Happy & Healthy U: The Monthly Message

COPING WITH THE COVID-19 CRISIS (aka Coronavirus)   How to Manage Your Emotions and Reduce Stress By Diane Kern, Ph.D., Creator of   Happy and Healthy U™: “ Learn to Love Life and Live Well ” Workshops Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented health crisis that is disturbing and disruptive to us all.   While acknowledging the need to be mindful and protective of our physical health and safety, it is just as important to address the mind-body connection as it relates to this distressing situation. Below is a guideline for stress reduction and management in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. The recommended strategies are presented in the form of my SPIES (S piritual , P hysical , I ntellectual, E motional, and S ocial) model for total self-care across five dimensions. Use Your SPIES to Help Manage COVID-19 Related Stress   ( the S piritual , P hysical , I ntellectual , E motional and S ocial parts of yourself ) S:          Spiritual Self-Care: Ø

Taking Good Care of Your Heart = Loving Yourself Although the month of February has ended, let's not forget its major health theme; American Heart Health month.  This topic aligns well with Valentine's Day (the love holiday), which is celebrated annually on February 14.  Heart or cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in America, according to most reputable health experts and organizations. Heart disease is also highly correlated with clinical depression. Given the critical importance of this health issue, it deserves attention beyond February, on a continuous basis. Are you taking good care of your heart? This truly brings the mind and body connection together. Therefore, it is extremely important that we learn and engage in the proven practices that will insure our heart health. Such practices include reducing and managing emotional stress, as well as physical self-care in the form of our healthy eating habits, getting quality sleep and exercise. Our &q