To Stop or Not To Stop? The Good Samaritan Question

Would you know what to do if you found a person in crisis on the side of the road or at home with a family member acting out?

Would you stop and help or just keep going?  This can be a difficult decision.  Especially, the way the world is today with the uptick in crime, gun violence, and scams. 

Here are few different options:

  

1. Stop, but don't get out of your car, and assist that way.  Keep 911 on speed dial and call for help.  Keep windows closed enough to be safe. Wait for help to come.

2.  For a mental health or drug overdose (OD) emergency or suicide - Call 911, and explain that you want the Mobile Crisis Unit for a person in self-harm danger or OD.  They should dispatch immediately; stay until they arrive, but call for own support, backup, family intervention, etc.  Don't get out of your vehicle alone. 

3.  Carry Narcan with in your car, just in case the person is passed out from an OD.  I have an Emergency Gear backpack in my car, with that and other first aid emergency stuff that the local Sheriff's Dept. put together and gave out to the public. 

4.  There is also a non-law enforcement option.  In New York state, call the 211 PIC (Person-in-Crisis) Hotline or 988 Lifeline Crisis and Suicide Hotline to ask for help.  See the pic below, for more details.  

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988 is more than just a suicidal helpline. It is a direct connection to compassionate care. Anyone can call, chat, or text 988 for support, including anyone having thoughts of suicide, is in crisis or emotional distress, is struggling with substance use, or is experiencing a mental health crisis.

If you or someone you know needs support now, call 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text 988, or chat at:  988 Lifeline Chat

 

 

Many local people have stopped to help me when I've been stranded on the side of the road with car trouble.  Or needed help with stuff like air in my tires, or groceries.  I am always grateful for this kind support.  We can care and stay safe, and help maybe save a life.  Life is better when we become neighbors helping neighbors.  

Did you find this article helpful?  Please share your thoughts or suggestions!  I would love your feedback.

All Content Copyright LLCC

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Annual Mental Health Wellness Checkup Quiz

May is designated Mental Health Awareness Month.  Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to increase public awareness of the importance of addressing our mental health needs and to decrease the stigma surrounding the need for help. 

What does this mean for you?  Have you checked in with your mental health status lately?  Would you even know how to do that? 

Take my Annual Mental Health Wellness Checkup Quiz and see how you're doing.  

10 Questions - Covers Mental, Emotional, Physical, & Spiritual Health

1. How are you feeling today, really? How have you been feeling over the last 6 months?  Physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. 

2. What’s taking up most of your headspace right now?  What's keeping you up at night?  

3. How are your eating habits?  Are you taking time to eat nutritious meals or living on fast food and junk snacks?  Have you been drinking enough water? 

4. How have you been sleeping?  Is lack of sleep impacting your ability to function? 

5. What have you been doing for exercise?  Recreation?  Relaxation?

6.  Are you holding in a lot of anger, resentment, or unforgiveness?  Carrying grudges?

7.  When's the last time you felt really good about yourself?  Your life?  The future?

8.  Are feeling stuck or overwhelmed by what you need to do on a daily basis?  Or are you invigorated by each new day?

9.  Do you feel loved and supported by those around you or isolated and alone?  How often do you feel lonely?

10.  How confident do feel that you can cope adequately with a sudden reversal or setback that might come up unexpectedly?  This might be financially?  Career wise?  Family?  A sudden loss such as a death?  An unforeseen illness or natural disaster?

If you fall short on any the of questions above, it may be impacting your mental health.  Ask yourself:  What current obstacle is the biggest stumbling block getting in your way?  Prioritize your needs this way.  If you need a tune up or extra help, seek the aid of a professional.  Sometimes short term counseling is all it takes to get your life back on track.

My mission is to assist individuals in overcoming the stigma of seeking mental health services.  My goal is to help you create a healthier, more fulfilling life while navigating life's many challenges and transitions.  If you need to, we can do that together.

I offer a free 15 minute consult Discovery call to see if we would be a good fit working together. You can message me directly here or book an online appt. at the link on FB below:

Book an Online Appt. Here

The Living Large Blog features articles, resources, and links on personal development, psychology, spirituality, healing tools, healthy cooking, poetry, and inspirational writing. See links.

Living Large Blog & Website

As always, please share your comments and insights.  

Make your mental health a priority today.

