Mental Health Month: Caring for both mind and body is important

SIOUX CENTER, IOWA – May is Mental Health Month.

Jo Thyr, LMSW, tCADC, behavioral health director and therapist for Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center, and Michelle Van Beek, bilingual behavioral health coordinator, believe in the importance of people caring for both their mind and body.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than 43 million Americans experience mental health problems in any given year. More than 9 million adults in the United States have mental illness that is serious enough to interfere with their day-to-day lives, causing them to be unable to work or to function normally.

"Here at Promise, we believe that we are making a positive difference as we walk alongside our patients and teach them coping skills for their lifetime," Jo says.

They share six key messages from the Mental Health America in this video:

1) Mental health is essential to everyone’s health and wellbeing, and mental illnesses are common and treatable.

2) A healthy lifestyle can help to prevent the onset or worsening of mental health conditions, as well as chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

3) The company of animals – whether as pets or service animals – can have a profound impact on a person’s quality of life. A pet can be a source of comfort and can help us to live mentally healthier lives.

4) Whether you go to church, meditate daily or simply find time to enjoy that cup of tea each morning while checking in with yourself, it can be important to connect with your spiritual side in order to find that mind-body connection.

5) Living a healthy lifestyle may not be easy but can be achieved by gradually making small changes and building on those successes.

6) Finding the balance – between work and play, the ups and downs of life, physical health and mental health – can help put you on the path toward focusing both on mind and body.

Promise Community Health Center of Sioux Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center serving the northwest corner of Iowa. Promise provides medical, prenatal, dental, vision, behavioral health and family planning services. To learn more, visit www.promisechc.org and watch this video. To read more Promise news, visit promisechcnews.blogspot.com.

TO LEARN MORE:

For more information about Promise Community Health Center's behavioral/mental health services, visit: https://www.promisechc.org/services/behavioral-health.aspx.

Jo Thyr, behavioral health therapist, offers therapy care to patients during the following hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. and Thursday.

To make an appointment, call Promise at 712-722-1700 or visit Promise's website at https://www.promisechc.org/services/set-up-an-appointment.aspx.