All Posts in "Month: November 2021"

According to Mental Health America, a non-profit organization that promotes positive mental health, 31 percent of adults will experience an anxiety disorder in their lifetime, over 17 million adults have depression, and 7 percent of the adult population has major depression—all pointing to a need to put a bigger emphasis on emotional wellness, including what it is and how to improve it.

“Emotional health confronts your internal states of being. Emotions being love, anger, joy, and sadness. Emotions can be broken down into secondary and tertiary states,” said Katie Sandler, a personal-development and career coach.

Citing research from Harvard University, Mayo Clinic and Mental Health America, Sandler noted that stress, anxiety, and low self-worth are all emotional aspects of health which require tending to. Emotional health shows up in positive attitudes, high self-esteem and self-worth, and a healthy body image.

Some ways we can tend to and bolster our emotional wellness, Sandler said, include:

  • Learn to identify emotions. Being able to identify emotions happens to be extremely challenging for even the most successful. It is not something we were truly taught to identify and then articulate. Start by simply becoming aware of your own emotional states and patterns. Once you become aware of them you can learn to successfully work through them in a healthy way, and ensure they don’t become overwhelming.
  • Master coping skills. Coping is a tool for tending to our emotional health and building resilience, Sandler explained. Coping comes in many different shapes and sizes – it’s important for people to build a tool box of effective personal coping mechanisms. This also requires a period of trial and error. Coping can be done through things like meditation, spending time in nature, phoning a friend, doing breathing exercises, or journaling. Once you find one that works, add it to the ethereal tool box and remember to pull it out in times of need.
  • Get to know you. Work on understanding yourself (aka loving yourself). The more you lean into yourself and show a desire to be curious and compassionate, the greater the likelihood of you shifting into emotional health. We spend a lot of time getting to know others, but very little time getting to know ourselves, and we need to change that.
  • Practice mindfulness. According to Harvard University, mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity, and acceptance. The benefits of practicing mindfulness include decreasing depression, improving emotional reactivity, improves resiliency, and improving healthy coping skills. One of the most effective ways to improve mindfulness is to practice mindfulness meditation.
  • Get physically active. Not only is getting enough physical exercise each week important to overall health, it’s beneficial for emotional wellness, too. The Mayo Clinic reports that exercise can help to improve depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as improve mood and help you feel better overall. Additionally, exercise helps people feel more confident and releases feel-good endorphins. Aim for getting at least 30 minutes of exercise per day on three to five days per week to get the most benefits.

“Every day you should spend time on emotional wellness,” said Sandler. “When you do that, it will pay off in all areas of your life. Make yourself a priority, stick with it, and see the beauty of the results.”

 

THE EFFECT OF PANDEMIC-RELATED STRESS

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Millions of people sheltered at home for what they hoped would be a few weeks of sacrifice that would stop the spread of the coronavirus. One year later, more than 500,000 U.S. residents had died from the coronavirus, while the nation also grappled with racial injustice, a national election cycle and civil unrest.

In an October 2020 report, “Stress in America 2020: A National Mental Health Crisis,” the American Psychological Association (APA) warned about the impact of these stressful events on long-term physical and mental health. That was more apparent when a more recent survey of U.S. adults, conducted in February 2021 by The Harris Poll, revealed that physical health may be declining due to an inability to cope in healthy ways with the stresses of the pandemic.

Many adults surveyed by Harris reported they have gained or lost an undesired amount of weight, are drinking more alcohol to cope with stress, and aren’t getting their desired amount of sleep. This is particularly true of parents, essential workers, and people of color. According to APA, these reported health impacts signal many adults may be having trouble managing stressors, including grief and trauma, and are likely to lead to significant, long-term individual and societal consequences, including chronic illness and additional strain on the nation’s healthcare system, .

Significant weight gain poses long-term health risks. According to the National Institutes of Health, people who gain more than 11 pounds are at higher risk of developing Type II diabetes and coronary heart disease, and people who gain more than 24 pounds are at higher risk of stroke. And according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who are overweight are more likely to develop serious illness from the coronavirus.

Overall, physical health has taken a back seat. Forty-seven percent of Americans said they delayed or canceled healthcare services since the pandemic started. Additionally, 53 percent said they have been less physically active than they wanted to be during the pandemic.

American Psychological Association is a scientific and professional organization representing 122,000 researchers, clinicians and others in the field of psychology.

srmedia by — November 11, 2021 in Health & Fitness
Here come the grandkids

Whether they live around the corner or three states away, a visit from grandkids is something grandparents look forward to. But keeping them happy, entertained and out of harm can be a bit of a challenge in a home that’s been an empty nest for years. Preparing for a visit from grandchildren involves more than just hiding cords, baby-proofing cabinets and getting them a new toy, says child-safety expert Sandra Aris. She has tips to help make visits fun and safe.

