“Accepting The Unexpected”

• To accept life on life’s terms, means to face unexpected and sometimes
• unacceptable events that arise as part of our human experience.
• We face our deepest pain, fears, our worse case scenarios,
• and yet having a deep sense of surviving this challenge, stronger than we could imagine.
• I know that this is quite a task, and for some of us a real hardship.
• We struggle with why did this happen to me?  Depression, anger with the world,
• anger with God, are some of the reactions to the unexpected or unimaginable.
• How do we deal with these challenges that suddenly arise in our life?
• What happens when we question our beliefs,and lose faith?
• Is it ok to question and be angry with our fate?

• I believe to question is part of our humanness. We are constantly searching for answers.
• Human beings are searchers and seekers.
• Human History back to biblical times is evidence of that.
• So, for those of us who are spiritual, one of the ways to cope,with the unexpected,
•  or unacceptable is to utilize your spiritual resources.
• Believing in a power greater than ourselves, helps to make the senseless more manageable.
• Learning to let go of the pain,and asking for help from this higher power,
• is a great way to overcome the confusion of the less than understandable.

• Many individuals do not reach to their spiritual resources to comprehend
• events that are unexpected or unacceptable.
• It important to  utilize  your greatest strengths, and find the ability to reach out to others.
• Search for solutions to the situation.  Obtaining knowledge and advice are critical
• for everyone dealing with any difficult situation.
• It is imperative to understand what you are facing from all angles.
• Facing the unexpected now, another surprise is not what you need at this time.
• An example in a medical crisis, a sudden heart attack….
• Getting the most knowledge about the diagnosis we can.
• We search for the best treatments being offered, and we don’t accept only one solution.
• This is how we look for answers for any difficult unexpected event.
• Be your own advocate and find resources to support you!
• Remember not to isolate, and to find help!

“Announcing A New Support Group In Miami, Florida! “ 

 For information please call Lisa Sharf @ 786-356-9342. or email lisa@lisasharf.com

]]> http://justcalllisa.com/?feed=rss2&p=1082 0 http://justcalllisa.com/?p=1053 http://justcalllisa.com/?p=1053#comments Fri, 26 Oct 2012 20:01:20 +0000 http://justcalllisa.com/?p=1053

The future of Mental Health is looking brighter, as science advances, and brain imaging is distinctively showing  which areas of the brain are effected. Treatments are becoming more targeted to individuals needs.

• I have just returned from a conference in San Diego, California. 
• The conference covered the newest research and advances in psychopharmacology.
• I am pleased to inform you that the field is advancing, and that medications are being developed that will respond to your gene profile.
• This is in relationship to whether you have the gene makeup, lets say in Depression;  Do  you have the gene profile to be a Serotonin Inhibitor, or a Serotonin Inducer, or or the profile to be a Norepinephrine inhibitor or inducer, and so on. 
• These profiles explain why a person who is Serotonin inhibitor are usually resistant to an anti-depressant known as a SSRI.  

• We can now order a profile for individuals who have been treatment resistant to certain types of medications, side stepping weeks and a weeks of trials of different medications.

• The idea is to create a true remission the first time an episode occurs, and keep the person in remission as long as you can.

• Previously, one would wait for add on treatments when other treatments did not work alone or failed to create remission.

• There are also novel medications that work for different conditions, and being used  effectively, and are working for PTSD, Bipolar D/O, Schizophrenia, and other disorders.

•  Great Successes , along with Psychotherapy, light therapy, nutrition add ons such as Methyl Folate, and Sam e are being added. The newest philosophy  is to treat the first clinical depression aggressively!  Using all of the latest treatment modalities. 

Did you ever think for even one moment that the economy would not recover?

Countless numbers of people have lost their jobs over the past several years. What is even worse is, these individuals are not being re-hired into jobs of equal or greater opportunity. So as I think of the how I can counsel people on coping with job loss, and the extreme stress that occurs when this happens, I acknowledge that this is an enormous crisis today for so many in our country.

Finding support through friends, family, your physician, a counselor or therapist, a clergy member, or group, or a 12 step program is very helpful.

