Below is the recording and transcript of a webinar hosted by Colleen Seelen, a Nurse Practitioner at Nice Healthcare. Watch the video to learn about mental health, various mental health illnesses and strategies for managing your mental health.

Colleen: Hi, my name is Colleen Seelen. I'm one of the nurse practitioners with Nice Healthcare. Just a bit of background on myself... I've been a nurse for about 32 years most of my career has been in emergency departments and primary care.

I love it here at Nice because my appointment times are longer, and it allows me to build meaningful relationships with my patients. I plan to ask a couple of questions so feel free to unmute and yell out the answer or send in response for the chat message and zoom.

What is mental health?

Participant: How you think?

Colleen: Mental Health has to do with how you think, feel and act. Mental health is a journey. It is part of our well-being. Well-being considers our physical, mental and social aspects of life. Learning about good mental health wellness helps you achieve good mental health.

Mental health is part of physical health. Both mental health and physical health are vital to your overall well-being. So, it is a part of the whole person.

I'm going to get a little medical geeky. I found this great Ted Talk video that explains how your mental health is part of your physical health:

So, in a nutshell, your head is attached to your body. If your head's not healthy, your body could react to not be as healthy either by showing physical symptoms. Stress can show up in many different ways.

So, some stress is normal: the physical part of stress, fast heart rate, breathing, tense muscles. Prolonged exposure to stress wears a body down. That can cause disease processes such as depression, anxiety, heart issues, headaches and digestive problems. So, what are some ways to help cope with stress? Anybody got any answers?

Participant: Exercise or meditation.

Colleen: Great. 

We can all limit stressful situations... taking a deep breath... limit our time with news and social media. Another way is to talk with others, keeping a connection.

Don't keep frustrations to yourself. Talk about them. You'll feel better if you discuss your problems with others. They may have some good ideas and help you solve a problem.

Organize your time. If you're a person that always feels like you're rushing, make out a schedule, help minimize the wasted time, and maybe even free up some time to do some things that you enjoy.

Learn relaxation techniques.

Deep breathing and relaxation are just some ways to help relieve stress. It increases mindfulness and focus calms your muscle tension down, lowers your blood pressure, and releases anxiety. 

I want you all to try one…

Mindful breathing Exercise:

1. Sit up, nice and straight. 

2. Put your hands in your lap.

3. Relax your shoulders.

4. Inhale through your nose and count to four slowly

5. Hold your breath and count to four slowly

6. Exhale through your mouth and count to four slowly 

7. Relax and count to four slowly

8. Repeat that cycle for as many times as you want, focusing on breathing deeply in and out.

Some causes of mental illnesses can be physical problems such as chemical imbalances, genetics that tend to run in families, excessive stress, unhealthy family environments, harmful learned behavior patterns and past experiences, such as abuse suffered as a child.

Depression can be profound or prolonged unhappiness, changes in your sleep and eating patterns.

If you or anyone that you know, has any thoughts or threats or attempts of suicide that requires immediate professional attention, you can call 911 immediately.

There's also a National Suicide Prevention lifeline that's 1-800-273-8255.

Anxieties are behavior problems caused by fear that's out of proportion to the danger... So excessive worrying or fear, such as fear of crowds.

Treatment is available for mental illnesses and can be discussed with your Nice Healthcare provider. 

Seek help if symptoms are affecting your relationships, job, schoolwork or physical health. Seek help if the symptoms are severe or long lasting. Depending on the exact nature of the problem, you may find help through counseling, self-help groups or even medication.

How your mental health is treated is a decision between you and your provider at Nice Healthcare. Don't let a treatable problem stand between you and good mental health. If you're experiencing any of these feelings, seek out an appointment with us here at Nice.

Once you schedule an appointment, you'll visit with a provider to discuss all your concerns. The provider will discuss your options, which could include their therapy, medication management, modifications to your diet and exercise. And then, together, you formulate a health plan.

One of the great advantages of using Nice Healthcare is that follow up care is included at no additional cost.

This means that, whether you want to check in with your provider, or if you don't feel that your plan is working well for you, you can make another appointment to work with your provider to revise the plan.

What can we do about good mental health?

High self-esteem does not come overnight but can be achieved over time.

Some audience participation... How do you think you could build your self-esteem?

Participant: Include more positive self-talk!

Colleen: Awesome! I love that answer.

Remember the last time you gave someone else a compliment. How do you think they felt?

Remember the last compliment that made you feel good. Allow yourself to give yourself a compliment. That's what a positive affirmation is. Positive affirmations have been shown to improve your outlook on life. Practicing positive affirmations on a daily basis helps you achieve high self-esteem.

Some of the simplest affirmations start with 'I am' statements, such as "I am beautiful". Then you whisper it. And then you think to yourself.

