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& Rio Grande Valley Thursday, May 26, 2022

Factors that can adversely affect mood

Valley Baptist Health System recognizes Metro Creative Connection find themselves routinely
confronting bad moods may
No one is immune to the be dealing with chronic stress.

May as Mental Health Awareness Month occasional bad mood. A bad

Special to the Star
BROWNSVILLE /
HARLINGEN – For more
than 70 years, the month
of May has served as
Mental Health Awareness
Month, bringing with it
increased awareness of
behavioral health issues
and how good mental
health is important to
quality of life.
Becky Tresnicky, MSW,
LCSW, and Director of
Behavioral Health
Services and
Performance Excellence
at Valley Baptist-
Brownsville, said aware-
ness can play a key role
in providing support to
those who may be strug-
gling with mental health
issues.
“Mental illness doesn’t
discriminate. It affects
people of all ages, races
and walks of life. That
being said, mental illness
may directly impact
someone we know such
as a family member or
friend suffering from
depression, anxiety or an
adjustment disorder or it
might be something
we’ve had to face in our
own lives. That’s why
awareness is important
so that the burden of
mental illness can be
reduced and the stigma
eliminated,” Tresnicky
said. “If individuals aren’t
aware that they have a
mental illness or are
afraid to bring it up, it
can produce unfavorable
outcomes if left untreat-
ed.”
Becky Tresnicky, MSW,
LCSW, and Director of
Behavioral Health
Services and
Performance Excellence
at Valley Baptist-
Brownsville, said that
although there is an
unnecessary stigma sur-
rounding mental health,
there are services avail-
able to the community
for issues that are com-
monly and unfortunately
left untreated.
“Mental illness
impacts many families,
with major depression
being a leading cause of
disability throughout the
country,” she said. “Yet
many people in the
Valley don’t receive treat-
ment because of stigma,
misunderstanding, and
mood can make a difficult
day feel even more so, and
multiple-person households
Identifying the source of that
stress and speaking with a
health care professional
about how to reduce and
During Mental Health can become uncomfortable manage it may lead to
EXPERTS PROVIDE TIPS Awareness Month, places to be if one person’s improvements in mood.
Tresnicky said Valley mood is less than
Mental health experts have offered these tips to Baptist Medical Center- welcoming. · Hunger: A 2018 study
help promote positive habits during Mental Health Brownsville has encour- Bad moods can be easy from researchers at the
Awareness Month: aged its employees to to shrug off, and that may University of Guelph in
evaluate their own men- not inspire people to wonder Ontario found evidence that
• Acknowledge your feelings. It’s OK to take time to tal health – something why their generally upbeat a change in glucose levels
cry or express your feelings. that many healthcare outlooks can suddenly take a can have a lasting effect on
• Reach out. If you feel lonely or isolated, contact workers pushed to the turn for the worse. Each mood. The study, published
someone. It may help to talk to a friend or family side while caring for person is different, so what in the journal
member about your feelings. Also, you may try doing their communities dur- triggers a mood swing in Psychopharmacology, found
something to help others. This takes your mind off ing multiple spikes of some individuals may not that rats injected with a
your negative emotions and creates a sense of well- COVID cases throughout necessarily do so in others. glucose metabolism blocker
being as you help someone else. However, various factors can
the pandemic. experienced stress and
• Don’t abandon healthy habits: adversely affect mood.
Efforts to focus on depressed mood due to the
• Eat healthy meals Taking steps to avoid or
mental health during resultant hypoglycemia. The
• Get plenty of sleep minimize such factors can
May have included gath- study lends credence to the
• Include regular physical activity in your daily reduce the number of days
erings for employees to notion that many people
routine when you feel as though
share their feelings in a have about feeling moody
• Try deep-breathing exercises, meditation or yoga you woke up on the wrong
• Avoid excessive tobacco, alcohol and drug use group setting, which can side of the bed. when they don’t eat.
often help individuals
• Be aware of how the media can produce undue
stress, and adjust the time you spend reading news realize they are not alone · Lack of physical activity: A · Weather: Seasonal
while coping with men- Affective Disorder is a type
and social media 2019 study from the
• Listen to soothing music tal health challenges. Harvard T.H. Chan School of of depression that adversely
“The profession of affects certain individuals’
• Read a book Public Health found that
• Seek professional help if you need it… Despite healthcare and caring for running for 15 minutes a moods during winter, when
our community can hours of sunlight are fewer
your best efforts, you may find yourself feeling day or walking for an hour
persistently sad, anxious and depressed. You may be often be emotionally tax- reduces the risk of major than during spring, summer
and fall and when
unable to sleep, irritable and hopeless, and unable to ing even under normal depression. That link is likely
temperatures outside can
face routine daily activities. If these feelings continue, circumstances,” said connected to the release of
sometimes be so cold as to
talk to your doctor or a mental health professional. Leslie Bingham, CEO for endorphins triggered by
keep people indoors for
Valley Baptist Medical exercise. Endorphins are
extended periods of time. In
Center-Brownsville. “For hormones that studies have
addition, a 2013 study
Awareness Month plays a issues, Tresnicky said. all of us, the ongoing shown contribute to a
published in the journal
vital role in drawing “The lockdowns and COVID-19 pandemic has general feeling of well-being,
Social Indicators Research
attention to mental the associated isolation, been anything but nor- which explains why a lack of
health and how it lack of face to face con- mal. Many of our Valley physical activity can adversely found that individuals report
impacts overall quality of tact and the emotions Baptist family have put affect mood. greater life satisfaction on
life, Tresnicky said it is surrounding missing out their patients first day exceptionally sunny days
important for families on important life activi- after day, putting their · Chronic stress: Chronic than they did on days with
and loved ones to sup- ties have definitely con- own health needs on stress has long been linked to ordinary weather.
port those suffering from tributed to feelings
hold. These gatherings a host of health problems.
mental illness and including loneliness, are a small way of According to the Mayo Clinic, Bad moods come and go
encourage them to seek anxiety, depression and reminding our employ- chronic stress puts individuals for most people. Identifying
treatment. substance. These will not ees that to care for oth- at increased risk for heart common triggers for bad
“Mental health affects automatically fade away, ers, they must care for disease and weight gain but moods can help individuals
about a third of the adult because healing takes themselves.” also issues that affect mood, prepare for potential mood
population to some time. While mental Opened in early 2018, including anxiety and swings and navigate them in
extent, either with health has seen an Valley Baptist-Harlingen’s depression. Individuals who healthy ways.
depression and anxiety increase in media cover-
12-bed Geriatric
substance use disorder age, there continues to Behavioral Health Unit is
or psychosis,” she said.
“The long-term benefits
be a stigma surrounding
mental health and a
equipped and staffed to
specifically match the
AFFORDABLE CHIROPRACTIC
ACUPUNCTURE
of having good mental reluctance for individu-
needs of older adults.
health can affect not als to reach out for help,”
The unit is designed pri-
only the patient, but also she said. “As we feel like
marily for older adults
their families, work col- the weight of the crisis is TREATMENT FOR:
leagues, classmates. A lifted, experts are antici- who are experiencing
emotional, behavioral or ∙ BULGE OR HERNIATED DISC
patient’s physical health pating a long-term
issues can often improve impact on people’s men- mental health issues ∙ SPINAL STENOSIS
just by taking care of tal health. Going back ranging from depression
to changes in sleeping ∙ LOW BACK PAIN
their mental health into the office, re-estab-
issues alone.” lishing social connec- patterns or insomnia. ∙ NECK/WRIST PAIN
Patients receive compre-
As the COVID-19 pan- tions, more in-person ∙ HIP/KNEE PAIN
demic enters into its gatherings all make us hensive behavioral
third year, countless feel like the pandemic is health care from a team ∙ AUTO INJURIES/HEADACHES
individuals have and behind us. However, for that includes a wide ∙ SCIATICA - LEG PAIN
continue to experience some, new or worsening array of specialists from
psychiatrists to physical, ∙ PAINFUL JOINTS
uncertainty, isolation, of mental health issues
fear, and a variety of will persist. We need to occupational and speech New Patients Welcome!
mental health challeng- give ourselves time and therapists.
es, and the pandemic recognize it’s OK to not For more information 712 N. 77 Sunshine Strip, Ste. 35
has worsened problems be OK, that it’s OK to ask on behavioral health ser-
such as social isolation
and financial worries
for help and that we not
alone in the fight for our
vices offered at Valley
Baptist, visit https://
Call Today
203-9854
TX-30209521

