Sisters Margaret Butti of West Bloomfield and Sue Alnarrae
of Lathrup Village ask Dr. Shoenberger questions after the
conference.
responds to it the same way:' she
said. "If the stress is not long-lasting,
it may not have a negative impact.
What the research does tell us is that
individuals who feel healthy tend to
respond with less stress than others
in the same situation. For instance,
someone with physical problems will
tend to feel the stress more intensely"
Hollander spoke about how stress
impacts our brain and how we pro-
cess information. She mentioned
recent research showing the possibil-
ity of turning on or off those genes,
which can add to stress levels.
"Those who adapt well in the face
of adversity are usually optimistic
and have learned how to be emotion-
ally resilient:' she said.
"The optimist views life as mostly
good — and that bad things do not
last forever. The pessimist, on the
other hand, views the good events in
life as temporary and out of control.
With these perspectives, the pes-
simist is more likely to encounter
depression than the optimist:'
Hollander recommends not getting
stuck in shame, blame or guilt.
"Be proactive, determine your
priorities, remind yourself what you
have accomplished rather than what
you have to do and learn to say no,"
she said.
"If saying no is too difficult for
you, then simply say, That really
doesn't work for me, but I can do
this Above all, keep your sense of
humor. Depression and mental illness
does impact your health. So does
laughing."
Hollander ended by commenting
on the significant increase of opiate
addiction in our area.
"The largest increase occurs with
the 18- to 25-year-old population
taking prescriptive pain killers," she
said. "The major sources for the pre-
scriptive drugs are primary care phy-
sicians and dentists. Other sources
are friends and relatives who had
the medications taken from them or
provide them to others. Our com-
munities need to be more supportive
to parents dealing with kids that are
addicted."
Susanne Gunsorek, R.D., director
of food and nutrition at Providence
Park Hospital, was included on the
panel to answer questions related to
diet and healthy eating.
"My goal is to show patients that
we seldom get all the vitamins and
minerals we need with the food we
eat:' she said. "This is particularly
true for women beyond menopause.
Even so, what we eat is important for
maintaining good heart health, and
the best way to maintain your best
weight is to exercise and eat well."
"I learned a great deal about test-
ing for breast and ovarian cancer
from the presentations',' said Fada
Albakal of Farmington Hills. "They
were easy to understand, and it was
good to give us time for questions."
Mary Romaya of Farmington Hills
plans to pass on the information she
learned to her siblings and friends.
Vicky Gabbara of West Bloomfield
found it satisfying to attend this
health clinic as "one people
Sally Krugel of Bloomfield Hills
believes it's important for women to
mix and share the experience within
the Jewish and Chaldean communi-
ties."It's a win/win experience for
everyone." BC
We think nothing of driving
half an hour to a good restaurant...
but `we'll settle for a hospital
around the corner.
As long as your health insurance allows you
to go anywhere, maybe you shouldn't confine
yourself to the neighborhood.
Because this isn't dinner. This is your life.
Year after year, in independent studies, the
people of Southeast Michigan have rated
Beaumont as their most preferred hospital:
for doctors, for nurses, for surgery, and for
overall quality of care.
So maybe, when you're looking for a hospital,
the criteria should be quality, instead of
convenience.
It's your life...
Do you have a Beaumont doctor?
Beaumont®
800.633.7377
December 2011
CHALDEAN NEWS I JEWISH NEWS 15