Blake Pennington

Blake Pennington
The Connection Between Helping Others and Your Health

The Connection Between Helping Others and Your Health

Do you recall the last time you helped someone by performing an act of kindness? Remember the feeling of joy it gave you and the extra pep in your step? Evidence shows that helping others is beneficial to your mental and physical health. Putting other people’s needs before our own can reduce stress and improve … Read More

Understanding Diversity in the Workplace

Understanding Diversity in the Workplace

Culture & Self-Cultural Awareness Culture includes people with common origins, customs and styles of living, who share a sense of identity and language. Their common experiences shape their values, goals, expectations, beliefs, perceptions and behavior. You identify with a culture that represents your experience, but so does everyone you come in contact with. Workplace Diversity … Read More

Responding to Natural Disasters

Responding to Natural Disasters

When an individual or a community experiences a tragedy, such as a natural disaster resulting from a tornado or hurricane, one can expect that there will be a period of emotional recovery. How long that takes is not measured by debris removal, but by emotional restoration. And, how individuals respond is based upon variables, such … Read More

Embrace Mental Health for Mental Health Month

Embrace Mental Health for Mental Health Month

Mental health is just as important to our lives as our physical health Mental Health is not the same thing as the absence of a mental illness. Mental health includes How you feel about yourself, the world and your life Your ability to solve problems and overcome challenges Your ability to build relationships with others … Read More

Tips to Manage Workplace Anxiety

Tips to Manage Workplace Anxiety

Plenty of working Americans experience anxiety every day at work. This can interfere with your work life considerably, impacting your performance, relationships with others, quality of work, attendance, and morale. The causes are different for each person, but the symptoms are often similar and include: Excessive worry Difficulty concentrating Irritability Trouble falling or staying asleep … Read More

First Steps After a Disaster

First Steps After a Disaster

When an individual or a community experiences a tragedy such as the recent tornadoes in Lee County, AL, one can expect that there will be a period of emotional recovery. How long that takes is not measured by debris removal, but by emotional restoration. How individuals respond is based upon variables such as proximity to … Read More

Girlfriends sharing a laugh in Coffeeshop

Eating Disorders and the Comparison Crisis

February 25, 2019 kicks off National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. This year’s theme is Come as You Are. More information can be found at www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-involved/nedawareness. It’s easy to get caught up in the latest dieting fads, especially when we are inundated from every direction—from magazine covers to social media and even billboards when we’re driving … Read More

Take Care of Your Heart by Managing Your Stress

Take Care of Your Heart by Managing Your Stress

We know for certain that stress and heart disease are related; however, it’s uncertain if stress is a risk factor for heart disease on its own, or if stress increases other risk factors by the existence of high levels of adrenaline and cortisol (the stress hormone) in the body. Either way, it is beneficial to … Read More

Multi-ethnic, mixed age group of volunteers serves food at a soup kitchen.  A variety of food is being served to the under-resourced people in their local community.  Christmas season.

Overcoming Loneliness During the Holidays

Loneliness Affects All Ages Human beings are social creatures. Feeling like you’re part of a community helps you thrive; however, some people struggle to make and keep relationships that sustain them. Connections with others are important for your health. Social isolation and loneliness both can cause problems. “Isolation is about whether other people are physically … Read More