26 | JANUARY 27 • 2022

I

f you are like most
people, you’ve thought of
health-related issues and
little else during the past
year and a half. Yet, at the
same time, many of us have
neglected our
health during
the pandemic. If
this seems like
an oxymoron,
consider the
fact that despite
hours spent
wiping down
groceries and researching the
best masks for our families,
many of us stopped paying
careful attention to what we
eat, how much we eat and
whether we’re exercising,
especially now that chilly
weather is here. And
somewhere along the way,
stress management went out
the window as well!
If you’ve been feeling
tapped out and tired lately,
this may be one reason.
For most of us, this is
caused by unrelenting
stress. We were “all hands
on deck” in the early days
of lockdown, but after the
freedoms of low case counts
and warm temperatures

of summer and early fall,
it is brutal to see that,
unfortunately, the end is no
longer in sight.
This kind of constant stress
impacts us emotionally, as
seen by increasing numbers
of people seeking help for
depression and anxiety. It
affects us cognitively as high
levels of adrenaline cause us
to be easily distracted and
forgetful. And it impacts
us physically in a myriad
of ways ranging from
hypertension and weight
gain to insomnia and broken
teeth (from grinding them at
night).
While there is little we
can do to control the outside
world, we can take control
of our stress levels and our
health. When it comes to
taking good care of our
health, many people are able
to do that completely on
their own … they are highly
motivated and when they say
they will lose 20 pounds and
exercise more, they just do
it. For many of us though, it
is not that simple. Sure, we
want to lose weight, exercise,
lower our cholesterol and
blood sugar levels, manage

our stress etc. … but not
today. Maybe tomorrow.
If this sounds all too
familiar, you may be
interested to know that
health coaches can help you
find the motivation to put
yourself on the road to better
health.
A health coach is
someone specially trained
to help people increase
their motivation for
making changes in their
lifestyle. They can provide
assistance with goal setting,
education and ongoing
support if needed, as well as
accountability with weekly or
biweekly check-ins.
The focus of health
coaching is to help us be sure
we’re using our time between
visits to the doctor wisely.
And, best of all, for anyone
with at least one diagnosed
chronic health condition and
a referral from a physician,
health coaching is covered
by Medicare and offered by
Jewish Family Service.
One final point to
consider: Our ability to
manage our health is
intimately connected to our
cognitive abilities. While

most of us will experience
some normal cognitive
decline as we age, the
pandemic has accelerated the
process, causing many people
to feel more distracted than
usual, noticing slightly more
difficulty with short-term
memory.
Luckily, Jewish Family
Service offers Mind Aerobics
classes. This evidence-
informed curriculum gives
us a way to fight back against
cognitive decline, maximizes
our brains’ built-in capacity
for neuroplasticity and gives
our brains quite a workout!
Each class targets aspects
of our cognition needed
for everyday functioning,
including reaction time,
visual/spatial skills, attention
and concentration, memory,
language and problem-
solving. And, best of all,
there’s no workout clothes
required!

For more information on
working with a health coach
(one-on-one or in a group
setting) or joining a Mind
Aerobics class, contact Joely
Lyons at (248) 592-1995 or
jlyons@jfsdetroit.org.

Lynn Breuer, LMSW, CDP, is a licensed

clinical social worker, a certified

dementia practitioner, a health coach

and a New England Cognitive Center

master program trainer. She serves

as Director of Community Outreach &

Wellness at Jewish Family Service.

Consider a health
coach to get you
back on track
for 2022.

Sign Me
Up, Coach!

Lynn Breuer

HEALTH

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