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Nancy Hux, the community engagement specialist with Cardinal Innovations Healthcare, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Wednesday at 11 a.m. Nancy Francis, director with the Kerr-Tar Agency on Aging, facilitated the segment.

This edition of Town Talk is a paid advertising sponsorship with the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments.

With over 20 years in the mental health field, Hux currently provides training in the areas of mental health, substance use and intellectual developmental disabilities.

With the holidays quickly approaching, and with the COVID-19 pandemic and related news still very much a part of daily life, Hux said now is an opportune time to discuss mental health.

“Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being,” Hux explained. “It affects how we think, feel, and act. Our mental health determines how we handle stresses in our lives, how we react or respond in our relationships with others and determines the choices we make. Mental health is important at every stage of life – from childhood to adolescence and throughout adulthood.”

Hux said one in five people, while not necessarily officially diagnosed, will experience a mental health issue in any given year.

“No one is immune to mental health issues, so that is why it is so important to know yourself and know when you are not feeling your best. It’s also important to identify key people in your life that you are comfortable reaching out to when you need to talk,” said Hux.

While there are many mental health disorders, the most common are anxiety and depression.

“Life affects our mental health,” Hux said. “I typically tell people in our trainings that as long as you are living, life happens, and when life happens, it brings with it the ups and downs that affect our mental health.”

Signs of a mental health issue include:

• Changes in how you feel (both mentally and physically)
• Less desire to do the things that you used to enjoy (hobbies, socializing, etc.)
• Changes in sleep patterns (sleeping too much or not sleeping enough)
• Changes in your appetite (eating too much or not enough)
• Becoming more emotional or less emotional

With COVID-19 changing routines and social interactions, the holidays will look very different for many this year. According to Hux, one of the best ways to ease loneliness is to reach out to someone else, in a safe manner, that may also be lonely.

Tips for reaching out include:

• Ask a friend or loved one to pick up greeting cards and stamps so you can handwrite cards and mail them to your friends and family. You could also include one of your simple, favorite recipes for them to cook during the holidays.
• Reach out by phone; it will brighten your day as well as theirs.
• Talk to others online with programs such as Zoom.
• Stay spiritually healthy; identify what is important to you spiritually and keep those practices in place (reading, listening to music, meditation, etc.). Attend church online.
• Decorate for the holidays, even if you are not having the traditional family get together.
• Have a friend drop off a holiday or Christmas puzzle to put together or do word search or crossword puzzles.
• Talk with your physician about your health and a safe level of exercise.

Additional resources include:

• Local Senior Centers
• Meals on Wheels programs that provide one meal a day for five-to-seven days a week; check with your local Council on Aging programs for assistance.
• Your general physician/doctor’s office.

Cardinal Innovations Healthcare also has a network of providers that are available to assist with linking you to professional counselors, therapists or other resources. Please call 1-800-939-5911 or visit online at www.cardinalinnovations.org.

To hear the interview in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

(This edition of Town Talk is part of a paid advertising sponsorship with the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments.)