This article was submitted by Juliann R. Villanueva, LMFT, of Mental Health Resources, Inc. of New Mexico

Let’s be honest with each other.  More often then not, mental health counseling is viewed negatively by society which could prevent someone from making that initial call to seek therapeutic services.  It is not uncommon for someone to believe, “There is something wrong with me if I’m seeing a counselor” or worse, “I must be crazy!”.  A little bit more honesty, counseling does not mean laying on a couch facing away from your therapist as he/she lazily doodles on a notepad asking you to talk about your mother.  Although, we may ask you to discuss family relationships from time to time, we are not here to place blame on your mom.  I am sure she did the best she could with what she had available to her at the time she was raising you.   These harmful stigmas could prevent you from recognizing the benefits of mental health counseling.  People tend to seek counseling during a challenging period in their life.  They could be seeking immediate relief from painful life changes such as the death of a loved one, a relationship loss, employment stressors or addictive behaviors.

Counseling also provides a safe environment to enhance self assertiveness skills as well as improve self worth and self confidence.  These important components of a person’s well being could be affected by the unraveling of those life changes, which could in turn affect relationships and interpersonal skills.  Counseling then assists in the development of improved communication skills and healthy boundary setting and ultimately leads to more satisfying relationships with family, spouse and coworkers.

A counselor assists in identifying symptoms caused by a mental illness such as depression, anxiety, bipolar, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder to name a few.  Together, we establish goals to alleviate those symptoms and identifying coping skills to better manage the mental illness so as to empower you and provide you with that control over those initial life changes.  Mental Health Resources offers a gamut of services to assist you in your quest for self awareness other than individual outpatient counseling, psychiatric services or drug addiction counseling.  Don’t be fooled by the “self” in self awareness, as it may not simply imply individual needs, but also on how you interact and communicate with those near and dear to you, which could be obtained through marital/couples counseling and family counseling.   One last bit of honesty, there is no shame in needing help or asking for it.

The Curry County Wellness Council and the City of Clovis Quality of Life Committee need your help! Please take a few minutes to participate in a brief survey focusing on activities for youth of all ages in our community. This is a valuable tool for us to help assess our community’s needs, plus gives you an opportunity to share your opinion with those who will listen.

The survey, which will only take 5 to 10 minutes of your time, is geared towards parents’ in our community with children. If you do not have children, we would still ask that you participate. Click here to access the Youth Activity Survey.

[by Capt Mike Hoge, D.M.D.]

February is Children’s Dental Health Month, and the Cannon AFB Dental Clinic would like to help you to ensure excellent oral health for your children.

Did you know that tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease?  According to the National Institute of Health, cavities are 5 times more common than asthma and 7 times more common than hay fever. Over half of children between the ages of 5 and 9 have cavities or fillings and by age 17, that increases to four out of every five.  (source:  NIH).

So, you didn’t think of cavities as a disease?  The truth is, cavities are the result of an infection of the mouth by acid-producing bacteria that dissolve away your child’s teeth.  Left untreated, they can cause severe pain and problems in eating, speaking, and learning.  It is estimated that 51 million school hours are lost each year to dental-related illness.

Here are some simple recommendations to help protect your children from dental related illness:

Regular Check-ups:
Get your child established with a local dentist and bring him or her in for regular check-ups.  Seek dental insurance for your child.  Studies have shown that uninsured children are 2.5 times less likely than insured children to receive dental care (source:  NIH).  Active duty dependents are eligible for the Tricare Family Plan.  For information regarding enrollment, call 1-888-734-1944 or go online towww.tricaredentalprogram.com.

Brushing and Flossing:
Help your child to properly brush and floss his or her teeth.  Even with the best of intentions, kids still need help brushing until they are at least six years of age.  Brushing should be accomplished for two minutes twice a day.  Monitor the amount of toothpaste they use; any more than a pea size amount can result in the ingestion of excess fluoride.

Sugar Intake:
Watch the intake of sugary beverages and snacks.   The average American teenage boy consumes 81 gallons of soft drinks each year!  (Source:  American Dental Association)  This frequent exposure to sugar provides food for oral bacteria, which in turn produce the acid that “eats away” at the enamel, the protective outer layer of teeth.  Try substituting water for juice or soft drinks and providing healthy snacks if your children are hungry between meals.

Gum Chewing:
If your child chews gum, consider sugarless gum.  The act of chewing can remove plaque from teeth and stimulate the production of saliva, which helps to counteract the effects of acid.  Chewing gum with Xylitol, a type of sugar substitute, has the additional benefit of inhibiting bacteria in the mouth.

Water Fluoridation:
Fluoridated drinking water, when set to the correct levels, can be highly effective in preventing tooth decay.  However, when developing teeth are exposed to excessive fluoride, spotting of the teeth can result.   The tap water here in Eastern New Mexico has naturally occurring fluoride at approximately double the level recommended by the ADA and should not be consumed in large amounts by pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children under the age of 12.   The low fluoride tap at the water plant on base is a reliable source of ideally-fluoridated water.

