Visual Impairment and Its Effects on Mental Health

Check out our latest vlog HERE!

Nora talks through visual impairments and their effects on mental health. Learn tips and tricks for working through impairments and how to improve your mental health today!

I have a passion for singing with people and helping them find a sense of hope in their most vulnerable moments. I believe that everyone has a right to be heard and validated. I use a client-centered, collaborative approach allowing the person the opportunity to discover the barriers that keep them from living their best life. In addition, I serve as a guide for the client to reach their own personal goals.

I enjoy working with people of all ages, including children, teens, and adults. My therapeutic space is always compassionate and non-judgmental to allow a safe and comfortable place to navigate and explore what is needed.

I am a member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT).

Visual Impairment and Its Effects on Mental Health

Check out our latest vlog HERE!

Nora talks through visual impairments and their effects on mental health. Learn tips and tricks for working through impairments and how to improve your mental health today!

I have a passion for singing with people and helping them find a sense of hope in their most vulnerable moments. I believe that everyone has a right to be heard and validated. I use a client-centered, collaborative approach allowing the person the opportunity to discover the barriers that keep them from living their best life. In addition, I serve as a guide for the client to reach their own personal goals.

I enjoy working with people of all ages, including children, teens, and adults. My therapeutic space is always compassionate and non-judgmental to allow a safe and comfortable place to navigate and explore what is needed.

I am a member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT).

Signs of an Abusive Relationship- Take the quiz!

You may be thinking “ how does someone not know they are in an abusive relationship?” well the answer at times is not always clear due to the manipulation and gaslighting that can come along with it. I will give some signs that you are in an abusive relationship while describing what types of abuse there are.

Emotional Abuse- There will be some attacks on their partner's self-worth, name-calling and belittling, and humiliation. There may be some accusations for example of cheating or various behavior that are unjust. The abuser will then rationalize their behavior by saying “ relax, it was just a joke.” Or “ you make
me act this way.” Another thing that can happen is in public everything is all smiles and in private, the abuser turns on his partner in these negative and abusive ways leaving the victim feeling confused, worthless, and hurt. Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse and what this is, is a way to make you feel “crazy.” If
there is something to be true about the abuser and you confront them, they will do whatever it takes to make you feel like you imagined the whole thing and make you question yourself. It will turn you against your own logic, even if the truth is right there in your face and in some circumstances even make your abuser look like “ the good guy.”

Physical Abuse- This will be instances of hitting, kicking, biting, pushing/shoving, throwing objects at them, or harming with a weapon. Using any type of restraints classifies as abuse.

Sexual Abuse- This one is common, yet not talked about often and this looks like where the abuser will force sexual contact ( not just intercourse) on their partner. Treating your partner like a sexual object is also abusive. Using sex to get what you want and assign value and importance to your partner is abusive. Withholding sex and affection as a form of punishment is a way to be abusive as well.

Threats and Intimidation- An abuser might threaten their partner by giving a threatening look or gesture, with the point being they want to instill fear. They might track your every move. They could threaten to destroy your property or harm something or someone they love. This instills fear, anxiety, and panic in their partner.

Isolation- The abuser will isolate their partner from their friends and family. They might do this by limiting or even cutting off all contact from others. They may physically do this, but it is often done by intimation and mind games. They will chip away at their partner's self-esteem so that they are the only person in their partner's world, which is abusive.

Economic Abuse- What this looks like is withholding money from your partner and not letting them get their own job or their own money so that they can be financially dependent on their abuser.

Using Children As Pawns- What this looks like is threatening custody of the children in order to get what the abuser wants. It can also look like criticizing their partner's parenting skills and telling their children lies about the other parent.

Think you could be in an abusive relationship?

Take the Quiz

Mental Illness in My Own Family

One of the hardest things to accept has been the loss of my son to a mental disorder. I remember the day 30 years ago, the day he was born planning his life. I picked out the preschool he would attend, elementary, middle, high school and college with no thought that his path was chosen and I would be the one and other family members adjusting to the changes that were going to affect all of our lives.

I remember thinking and feeling what an angel,

he looked like, rosy cheeks, blue eyes, and brown hair. The perfect child; as infant always smiling, watching observing and being content. He responded to cuddling, kisses from everyone, children and adults with smiles; as he grew the most cooperative, mellow, observant and accommodating child to everyone who came in his presence. I had no idea the changes that were waiting in his future and the devastating effects his illness would play on the family's future.

I was blindsided by his deteriorating behavior towards me and I wondered would I be able to manage the challenges that are not part of normal/regular parenting. This was an eye-opener and a glimpse of what was to come. Two years prior to the decline in his behavior; it started in middle school: skipping classes and being truant to class regularly and lastly not attending his middle school graduation.

I remember looking and searching for him the entire day only to discover he was at a classmate's house smoking marijuana. His delinquent behavior from that moment increased to almost daily defiance. I was at a loss on what to do! The next move was to seek out counseling services but to no avail.

He refused to participate and only resisted my efforts to help him. At that point, I chose to help myself and practice self-care in an effort to deal with the issues to come so I attended counseling to learn coping skills to maintain my own emotional and mental stability.

