Stress

The holidays this year are set to be especially hard for many families throughout El Dorado County and beyond, with many facing the threat of going hungry without the means to put food on the table. To help relieve some of this stress, and help ensure families can eat this holiday season, Feed El Dorado has provided $25,000 in food cards to be distributed by Choices for Children and Head Start on both the Western Slope of El Dorado County and in South Lake Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There has been a lot of recent conversation about the stress COVID-19 patients have put on hospital systems across the country, including El Dorado County and South Lake Tahoe. Concern has been expressed about the occupancy rates at Barton Hospital and what its capacity is to handle the current surge of residents testing positive for the virus.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. = After consultation with the Douglas County officials, the towns, public safety agencies, and Douglas County Emergency Management it was determined in-person public holiday events in the towns of Gardnerville, Genoa, and Minden have been canceled. This includes the 25th annual Parade of Lights hosted by the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce. County officials said the action was deemed necessary for the safety of the community, due to the most recent State directive limiting public gatherings to no more than 50 people.

Governor Steve Sisolak announced a "at least a three-week statewide pause" to protect Nevadans from the pandemic due to a surge in positive cases and deaths. Starting Tuesday, November 24 at 12:01 a.m. there will be tighter business restrictions and a stricter mask mandate in the state of Nevada.

Many thought he would be calling for a shutdown in the state, but instead he chose the "pause" at this time. Sisolak said ten percent of all COVID-19 cases in Nevada since beginning of pandemic have been recorded in the last seven days.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a month dedicated to coming together in solidarity with victims and survivors by speaking out on relationship violence to provide education and empowerment.

Domestic violence, and other intimate partner violence, is a pattern of abusive behavior to keep power and control over a partner’s personal life. Abusive partners can use intimidation, threats, force, manipulation or coercion to establish and maintain this control over their partner. 

Running a hospital takes a large team of professionals, all pulling together, often under tremendous stress. We often recognize our caregivers who have direct contact with patients. But behind every clinician is a team of people making sure she or he can do their job well and safely.

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.

STATELINE, Nev. - Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District (TDFPD) Chief Scott Baker has announced the promotion of two in his department - Brandon Brady and Mark Norwood.

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.

11:25 p.m. Update: Merlin Turner was found Thursday and has been reunited with his family. According to Fox40 in Sacramento, a family friend said between the stress brought on by COVID-19 and his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder, Turner needed some respite.

Social media was instrumental in finding Turner. Someone reported seeing him in Knights Landing and another person saw him eating a burger at their diner. The family friend says Turner didn’t even realize how many days had gone by or that he was on the news being reported as missing.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - During the months of March and April 2020 there were five suicides in South Lake Tahoe. That equals the total number of suicides in all of 2019 in the community, and one less than in 2018.

There were none in January or February before the coronavirus hit.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There have been no new cases of COVID-19 in EL Dorado County since Monday. 176 more tests were administered, with 4,584 tests to date. One more person has recovered, bringing that total to 53, leaving 14 active cases.

There have been 25 cases in the Lake Tahoe area (including South Lake Tahoe, Meyers, Kyburz, and Tahoma).

Pollock Pines, Camino,Kyburz - 2 (Zip codes 95726, 95720, 95709)
El Dorado Hills - 19 (Zip Code 95762)
Diamond Springs, El Dorado - 3 (Zip codes 95623, 95619)
North County - 3 (Zip codes 95664, 95614, 95651, 95635, 95634, 95633)

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - Many South Lake Tahoe businesses will be able to open soon, but not until they have plans in place that comply with the State’s COVID-19 guidelines and the State approves and publishes the public health director's signed Variance Attestation and supporting documents.

While getting groceries to make food at home is essential, grocery shopping can be a high-contact situation these days. Passing by people in the aisles, touching food items that have possibly been touched by many other people, and navigating the checkout line could all increase your risk of exposure to COVID-19 and at the very least, cause extra stress. Fortunately, many local retailers are offering online ordering, curbside pick-up, and even grocery delivery.

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.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Tahoe Youth and Family services will launch their first Facebook Live! Chat to help area residents face the stress created by the current coronavirus pandemic starting on April 15, 2020, at 1:00 p.m.

The nonprofit's licensed clinical social workers will be joined by their licensed and certified drug and alcohol counselors to answer questions and provide tools and tips to help maintain mental health during these difficult and challenging times.

The panel will take questions both before the event and during the broadcast.

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.

Dead and downed firewood cutting permits will be available starting April 1, on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest’s Carson Ranger District. Forest officials stress that it is extremely important for firewood cutters to pay special attention to the terms and conditions of their permit.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The 2nd annual Pink Heavenly will be held on Saturday, March 21 at Heavenly Mountain Resort. The Barton Foundation is inviting community members and visitors to register now and start fundraising for the fun event.

All proceeds from the slopeside fundraising event benefit Cancer Support Services at Barton Health, dedicated to improving the lives of community members fighting cancer.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There were 185 wish lists hanging on the tree inside Live Violence Free this year, all from clients who have been served over the past year. The nonprofit agency in South Lake Tahoe provides advocacy and education to promote a violence-free community.

Each client wrote down three gift ideas with ages and likes, and people picked out a hanging ornament with that list, all amounting to about $50 per child.

Stress levels were high this week for students at South Tahoe High School. Seniors finish college applications due at the end of the month and sports head off to regional championships.

Seniors
College applications have been an ongoing battle for the seniors this year. Counselors have been working with each student to make sure they are on track. Deadlines are coming up and here’s what a few seniors have to say about it:

After a fun homecoming week, students of South Tahoe High School bare down for the upcoming week of midterms and testing. The fall sports season is coming to an end.

On Campus
Midterms are Thursday and Friday next week. Study labs are held after school for support and tutoring in different courses before the tests. Midterms mark the halfway point for the first term of the 2019-2020 year. The stress begins to increase, especially for the seniors.

It smells like Summer! That unmistakable combination of heat, water, sunscreen and sweat is beginning to permeate the air. Are you thinking what I am? Let’s go to the beach! Before we do, though, let’s consider a few Yogic practices.

1) Bring only that which you can easily carry (Bramacarya)