Keeping safe from COVID? Share it with #MyMaskIs!
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the nation, we must stand in solidarity and lead by example. At PacMed, we believe it’s our job to mask up, be #COVID smart, keep our communities safe during these turbulent times. We know to wear a face-covering or mask, hand washing and physical distancing are the best tools we have to slow the spread of COVID19. We KNOW data, science, and facts will help us beat COVID-19. Now is the time to take action and speak out about the importance of wearing a mask during this pandemic. Together, we can stand united to achieve health for a better world.
We’re asking people who are as passionate as we are to spread the message. We’d love for you to post a photo or video of you in your mask telling people why wearing a mask matters to you and use the tag #MyMaskIs and any supplemental tags you wish, such as #COVID19 #StopTheSpread #StopCOVID #pandemic.
Here is how you can join the movement:
Post on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter if you prefer a photo of you in your mask telling people why wearing a mask matters to you and use the tag #MyMaskIs along with any others. Tag @PacificMedicalCenters and @Providence for Facebook, @PacMedWA and @Providence for Twitter or @providencehealthsystem for Instagram in your post for us to see it!
Here’s an example to get you started!
I’m asking you all to wear your #mask because it makes a difference. #MyMaskIs my way of protecting my 76-year old father with cancer. Thanks to @PacMed for helping us understand if we all wear masks, together we decrease the spread by nearly 97%!!! Share what your mask means to you by using #MyMaskIs in your post. #covid19 #mask #staysafe #pandemic #stopthespread #providencecares #healthforabetterworld @providencehealthsystem
Mental Health & Wellness: Finding comfort this summer amid the pandemic
Millions of people are still trying to navigate the “new normal” amid COVID-19. From adjusting to online schooling and working from home, many are trying to keep their routines intact to maintain a sense of normalcy. With this in mind, and as an active psychotherapist at Pacific Medical Centers in Lynnwood, I would like to help you better understand mental health impacts from the social isolation that we’re all experiencing.
Mental Health Impact from Social Isolation
Those who are practicing responsible social distancing may be experiencing mental health impacts from isolation. Many are experiencing anxiety around the ongoing rise in infection rates, as well as the uncertainty of job security. Due to a lack of personal connections, those who are living alone may be experiencing this at much higher levels.
I’ve noticed that many people are coping in two ways: through self-destruction or self-soothing. Self-destruction is typically not helpful in the long term but can change the mood quickly and may include the urge to eat, drink alcohol, or watch TV in excess. Self-soothing helps with anxiety and stress and can include yoga, breathing exercises, walking, or working on projects that help us feel productive.
Tips to manage stress and anxiety from social isolation include:
- Understand the risk and be mindful of what you’re hearing. Many can often feel overwhelmed while scrolling the news or through social media. It’s ok to take breaks from your phone and/or TV.
- Stay connected with friends and loved ones. As long as we’re connected with people we love and trust, we’ll feel more at ease.
- Make sure you’re moving your body. From at-home workouts to taking regular walks, it’s important to stay active and give yourself a break.
Finding Comfort During a Pandemic and Benefits of Social Isolation
Time has seemingly stood still with COVID-19, whereas before the outbreak, our schedules felt like we could never catch up. Now, many feel like they’re able to take this slower pace to complete more projects. Take this time to use your curiosity to explore past or new hobbies. I’ve been thrilled to hear that some of my patients are using this time to read, draw and do yard work.
Other things you can do to find comfort are:
- Donating things to remove clutter and cleaning, which I believe is great for bringing new energy to your home.
- Deliver gifts to your friend’s doorstep or say “hi!” from a distance. Letting people know you’re thinking about them feels good to you and them.
- Go on short drives and give yourself a change of scenery to let your brain experience something different.
- Do yoga or other workout classes virtually with friends through Zoom, Facetime, or other video programs.
The ongoing uncertainty makes us all feel like we’re losing control. However, it may be hard to see, but there are potential upsides we can all find in social isolation, including learning more about ourselves and how we like to spend our time, re-thinking possible self-destructive tendencies, and staying more in touch with long-distance friends and family.
Eun Ku is a psychotherapist at Pacific Medical Centers at the Lynnwood clinic. She has been practicing for 14 years and has been with PacMed for three years.
LWA: Taking a webinar or yoga class
LWA Spotlight
The Living Well Alliance (LWA) has transformed into a fully virtual service these last few months as we cope with COVID-19. With webinars and yoga classes, LWA continues to create new content and offer price deals for these online services.
When taking LWA learning online, keep these reminders in mind:
- Allow time to download the appropriate e-learning software before the class (15 minutes for a new program is recommended).