Without therapy, I don't believe I would have been able to maintain and navigate the challenges that come with parenting a mentally unwell adolescent. My story does not end here and this is only the beginning in a series of articles....

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Danisha McCrary, AMFT knows first-hand how difficult it is to love someone with a chronic mental illness. She has worked with many families that were struggling with issues of substance abuse, homelessness, mental disorders and traumatic events. As a counselor, Danisha assist families to overcome the obstacles that prevent healing, teach people how to manage crisis situations, and find new healthy ways to cope in life. Danisha is fond of saying, “that we all can use a little bit of help from time to time, even me.” If you want to work with Danisha give our office a call.

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By: Danisha McCrary, AMFT

I found my passion for working with children, teens and families when I was a Social Worker for Child Protective Services. These families were struggling with issues of substance abuse, homelessness, mental disorders and traumatic events. As a counselor, I desire to assist families to overcome the obstacles that prevent healing, help manage stressful life events and find new healthy directions in life.

I am fond of saying, “we all can use a little bit of help from time to time, even me.”

 I believe people and families can develop the coping skills needed for healthier relationships. Nobody wants to feel sad, depressed, angry or anxious. I have seen plenty of people get better and enjoy their lives and families again. I believe in hope.

My specialty is working with people from age 5 to 80 who experience depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, feeling stuck, or just can’t find the joy in life anymore.  

I have found children and families can be resilient by participating in therapy and learning the skills needed to recover and manage their life struggles. My priority is to find the best therapeutic model to assist you and your family in healing and developing a healthy relationship. Because we all deserve to feel good about ourselves and have loving and caring friends and family.

Diabetes and Mental Health

Ever think that good diabetic care might also include good mental health care? Our mental health affects all parts of our lives from how we feel, what we think, how we make decisions, choices and even how much stress with can handle.

There has been plenty of research on the mind-body connection. What’s the mind-body connection you say? It’s a powerful connection between our physical or biological selves and our thoughts, feelings and even our attitudes can positively or negatively impact our bodies and our overall health. Likewise, what we do to our bodies like eating, exercise, smoking or even how we stand can have a huge impact on our mental wellness. Simply put our mind-body connections is strong and it directly affects our health.

According to an article in the Journal of American Medical Association entitled The Mental Health Comorbidities of Diabetes people that have diabetics to have a great risk of depression and anxiety.

Depression is a medical illness that causes sadness, feelings of worthlessness, sleeping too little or too much. When your diabetes is not well managed your risk for other complications including heart disease, nerve damage and vision issues greatly increase.

Other symptoms of depression can include:

• Loss in interest in activities

• Isolation

• Sadness

• Hopelessness

• Feeling tired all the time

• Lack of concentration

• Headaches or generalized ache and pains

• Digestive problems

• Thoughts of suicide or death

Anxiety is also a medical illness that can cause excessive worry, uneasiness, restlessness, and fear. A person who has diabetes has a 20% greater risk increases for anxiety sometime in their life according to the Centers for Disease Control. Especially when first diagnosed with diabetes there are many medical and lifestyle changes. Education on Diabetics management is needed to understand the new condition fully. Newly diagnoses people can become excessive in watching their blood sugar (Glucose), and it can become anxiety producing and overwhelming. That leads to stress, excessive worry, and agitation which can make it harder to maintain healthy blood sugar levels.    

Additional symptoms of anxiety:

• Keyed up or on edge

• Unable to fall asleep or stay asleep

• Concentration and memory loss

• Consistent fear of impending doom

• Obsessive thought or “what if…”

• Increased blood pressure

• Panic Attacks

TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE

Luckily, you can make easy changes that will have a huge positive effect on managing your diabetes and mental wellness.

• Take a walk and get moving daily.

• Water acrobatics is a good fitness activity because it provides both cardiovascular benefit and resistant work; making your muscles work more. Find certified fitness instructors like the ones from Aquamotion Ability Foundation in Riverside, CA. They offer various classes from beginner to advance.

• Meditation or Yoga helps with a positive mind-body connection and decreases stress, depression, and anxiety.

• Get educated on your diabetes

• Limited caffeine and alcohol consumption.

• Eat healthily and get enough sleep.

• Be social, people with a good network of friends have less severe mental health issues

• Work with your healthcare team.

• See a therapist if your depression, anxiety or stresses is not getting better or gets worse.

If you need more information on depression or anxiety, please call our office (951) 778-0230 and arrange an appointment to speak to a therapist.

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By Sheralyn (Sherry) Shockey-Pope, LMFT

Sheralyn (Sherry) Shockey-Pope, LMFT is the Chief Operation Officer and Co-Owner of Central Counseling Services. Sherry oversees the day to day operation of the practice in two locations Riverside and Murrieta, and she directly supervises associates, licensed therapists, and the support staff. Her practice consists of 23 clinicians and five support staff. Sherry has extensive teaching and speaking experience and presents on topics of depression, anxiety, child abuse, adoption, business performance, and mindset blocks. Although she is not taking new clients, she can help you find the perfect therapist fit from her hand selected and well-trained therapist team. In her spare time, Sherry enjoys being outdoors, water aerobics, swimming, hiking, gardening or sailing.