Mental Health Topics
Therapist Dana Nolan and Dietitian Tejal Parekh will be offering presentations at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on Saturday, April 13, 2013. The Blood Cancer Symposium is being held at the Citrus Club in Orlando, Florida.
This is part of an educational program series provided by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, that provides mutual support and education for family members. If you or a loved one have a diagnosis of Leukemia, Hodgkins Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, Myeloma or Myelodysplastic Syndrome, this symposium will provide you with information about making Healthy Food Choices in the Fight Against Cancer, Cancer Treatment, and Survivorship (getting back to normal after cancer treatment). This is a great opportunity to discuss anxiety and concern with others who share the same experiences.
Dana Nolan is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Tejal Parekh is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian. Both professionals are members of Healthy Living Counseling which provides counseling services for cancer and other serious illnesses.
Pre-registration for this FREE Cancer Symposium provided by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is required. Please refer to the flyer below for more information.
Why should we focus on reducing our stress levels? Feeling overwhelmed physically or emotionally on a regular basis has been proven in medical research to lead to high blood pressure, regular headaches, depression, anxiety, and weakens our immune system. Besides, it simply doesn’t feel good when our stress levels are too high!
While most people think that you have to be still and relax to combat stress, mental health professionals recommend that getting active is also an effective way to reduce stress. Stress feels like “pent up” energy and when we tire ourselves out physically, we are actually blowing off some of that energy and are more able to relax and our sleep improves. Here in Central Florida, we are lucky to have amazing weather most of the year and can take advantage of the many health benefits of a variety of outdoor activities. Being outside and getting some exercise are two things that reduce our experience of stress. We have many picturesque parks and nature trails in Central Florida. A great way to clear your mind is to take a walk or jump on a bike and hit the West Orange Trail, Cady Way, or the Seminole Wekiva Trail. If you work in downtown Orlando, talk a walk around Lake Eola during lunch or after work. Visit many of our local springs and rivers (like Wekiva Springs State Park, Kelly Park, or Blue Springs) for canoeing, kayaking, or swimming.
People from around the world visit Central Florida for our theme parks (Walt Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios, Legoland Florida) and spending the day walking around the parks is a great way to take a break from our busy lives and enjoy the company of our family and friends. Even if you don’t have passes to any of the amusement parks, you can walk around Downtown Disney or Universal Orlando’s Citywalk and enjoy dinner, dancing, and live music.
Making time on a regular basis to break away from our busy lives to enjoy the outdoors and get our blood pumping is a very effective way to keep our stress levels at a manageable level. If you are feeling overwhelmed with stress and want to learn more ways to feel relaxed and in control, contact Dana Nolan at Healthy Living Counseling for a free brief telephone consultation to discuss ways to better manage stress in your life!
When we eat food high in simple sugars, our body releases insulin, a growth hormone that takes care of the excess glucose in our body. It is believed that excess insulin may promote the growth of cancer cells and therefore our goal is to stabilize our glucose levels that will in turn, stabilize our insulin levels. How do we do this?
Essentially, we want to follow a diabetic diet. Eat small, frequent meals and snacks every 3 hours or so and avoid excess simple, processed sugars such as sodas, candy, cookies and cakes. We also want to eat more complex carbohydrates, i.e. whole grains. A meal containing protein, fat and/or fiber will help to slow down sugar absorption resulting in a slow rise in blood glucose levels and therefore a slow rise in insulin levels.
For more information or to clarify anything in this article, don’t hesitate to contact your Healthy Living Dietitian, Tejal Parekh, MS, RD/LDN. Tejal provides services related to healthy eating for Cancer Patients, as well as, for people with heart disease, and other serious illnesses.
How do I support my loved one who has cancer?
By Dana Nolan, LMHC
As a counselor who specializes in working with patients struggling with serious illnesses, I get many questions from caregivers about what they should say or do that is helpful and supportive. We are all very different in terms of what we find supportive when we are sick. Some people like a lot of support, reassurance and offers of practical assistance. Other people prefer to be treated completely normal (as if there is no health crisis at all) by their family and friends UNLESS they ask for assistance. There is not one right way to support someone you love when they have cancer. There is just the way that works best for them AND you!
My suggestion is to ask your loved one HOW you can best support them. Then, listen to what they have to say. Another good option is to really think about what you can do for them and offer specifics. Do you have the ability to drive them to a doctor/treatment appointment one day a week? Are you willing to mow their lawn while they are in treatment? Are you able to bring a family meal to them every other week? Are you available for them to call 24/7 if they just want to talk or cry? Many people are reluctant to ask for help when they have cancer because they don’t know how much is too much to ask. If you offer something specific, then there is no question in their mind what help you mean when you make the offer of assistance or support.
One last suggestion is to resist the temptation to tell your loved one with cancer to “always be positive and strong.” It is easy to feel positive when someone gets good news from the doctor or they are having a side-effect free day. But, when they are really struggling with side effects or just got news that their treatment isn’t working as planned, then pressure to “be positive” doesn’t feel helpful and often leads the person with cancer to feel as if they are failing as a patient. Our loved ones with cancer are entitled to every single emotion that accompanies their experience (the good, the bad and the ugly!) We can best support them by just listening to what they are feeling and accepting their sadness, tears or anger at their current situation just as we would listen to them and accept their emotions when they are sharing good news or joy that their cancer is in remission!
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