Rolanda Perkins

Throughout the month of April, my focus has been on STRESS and how it shows up in a person’s life. I recently read an interesting article related to the effects of stress on a person’s mental health, and I wanted to share a piece of that information that I thought was critical for people to know since lots of people have gone through and are still experiencing pandemic-induced stress. One of the most interesting pieces in the article, speaks of a nationwide service that helps connect those in crisis with suicide prevention and mental health counselors. It's a quick and easy number to remember (988) and this was my first time hearing about it. It's the number of the National Suicide prevention lifeline which also serves the Veteran's crisis line. If a person is in emotional distress or experiencing a suicidal crisis (or knows someone who might be), this is the number to utilize. I really needed a resource like this for a friend in college back in the 90s. I was attending sum...

  Can pets really help lower stress and boost your mood? According to the  helpguide.org  website,  pets can help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness and even improve your cardiovascular health.  They also report that  caring for an animal can help children grow up more secure and active.  And they further state that  pets also provide valuable companionship for older adults. Maybe that’s why the sale of pets skyrocketed during the pandemic. Pet retailers saw a boost in their profits, there was even a high demand for dog walkers, sitters, and trainers. I purchased my first dog after I had a heart attack. His name was Charlie-Wilson. He was full of life and energy and had his own unique personality. He brought a lot of joy and laughter to my life. He lived to be about 13 years old in human years. He lived a full, happy, and pampered dog life. I didn’t realize how much that little fellow would ...

  I can remember a time in my life when I experienced a steady flow of self-induced stress. At that time, I didn’t realize that it was within my power to change that and that I was the one placing the pressure on myself. I’ve since learned that there are  many ways  to release stress from our lives.  For me , working out is one of  the best  stress relievers. Although, it might not be for you, and your method might be totally different from mine.    One of my favorite workouts is using the punching bag. It does wonders to help release whatever’s bothering me. When I’m punching it, I can project my frustrations onto the bag, and it seems as if I can feel the stress leaving my body right away. If you don’t already have a method that you use, do some research, and find what works best for you. Below is the link to an informative article on the American Stroke Association’s website with a great piece on Working out to relieve stress. It shares some be...

  There are many different health observances recognized each month of the year.  One that’s recognized in the month of April is  STRESS  awareness.  This is something extremely important to each of us as it relates to our health & wellbeing because we’ve all experienced it at some point, and we most likely will experience it again. It can also appear in our lives in many different forms.   Like you, I’ve experienced my own personal struggles with stress over the years. In fact, I believe it to be one of the risk factors that I was not aware of when I experienced a heart attack over 16 years ago. Studies have shown that it’s one of the factors associated with an increased risk of a heart attack.  Stress can affect us in many ways as it relates to our health. It can affect our thoughts, our emotional state, our physical bodies, and even our behavior, to name a few. According to the Mayo clinic’s website, if left unchecked, stress can contribute to m...