- Engage with the instructor and others in the class in ways that feel comfortable to you—whether that is video participation or using the chat function. This can help keep the class engaging and allows you to give the speaker input on what information you want to learn about. The LWA staff love questions!
- Be open to something new and different. Some topics may not be your first choice but being open to new topics and activities like yoga can expand your knowledge base and lead you to other courses on a similar topic. Always leave a seminar naming one new thing that you learned regardless of your initial opinion on that topic!
- At the end of each class, it’s advantageous to make a goal related to the topic to take what you learn to the next level—putting lifestyles changes into action.
- If you have trouble focusing during an online presentation, take the presentation on the go. It’s fun to download the appropriate programs on your phone and get in your daily walk while listening to the live or recorded content.
Happy e-learning!
For more from LWA, check out these recent, fun activities:
- Try these rainbow-themed recipes from our recent cooking demo for Seattle PRIDE festival
- Watch these fun stretching and strengthening chair yoga videos by Christy
Save the date for 2020 LWA Food & Mood Symposium! The Living Well Alliance team is gearing up for our 2020 workplace wellness symposium! Mark your calendars for our event on August 20 at Pacific Tower on Seattle’s Beacon Hill. We will focus on mental health in the workplace this year. You can learn more at the LWA Wellness Symposium page.
The Living Well Alliance is run by Pacific Medical Centers. Call us today at 206.621.4419 for more information or email LivingWellAlliance@pacmed.org.
PacMed and Living Well Alliance are trademarks of Pacific Medical Centers.
Book review: Fight fear with radical acceptance
Fight Fear with Radical Acceptance
BOOK REVIEW: Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha, by Tara Brach
Tara Brach’s book Radical Acceptance offers helpful tips on staying balanced in the moment, adjusting to new realities and moving on. This feels particularly timely as we live with COVID-19 in our midst. The mental health of many people has been affected by fear, social isolation and constant change.
“The emotion of fear often works overtime,” writes Brach. She continues:
Even when there is no immediate threat, our body may remain tight and on guard, our mind narrowed to focus on what might go wrong. When this happens, fear is no longer functioning to secure our survival. We are caught in the trance of fear and our moment-to-moment experience becomes bound in reactivity. We spend our time and energy defending our life rather than living it fully.
Brach is suggesting that fear can quietly go too far. We do need to assess threats and decide how to protect ourselves. Beyond that, endlessly obsessing can do more harm than good. Multiple studies show that prolonged stress, worry and fear can impair the immune system—our main defense against illnesses, including COVID-19.
Endlessly obsessing over news or imagining the worst can be a way of pushing away the present reality. “Fear is the anticipation of future pain,” Brach writes. Fear can make us forget what we have to be grateful for—like moments we are safe, healthy and have enough food, supplies and friends. “By running from what we fear, we feed the inner darkness,” says Brach; it’s a way of “manipulating my inner experience rather than being with what [is] actually happening.”
Of course, we all are living with loss these days, such when we experience shortages of supplies or money, canceled events, limited social connection, a health crisis or even the loss of a loved one. Facing the reality inside ourselves with radical acceptance at those times is equally powerful: “The instant we agree to feel fear or vulnerability, greed or agitation, we are holding our life with an unconditionally friendly heart.”
Brach’s advice of facing each moment with radical acceptance can help us balance our physical and mental health, protecting us from both real external threats and the damage our minds can do worrying too much about them.
PUT IT INTO ACTION!
- Tara Brach’s Radical Acceptance
- www.yogabynature.org/podcast-app-video
- “Shut up brain” podcast
- www.verywellmind.com—search for “podcast”
- “Mindfulness Coach” app, developed by the VA
Let us know if these tips helped you at StayHealthy@pacmed.org. Read more about PacMed’s response to COVID-19.
Nutrition: A review of meal subscriptions
NUTRITION CORNER: Taking a Look at Meal Subscriptions
By Christy Goff, MS, RDN, CD
Many of us have been doing a lot more cooking recently. And while this can be great for expanding our recipe repertoire and learning new techniques … sometimes it nice to have some shortcuts. Here, we explore one such option: meal subscription boxes or kits.
In general, meal subscriptions are pricier options for meal planning. But they save you time by taking planning, shopping and meal prep decisions out of the equation.
Some meal kits have lengthy steps, while others keep things simple; some give more choices for proteins, while others offer savings through coupon and first-timer deals. Meal subscriptions generally help alleviate food waste, and many programs say their kits come with less packaging than the supermarket.
Let’s review some of the pros and cons of several popular services. Please note that PacMed is not affiliated with any of these companies, and this review is done on an individual basis.
