said or did. Since we were on vacation and in no real hurry I attempted to see the humor in it. When Terry Tourist ran out of steam and left, I approached the counter wearing my best international diplomatic smile.
Allowing her body to noticeably relax, Ranger Rachel sighed, “Why is everyone so angry this morning?” My guard was down and I said, truly without thinking, “I’ll bet you’ve dealt mostly with Americans today.” To her diplomatic credit, she didn’t confirm or deny my suspicion. We did, however, briefly discuss attitudes in general and tourists in particular.
It wasn’t until later I realized my spontaneous response reflected an almost unconscious observation I’d been recording. We encountered a lot less anger in Canada, at least among Canadians. And with the possible exception of Terry Tourist, it seemed to be contagious. It’s hard to be angry with someone who is smiling and being nice. Or at least it should be.
Sure, it was a vacation and I was probably wearing my rose-tinted (not as strong as rose-colored) glasses. But I’m convinced Canada–at least in the provinces we were in–is a happier and more relaxed place. Heck, even the Canadian Facebook Groups and Pages I visited and interacted with were friendly and peaceful. (Conversely, when I posted a photo on my timeline of a Canadian Ale I found quite tasty it didn’t take long for a comment to appear stating that all beer is rotten stuff, etc. and implying that I was encouraging people to ruin their lives.)
I don’t doubt for a minute that something in the commenter’s past influenced his thinking. But I am struggling with why he’s so angry because that anger will have a greater negative effect on him than a pint of Canadian Ale. I was tempted to reply, “Don’t worry, I won’t buy you one.” I suspect he would not have seen the humor in that.
So I guess I’m sorry that I don’t have an answer to Ranger Rachel’s question. Why are we so angry?
I do think part of the answer lies in society’s tendency to engage in victim-thinking. Politically and personally, we think it’s easy to blame someone or something for any unhappiness or difficulties that come our way. Lots of energy goes into figuring out who to blame that might be better spent figuring out how to solve the problem.
From victimhood, it’s not a big leap to feeling everyone and everything is against us. Once we’re there, it becomes very easy to feel abused and hopeless. Sometimes when we’ve had enough, we become vicious in word and, potentially in action. That viciousness can be directed towards ourselves as well as others.
Eleanor Roosevelt in This Is My Story observed, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” I think she’d agree that “No one can make you feel angry without your consent.” There is no logical reason for us to be victimized by our feelings. How we choose to respond to situations and people is well within our realm of choices. Anger is not the only option.
Knowing that, you aren’t mad are you?