anxiety

The holidays are upon us, bringing a time to celebrate and gather. Gatherings during the upcoming holidays can be an opportunity to reconnect with family and friends, however, even small in-person gatherings are a contributor to the rise in COVID-19 cases we are seeing across the nation and in our own community. This holiday season, consider how your holiday plans can be modified to reduce the spread of COVID-19 to keep your friends, family, and community healthy and safe.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and a good time check in with yourself and loved ones. So many of us are struggling to keep our mental health in check right now. It’s normal to feel anxious about the impacts of COVID-19. Preventing our worries from consuming us can reduce stress and uncertainty—and even more severe behavioral health issues like suicide.

UPDATE: Registration until September 15, 2020.

September is National Recovery Month for both substance abuse and mental health. In recognition of this, Tahoe Youth & Family Services is partnering with Carson Valley Medical Center and providing a Miles For Recovery virtual challenge fundraiser.

This fundraiser will replace the organization’s annual 5K event at the beginning of Carson Valley Days that was canceled because of the pandemic.

Fundraising, donations and grants are the only source of income for the 501c3 nonprofit.

Accelerated heart rate and breathing, possible upset stomach, worry and dread, all sensations that a person may have when experiencing some anxiety. Whether you are presenting in front of a group of people or interviewing for a job, our immune system kickstarts our fight-or-flight response by flooding our nervous system with hormones and chemicals that help us deal with high stress or intense situations. However, imagine experiencing these symptoms on a constant basis, not permitting your body to return to a normal level of functioning.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

One in five adolescents has had a serious mental health disorder, most commonly depression, anxiety disorders, and/or a substance use disorder. With the COVID-19 pandemic, it has only worsened symptoms of emotional distress.

As our nation faces the impacts of coronavirus COVID-19, it’s likely that we all have a loved one who is involved in an ongoing emotionally-charged event, known as a critical incident. Whether a healthcare worker, a grocery store employee or someone who has been furloughed from work, there are people all around us experiencing individual responses that are common to critical incident stress. This global pandemic offers many opportunities to support each other as we cope.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - In honor of Autism Awareness Month, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is displaying magnets on their patrol cars for the month of April as well as sporting a newly wrapped vehicle with vinyl decals to increasing awareness throughout the community surrounding Autism Spectrum Disorder.

For the first time, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has wrapped a car with blue puzzle pieces as an inviting way for children and adults with autism to meet police officers in a casual setting.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The threat of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 is a scary one for all people, especially the more vulnerable citizens of the community including senior citizens.

The South Lake Tahoe Senior Center is closed but nutrition services are being provided on a "to go" basis. Those 60 and older can stop by Monday through Friday between 11:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. and get a hot meal to go for a $3 suggested donation. Their Meals on Wheels program serves about 80 seniors with hot meals delivered Monday through Friday.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A new, free mentorship program for at-risk, low income youth has been launched by the Tahoe Climbing Coalition in South Lake Tahoe.

The Climb Up! program is planned to improve the lives of under-served youth by introducing them to the adventure and joy of rock climbing. Climb Up! uses mentorship to teach youth about five core values which can be applied to climbing and can carry over into all aspects of life: Communication, Balance, Trust & Teamwork, Resilience and Confidence.

It’s happening, already. You have probably seen them.....in every store....Christmas decorations! Every year it happens: Halloween and Thanksgiving are way-sided by Christmas displays. Here are a few suggestions for how to overcome the anxiety resulting from the displays that are distracting our attention.

No One Can Make You Do Anything

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. “For anyone who has lost a friend or loved one to suicide, this month can be especially hard,” said Jamie Samboceti, Deputy Director of the El Dorado County Behavioral Health Division. “We hope that by supporting one another and working together to raise awareness about suicide, we can ultimately save lives.”

The good news is it can be learned!