It is far too difficult to keep these feelings bottled up inside. Taking one step at a time to process what has occurred, and examine what decisions are necessary to move forward is of the upmost importance. These are the questions that run through peoples minds when thinking about starting again.

• Do I still have the intellectual capacity to learn new materials?
• Can I start over after working in the same field for so many years?
• Can I change careers in the middle of my life?
• How can I start something so new when I am this old?

I am here to say that our brain has the capacity to continue growing. We may advance in years, but we have the ability to keep learning and challenging ourselves.  In fact spiritually it is fundamental to our humanity to meet the challenge.  What do I mean when I say spiritually meet the challenge? I am saying that even though times may appear grim, we can gather the strength from within from a “Source Greater Than Ourselves” which I personally call God, to keep going. It is this inner strength and fortitude that helps us during the crossroads of our lives. I would say that “starting over” is a crossroad of one’s life.

To energize oneself into a positive frame of mind, we honestly need to make a list of  our goals and our true objectives. In order to do this we need to examine our feelings about how to achieve what we set out to do.  If we say we want to make a million dollars, is that really possible?  Does our job or career afford us the opportunity to have such a large salary?  Realistically looking what we could have achieved financially, today within our careers?  What would happen if we change to a different career altogether?  Are we willing to make the personal and financial changes to move forward in a different direction? Perhaps a move out of state, or living on one salary and going back to school?  Considering all options before deciding to move back into an already depressed job market. We can choose to examine  both strengths and capabilities, and areas that need improvement.

• Be willing to work on the areas that need improvement
• Push yourself to go after your dreams
• Don’t be afraid of new opportunities
• Make a list of  the careers you may want to consider
• Think about going back to school, be it Vocational or  at the University level
• Start telling yourself you can do anything you want to do.
• Remember “Age is Just A Number”

“The Stress Is Really Getting To Me!”

Can you remember back to August 2010, A Jet Blue, Flight Attendant, totally lost control.
He rode an emergency chute off the aircraft after an altercation with a passenger. He shouted, This was it, He could not handle the stress anymore. Is this another example of emotional overload? Think for a moment how the situation could have presented differently.

Can you imagine that you were working for a company that had a Stress Management
Program in Place. You could seek help with just a feeling that something was not right.
This program allows employees to seek help before a problem occurs.

For anyone overwhelmed like our fight attendant in 2010, a program offering continued supported could have proven invaluable to identifying the source of his feelings and the implementation of healthier coping mechanisms.

WHAT IS STRESS MANAGEMENT?
Stress Management is the way in which we utilize healthy ways to channel our stress. There is no one size fits all or a special way to manage stress. Each person has there own unique way of coping with stress. In fact, as years go by we see that our stress changes.
Today many are dealing with the stress of a poor economy and the loss of financial security.
Job loss, home foreclosure can be the worse case scenario of the past 5-6 years and each of us deals with this severe type of stress or loss differently!

Healthy Ways To Cope With Stress
1. Avoid unnecessary stress. Learn to say no to people and situations,
that you know could trigger you. This is changing or altering the stressor(s) or your stressful situation by minimizing your contact with the event or person.
2. Adapting to the stress by changing your reaction to the stress.
3. Be willing to compromise when you have a situation you cannot alter.
Learn when acceptance is important, and to move forward.
4. Learn to forgive and to be forgiven
5. Once you are recognize and identify what the stressors are, find ways to change things. Learn to communicate your feelings and assert yourself. Find someone to talk to,
stop keeping your feelings bottled up inside. This is a huge part of your stress,
and leads to potential emotional overload.
6. Our humanity, is our ability to feel and express our feelings.
Stop running away from feelings!
7. Look for ways to improve your physical and emotional health. Take a walk on the beach, meditate, go for a run, find a hobby, take a warm bath, go to a yoga class,
light a candle or incense. Connect with friends and share ideas.
8. Look at the bigger picture. How important is this problem ?
9. If necessary, Seek help find a therapist, or clergy member
if you are having difficulty and struggling with stress.
10. Find a way to have a sense of humor, and find time to watch a comedy!
11. Remind yourself that you are valuable and lovable each and every day.
12. Be grateful for everything you have, looking at your life as a gift.
13. Remember you do deserve to have peace of mind and to live a life of fulfillment.