lack of access to care.” leading to increased mental health to be www.valleybaptist.net/

While Mental Health rates of mental health restored.” services/psychiatry. Dr. Mike Davis, D.C., FIAMA

Panic attacks caused by fear, discomfort Find The Best Local Businesses
Metro Creative Connection even if there is no clear driving across a bridge or

It’s not uncommon or

abnormal for people to
approach certain situations
with a degree of fear. For
example, no one can be
faulted for being a little fearful
during an initial foray into
base jumping. However,
individuals who experience a
sudden, unexpected wave of
intense fear may be dealing
with panic disorder, which
elicits more concern than
routine jitters.
What is panic disorder?
Panic disorder is a
condition characterized by
frequent and unexpected
panic attacks. According to
the National Institute of
Mental Health, panic attacks
are characterized by a sudden
wave of fear or discomfort.
Individuals in the midst of a
panic attack may feel as
though they have lost control,
in the Rio Grande Valley
danger or trigger. Repeated
panic attacks is one of the
hallmarks of panic disorder,
which also can be
characterized by significant
behaviorial changes, such as
avoiding places that
previously triggered attacks.
HelpGuide.org, a nonprofit
dedicated to mental health,
notes that panic disorder also
is characterized by persistent
anxiety about future attacks.
Does everyone who
experiences a panic
attack develop panic
disorder?
The NIMH notes that a
person will not necessarily
develop panic disorder if they
have had a panic attack.
HelpGuide.org notes that
panic attacks may be a one-
time experience, though
many people experience
repeat episodes triggered by
specific situations, such as
through a tunnel. That’s
especially true if those
situations have triggered
attacks in the past.
What causes panic
disorder?
The NIMH reports that
researchers continue to study
how the brain and body
interact in people with panic
disorder and the role that
stress and environmental
factors may play in its https://local.myrgv.com/
development. Some
researchers think that the
survival instincts in people
with panic disorder may be
active too often or too https://myrgv.com/
yrggv.com/
strongly or some combination
of the two. 24-7
Researchers also note that
panic disorder tends to run in
families, though no one is
certain why some people
may develop panic disorder
while their close family
members don’t.