Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Mental Health Awareness for February 2017 | ADD . . . and-so-much-more

https://addandsomuchmore.com/2017/02/01/mental-health-awareness-for-february-2017/

Mental Health Awareness for February 2017

Wednesday, February 1, 2017 34 Comments

Along with Advocacy & Awareness
for mental health related issues
(and a calendar for the month!)

by Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, CTP, CMC, ACT, MCC, SCAC
Part of the ADD/ADHD Cormidities series

It takes one person to make a difference —
just think of what thousands can do.
~ Psychology Today 2016 Awareness Calendar

Online Marketing Gurus extol the effectiveness of piggy-backing posts,
onto particular events – how about one or several of the ones below?

Mark your blogging calendars!

Many days of the year have been set aside every month to promote awareness or advocacy of an issue, illness, disability, or special-needs related cause.

Included on every Awareness Month list at ADDandSoMuchMORE.com are awareness and advocacy reminders for health problems that intersect, exacerbate or create problems with cognition, mood, memory, follow-through and attention management.

In addition to a calendar for the current month, each Awareness post attempts to offer a list highlighting important days and weeks that impact and intersect with mental health issues.

If I've missed anything, please let me know in a comment so that I can add it to the list below.

May 2017 be the year
when EVERYONE becomes aware of
the crying need for upgraded mental health Awareness.

Google Find – suspicious link to source not included here

Stay tuned for more articles about Executive Functioning struggles and management throughout the year (and check out the Related Posts for a great many already published).

Remember: If you write (or have written) an article that adds content to any of these categories,
feel free to leave a link in the comment section and I will add it to the post's Related Content.

Don't forget that you can always check out the sidebar
for a reminder of how links work on this site, they're subtle ==>

Awareness and Advocacy Events for February
(and how they intersect with Mental Health & cognitive challenges)

AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month
Eye Health Northwest

Anyone who has struggled through the age-related decline in visual acuity can attest to the strong link between great vision and great functioning.

As I grow older and various pairs of readers dot my home landscape, I have been been forced to notice how very much I had relied on formerly life-long excellent vision to help me cope with short-term memory and other executive functioning deficits.

Kids E.N.T. Month
American Academy of Otolaryngology

National health statistics reveal that pediatric ear, nose, and throat disorders remain among the primary reasons children visit a physician, with ear infections ranking as the number one reason for an appointment.

Only a few of those Ear, Nose & Throat specialists are aware that childhood ear infections are one of the Red Flag Warnings for ADD/EFD challenges.

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week
February 26 – March 4, 2017
National Eating Disorders Association

Eating disorders — including, among others, anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder – are a mixture of extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors stemming from and surrounding inaccurate body perception, obsession with weight, and/or food issues and sensitivities.

They are extremely complex illnesses, arising from a variety of biological, psychological and social factors. All eating disorders are serious emotional and physical problems that can have life-threatening consequences for males as well as females.

However you feed your body is how your BRAIN gets fed too.
Garbage in – garbage out!

National Cancer Prevention Month
American Institute for Cancer Research
World Cancer Day
World Health Organization: World Cancer Day
February 4

"Taking place under the tagline We can. I can., World Cancer Day 2016-2018 will explore how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer." ~WorldCancerDay.org

AICR estimates that approximately one-third of cases of the most common cancers in the U.S. could be prevented by eating healthy, being active, and staying lean. That's an estimated 374,000 cases of cancer in the United States that would never happen.

In addition to cancer's frequent ride-alongs – depression and anxiety – 'chemo-brain' is well-known for cognitive side-effects mirroring ADD/EFD challenges.

National Shut-In Visitation Day
TLC Caregivers
World Day of the Sick
Short Wikipedia Article
February 11

Freedom! We usually take for granted our ability to leave our homes each day, as we drive to a favorite store, go out to eat, walk through the park, or simply enjoy a walk around the neighborhood.

Even in cases where family is available, a "new friend" can change the lives of those who can't — isolated people of any age, as it provides a much-appreciated break for family and other Caregivers.

Longing for connection and community? Periodic visits with a shut-in can brighten your day as well as theirs, positively impacting mental and physical well-being for both of you! Today gives you a great reason to begin the practice.

[Related Post: The Importance of Community to Health]

Feeding Tube Awareness Week
February 6-12
Feeding Tube Awareness

Feeding for nutrition and health is key, of course – but it's also important to include those elements that are needed for brain health, even if – and sometimes especially when – a feeding tube is only temporary.

Neuro-protection helps avoid some of the damage and/or or promote healing with Traumatic or Acquired Brain Injuries [TBI/ABIs].

