ovember 20152015 - mccs okinawa€¦ · blues. symptoms can include headaches, insomnia,...

“Be reasonable with your

schedule. Do not over-

book yourself into a state

of exhaustion--this

makes people cranky,

irritable, and depressed.”

Mark Sichel. 2009

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Beating the Holiday 1

Beating the Holiday 2

Calendar Of Events 3

Calendar Of Events 4

Calendar of Events 5

Meet the Staff 6

NNNOVEMBEROVEMBEROVEMBER 201520152015

As we approach Thanksgiving, we're start-

ing a five-week period called "the holi-

days." We're supposed to look forward to

the holidays and hope that they will be a

time of happiness, friendliness, fellow-

ship, and harmony. Yet often our anticipa-

tion and excitement turns into feelings of

depression, commonly called holiday

blues. Symptoms can include headaches,

insomnia, uneasiness, anxiety, sadness, intestinal problems, and unneces-

sary conflict with family and friends.

Part of what happens in the holiday season, in terms of mood changes and

anxiety, may occur because of the stressfulness of holiday events. Overdrink-

ing, overeating, and fatigue may also cause it. The demands of the season

are many: shopping, cooking, travel, houseguests, family reunions, office par-

ties, more shopping and extra financial burden

Luckily, Psychology Today. Sichel, M. (2009, November 25) Beating the Holi-

day Blues, retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-

therapist-is-in/200911/10-tips-beat-the-holiday-blues, gave us some tools to

get through the holiday season happily, as well as ways to prevent problems

and misery for yourself and your loved ones.

1. Be reasonable with your schedule. Do not overbook yourself into a state of

exhaustion--this makes people cranky, irritable, and depressed.

2. Decide upon your priorities and stick to them. Organize your time.

3. Remember, no matter what our plans, the holidays do not automatically

take away feelings of aloneness, sadness, frustration, anger, and fear.

4. Be careful about resentments related to holidays past. Declare an amnesty

with whichever family member or friend you are feeling past resentments. Do

not feel it is helpful or intimate to tell your relative resentments on your laun-

dry list of grievances. Don't let your relative do that to you, either.

5. Don't expect the holidays to be just as they were when you were a child.

They NEVER are. YOU are not the same as when you were a child, and no one

else in the family is either.

6. Feeling like you are under sched-

uled or under planned for the holi-

days? Volunteer to serve holiday

dinner at a homeless shelter. Work

with any number of groups that help

underprivileged or hospitalized chil-

dren at the holidays. There are

many, many opportunities for doing

community service. No one can be

depressed when they are doing

community service.

7. Plan unstructured, low-cost fun holiday activities: window-shop and look at

the holiday decorations. Look at people's Christmas lighting on their homes,

take a trip to the countryside, etc.--the opportunities are endless.

8. If you drink, do not let the holidays become a reason for over-indulging and

hangovers. This will exacerbate your depression and anxiety. Contrary to pop-

ular opinion, alcohol is a depressant. Alcohol is a depressant. People with de-

pression shouldn't drink alcohol", says Sherry Rogers, MD, in her 1997 book

on "Depression."

9. Give yourself a break; create time for yourself to do the things YOU love and

need to do for your physical and mental wellness: aerobic exercise, yoga, mas-

sage, spiritual practices, taking long fast walks or any activity that calms you

down and gives you a better perspective on what is important in your life.

10. Most of all, if you find yourself feeling blue just remember: The choice is

always yours: The sky is partly sunny, and the glass is half full and revel in our

gratitude for our bounty, health, hope, and our courage to face each day with

hope and determination.

“If you drink, do not let

the holidays become a

reason for over-

indulging and hango-

vers. This will exacer-

bate your depression

and anxiety. Contrary to

popular opinion, alco-

hol is a depressant.

Alcohol is a depressant.

People with depression

shouldn't drink alcohol",

says Sherry Rogers,

MD, in her 1997 book

on "Depression."”

November 2015

November 5 - P.A.S.S. Proactive Advocates Sharing and Support-ing 5pm-6pm Bob Hope Elementary School Kadena Air Base. A monthly parent driven support group. Participants are divided into two interactive groups-one for parents and one for children. Parents talk about effective communications and best practices for promoting posi-tive behavior. The children’s group participates in learning activities in a structured recreational based setting. This month, Ms. Rosemarie Le-on, Program Manager for the MCCS New Parent Support will be speaking about her program and the services they provide.

