November is National Home Care and Hospice Month, a time not only to recognize the professionals who provide care at the end of life, but also a time to discuss with your loved ones what your care at the end of life might look like. If you have never had a family member on hospice, you might not know the wonderful services that hospice can provide. Hospice is focused on comfort and quality of life, and treats the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and their families. Hospice … [Read more...] about Exploring Choices in Care During National Hospice Month
Managing Risk in Your Life
Every action we take in our lives includes an element of risk. Both consciously and subconsciously, we constantly evaluate those risks and then modify our behavior. The result is a risk level that we as individuals are comfortable with. Daily activities as simple as crossing a street are relatively low risk if, and only if, we apply the commonsense criteria of looking both ways beforehand. Too frequently, we see folks so absorbed in their electronic devices that they are completely unaware of … [Read more...] about Managing Risk in Your Life
What Realtors Want
You may see real estate sales professionals with a different perspective than mine, particularly if you are not one yourself. You may see our local Flagstaff realtors as salespersons you can call for information and prices for listed properties around town, or maybe show you a house or two, and even write an offer on your behalf. After all, how hard could it be? After 90 hours of pre-licensing, you take a state and local test and BAM- you are a realtor. I know, because that’s what I thought too, … [Read more...] about What Realtors Want
Combatting Compassion Fatigue
What happens when the provider, the caregiver, starts to burn out? Science reveals that we experience a change biochemically when we have taken on too much. Compassion fatigue creates a whole host of symptoms, including irritability, impatience, exhaustion, intolerance, dread, lack of clarity, poor motivation, a decline in personal well-being regarding sleep, health and mood, a transfer of stress to personal life, the internal eye roll, boredom, feeling of heaviness, forgetfulness, … [Read more...] about Combatting Compassion Fatigue
Emotional First Aid: Identifying Natural Solutions for Anxiety
The stress over the past 18 months has been enormous for many people and I have certainly seen a lot more anxiety in my patients. Prescriptions for anti-anxiety and insomnia have increased over the course of the pandemic and, as we know, it’s easy for people to develop a dependence on these types of medications. The long-term effects of taking anti-anxiety and insomnia medications can be detrimental to our overall health, so they should be taken in the short term. But the reality is that people … [Read more...] about Emotional First Aid: Identifying Natural Solutions for Anxiety
How Stress Affects Hormone Health
We are all bombarded by the daily stresses of life. Some people are better at coping with stress than others. The body’s stress response is a normal process and is meant to help keep you away from harm. The adrenals are located on top of the kidneys and are a part of the endocrine system that is strongly influenced by stress. Cortisol, norepinephrine and epinephrine are produced by the adrenal glands. Cortisol is released in times of stress, promoting a fight or flight response that … [Read more...] about How Stress Affects Hormone Health
Five Myths about Foot Care
Step on a crack and you’ll break your mother’s back” and other sayings may be fun for children and others to say, but when it comes to your health, it’s important to separate sayings from facts. From bunions to broken toes, here are five truths to old myths. Myth: Cutting a notch (a “V”) in a toenail will relieve the pain of ingrown toenails. Reality: When a toenail is ingrown, the nail curves downward and grows into the skin. Cutting a “V” in the toenail does not affect its growth. New … [Read more...] about Five Myths about Foot Care
Pandemic Pets: How Animals, Owners, Vets are Managing
As the COVID-19 pandemic has dragged on, veterinarians and pet owners say the emotional bond between people and their pets has had a significant positive influence on human mental health. But, while pets have provided valuable companionship during the lockdown, there’s been a big increase in pet adoptions, according to the Animal Policy Group, and also the workload for veterinary practices, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Veterinarians like Drs. Sarah Bason and … [Read more...] about Pandemic Pets: How Animals, Owners, Vets are Managing
Veterans Day Honors All Who Served
Veterans Day is approaching, and I have a singular mission in mind. I will be sure to wish my father a Happy Veterans Day and thank him for serving our country. Dad served in the Air Force as a young man, prior to his marriage and raising four children. The U.S. was not at war at the time, and his work as a nuclear weapons systems specialist was always a footnote to his life as a husband, father, softball coach and computer software engineer. Although we rarely discussed his military service, … [Read more...] about Veterans Day Honors All Who Served
Carrying On the Family Profession
Equipped with ambition and foresight in the late 1960s, John DePoe moved his family to Sedona and opened the first affiliate Coldwell Banker Residential office in the country. That move not only paved the way for a career for him but for his wife and three daughters, who all obtained their real estate licenses. Though DePoe did not live to see his granddaughter, Alexandra Ewell, follow his lead, today, Ewell is a full-time realtor for Coldwell Banker Realty in Sedona, the same office he once … [Read more...] about Carrying On the Family Profession