News & Events
Much of our work involves measuring the difference others make. Getting involved and making our own difference is also an important part of who we are as individuals and as an organization.
National Alliance on Mental Illness in San Diego (NAMI San Diego) is the community’s voice on mental illness. Their mission is to support people with mental illnesses and their families by helping them find coping mechanisms for their daily struggle with brain disorders, educate people who have mental illness, their families, and the general public about mental illness with the goal of dispelling ignorance and stigma, and advocate for more research and an improved system of mental health services across the nation. NAMI’s calendar for virtual events can be found at NAMI San Diego (linked).
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has also created a tip sheet and resource guide that can be used to virtually support recovery from mental/substance use disorders. It provides resources to help local recovery programs create virtual meetings. The SAMHSA resource guide can be found at Virtual Recovery Resources (linked). They state that in an infectious disease outbreak, when social distancing and self-quarantine are needed to limit and control the spread of the disease, continued social connectedness to maintain recovery are critically important. Virtual resources can and should be used during this time.
Take care of yourself and your loved ones during this challenging time.
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Keeping a gratitude journal is a popular practice in positive psychology - the scientific study of happiness. By writing at least 3-5 items or lines describing what you’re grateful for every day, you can give yourself a lasting mood boost that can take you from feeling “okay” to feeling “great” on a more regular basis.
No one can tell you what makes the cut for you and your particular circumstances, but there are some suggestions that might help if you are struggling in the beginning. As you will see, you can write about anything!
List five small ways that you can share your gratitude today.
Write about a person in your life that you’re especially grateful for and why.
What skills or abilities are you thankful to have?
What is there about a challenge you’re experiencing right now that you can be thankful for?
How is where you are in life today different than a year ago–and what positive changes are you thankful for?
List five body parts that you’re grateful for and why.
What about the city you live in are you grateful for?
What are you taking for granted about your day to day that you can be thankful for?
List 5 people in your life who are hard to get along with—and write down at least one quality for each that you are grateful for.
Practicing gratitude may increase overall feelings of happiness and reduce stress and depressive symptoms, particularly when the habit is maintained for at least a month.
Happy journaling!
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What is self-care?
Self-care is any activity that we deliberately do in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. At the same time, it is not something that we force ourselves to do, or something we do not enjoy doing. It can take many different forms, as seen in the graphic below. Not all of these acts need to be accomplished, but notice what interests you, what you might be missing, and what may be manageable for you for to start doing. Benefits of self-care are improvements in our immunity, increased positive thinking and it makes us less susceptible to stress, depression, anxiety, and other emotional health issues.
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On 4/20 this year, tune into #PowerTalk21 to listen to certified drug prevention specialist; Joe Eberstein from the San Diego County Marijuana Prevention Initiative. Click here for Facebook pre-recorded interview for event information https://www.facebook.com/MADDCalifornia/ .
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Any substance that is combusted and then inhaled exposes the airways and the lungs to particles and toxins that lead to some degree of airway inflammation, similar to inflammation that may be seen in those with chronic asthma or COPD. Those two patient groups have been shown to have an increased risk of complications from COVID-19, so it would suggest to me that cannabis smokers, like cigarette smokers, may have the potential for more complications if they get infected.
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