All Rights Reserved. Copyright Living Large Coaching & Counseling

Living Large Coaching & Counseling
It's Your Life. Your Evolution.

How To Use This Blog & Website (click here)

Welcome to the Living Large Coaching & Counseling blog and website!

Welcome to all the new people here!  This website is undergoing a facelift.  Please check back for new info and updates.

 

This blog is a self-help tool I created and am excited about sharing with you.

 

This multi-media website is published as a mental health resource as a means of providing you with the personalized help, coaching, and counseling you need for navigating life's many challenges.

You can get new blog posts and articles delivered directly by email by sending me a message request on the contact form found on this blog.

I am now doing counseling, life coaching, and consulting online. Just ask!

So...!  What's next?

Read the posts that appeal to you.  Respond to the ones that resonate with you most.  Let me know how you're doing with any life challenges you have.  Most importantly, leave a comment.  

 

Let me and other readers know if this blog has improved your quality of your life!  Was it the writing?  The concepts?  Or, just tell me what's been meaningful for you.

You can always contact me directly by sending a message here on the contact form, or book an appointment by going to my FB page at the link below:

Book an Appt. or Free Discovery Call on FB here

I'll be posting weekly here and on Facebook, as well.

Thanks for visiting!  Come back often!

Until then, Live Large!

Cindy

Founder, Life Coach & Counselor
M.A. Clinical & Health Psychology

Living Large Coaching & Counseling
Life Management & Behavioral Health Services

"It's Your Life, Your Evolution"
_______________________

Follow me on FB page for more info

 

NOTE: You do NOT need to subscribe to this blog to post comments or provide feedback.

Short Bio
I'm a writer and a life coach/counselor.  Like my FB page to read more about my mission in mental health and find more support.

I help people live transformative lives beyond the early conditioning of childhood or "baggage" we carry, and teach others how to get past being judgmental and live in peace in divisive times.  We're all in this together!

I've worked for many years with folks facing the most challenging life situations. Prison, criminal offenses, addiction, codependency, PTSD, and even sex offenders.

The gift I bring to my practice is an inner stance of non-judgment and loving kindness. When we learn to live from a place of non-judgment, life becomes an adventure in possibilities. I, myself, have faced and over come many huge life challenges and transitions.

May you find the resources you need here to live a miraculous life!

Cindy
_______________________________________________________________________
Privacy Notice:   We never collect, sell, or distribute your personal information or data to 3rd parties entities.  All contact information is private and confidential.

About Suicide, Mental "Ilness" & Mental Health Stigma

Mental health stigma still has us in the Dark Ages

Boot Straps Stoicism has killed more people than anything I know in the form of alcoholism, addiction, suicide, and the long slow death of denial and PTSD.  Depression, anxiety, and PTSD are not illnesses to be scorned or defects of character - they are neuropsychological responses to extreme stress in numerous forms that affect every one differently and are NOT to be shamed by ignorant bystanders who would lay judgments on people struggling. 

While it's getting better, mental health stigma still persists like a bad dream, even today. So, while addiction and suicide rates climb, competent qualified mental health professionals are at a premium, and often difficult to find in rural areas and small towns.  Good mental health care can be found if you know where to look.  The search is worth the effort, and this blog has a number of links on our home page to get you started.

Self Help Strategies

 

If you are struggling with mental health symptoms and are uncomfortable seeking a therapist, counselor, or life coach, then get out a notebook, and START WRITING.  Write whatever comes into your head, don't censor it and UNLOAD.  When the paper owns it, you'll be able to look at it and see yourself more clearly.  This is the first step to well being.

No one knows better than you do what you are thinking and feeling, and the pen and paper are your vehicle to clear the channel, especially if you are bogged down in hopelessness, feelings of despair and raging emotion.  Remember, suicide is permanent, and feeling wretched might feel like it will last forever, but if the paper becomes your friend, then you can process those feelings and move thru them.  Being emotionally stuck is like being constipated, something has got to come out.
 

What about online coaching & therapy?

Studies have shown that online therapies can be quite effective in those dealing with suicidal thoughts. Even texting can be an effective intervention. What's important is reaching out for help, instead of suffering and staying stuck because it seems like there's no where to turn.

Below are some links to some interesting scientific articles on suicide prevention.  If you're feeling over whelming symptoms of distress, as outlined below, please seek professional mental health care.  There's no need to stay miserable and suffer endlessly alone!

