"The Doctor's Opinion"
Dr. Ashley Peak, MD, ABPN, ABAM
Medical Director
Emotional Protective Equipment
Discussions around Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are part of life now. Shortages of masks, gowns, gloves, sanitizer, disinfectant are an unfortunate consequence of the current pandemic. This places healthcare providers and patients at higher risk of illness and it is difficult to listen to or read the news without hearing about it. As a psychiatrist, I spend a lot of time thinking and reading about the mental health consequences of the pandemic. Certainly, frontline workers and severely ill patients are at risk of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. The general population struggles too and places our patients at The Morton Center at a much higher risk of relapse. So perhaps we should shift the discussion temporarily to
Emotional Protective Equipment, or EPE
. How can we protect ourselves and our patients from high risk mental health consequences and relapse during this unusually stressful time? Here is a list of evidence-based EPE:
- Prioritize sleep hygiene. Restorative sleep is essential for maintaining emotional resilience, adequate immunity, and cognitive function. Search online for sleep hygiene tips.
- Prioritize connection. Physical distancing doesn’t necessarily mean social distancing. Call or facetime with your friends and family to check in and support one another. Oxytocin (Vitamin O) release occurs when we seek out emotional connection and supports mental wellness and feelings of intimacy.
- Laugh as often as you can. Watch some stand-up, reminisce with old friends, read a funny book, or watch a comedy. Laughter triggers serotonin and dopamine release in our brains, making us feel more content and safe.
- Prioritize Movement. Take the focus off burning calories and the concept of exercise. Find some type of movement which brings you joy: walking the dog, playing games outside, dancing in your living room, kayaking, etc. If physical activity is fun, we are more willing to return to it and benefit from greater dopamine release and consistent oxygenation of our brains. This leads to release of BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor), which is protective against aging and stress!
- Connect with your creative side. Get your art on! Writing, painting, drawing, coloring, singing, acting, playing an instrument, listening to music, etc. are all easily accessible ways to relax and find a state of flow.
- Express Yourself. Need to cry? Do it! Feeling angry? Journal about it, scream into a pillow, talk about it, etc. Repressed emotions lead to a host of physical and mental health issues, so process your emotions with trusted confidants or professionals.
- Take some deep mindful breaths. Mindfulness and meditation tutorials are easily found online. Just a few minutes each day can lead to significant gains toward a peaceful mind.
So in addition to discussions about PPE, I’d love to hear more about
EPE, Emotional Protective Equipment
. Try some of these evidence-based suggestions and let us know how they work for you!
Sincerely,
Ashley Peak, MD
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The Research
Dr. Navdeep Kang: Finding, maintaining sobriety in the era of the coronavirus
Published by clermontsun.com on Mary 7, 2020
In this op-ed in
The Clermont Sun
, BrightView's Dr. Navdeep Kang talks about finding and maintaining sobriety in the era of the coronavirus. He relates that, "like everyone else, folks in recovery from addiction are now finding their support systems overburdened, their self-care skills challenged, and their vulnerability at a high-point, regardless of past effort invested into personal wellness."
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The Clinician's Point of View
Myra L. Woodard, MSSW, LCADC
What is resilience and why is it important to sobriety?
Resilience and sobriety go hand and hand, and both can be built in painful moments and situations. Resilience is the capacity to adapt and bounce back from challenges or difficult circumstances. It allows individuals to better handle life and use coping skills during difficult times. Effective resiliency allows one to recover from troubling situations without returning to the use of drugs and alcohol. An individual may experience overwhelming feelings of depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues but adequate resilience provides one the ability to maintain a much-needed life balance.
Why do some individuals have a greater capacity to persevere and succeed even after significant experiences of trauma and pain? It is not because they are extraordinarily strong, powerful, or good at what they do, it is because they are resilient. Resilience gives one the ability to bounce back and recover from events associated with addiction, trauma, abuse, or finances, among others, and regroup following painful losses and setbacks.
Everyone has a certain amount of resilience. Even if you feel that you can’t fight the urges, cravings, or triggers, your level of resilience determines how well you will cope. Learning to face challenges, balance emotional sobriety and work through difficulties may determine the difference between sobriety and relapse. Living a life of sustained sobriety is more than just being abstinence from drugs and alcohol, and how one processes, responds, or reacts to a given situation has huge implications on how an individuals’ life will go.
Resilience is often developed with time and experience, but several common acronyms can be useful reminders of how to manage long term sobriety to practice characteristics associated with resilience.
- GOD (Good Orderly Direction) -surrender to something outside of self that will to lead to good orderly direction.