  1. Create a play-safe area

Kids are notorious for laying their toys around the house and playing in whatever room or area they’re interested in at the moment. They may start off in the living room but move their next set of toys to the bathroom or even the garage. Designating one room or area as their playroom can keep their toys organized, minimize safety risks, and give them a structured environment to play in. And you will feel like your place is under control.

  1. Be ready for medical emergencies

First-aid kits can come in handy, and having a car seat ready inside your vehicle for potential hospital visits is important, especially with rambunctious toddlers and babies. Whether they need a bandage when they fall and cut their hand, an EpiPen for allergic reactions, or break their arm and have to go to the emergency room, be ready for the unexpected.

  1. Protect them with clothes

For grandchildren that learning to walk or crawl, comfortable clothing that can help maintain their balance and protect them from the inevitable falls is important. Shoes with a sturdy sole can protect the bottom of their feet and stop them from wobbling, and pants that can protect the high-injury zones on their body (knees and butt) can help them get back up.

  1. Go grocery shopping

 For kids eating solid food, an extra trip to the grocery store is a necessity when you’re expecting them. Portioned snacks such as bags of crackers, yogurt and string cheese can be good treats, while apple slices, baby carrots and pretzels are healthy alternatives. Give kids options and keep their bellies full.

  1. Prepare for tiny hands and feet

    Designating areas for play or activities can keep grandkids and their toys organized and help grandparents feel like their home is under control during visits by the little ones.

An empty-nester home is probably filled with convenient spaces to reach your medications, knives, glasses, etc. But for curious little ones, setting items on easy-to-reach places can be dangerous. Kids are prone to grab anything near them to play with, throw, eat, etc. Ensure that everything risky is either put away or out of reach.

srmedia by — November 11, 2021 in Lifestyles
Washington among best states for fall visits

LawnStarter, a national lawncare company that also takes an interest in researching lifestyle and consumer topics, recently ranked the 50 states in order of how much they offer to visitors and sightseers in the fall. The rankings are based on 15 factors, including the number of national and state parks, corn mazes, and wineries—even the projected number of weeks each state will produce fall foliage for taking “postcard-perfect pictures,” a spokesman said. And Washington, at number, 9 cracked the top 10.

Also in the top 10, from first to 10th, are Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, California, Wyoming, Alaska, Oregon, Montana, and Connecticut.

Washington does well because of high scores in some individual factors: Second in wineries per 100,000 residents, fifth in number of scenic drives, third in number of parks, and 17th in corn mazes per 100,000 residents.

Ranked first in some of those considerations is California in most scenic drives, Oregon in wineries per 100,000 residents, and Wyoming in most hiking trails per 100,000 residents.

All of the rankings and stats nationally are at www.lawnstarter.com.

State Route 14 in Skamania County, running beside the Columbia River and also known as the Lewis and Clark Trail, is one of the routes in Washington that makes the state the fifth-best nationally for scenic drives. California is the highest-ranked state.
srmedia by — November 11, 2021 in Lifestyle, Home, Adventures
Independent movie theaters are back but cautious

It was, in a way, like coming home again. That’s how I felt on the recent afternoon I spent watching the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect” at the Crest Cinema.

It was the first time I had gone out to see a movie since the pandemic began. The snack bar staff seemed almost giddy to take my ticket and serve me the kind of warm, buttery, overpriced popcorn you get only at a movie house. The seats were cushy. The screen seemed massive. Even the previews delighted me. And when the film began running through the Queen of Soul’s repertoire, the sound system — and the buzz of joy in the two-thirds-full theater — was something I could never replicate at home.

Since early 2021, with COVID-19 precautions observed, Seattleites have been able to visit chain cineplexes for a communal experience of viewing the latest Marvel action extravaganzas and other Hollywood releases on a giant screen. But for the true cinephile willing to brave mingling with strangers in an indoor setting for a couple hours, despite the pandemic surges, something essential to our local movie landscape has been missing–the array of art house options, those non-commercial cinemas specializing in experimental, foreign, local, documentary, or curated classic fare, including a bevy of niche and cultural film festivals.

