4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed “Stressilient: How to Beat Stress and Build Resilience”. The title is a little deceiving to though because the book is about so much more than stress management. Instead the author broke the content up into chapters based on your goal. Each chapter included both the logic or reasoning behind focusing on that goal and how it relates to stress management as well as practical activities and questions to think about.
5 out of 5 stars. More Than Stress by Cherry Pedrick, RN, Bruce M. Hyman, PhD and Tabitha Moriarty is a great overview of what anxiety disorders are and are not.The book talks about how some levels of stress are good and needed in order to push ourselves while keeping us safe. But, there is absolutely a point where stress is counterproductive. This is when mental health conditions like depression and anxiety becomes a problem. While this book is geared towards teens, I would argue that it’s good for anyone looking to better understand these conditions. The writing is easy to follow and written in a non-judgemental tone. Instead, the authors focus on encouraging the reader to take their mental health seriously and to seek help if needed. I like how resources are scattered throughout the book as well as at the end. The glossary is also a handy addition. Finally, I think it’s important to highlight the fact that the authors recognized the significance that one’s identities such as race/ethnicity or sexual orientation can impact your experience when receiving professional help like counseling or the actual diagnosis 0f a mental health condition. While there are certainly many more mental health conditions that this book didn’t mention; I think it is a fantastic introduction to the topic of anxiety.
4 out of 5 stars. Living in the Moment: A Guide to Overcoming Challenges and Finding Moments of Joy in Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias by Dr. Elizabeth Landsverk is an easy to read, practical guide for the family navigating this journey and focuses on helping to create the best life you can for your loved one with dementia. While I am not the primary caregiver for my loved I still found it really informative. The book isn’t super depth but goes just deep enough to serve as a good reference, especially when it comes to understanding the types of medications your loved one may be taking or offered. The caveat is since I’m not a pharmacist, physician, or other type of provider I can’t say with 100% certainty that all the information is correct. I would hope so given that the author is a physician specializing in this field but you never know. Therefore it’s always best to talk with your own care team when making decisions about medications (and procedures, tests etc.). Something that I really liked about the book is the author emphasized making decisions with (and when needed, for) your loved one that essentially boils down improving or maintaining quality vs quantity of life.
5 out of 5 stars. This is a book I wish had been around when I was a kid. I struggled with anxiety and even though I loved to talk, I think I had trouble explaining what I was worried about sometimes. I appreciate the fact that this book is kid oriented but doesn’t feel ”babyish”. It seeks to validate the child’ feelings while providing concrete steps and actions they can take to alleviate their fears. I also like the notes at the bottom of many of the pages providing more background information on the topic or actions described. For example, the term catastrophizing is explained on one page. There is a section at the back of the book with specific affirmation statements parents/adults can share and model. There are also examples of tactics such as grounding and an adorable story that can be used for practicing meditation. There are also general resource links that parents or adults can reference for additional information. All in all, I could see this book being a great tool for parents/caregivers/family members to work through with a child who is struggling with lots of feelings. I could also see it being used by counselors, psychologists and social workers when working with kids. In these uncertain times, helping kids to understand how they are feeling and how to handle these feelings is critical. The book even includes pages about reacting to local or worldwide events!
On Saturday night my family and I went to a Detroit Tigers baseball game down at Comerica Park. I\’m not a huge baseball (or sports in…
No one likes having difficult conversations. They’re all around stressful- from preparing beforehand actually having the conversation, and then processing what was said after the…
Change how you see. See how you change. Change how you see. See how you change. Last week I had the opportunity to travel to…
I finished my junior year at UM-D. As of right now my gpa is 3.53 which is exciting. I’ve enjoyed my classes but am happy…