November 18 - Play and Learn With EFMP 10am-11pm - Every 3rd Wednesday of the Month, Camp Foster Library. Join EFMP and EDIS for some fun activities for ages from 0 to 3. For more infor-mation call EFMP at 645-9237.

November 19 - EFMP 101 11am-1pm Camp Foster Education Center . Learn about EFMP. What exactly is EFMP and how can this program help our family? Learn about Respite Care and find out if you qualify. We will also provide our families with MCCS/Community Re-sources.

November 20 - EFMP Family Bowling Night 5pm-6pm, Camp Foster Bowling Center. Come strap on those bowling shoes and join us for a fun night at the Camp Foster Bowling Alley. For more infor-mation call EFMP at 645-9237.

Please be advised that these events may change.

For more information about all of our upcoming events and for times and location contact your Okinawa EFMP office at 645-9237 or visit our website at www.mccsokinawa.com/efmp.

December 3 - P.A.S.S. Proactive Advocates Sharing and Sup-porting 5pm-6pm Bob Hope Elementary School Kadena.

A monthly parent driven support group. Participants are divided into two interactive groups-one for parents and one for children. Parents talk about effective communications and best practices for promot-ing positive behavior. The children’s group participates in learning activities in a structured recreational based setting.

December 4 - EFMP Home for the Holidays 5pm-7pm - Building 495, Camp Foster . Join EFMP for a night of hot cocoa cookies and sweets, while we learn how to make Japanese holiday crafts and decorate our own gingerbread house. For more infor-mation call EFMP at 645-9237.

December 16 - Play and Learn With EFMP 10am-11pm - Every 3rd Wednesday of the Month, Camp Foster Library. Join EFMP and EDIS for some fun activities for ages from 0 to 3. For more in-formation call EFMP at 645-9237.



January 7 - P.A.S.S. Proactive Advocates Sharing and Supporting 5pm-6pm Bob Hope Elementary School Kadena.

A monthly parent driven support group. Participants are divided into two interactive groups-one for parents and one for children. Parents talk about effective communications and best practices for promoting positive behavior. The children’s group participates in learning activi-ties in a structured recreational based setting.

January 8 - EFMP Family Bowling Night 5pm-6pm, Camp Foster Bowling Center. Come strap on those bowling shoes and join us for a fun night at the Camp Foster Bowling Alley. For more information call EFMP at 645-9237.

January 15 - EFMP 101 11am-1pm Camp Foster Education Cen-ter . Learn about EFMP, what exactly is EFMP and how can this pro-gram help our family? Learn about Respite Care and find out if you qualify. We will also provide our families with MCCS/Community Re-sources. For more information call EFMP at 645-9237.

January 20 - Play and Learn With EFMP 10am-11pm - Every 3rd Wednesday of the Month, Camp Foster Library. Join EFMP and EDIS for some fun activities for ages from 0 to 3. For more infor-mation call EFMP at 645-9237.

January 29 IEP Procedures 11am-1pm Camp Foster Education Center. Join us as Department of Defense Education Activity and EFMP team up to discuss and answer questions about Individualized Education Program (IEP) procedures.



Our Locations:

MAIN OFFICE

Bldg. 495

Camp Foster

CELL: 098-970-9237

DSN: 645-9237

CAMP KINSER OFFICE

Bldg. 1316

Cell: 098-911-5111

DSN: 637-3516

CAMP COURTNEY

OFFICE

Community services

Center Building 4448

CELL: 098-954-9794

DSN: 622-9794

AIR FORCE EFMP:

Airman Family

Readiness Center

634-6029

GROUP EMAIL:

[email protected]

MCCS.ORG

Katrina Covington, MS, LPC

EFMP Program Manager

Susan Stamper-Smith

EFMP Family Case Worker

Camp Foster

Laury Navat


Camp Kinser

Tony Rodriguez


Camp Courtney

Mysael Santolaja

EFMP Training, Education

and Outreach Specialist

Raeven Broccolo-Cox

EFMP Administrative Assistant

ovember 20152015 - mccs okinawa€¦ · blues. symptoms can include headaches, insomnia,...

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