 

Suicide Prevention and Texting - Easier Than You Might Think

Text Following Hospital Discharge Suicide Intervention 

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5745353/

 

 

Rochester Public Library Health Central Website

Rochester Public Library Health Central Website - Multi-Resource Guide w/ FREE Listings of Services such as Dental Cleanings

RPL Health Central Wellness Resource Center

Health Central has partnered with the University of Rochester School of Medicine to be a location for students in the Community Health Improvement Course. All fourth-year students must take the course and spend one month at various agencies in the community. The goal of the course is for students to understand the importance of community strategies to improve population health. In addition, it increases understanding of other populations through first-hand allowing students to gain empathy. So far students have worked on marketing Health Central, identifying clinics for patrons without health insurance, created Jeopardy! style games on a variety of topics conducted blood pressure screenings and educated patrons about the importance of skin cancer screenings.

The Dead Zone - Intro to the Inception of this Blog!

Welcome to my blog! It's dreadful, I must confess... I've become a social media junky, almost over night.

It all started with a Twitter workshop a few weeks ago -- and blossomed from there. Before that, I said I would never Twitter. Who cares about what everybody's doing? How incredibly boring and stupid. And, I had forever written off Spacebook, Myspace, or Facebook (or whatever you call these silly friend site mediums) as just another lame crutch for the socially and emotionally retarded - I needed real PEOPLE!

But, I got on Twitter with my new friend Skeeter, who put together the great functional Twitter workshop, and I was hooked. Soon I was following other friends, and it was great to log on, and read all the tweets; it all seemed so much faster and simpler than e-mail. About the same time, someone kind of cool friended me on Facebook - (yeah, I still had an account set up -- I wanted to see what all the hype was about.) I definitely had this love/hate relationship going with the computer.

Enter Julie and Julia: The Movie - Thanksgiving night. I thought the story was fiction, a fun flick to showcase Meryl Streep. WRONG! True story, enter great blogging, and healing, and personal growth. Too bad Julia Child didn't see it that way.

Now, I am an expert in the arena of writing and healing -- wrote a master's thesis on it. But, that was about private trauma journaling. In my mind, public blogging smacked of major narcissism - a malady of our modern day Me, Me, Me culture. So... after seeing the movie Julie and Julia -- I was pretty impressed, Julie took a huge risk and it paid off...a blog, a project, a movie and book deal - a new life.

Now I get into reading blogs online (some of which I will share with you soon).

Still, I hadn't thought of blogging myself, until the other night, when I entered the "Dead Zone" with a few friends. Let me explain.

I went out to hear some acoustic music with friends. The musician never showed up. No phone call, no explanation - nothing. The night soon degenerated into a monumental dead zone of excuses. No one wanted to drive the 12 miles out to another cafe for music in a neighboring town. The reasons: "My Crohn's is acting up." "It's a bad night for driving, the weather's too bad." It was 6:30 pm in the evening, so I went by myself.

The whole drive out, all I kept thinking was -- what makes people decide to stop living, and start believing their own excuses? What happens to propel folks into living in what I call, "The Dead Zone of Excuses"? It goes like this: "I can't; it won't work; I'm too tired, too broke, too old, too young, etc.", to take risks, really live, and get out of my own way -- yadda, yadda, yadda.

It was a darn lonely drive. When I got there - the cafe was closed. Talk about a bummer, but never mind, it was a great night for a drive -- mild, balmy, misty -- I went grocery shopping at an unfamiliar Walmart -- got some great buys on my favorite Kashi cereal that's much higher priced out where I live. Then, I ran into the owner of the cafe!! They closed to spend time with family decorating for Christmas. "Good for them.", I thought, taking time off to be with family!

The whole ride home, I felt great; excuses hadn't ruined my night, and I suddenly realized I needed to share this experience! Yes, even BlOG about it. I got home and jumped on Twitter, to read all the tweets from my new friends (can't believe I'm saying tweets), then researched where the best blog sites seem to be. This one came up first-rate. Best tools, quick to put up, AND you can follow me, just like on Twitter.

So what I want to do now is hear from YOU! How do excuses keep you from really living? What are your favorite excuses? After reading this, how will you plan to stop believing your own excuses and get out of the Dead Zone? How do you plan to live your own unique version of Living Large?