Building resilience — the ability to adapt well to adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats and/or significant sources of stress — can help us and our children manage stress, uncertainty, and feelings of anxiety. However, being resilient does not mean that we won't experience difficulty or distress. Emotional pain and sadness are common when we have suffered major trauma or personal loss, or even when we hear of someone else's trauma.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - After the recent tragic accidents and murders in Douglas County, many people may be feeling grief and anxiety as well as feelings of being unsafe. County officials want residents to know they aren't alone and there are several support groups in the community that offer help, reassurance and comfort during this difficult time.

Below is a list of some organizations available to help:

Douglas County Mobile Outreach Safety Team (MOST)

With the weather getting colder and the snow falling, it’s time to break out the winter gear, get outside, and start enjoying some frozen nature. However, if you have recently suffered an injury and are looking to get back to outdoor activities, here are a few precautions you may benefit from before charging the backcountry or joining the kids in the terrain park.

What rattles our communities across our nation to their core? Drug abuse. Approximately 100 people each day die from drug overdoses. Whole industries of products and programs are being developed to combat this problem. Every day more grandparents are now “parenting” their grandchildren so they can be raised in a stable and healthy environment. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs is costing our Nation over $740 billion annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity and health care.

Barton Foundation released its first wave of funding for new equipment, services, and programs that will impact the Lake Tahoe community through Barton Health in 2018. The Foundation dispersed $85,000 to increase patient safety and privacy, offer comfort for children and their family members, and provide education and training for local first responders.

Twelve years of Vacation Home Rentals (VHRs), what a sad place So. Lake Tahoe residential neighborhoods have become. Thanks go to local Realtors, out of town owners, and VHR rental agencies, who care mostly about money, not about the peace and tranquility of the local residents. But they’re not alone, we also have City and County officials that don’t represent the locals that elect them, instead it’s all about the tourists and their friends in the VHR business, some of those friends are elected officials.

There is no need to rush into an ordinance regulating the sale of marijuana in South Lake Tahoe. That was the overwhelming opinion of the SLT City Council Tuesday night after a special, four-hour long Cannabis Workshop.

"We owe it to our community to make sure we take every measure to protect them," said SLT Mayor Austin Sass.

Mental noise can affect ability to concentrate and often contributes to anxiety. This continuous inner conversation in your head can be particularly bothersome at bedtime or when waking in the middle of the night.

Here are a couple tricks to calm or turn off mental noise when trying to sleep.

1. Plan ahead. Before going to bed, grab a pad of paper and write down anything that is bothering you right then or that you think may be of concern if you wake in the middle of the night. Even the smallest things seem out of proportion at 3 a.m. as you toss and turn.

What is Autism? What Causes Autism? Can Autism be Treated? is the next lecture at the U.C. Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) in Incline Village on May 18. This is presented by the UC Davis Mind Institute featuring David Amaral Ph.D., distinguished professor from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

One student at Douglas High School in Minden was arrested along with a nearby resident after allegedly selling marijuana laced Rice Krispie treats on school groups which led to one student needing medical treatment.

On November 3 an investigation began after a student complained of feelings of anxiety and an accelerated heart rate. She said she may have eaten a Rice Crispy square laced with marijuana earlier in the day and named another female student as the person who brought the edible marijuana to school.

The ill student was taken to a medical facility for treatment by her parent.

Part One in an NPR Ed series on mental health in schools.

You might call it a silent epidemic.

Up to one in five kids living in the U.S. shows signs or symptoms of a mental health disorder in a given year.

So in a school classroom of 25 students, five of them may be struggling with the same issues many adults deal with: depression, anxiety, substance abuse.

And yet most children — nearly 80 percent — who need mental health services won't get them.

Dear Henry,
I am a business owner can you please explain the situation with “Service Dogs,” what is considered a service dog and what do I have to allow in my place of business which is a restaurant. I don’t want to get in trouble with ADA or the Health Department.

Thank you, Bob

Great question Bob!
This is an issue we get calls on all the time. I am going to be answering this question with information directly from the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and Disability Rights Section.

A Gut-Feeling: How intestinal microbes modulate mood and behavior, with Melanie Gareau a physiologist at the University of California, Davis, is part of the Mental Health in the Mountains series of educational talks.