Another way to celebrate yourself is through journaling. Using, again, the 'I am' statement. "I am looking forward to improving my overall health and well-being". An easy way to do this is to write your 'I am' statement on a sticky note and post it in a common area. Whether it's in the bathroom, on the mirror, on the refrigerator or even in your wallet. It's someplace where you can see it every single day.

Be honest with yourself. Everyone has faults and strengths but take time to learn about yourself with a focus on the strengths to help affirm your well-being in all areas of your life.

Limit your TV, news and social media time. Smartphones, tablets, computers, TV screens and some E-readers give off short wavelength blue light, which is very similar to sunlight. Not only does this make us more alert, but it also deceives our bodies into thinking that it's still daytime. So, shut your electronic devices off at least 30 minutes before bed to promote some restful sleep.

I've been listening to some fascinating Ted Talks. Ted Talks are about 15 to 20 minutes. Some of the presenters are leading researchers and some are just ordinary people with extraordinary stories.

Be willing to improve. Develop your strengths and believe that you can overcome your weaknesses. Focus on your positive affirmations through your new 'I am' statements. You can achieve to get the most of your abilities, but do not put a lot of pressure on yourself. No one's perfect. Allow yourself to feel and then feel better.

And set your own goals! Don't compare yourself to others. You are unique. Eat a variety of foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber. Drink plenty of water.

Hippocrates said, "Let your medicine be your food and your food be your medicine".

Fruits and vegetables have anti-cancer agents that are non-toxic and have no side effects.

[Get] plenty of rest, at least seven to eight hours of sleep per night. 

Exercise is a great way to improve overall health and relieve stress. At least 30 minutes, every day, is what we should be doing.

Set a limit on your media consumption such as TV, news and social media.

Weight control can prevent many health problems and help you feel better about yourself. Combining eating healthy and exercise will help decrease weight. It also helps decrease stress.

Smoking is known to cause cancer, heart disease and many other health problems.

Alcohol and other drugs don't solve any problems and usually make them worse. Alcohol interrupts your R.E.M sleep. Did you know that 12 ounces of beer, eight ounces of malt liquor, five ounces of wine and one and a half ounces of 80-proof hard liquor, is all the same?

I had no idea. 

There are limits to alcohol. For women, there's no more than seven drinks per week, and not all at the same time. For men, no more than 14 drinks per week, not all at the same time. And if you drink occasionally, no more than 4%. Any more than that is considered having a problem with alcohol. You should seek help if you feel that you may have a problem with alcohol.

See the person, not the condition. One in five Americans live with a mental health condition and each of them has their own story, path, and journey that says more about them than the diagnosis does.

So, whether you are a friend, family member or caregiver, getting to know the person and treating them with kindness and empathy means far more than just knowing what they're going through.

Nice Healthcare is a great way to start off your healthy lifestyle. We're available for you.

I've kind of put together some resources for online therapy within Minnesota and nationally. You can also call the National Alliance on Mental Illness advocacy group. I've also listed the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.

To anyone who is interested in any Ted Talks, here are several titles on happiness, meditation, the happy secret to better work, having meaning in your life and a funny one on mental illness, from a person who has mental illness. 

Wipe away the stigma of mental illness. It's part of your healthcare and wellness. Let's start treating it just as important. 

I'll put up a slide with information next, about how to set up an account and get connected with Nice Healthcare. I want to thank you for your time. I'll be happy to answer any questions during the next slide. 

Q&A

Question: How can I specifically help with mental health? Are you able to prescribe medication that is needed for anxiety and depression?

Colleen: So, every person is different. By meeting with a Nice Healthcare provider, yes, we can prescribe medications, but it is on an individualized basis. So, meeting with the provider, you formulate a plan and if that's included in your plan... Great!

Question: And can you refill prescriptions that we're already taking?

Colleen: If Nice Healthcare is providing your primary care management and you're switching over to Nice Healthcare, yes, we can certainly do that. If another person is managing your mental health medications, then that prescriber will need to continue with that.

Question: And can you offer a long-term, daily medication? Or is it only for like a short period of time, 30 days or something like that?

Colleen: So, the medication is based on individuals. Some people may go on medication for a short duration... three months, six months, a year... Some people, they are on it for the long term. It's really individualized care.

Question: Does Nice provide therapy and have licensed therapists?

Colleen: Nice Healthcare doesn't have licensed therapists. Therapy and medication go hand-in-hand and work really well together. So, based on your plan, we can often refer you to therapy, along with medication, if that's what works for you.

Question: Is a virtual-only membership still eligible for long-term medication management and help with mental health?

Colleen: Yes. Often, there are many mental health diagnoses that can be managed virtually and can be included with therapy. It really is based on personalized care.

Thank you so much for attending! I really appreciate it. I like to share where I obtained all my work for these slides. Here are my citations.

Thank you and have a great day.