[StBernard] Parish Update for 12/16/05 - Mental Health

[Westley Annis]

And my favorite, double eggnog and a good cry! Mudpie 



	----- Original Message -----
	Editors Note: This is one of several emails. 
	
	PARISH UPDATE FOR 12/16/05 
	>From Craig Taffaro on behalf of the St. Bernard Parish Council
(Mark 
	Madary, 
	Judy Hoffmeister, Kenny Henderson, Chairman Joey DiFatta, Lynn Dean,
and 
	Ricky Melerine) 
	
	Mental Health 
	
	As the holiday season approaches the mental health issues become
more 
	heightened to many people. The reality of the many losses
experienced due 
	to Hurricane Katrina coupled with the many adjustments and
frustrations of 
	the recovery efforts may continue to challenge your ability to enjoy
life as 
	you once did or at least create a source of melancholy. Adding to
this 
	challenge may be the loss of family traditions or customs during the
holiday 
	season or the separation from family and friends that were part of
the 
	Christmas and New Year's routines. 
	
	While this time of the year will be challenging for many a few
helpful hints 
	may take a slight edge off the difficulties you may experience. 
	
	- expect to be off center. It is ok to not quite feel yourself
during 
	the different holiday surroundings and activities. Do your best to
give 
	yourself permission to enjoy the moment- it is really the only one
we have. 
	Even if it is not exactly what you want or where you want to be we
have the 
	ability to choose to enjoy any moment we take notice of. 
	- Find the holiday. We all experience Thanksgiving, Christmas, and 
	New Years in our own individual way. The people, places, and things
that 
	are surrounding us during this time of our lives provide us with
endless 
	opportunities to find the spirit of the holiday, no matter how we
experience 
	it. Challenge yourself to find that spirit as often as you think
about it- 
	create opportunities and you may be surprised how this one ties
neatly into 
	enjoying the moment. 
	- Use your shelf. What I mean by this is the idea that it is ok to 
	hold onto all of the emotions that you may be experiencing as part
of the 
	Hurricane losses, but it is equally ok to put your emotions on the
shelf 
	temporarily. Sometimes we need to actively give ourselves permission
to 
	shelve our negative emotions just long enough to experience the
other side 
	of ourselves. Go ahead and let yourself laugh, make a joke, or just
slip 
	into something that really energized you before. 
	
	
	
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