Supporting the Emotional Health of You and Your Family After a Heart Attack/Stroke Happens

Go Red for Women by the American Heart Association does an excellent job promoting the signs and symptoms of an impending heart attack or stroke in women, and every year I enjoy helping to share that information. Go Red Day this year will be on February 1st and I always look forward to choosing that perfect red clothing item to sport all day long!

This year though, I have a particular issue about women's heart health that has continued to get my attention, and I'd like to take some time to shed some light on it. At the Mrs. International Pageant in July 2012, a very brave woman spoke at our orientation meeting, telling us not only about her heart attack experience, but also how it affected her and her family emotionally after she was in recovery. She described the difficult time that they all had dealing with the traumatic event of her heart attack because the fear of losing a mom and a wife just doesn't go away with recovery -- it's something that sticks with a family and increases the stress a family has about normal every day activities.

Of course being a family mental health advocate, this really made an impact on me, and I realized that not enough emphasis has been put on helping a family deal with the emotions of recovery. Families go through trauma when a heart attack or stroke strikes a loved female in the family. Trauma does not go away just because the person's medical condition gets better -- the fear and anxiety stick with you and can be a debilitating cloud hovering over everything. But not only are we talking about mental recovery from trauma, but also from the number of medicines that were pumped into the body in order to save a life. Withdrawal from anesthetics or pain medication can bring a host of emotional troubles including crying spells/depression, angry outbursts, and social withdrawal -- not to mention the number of ongoing prescriptions that are required for heart recovery with the side effects that they weild.

I do know that SAMHSA has created some initiatives that address this very concern, so it gives me hope that this is a growing issue of concern in the field of mental health. If you are looking for specific information about mental recovery after a heart attack or stroke, I really like the hearthealthywomen.org site. Even though I do my part in trying to share information to prevent heart attack and stroke in women, I believe now that it is equally as important to provide support to those in recovery -- not just celebrating recovery, but understanding the emotional depth of it too.

Have a great day of celebration on Friday and wear your red proudly for prevention AND recovery in women's heart health.

Planning for Awareness Activities -- NCMHAD 2013

 

At the PACE (Parents And Caregivers Empowered) meeting on Thursday, January 24th, I had the priviledge of facilitating a discussion with almost 100 parents and youth about what we as family members want to do to make our communities aware of the importance of children's mental health. SAMHSA has declared May 9th as the designated National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day for 2013, and we want to be ready to make an impact!

We had lots of great ideas and volunteers to specifically step-up and take leadership roles for things like coordinating poster contests, coloring contests, mayor proclamations, food donations for a "block party" event, and even more ways to involve as many community members as possible. At the end of the planning session there was a sense of excitement and a feeling of unity because we all have a common goal of educating others and creating awareness of the real facts about mental health and our families.

Following that discussion, my very good friend, April Scales, introduced a new campaign idea to us parents that she feels very passionate about and that we would like to see develop in our communities. The campaign is called "OUCH!" and is a concept from Leslie Aguilar's "Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts!" The Ouch Campaign follows the simple principle of standing up for others that may not be able to stand up for themselves when they are ridiculed, demeaned, or discriminated against. When you hear somebody say something that is offensive, and you're pretty sure that someone in the room probably felt the sting of those words -- all you have to do is say "Ouch." Sometimes, people don't know that they are hurting others with their words and just need some simple re-directing of their word choices. Or, if someone is intentionally being hurtful, then the person who is the target needs a friend to stand up and say 'I have your back, and what that person said is not ok.' "Ouch" becomes a simple way to change stigmatized messages and lift others up that may have frequently been the victim of judgement or ridicule.

With the rampant spread of awareness about bullying, it has become everyone's responsibility to not let classmates, coworkers, neighbors, or even family members target others and make them feel badly about themselves. I love the idea of the "Ouch" Campaign and I will be doing everything that I can to help my friend April establish the message in our communities. It applies so strongly to mental health and so many other things too. If you have additional ideas about sharing the message of "Ouch!"-- we would love to hear it! Just leave a comment or email me at greenribbonadvocate@gmail.com or April at ascales@egyptian.org

What's the future of children's mental health?

As the dabate continues about gun control after the Newtown tragedy, mental health is interwoven in all the discussions... As it should be! But of course, everyone has a different idea of what that mental health discussion should be, and who knows what actual interventions will be implemented and followed through to longterm sustainability. Knowing that President Obama would be addressing gun control and mental health, my colleagues and I have been anticipating just how this is all going to take place and how receptive that our nation will be -- which is a conversation we were already having about our own small community we continue to serve.

I became very excited about the possibilities for change in our nation when Sandra Spencer, Executive Director of the National Federation of Families, informed us that she had been invited to join the conversation at the White House regarding the recommendations that Vice President Biden would be providing President Obama about gun control initiatives. Upon leaving the meeting, she prepared a video to inform Federation members about her role in the meeting and what she hoped would be a huge step in a positive direction to help America understand the position of families and caregivers already addressing mental health challenges -- and in effect why the feelings they have are the same as caregivers that are not seeking treatment for fear of social ridicule and judgment. See the video below to hear her address to Federation members.

 

As I listened to Sandra's words, I was inspired by how well she captured the depth of what America needs to know in order to understand the importance of children's mental health diagnosis and treatment along with unstigmatized support from a family's community at large. When I talked to Sandra individually to applaud her job well done and to express how moving I felt her address to the Federation members was, she shared additional information about being asked back to the White House to continue the conversation after the President's Press Conference on Wednesday, January 16th. She expressed her excitement as to being able to give more information for prompting action to celebrate the upcoming children's mental health awareness day and promoting the identification of the green ribbon in support!

 

One of the most infuriating and sad things about our world today is that it takes a tragedy like Sandy Hook in order to call attention to something that should have been addressed a long time ago anyway! But as I look at the details surrounding this event, a close friend of mine brought to my attention that the school colors of Sandy Hook just happened to be green and white. A call of rememberance was made for everyone to wear green in honor of those lost on the Monday following the shooting. For me, I believe this adds a whole new level of possible response for the green ribbon in support of children's mental health. I feel that the tragedy at Newtown has given all dedicated green ribbon advocates an additional push of motivation to share the message of awareness this May.

 

In the official statement released from the White House after the Presiden't Press Conference on Wednesday morning (see the document by clicking here) President Obama says, "We are going to need to work on making access to mental health care as easy as access to a gun." I definitely second that!  What remains to be seen however, is whether or not America will follow suit and agree about the protection of our children and that it includes both gun control and mental health awareness and services for all.

 

 I'm hoping for the best possible future for children's mental health and that public awareness and acceptance changes dramatically over the next year. I'll say it over and over again in the months to come...I'm a green ribbon advocate for many, many reasons. How about you?