These venues — more invested in art and community than big business — tend to be not for profit, with smaller staffs and fewer resources than the commercial movie chains. That has meant a longer road when it comes to transitioning back to in-person screenings. But they are starting to reopen their doors to the flick fans who have sorely missed them. Spaces in Seattle range from the intimate, two-screen Northwest Film Forum on Capitol Hill and the cozy-quirky Grand Illusion in the University District, to single-screen neighborhood faves like The Beacon in Columbia City and Central Cinema in the Central District, and the historic Egyptian Theatre, the largest venue in SIFF Cinema’s mini-indie-empire.

In Pierce County, fans of such moviegoing fare can get their fix again at Grand Cinema in Tacoma. It’s been the home of independent, international, and local feature-length and short films and the Tacoma Film Festival since its start in 1995 as a private business (it was called Grand Tacoma Theater then) and its rechristening in 1997 as a non-profit, largely volunteer-run organization.

Since reopening to audiences during the pandemic, the theater has required patrons to wear masks and, effective Sept. 3, to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. For further COVID safety, all seating in the intimate settings is reserved. Seats next to, in front of and behind a ticket buyer and their group are blocked off once a seat is reserved. Online ticket purchases are recommended. In addition, seating per auditorium is limited to 50 to 60 people until 100 percent capacity is restored.

Grand Cinema officials expressed gratitude for the patience, “understanding” and support of its customers.

On Sept. 30, the Egyptian in Seattle resumed screenings with DocFest, a 13-film documentary festival. And on Oct. 1, the SIFF Cinema Film Center, nestled in Seattle Center, also began welcoming patrons. (SIFF’s two-plex facility in the Uptown neighborhood is undergoing some physical upgrades and is expected to reopen a bit later.)

“People still want that feeling of being in a theater, that good sound system, that broad and expansive cinematography,” said Beth Barrett, artistic director of SIFF Cinema’s three-theater operation.

SIFF has been selling only 50 percent of potential tickets — for the Egyptian that’s half of its 520 seats, and for the more compact SIFF Film Center, half of its 90 seats. And “we’re requiring vaccination cards, presented either digitally or in person,” Barrett noted. “We don’t expect people to be back in droves right away, but we want the moviegoing experience to be as safe as possible for our staff and audiences.”

The Grand Illusion, billed as Seattle’s oldest continuously running movie theater and completely staffed by volunteers, was preparing in late September for the return of patrons in its jewel box space. In December, in a hopeful sign of normality during the winter holidays, it’s planning its annual presentation of the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” on 35 millimeter.

The Grand Illusion is mandating either proof of vaccination or proof of a COVID test within 48 hours of showtime. Its reduced-seating policy cuts capacity to just 35 patrons, making screenings seem almost private.

In-person film festivals have returned. In October, they included the Tacoma Film Festival. The Northwest Film Forum is project jazz films until Nov. 7 as part of the Earshot Jazz Festival, and SIFF will be a host of the Romanian Film Festival Nov. 12-21. The Seattle International Film Festival, entirely online in 2021, is projected to return to theaters in the spring of 2022 with about 90 films — less than half the usual 200-plus.

Theaters are proceeding with the kind of caution that every responsible arts purveyor exercises, given the vagaries of the highly transmissible delta variant and the specter of other COVID permutations on the horizon. And because pandemic shifts and COVID requirements can change with little warning, it’s a good idea to check with the venue before heading out.

Though the pandemic and accompanying economic stresses and uncertainties have made this a challenging time for independent cinema outlets, there have been bright spots in the long hiatus from public screenings. For instance, thanks to relief funding and other financial support, SIFF Cinema and other organizations have used the downtime to upgrade facilities. And some have banded together to share resources and foster more collaboration.

Ironically, the pandemic has also given indie venues new access to the mainstream movie pipeline.

“All those big Hollywood films that were supposed to come out in 2020? Most of them never did,” Barrett said. She pointed out that commercial cineplexes will be eager over the next year to catch up with the backlog of delayed, mega-budget action releases (“The Matrix: Four,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and the latest James Bond film, “No Time to Die”). That will give independent cinemas opportunities to nab the first runs of critically touted but less flashy, or more offbeat, studio fare.

As for competing with big new releases showing up on major streaming sites like Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video, local venue operators aren’t too worried about competition with the in-person experiences they can provide.

“I think we’re going to get some great films this year and in 2022,” said Barrett. “The majority of the films we’ll show aren’t streaming currently, so there’s that great possibility of discovering something here you wouldn’t otherwise see. We’ll show movies you won’t find in a Netflix block.”

 

Grand Cinema, a non-profit independent movie theater in Tacoma, has been limiting seating capacity and selling only reserved-seating tickets as a safety measure during the pandemic.
srmedia by — November 11, 2021 in Spotlight