- HOW (Honest, Open-minded, and Willing)- be honest with self, open minded to new ideas, and willing to try them.
- SPONSOR (Sober Person Offering Newcomers Suggestions On Recovery) - have a sponsor to guide and support you to healthy way of life being happy, joyous, and free.
- HOPE (Hearing Other Peoples Experiences) - attend recovery-oriented meetings such as AA, NA, CA, SMART Recovery, etc., and start building new healthy relationships in recovering community.
- FEAR (Face Everything and Recover) - don’t run, hide, or be scared.
- HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired) - these can be used as warning signs in relapse prevention. Take care of yourself physically, emotional, and mentally, and maintain and nurture a spiritual connection. Practice mindfulness, meditation, yoga etc. to restore, maintain peace and serenity, and nurture spiritual connection during difficult times.
- RAID (Recognize, Accept, Inventory, and Decide [to do the right thing]).
- YET (You Eligible Too) - if one doesn’t remain sober, all the consequences that have not happened YET will come.
- RELAX (Recreation, Exercise, Laugh, and Explore [new hobbies, interest, and places]).
Resilience is the capacity to adapt to negative change and recover from it. It is the negative, hurtful, painful, and bad things that happen in life and all the things that life throws at you when the level of resilience matters. How we process, respond and react determines where their life will go from there…
Are you going to Succumb or Surmount?
To exercise resilience, some changes must have happened. It is important to understand your belief system. Your beliefs impact your feelings, your feelings impact how you are think and your thoughts determines how you will react and/or respond.
Sometimes life throw things at you that are hard, painful and make you feel tired, weak, and feel like you can’t keep going …sometimes all the strength you need is to ask others for help.
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Reading List
Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything
by Viktor E. Frankl
Find hope even in these dark times with this rediscovered masterpiece, a companion to his international bestseller
Man’s Search for Meaning
.
Eleven months after he was liberated from the Nazi concentration camps, Viktor E. Frankl held a series of public lectures in Vienna. The psychiatrist, who would soon become world famous, explained his central thoughts on meaning, resilience, and the importance of embracing life even in the face of great adversity.
Published here for the very first time in English, Frankl’s words resonate as strongly today—as the world faces a coronavirus pandemic, social isolation, and great economic uncertainty—as they did in 1946. He offers an insightful exploration of the maxim “Live as if you were living for the second time,” and he unfolds his basic conviction that every crisis contains opportunity. Despite the unspeakable horrors of the camps, Frankl learned from the strength of his fellow inmates that it is always possible to “say yes to life”—a profound and timeless lesson for us all.
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Staff Spotlight
Toya Liggons CSW, LCADC
Clinical Manager
Toya received a Master Degree in Social Work from Spalding University, and currently holds both LCADC (Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor) and CSW (Certified Social Worker) in the state of Kentucky. She serves as Clinical Manager at The Morton Center. Toya has a strong desire to "help clients achieve goals to improve their life through the recovery process." She aspires to be a servant leader and works to inspire her team and student interns to follow their dreams. In her current role as Clinical Manager she hopes to increase employee retention and satisfaction.
In her free time Toya enjoys riding horses and camping out in the woods. She says she "loves being outdoors and connecting with nature.
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Spring Programming News:
Spotlight on Telehealth
Telehealth is defined as the delivery and facilitation of health and health-related services including medical care, provider and patient education, health information services, and self-care via telecommunications and digital communication technologies. The Morton Center provides telehealth services for current and new clients unable to attend in-office individual counseling sessions. Telehealth allows for live distance counseling services anywhere in the state.
Email
tmcinfo@themortoncenter.org
for more information, or
click here to learn more.
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Support The Morton Center
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Did you know you shopping at Kroger and Amazon helps support our Mission?
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Please don’t forget to enroll to make sure The Morton Center receives the benefits of your shopping at Kroger.
It’s really easy and only takes two minutes, please also find the information on Facebook and share with friends and family. Every dollar raised helps provide treatment to our scholarship program. Click below for instructions.
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You can also shop on Amazon and help provide support to the scholarship program by clicking and following the steps below.
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About The Morton Center
The Morton Center is a full-service addiction recovery facility offering professional counseling and therapy, as well as prevention and educational services, for individuals and families struggling with substance abuse issues. Since 1984, our customized, holistic approach has helped to reengage individuals and their families with lives of meaning and purpose often lost in addiction.
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Contact us:
The Morton Center - 1028 Barret Avenue, Louisville, KY 40204
ph. 502-451-1221
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