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About Janine Monico

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So far Janine Monico has created 143 blog entries.

Behavioral Health at Any Age: No One Needs to Struggle Alone

Many areas of behavioral health can be something of a mystery to the general public. Myths and misconceptions about mental health and substance use are often significant obstacles to looking out for the well-being of ourselves and our loved ones. Talking about suicide does NOT plant the idea in someone’s head. Many mental health conditions are preventable. Depression is NOT a normal part of aging. Let’s focus on that last one. It’s worth repeating; experiencing feelings of depression is not a given as we grow older. However, behavioral health problems like depression often go undiagnosed in older adults. Older adults as well as their loved ones and even their healthcare providers sometimes dismiss symptoms of depression as “normal” signs of frailty – inevitably, our bodies grow physically weaker as we age. However, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)notes that many equivocate symptoms of depression with the physical weaknesses of aging, leading them to ignore these indicators of a potential mental health issue. Others believe that feelings of depression are just the natural result of changes in life that typically happen to older adults. Major life events more common to older adults – such as retirement, the death of a loved one, or moving out of the family home – can be stressors that impact our behavioral health. Facing the loss of someone [...]

2021-03-25T16:38:55-04:00January 15th, 2021|Depression, Older Adults|
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When Anxiety Becomes Unhelpful: How To Help Your Child

All children worry. In fact, worry in itself is not bad. In some situations, worry and anxiety are helpful! For example, if your child sees a bear while hiking in the Wissahickon, their anxiety may tell them to run away. If your child is nervous about an upcoming math test, they may choose to study instead of watching TikTok. Helpful anxiety can warn your child of potential threats and motivate them to focus on their goals. So, when does anxiety become unhelpful? Anxiety is unhelpful if it keeps your child from hiking in the Wissahickon or attending school on test days. In short, anxiety is unhelpful if it gets in the way of life, either for the child or their family. Anxiety can get in the way for kids when it leads them to avoid things that they normally enjoy. It also gets in the way when kids have trouble enjoying activities because they’re always worrying. A child’s anxiety can also get in the way for their caregivers and siblings. Perhaps you have changed your life (e.g., not going on a date with your partner) or family plans (e.g., canceling a family vacation) to make your child less worried. If you think that your child’s anxiety is unhelpful, there are things you can do at home to break the [...]

2021-01-05T21:31:29-05:00December 10th, 2020|Anxiety, Family & Youth|
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Be Mindful This Holiday Season

Across our city, country, and the world, seasonal and religious holidays have not been and will not be the same this year.  For many, the coming weeks are always a fragile time of year, and 2020 is certainly no exception. Sadly, people have lost family members and friends in recent months, some have lost jobs, and most will not be spending holidays together for health and safety reasons. For some, absent friends or family has always made the holidays difficult, but this year, more of us will feel this emptiness. Our lives have been turned upside down, and some have gone from bad to worse. Whatever your circumstances, it is not at all unusual to feel overly emotional or act differently than you typically would during these uncertain times. While some may be able to "keep calm and carry on," there's nothing wrong with not feeling calm or finding it difficult to carry on. So what can we do to embrace this year's holiday season, try to manage our emotions, and carry on? We can start by accepting that this is a year like no other. We can: Choose not to surrender to negative feelings, accept our situation, learn from it, and find comfort in what we still have. Think back to other harsh challenges we've confronted in our lifetime and how we managed to get [...]

2021-01-02T15:28:30-05:00December 1st, 2020|Holidays, Pandemic|
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Good Morning, Santana!

As we entered our ninth month of working at home due to Covid-19, I wanted to share my experience as a mom and professional, getting through this change to our typical day to day lives. I want to start by saying that I am grateful that I am employed and have a job that I can continue to do from home, which, unfortunately for some, was not an option. Without getting on my soap box, I will keep it short and honest about my experience these past months. This transition has been by far the most frustrating transition with my beautiful 2-year-old boy Santana, period! Like anyone who works in an office, you develop a routine. I'm going to just speak on my morning routine, which looked like the following before the pandemic; get up, get dressed, get my son dressed, drop him off at his grandmother's house, and do my cardio (which is power-walking up a hill to the train, praying I catch it.) I say power walk but probably borderline jogging! I used to do my cardio every day before arriving at the office. After catching up with others on my unit, I really miss that moment when you sit down with your coffee (personally, it's iced coffee or tea for me) where you just relax and take [...]

2021-07-31T12:50:20-04:00November 30th, 2020|Family & Youth, Lived Experience, Pandemic|
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