Mouth Guards:
Mouth guards are a great way to protect your child’s teeth when participating in sports.  Experts now recommend that mouth guards be worn not only for contact sports, but also for non-contact sports such as gymnastics and rollerblading.  There are three different types of mouth guards: Ready-made or stock, boil-and-bite, and custom made.  While all three provide protection, they vary in comfort, durability and cost.

We hope that these recommendations will help you to keep your children healthy and free of the oral health issues that impact the lives of so many children.  Questions can be directed to Dr. Hoge at the Cannon Air Force Base dental clinic by calling 575-784-4041.

The City of Clovis, along with Curry County, will be having a blood drive on March 19, 2010 from 9:00 am until 2:45 pm at the Curry County Courthouse. Interested parties should download and read the Fast Track form, which has valuable information for potential donors.

United Blood Services: Blood Donation on the Fast Track [1.9 MB PDF]

For more information, please contact Stephanie Pointer, donor recruitment representative for United Blood Services, by calling (806) 797-6804, ext. 2418.

The Curry County Wellness Council presents its first quarter event, The Next Step for Better Health Fun Walk this Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 from 8:30-10:00 at the Curry County Event Center. Free pedometers, water, and t-shirts and a chance to win a $50 gift certificate. Registration fee is $5, kids are free. See you there!

Looking for a good resource for your teens to learn some real-world advice on dating? Look no further than this free download from Annie Fox, M.Ed. Her website also has some other free downloads, so be sure to check it out!

Teen Survival Guide [2.4 MB PDF file]

Congrats to Dalton Banister, our StayTeen video contest winner! Daltonis 17 years old and is home schooled in Portales. He is very involved in our community. Check out his video to get a sense of his involvement! Enjoy the extra spending money this holiday season! We’ve posted Dalton’s winning entry below.

We would like to thank all of our participants for your hard work and creativity in helping us with this contest. Judging was more difficult thanks to all of your wonderful submissions.

Waiting List for New Employer Group Enrollees Begins Saturday, December 19, 2009

Santa Fe, New Mexico – The New Mexico Human Services Department will begin a waiting list for new employer groups who are interested in enrolling their employees in the State Coverage Insurance (SCI) Program, beginning Saturday, December 19, 2009.  All group applications submitted to the Human Services Department’s Insure New Mexico!SolutionsCenterby Friday, December 18, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. will be processed for eligibility.  Employer groups currently participating in the SCI program will be allowed to continue to submit new applicants for enrollment without waiting list limitations at this time.

“There are currently more than 50,000 New Mexico adults participating in the SCI Program, who previously had no health coverage,” said KathrynFalls, Human Services Department Secretary-designate.  “Funding for the SCI program is at capacity which is why this waiting list is necessary at this time.”

This waiting list is a cost-containment measure the department has begun for the Medicaid and other health coverage programs due to a projected shortfall in the current and upcoming budget years.  In November the department began a waiting list for individual applicants to the SCI program.  The new group waiting list will be a separate waiting list from the individual waiting list.

The SCI program was implemented as part of Governor Richardson’s Insure New Mexico! Solutions in July 2005, designed to cover low-income, uninsured, working adults (ages 19-64) in a primarily employer based model with cost-sharing on a sliding-scale based on income.

There are approximately 1,500 lives in small employer groups that are participating in the SCI program, with the average employer group size of just over nine employees per group.  The majority of industrial categories are food service, hospitality, retail, health care and education services.

Eligibility for the SCI program is based on household incomes below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.  For example an individual with an annual income of $21,660 or a family of two with an annual income of $29,148 would likely qualify.

People interested in applying and getting on the waiting list for the SCI program can receive an application by either calling the Insure New Mexico!SolutionsCenterat 1-888-997-2583 or visiting the Insure New Mexico! website.

Please bless a child this Christmas. The Lighthouse Mission in Clovis is in desperate need of gifts for boys and girls, ages 10 to 15. They could really use your help and donations. Simply buy a gift or two, or if you belong to a club or group, make it a giving project. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. You can drop off your donations at 407 L. Casillas. For more information, please call Richard Gomez at (575) 799-0902.

The Lighthouse Mission’s Children’s Christmas Celebration will be held on Saturday, December 19th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Admission is free and we hope to see you all there!

We would like to apologize for a typo in the initial post about the Council’s StayTeen video contest. We initially posted that the winner would be selected and announced on December 15. This was incorrect.

The winner will be announced on Friday, December 18 at 10:00 am at the Bank of Clovis, and will be highlighted here on the website soon after. Come join us at 300 Main Street in Clovis on Friday morning!