Blue Apron
Blue Apron delivers food boxes, and you cook the meals yourself. The company tends to have less selection of meals, plus limited flexibility if you don’t opt into a continuous delivery subscription. Some reviewers have said that while Blue Apron provides tasty meals, they often require a lot of steps.
Variety of food: Familiar ingredients used in a new way. Several protein selections as well as vegetarian and Mediterranean options. Wine pairings are available with specific dishes.
Cost: Subscriptions run $7.49–$9.99 per serving or start at $47.99 per week, depending on the plan and shipping costs.
Website: www.blueapron.com
Hello Fresh
Hello Fresh delivers ingredients to your door, and you prepare the meals following the easy directions. You pick the dishes from the company’s chef-curated list and schedule convenient delivery times. You have some flexibility with the number of boxes you choose to purchase. Many people are pleased with this service when interviewed.
Variety of food: Mostly crowd-pleasing classics that are time efficient. Hello Fresh caters to vegetarian diets, as well as low-calorie and family-friendly packages. It’s easy to add additional protein/veggies to these meals.
Cost: $9.99 per serving, plus shipping in some plans. (It often promotes coupons for additional meals.)
Website: www.hellofresh.com
Freshly
Freshly delivers cooked meals. You choose your meals from a rotating menu and a variety of cuisine preferences. Reheat meals lightly and enjoy! This is the easiest of kits if you are looking to save time.
Variety of food: Good variety of options, including diets such as vegetarian, gluten-free, peanut-free and dairy-free. No prep time; just heat and eat.
Cost: Choose from 4-12 meals per week, ranging from $50/week for 4 meals to $108/week for 12 meals. Free shipping.
Website: www.freshly.com
Green Chef
Green chef prides itself on using only sustainable and organic ingredients, making this kit a bit more expensive. It delivers ingredients and meal instructions, which you follow to put together the meal.
Variety of food: Twists on classic meals as well as globally inspired ideas. Green Chef caters to vegetarian, vegan, ketogenic and paleo. Its gluten-free menu is certified gluten-free, meaning diners following this strict diet can have confidence in this service.
Cost: $11.49–$12.99 per meal. Occasional shipping costs, but coupons often available.
Website: www.greenchef.com
Purple Carrot
With this vegan meal kit, you make meals using pre-packaged ingredients and recipe cards. Although many kits are vegan/vegetarian friendly, this is also a great option for those moving toward a vegetarian or vegan diet to gain more variety and skills in vegan cooking.
Variety of food: Variety of food: Offers worldly cuisine options and easy-to-follow cooking instructions for plant-based meals, such as tofu and tempeh. Purple Carrot rotates its menu items often.
Cost: Around $12 per serving plus shipping.
Website: www.purplecarrot.com
The number of businesses offering meal kits grows each month—check out Gobble, Home Chef and Sun Basket! These popular kits can lead to healthier eating if you stay with the provided portion sizes. Before signing up, look for coupons, know your budget and check to see if contracts will auto-renew. To save money in the future, consider keeping recipes from your meal kits and using them in your own meal planning and grocery shopping endeavors.
Happy cooking and eating!
Taco Tuesday—Mason Jar Style
I enjoy recipes that are flexible with ingredients you already have in your kitchen—and most of these ready-to-go mason jar salads are no exception.
Tips: Use a wide-mouth, 16-ounce mason jar (or other tall glass or plastic container with tight lid).
- Put the dressing in first, to avoid a soggy salad.
- Pile in individual ingredients, in the order listed—hardy vegetables or proteins on the bottom, delicate leaves and seeds on top.
- You can store the salad for 1-2 days.
- When ready to eat, shake and tumble jar until contents are mixed, and enjoy! Eat it straight from the jar (great for a picnic!) or pour into a bowl.
Life can be a challenge for youth
Life can be a challenge for youth. Learn how to support, and where to find professional help. Listen to Jack’s interview with Warm 106.9 for helpful information.
Infectious Disease and Measles
Dr. Sharma, was interviewed on KOMO radio about infectious disease and measles. What are the symptoms of measles? Do you need a booster shot? Why is measles so dangerous? Listen to the radio clip below and learn more about this highly contagious illness.
MRSA
Dr. Sharma was interviewed on KOMO radio about MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). What should athletes be concerned about? What should you know before going to a health club, gym or even engaging in close contact sports? Listen to the radio clip below and learn more!
Mental Health and the Tech Industry
Chuck is interviewed on Warm 106.9 about mental health issues in the tech industry. Many challenges exist for the employees who often relocate for these jobs and don’t have a support network in place to support them in the stressful situations, long hours and competition. And it’s very often men, with the issue being that there’s some expectation that they should be tough, and not show emotion.