As COVID-19 has been resurging lately, it is expected that there may be feelings of discouragement and disappointment. People may be feeling more pessimistic than optimistic as it is uncertain when all of this will come to an end. There may be doubt about when it will all be over and despair, in which there seems to be no hope for the future.

Just last week, the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, visited Capitol Hill to give a message to senators regarding his company. His message was that Instagram should, could, and will do better in protecting its users, more specifically teen users.

Do you feel like you are stuck in the same routine? It may be easy to go through the motions of life that are familiar to you. This is because people often choose patterns of behavior that feel self-protective and easy. While this might make a person feel more secure, it may also be blocking them from fully experiencing life. More specifically, it may be closing them off to certain feelings such as awe, curiosity, and excitement that make life more enjoyable.

Resiliency is a quality that is needed now more than ever. This past year challenged us in ways we could have never imagined. Even though the pandemic is still prevalent, it can be helpful to look back and see just how resilient we were. The pandemic was especially difficult for elderly residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, yet they too showed great resilience. Here are some ways to remind residents how resilient they were and what they overcame.

While this year's Olympics in Tokyo has brought new records, it has also brought awareness to an important subject more than ever before—mental health. Olympians face heavy amounts of pressure as they strive to be the best with the world watching and judging them through their screens. In addition, the inability of family and friends of these Olympians to attend the Games in Tokyo has led to more difficulties coping with the pressures the sporting event brings.

July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental illness does not discriminate in that anyone can experience its challenges regardless of race, color, gender, identity or background. However, these factors can make access to mental health treatment more difficult for some individuals. In addition, with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has made it even harder for racial and ethnic minority groups to have access to treatment. Therefore, this month is about raising awareness of the mental health struggles that racial and ethnic minority communities face in the United States.

June 27th was National Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day. PTSD can occur in a person after they experience or witness a traumatic event. This event may be a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape, sexual violence, serious injury, or an instance of being threatened with death.

You’ve worked from home for over a year and you’ve become accustomed to attending meetings in your pajamas, sending emails from your couch, and adjusting to flexible work hours outside the office. However, that’s all about to change after you see in your inbox that your department will be required to transition from remote to in-person working conditions. This causes your anxiety to spike through the roof. If this sounds strangely accurate, you’re not alone.

As we begin to adjust to a post-pandemic world, many people are experiencing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress (PTS).

Times of transition can be uncomfortable causing feelings of anxiety to become more frequent and intense.

As restrictions lift, some anxiety may arise in residents when thinking about integrating back into society. Just the thought of it may seem daunting and overwhelming for them. With this, it is important to help residents manage their anxiety so they can have an easier and smoother transition. Here are some strategies to help your residents:

Identifying residents’ cognitive status on the Minimum Data Set (MDS) can help increase the Medicare Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) rates for your facility.