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The celebrations of the holiday season are a joyous time for many of us, and the new year is now upon us! As winter settles in, January brings us back in check with our daily responsibilities. Now it’s time to get back to work, prioritize our regular or improved diet and exercise routines, and recover from all the parties. It can be a bit overwhelming if we don’t work at keeping things in balance. As we kick off the new year, it’s a great time to remember the importance of self-care. Of course, self-care means different things for each of us, but the key thing to keep in mind is that self-care is by no means selfish!

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As we hear through both traditional and social media along with the messaging we receive from the entertainment industry and our friends and our families, the holiday season can be “the most wonderful time of the year” … for some of us. For others, however, the holiday season can prove to be a very difficult time. According to a survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), 38% of people said their stress level increases during the holidays. The National Alliance on Mental Illness states that 64% of people with diagnosed mental illness say the holidays make their conditions worse. The holidays can be demanding for many reasons, but if you’re prone to anxiety, they can be very overwhelming. The gifts, the parties, the baking, the social situations, the travel, the family—or maybe the absence of these things—can make the season stressful.

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November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the rich histories, diverse cultures, and important contributions of America’s first peoples, as well as a time to bring awareness to the historic political, religious, social, economic, and legal struggles Native Americans continue to navigate. As Americans, it’s a great time to examine our pledge to maintain meaningful partnerships with Tribal Nations, renew our commitment to our nation-to-nation relationships, and continue to work toward ensuring every community has a future they deserve.

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a global and annual campaign to help increase awareness and promote early detection of breast cancer. Breast cancer is a common cancer affecting hundreds of thousands of women every year. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer for American women, with 1 in 8 receiving the diagnosis. Over 42,000 Americans die each year from breast cancer.

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National Recovery Month was launched by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 1989 and is observed every September to bring awareness, support treatment and recovery practices, and to highlight the dedication of professionals, providers, and communities who make recovery possible.

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It’s important to have your eyes examined regularly to ensure good eye health.

Don’t put off regular eye exams because your eyes feel fine, or if you don’t wear glasses or contact lenses. Signs of some eye diseases, such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), can be present before you might notice any symptoms. In addition to eye diseases, vision and required refractive corrective prescriptions change regularly.

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Many of us—especially those of us who live in colder climates—can’t wait for summer to finally arrive! It’s a great time of year to relax and enjoy the beach, picnics, and outdoor events like concerts and art fairs. It’s also easier to prioritize exercise and increase activity levels by spending more time outside. This is the perfect time of year for U.V. Safety Awareness Month to remind us of the potential risks and dangers of sun exposure, and ways to enjoy being outdoors while staying safe in the sun.

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Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and is the most common type of dementia. Dementia is a term used to describe the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 5.8 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, with 5.6 million aged 65 and older and about 200,000 under age 65 with younger-onset Alzheimer’s. As our population ages, unless new ways to prevent or delay the progression are discovered, the percentage of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s is expected to increase. The number of Americans with the disease is projected to rise to 7.1 million people by 2025, an increase of nearly 22% from 2020.

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Spring is here! It’s a perfect time to get up, get out, get moving, and enjoy the benefits of physical activity.

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Moving more and sitting less has tremendous benefits for everyone, regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, or current fitness level. It’s important to note that lack of physical activity creates a great environment for developing health issues that many times could have been avoided.

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We typically think of stress as being a bad thing, which is not necessarily the case. All stress is not created equal, and stress responses are not always problematic. In fact, positive stress responses help us adjust to new situations, keep us alert, help us build resistance, enhance motivation, help us avoid danger, and improve cognitive function. Researchers have identified two different types of stress: ”distress,” which refers to negative stress (a breakup), and “eustress,” which refers to positive stress (starting a new job). Negative stress is the “bad” stress and is a major contributing factor to both physical and mental health problems.

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