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week
February 7-14
Congenital Heart Information Network

Science tells us now that anything that's good for your heart is excellent for your brain. Conversely, folks with hearts that are struggling will find their situation further challenged by cognitive complications.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Week
Timing varies by area
Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy [PPMD]

Duchenne is the most common form of MS in children. It is an X-chromosome related, progressive disorder, causing muscles to become weaker over time until it eventually affects the entire body. To date, there is no cure, nor is there a treatment to halt it's progression – but much can be done to increase happiness and the number of healthy years.

Individuals with Duchenne are more likely to have problems with development, learning, behavior, social interactions, and emotional adjustment than same age healthy peers. Much rarer in girls, PPMD estimates that, in the US alone, there are about 15,000 young men diagnosed with Duchenne today.

Although genetic disorders are usually passed down from a parent to a child,
Duchenne can occur even if it is missing in your family history.

If you see developmental delays in your child,
don't wait to seek diagnosis & treatment.
Many of the early presenting symptoms mimic ADD/EFD.

Duchenne can (but does not always) affect brain development and cause weakness in certain cognitive or problem-solving skills. Medication side effects, fatigue, physical limitations, family stress, and difficulty coping with the diagnosis can also lead to psychosocial problems.

National Donor Day
February 14
OrganDonor.gov

Were you aware that you could leave organs specifically? Neuroscientist and researchers need brain donations – especially from those who died from or struggled with brain-related illnesses.

Related Post: Good news on brain-aging from The Nun Study.

National Caregivers Day
(Third Friday in February)
Random Acts of Kindness Day
February 17

Here's an idea: Today's Random Act of Kindness could be a box of on-sale Valentine candy as a thank you to an unpaid and under-acknowledged someone who is holding down the care-giving fort at home.

Even better – walk a day in their shoes and give them an entire 24 hours OFF. They'll be overjoyed — and you will find it difficult to take them for granted again!

Rare Diseases Day
Last day of February
Rare Disease Day USA
The National Organization for Rare Disorders [NORD]
The European Organization for Rare Disorders [EURORDIS]

The main objective of Rare Disease Day is to raise awareness among the general public and decision-makers about rare diseases and their impact on patients' lives – many of which are cognitive and/or psychological.

Here in the USA, a rare disease is defined as any illness, condition, syndrome, disease or disorder affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans.

There are more than 7,000 known rare diseases impacting 30 Million Americans — almost 1 in 10 people.

An estimated 50% of people with cancer are battling a rare form.

Rare cancers include brain, pancreatic, ovarian, thyroid, and stomach cancers; leukemia and lymphoma; and ALL pediatric cancers.

There are more Americans who live with a rare disease than the sum total of those who have either HIV, Heart Disease or Stroke.

90% of American healthcare providers must attempt to treat the majority of rare disease patients with Non-FDA approved drugs – frequently only after cutting through layers of administrative red tape to be able to include them as study participants (in studies that are even willing to accept patients who might lower their survival statistics).

Since laws are not as convoluted outside the US, many sufferers go outside its borders for treatment by experts in other countries.

A long-time close friend of mine was one of them.
He was supposed to have died from a brain tumor over six years ago.

Yesterday, following his most recent treatment – finally available in a limited number of hospitals here in the US – he told me that he was currently enjoying the best health he has experienced since before diagnosis.

He is, of course, broke — scrambling every single month
to keep basic needs barely covered.

Worth your time to check out John E. McDonough's thought-provoking article,
Five Affordable Care Act questions for the GOP: Republican plans don't add up
while there's still time to let your elected representatives know how you feel.

WordPress.com users may prefer to find it HERE.

Other links to other posts and lists can be found below (in the Related Content section at the bottom of the majority of my articles), with my appreciation for improving your own Awareness, with hopes that you will help me SPREAD THE WORD!

Thanks again to Terri Mauro, Parenting Special Needs Expert from the VeryWell.com site
for many of the links that formed the genesis of the original Awareness articles.

As always, if you want notification of new articles in this Series – or any new posts on this blog – give your email address to the nice form on the top of the skinny column to the right. (You only have to do this once, so if you've already asked for notification about a prior series, you're covered for this one too). STRICT No Spam Policy

IN ANY CASE, do stay tuned.
There's a lot to know, a lot here already, and a lot more to come – in this Series and in others.
Get it here while it's still free for the taking.

Want to work directly with me? If you'd like some coaching help with anything that came up while you were reading this Series (one-on-one couples or group), click HERE for Brain-based Coaching with mgh, with a contact form at its end (or click the E-me link on the menubar at the top of every page). Fill out the form, submit, and an email SOS is on its way to me; we'll schedule a call to talk about what you need. I'll get back to you ASAP (accent on the "P"ossible!)

You might also be interested in some of the following articles
available right now – on this site and elsewhere.

For links in context: run your cursor over the article above and the dark grey links will turn dark red;
(subtle, so they don't pull focus while you read, but you can find them to click when you're ready for them)
— and check out the links to other Related Content in each of the articles themselves —

Wednesday, February 22, 2017