Helping Hearts, Blog of Anne Sanders

Photo from FreeDigitalPhotos.net This summer our life changed again. Our son has had ADHD his whole life and has been in therapy and received treatment for it for about six years. Two years ago, we had him tested again because his therapist said she thought there might be something more going on. Two years and many tests later, we found out she was right. Now as I see the hints of this new diagnosis all around, I wonder why it took so long to figure it out.   Part of it was that the person who tested him at first got him at a very low time in his life and she saw that instead of truly seeing him. When she came back to us with her results and said he didn’t even have ADHD, we were shocked. It didn’t make any sense. His teachers had pointed out his problems with concentration, control, and so on since kindergarten. It seemed impossible that everyone who had ever been around him for long was wrong.   We had to get a second opinion. Our son’s current doctor told ...

What were you doing two Saturdays ago? If you’re like me, life is so busy that you can hardly remember what you did yesterday, never mind two weekends ago. But I had been building up to Saturday, October 20 th for a long time because I’m the captain of an American Cancer Society Relay for Life 2013 team.   We had our first fundraiser the 20 th . It was a great big yard sale in the parking lot of our church. My team is called Angels for a Cure because we operate out of our church, the Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church . I’ve been going there since January of 2004 and we became members in 2005 (I think, once again the mind reels at all to think back that far.) It wasn’t until 2010 that I found out we had a Relay team. We’d gone to other Relays, supported my husband’s work team, my sister’s team and so on. Have you ever been to an event? There’s a Relay for every 60,300 Americans and there were 5,146 Relays in 2010. There were Relays that year in 18 countries outside th...

The whole month of June is Men’s Health Month so I’m starting the month off talking about men which is a subject most women love.  Like Women’s Health Week and Mother’s Day, Men’s Health Week precedes Father’s Day going from June 11th to 17th and International Men’s Health Week overlaps that a bit going from June 13th to 19 th this year.    What do all these dates mean?  That people around the world know that men need to think more often about their health.  For Women’s Health week and Mental Health Month, I interviewed a women and mental health advocate.  Since I don’t know a men’s health advocate, I decided to take some tips from the well-known and trusted Dr. Mehmet Oz.  He didn’t have a shorter list so here are his top 25 tips for men’s health. 1.  Find a way to laugh, which eases stress, promotes social bonding and lowers blood pressure 2.  Eat breakfast and have some fiber in it, too 3.  Get s even hours of slee...

For Mental Health Awareness Month and Women's Health Week, I have asked Mental Health Advocate Jennifer Moyer a few questions to help us learn about mental health and get involved with mental health issues. 1.       Tell us a little about yourself and how you want to help others as a mental health advocate. My name is Jennifer Moyer.   I am first and foremost a wife and mother.   I strive to give hope and inspiration to individuals and families that are facing mental health issues.   I have volunteered in the area of mental health issues related to childbearing since 2000.   I began as a Volunteer Coordinator with Postpartum Support International ( www.postpartum.net ).   As a Coordinator, I provided emotional, practical and informational support to women and families dealing with mental health issues related to childbearing.   Although I am no longer an active Coordinator with Postpartum Support International, I continue to be...