MOSES there – Sometimes, especially in the health care field, it’s easy for caregivers to forget about their own well-being, says nurse educator and mental health activist Bethany Thrasher.
“When you get on the plane, the flight attendants will go over the safety features on the plane,” Thrasher said. “If the cabin loses pressure, what will happen? The oxygen mask will go down. You will get your mask, you will be installed (and) you will be safe in place before you start helping someone next to you who needs help with their mask. So how is it more correct in the work you do every day? I don’t care where you work. Please, if the pressure in your cabin has changed. (take care of) whatever crisis you have to do.
Thrasher was the keynote speaker at the Mind Matters workshop held at Big Bend Community College on Thursday. The workshop is designed to equip health professionals and community members with tools to address mental health issues, and to network and share ideas.
“In Grant County, you don’t need a report to tell you that behavioral health is a real and pressing problem in our community,” said Rhyanne Berryman, facilitator for the Grant County Coalition for Health Improvement, or CHI. “You see it in your family, the neighborhood and the people you serve at your job. Mental health and substance abuse don’t discriminate, and they show up in every zip code, at every income level, in every walk of life.
Thrasher’s address was called “Personal Mental Health and Well-Being,” and addressed the need for those who care for the mentally ill to take care of themselves in order to take care of others.
Thrasher is an advocate with the North Central Washington affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, she said. She is also a mother and grandmother and has a family member with a diagnosis of mental illness. It gives her experience in a professional and personal capacity.
“Prioritizing self-care and wellness is a message that never gets old, and in fact, it rings truer today than when it was created,” says Thrasher. “In the 1950s, (the term), ‘self-care’ was created by the health care industry because we wanted our patients to please think about taking care of their health, whether it’s blood pressure or diabetes or (something else) when they’re at home and before they come to the hospital, so hopefully they don’t go to the hospital as often.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, self-care includes regular exercise, regular eating, healthy eating, sleep, and relaxing activities. This is something that people who care about others tell them, Thrasher said, but neglect themselves.
“Self-care is how we nurture our well-being, and it’s more than just mental,” she says. “It can also go into the emotional and physical health part, helping us build resilience, (and) not the kind of patience that tells you to just plow, no matter how you feel. Self-care is very important and it is not separate from serving our community.
Attendees listen to speakers at Thursday’s Mind Matters Workshop.#Mental #health #care #includes #selfcare #experts