We hope you’re enjoying the winter months and holiday season, Portland. Whether you’re working on new recipes, traveling to spend time with friends and family, planning New Year’s resolutions or possibly stressing out about any of the items listed above, doctors and nurses at The Portland Clinic want to help facilitate a positive, happy and healthy end to 2016 and transition into 2017. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing some key tips to help ensure you enjoy a healthy holiday season. We encourage all of Portland to take some time to plan, adjust or simply think about their health and how to reduce the likelihood of a preventable visit to one of our clinics.
The first topic is a reoccurring theme for 2016: stress management. Over the last year, we’ve discussed the potential causes and effects of stress, mental illness associated with stress and treatment. In June, during our live chat, Less Stress, More Happy, we discussed mental health and a wide range of emotional and physical conditions — from daily stress-triggered emotions, including anxiety, to panic attacks or thoughts that may result in exhaustion or self-harm.
It is important to understand that if you, a friend, a family member or a colleague are under an unhealthy amount of stress, there are many ways to help fight this potentially mentally crippling ailment. We discuss several of these during our live chat, so make sure to give it a watch.
The holiday season can unearth plenty of unwanted feelings, including depression, so it’s important to be on the lookout for common warning signs and symptoms of a mental health issue, which may include:
- Confused thinking
- Prolonged depression (sadness or irritability)
- Feelings of extreme highs and lows
- Excessive fears, worries and anxieties
- Social withdrawal
- Dramatic changes in eating or sleeping habits
- Strong feelings of anger
- Strange thoughts (delusions)
- Seeing or hearing things that aren’t there (hallucinations)
- Growing inability to cope with daily problems and activities
- Suicidal thoughts
- Numerous unexplained physical ailments
- Substance abuse
The Mayo Clinic outlines a detailed list of tips to help prevent increased stress from the holidays, including maintaining a healthy diet, preserving realistic expectations for family behavior or gift giving, and seeing a professional if you notice any uncommon behavior. If you have any questions regarding stress management or mental health concerns during the holidays or throughout the year, we encourage you to contact The Portland Clinic at 503-223-3113 to schedule an appointment.
