SWEET EMOTION

It’s the holidays, a time of year when humans endure a whirlwind of emotions.

Some feel joy because they’re spending time with family while celebrating the birth of Christ.

Some feel disgust because Christmas is commercialized and they are tired of being bombarded with ads.

Some feel sadness because they are spending their first Christmas without a spouse.

Some feel anger because they have to spend a few days with a loud-mouthed inlaw.

Some feel fear because they are financially strapped and wonder whether their children will be happy on Christmas Day.

We are all emotional beings and function, through good and tough times, with the help of these five emotions. Society has us believe that joy is the star of the show, and we must constantly live in a joyous state or else we are failing ourselves and become miserable people.

However, after watching the movie Inside and Out, I realized that through sadness and fear, we share with those who care about us and gain warmth and strength through the love shown to us. Hence, sadness and fear are perfectly normal emotions that help us become emotionally stronger and more balanced.

We all experience different mental challenges on a daily basis. Who better to talk to about this controversial topic than Dr. Drew Pinsky, an addiction medicine expert and famous media personality who has been featured on numerous television and radio shows? Dr. Drew talked with Healthy Living about the joys and difficulties of treating mental illness and also shared some personal information about himself.

In this issue, we are taking a closer look at what mental illness is. We hear names like schizophrenia, bipolar, and psychotic, but the truth is most people don’t know what any of those terms mean. We simply say, “He or she has a mental illness.”

KENDRA AKERS publisher/editor-in-chief kendra@akersmediagroup.com

DOUG AKERS vice president doug@akersmediagroup.com

JAMIE EZRA MARK chief creative officer jamie@akersmediagroup.com

SABRINA CICERI associate publisher sabrina@akersmediagroup.com

EDITORIAL // DESIGN // PHOTOGRAPHY

JAMES COMBS staff writer james@akersmediagroup.com

JOHN SOTOMAYOR staff writer john@akersmediagroup.com

LEIGH NEELY staff writer/copy editor leigh@akersmediagroup.com

FRED LOPEZ chief photographer fred@akersmediagroup.com

JOE DELEON creative director joe@akersmediagroup.com

STEVEN J. CODRARO senior art director steve@akersmediagroup.com

JOSH CLARK senior designer josh@akersmediagroup.com

MICHAEL GAULIN production director michael@akersmediagroup.com

JAMIE ROBINSON digital editor jamie.robinson@akersmediagroup.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS//PHOTOGRAPHERS

KIM BADEN-KRISTENSEN JEFF GRIESEMER DR. JREFFERY GLOVER FRED HILTON DEB MACINTYRE

SCOTT PERKINS DAVE RAMSEY PASTOR ALLEN SPEEGLE DR. MICHAEL VISCONTI

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AUBREY AKERS office assistant aubrey@akersmediagroup.com

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Sabrina Ciceri Associate Publisher Sabrina@akersmediagroup.com

Dave is the children’s pastor at LakeHaven Church in Eustis. He has been in children’s ministry with his wife Beth for over a decade. They have three children and cherish every opportunity they have to share God’s love with kids and parents.

JEFF GRIESEMER www.ChildRescueNetwork.org

Jeff is the founder and serves as the president and chief executive officer of child rescue Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering children and families to help prevent child sexual abuse, abduction and victimization, such as human trafficking. A child advocate for over 20 years, he serves on the Children’s Cabinets in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties, as well as the Greater Orlando Human Trafficking Task Force and FBI Citizen’s Academy Anti-Human Trafficking Committee.

Dr. Glover opened Leesburgbased Glover Chiropractic Clinic in November 2012. Rather than relying on surgery, medication, or injections, he utilizes drug-free, non-surgical approaches to treat a number of chronic and/or debilitating conditions. He is a lifelong Lake County resident and 1999 graduate of Leesburg High School.

Fred spent 36 years as the chief public relations officer/ spokesman for James Madison University in Virginia and 10 years prior as a reporter and editor for The Roanoke Times in Roanoke, Virginia. He is now happily retired in The Villages with his interior designer wife Leta, their Cadillac Escalade golf cart, and their dog Paris. (Yes, that makes her Paris Hilton).

Contributor Spotlight

DEBI MACINTYRE

Debi serves as executive director of Be Free Lake. A native of Pennsylvania, she has resided in Lake County since 2000. She has worked as a teacher, assistant principal, guidance counselor, social worker, and in mental health and substance abuse triage. She has been executive director of Lake County Substance Abuse Council since 2006. She lives in Leesburg with her spouse.

Scott Perkins

Scott is author of the book

“Discovering Your Root: Developing Your Identity in Christ.” As owner of Perkins Communications, he has spent the past 14 years working alongside church leaders in a variety of contexts—helping them launch new churches and revitalize dying churches. He is trained and certified by Creative Results Management, an organization that trains coaches for church planters and missionaries around the world. He is also a member of the International Coach Federation, the standard bearer and largest certifier of coaches in the world.

DAVE RAMSEY

Dave is a personal money management expert, a national radio personality, and bestselling author of “The Total Money Makeover.“ Ramsey earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance and Real Estate from the University of Tennessee. A frequent speaker around the country at large-scale live events, he has a nationally syndicated talk show, “The Dave Ramsey Show.“

Michael is one of only five acupuncture physicians in the State of Florida who has a four-year Naturopathic Medical Degree. He maintains his Naturopathic Physician license in Vermont while working on reopening Naturopathic licensure in Florida. He has been helping people in Central Florida since 2001 and currently has his practice in Oakland, located between Clermont and Winter Garden.

KIM BADEN-KRISTENSEN founded the Danish brain training company, Brain+, with the vision of creating the most effective and engaging brain training tools from cutting-edge neuroscientific insights.

The content in this article is part of the extensive BrainCoach feature in the app, Brain+ Brain Training for iPad and iPhone. Follow Kim on Twitter - @KimBadenK | www.brain-plus.com

Kim Baden-Kristensen launched Brain+ in April 2012. His company produces brain-training apps that are built on neuroscientific insights, methods, and training principles.

“The goal is to help people understand how to enhance the use of their brain,” said Kim, who resides in Copenhagen, Denmark. “They use our techniques to learn how to train their brain. Nobody is too old to continue developing their mental capacity.”

He said his brain-training exercises have been especially helpful for people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “It is so gratifying to create something that can make a big impact on the world. People have an opportunity to improve their lives and wellbeing.”

Outside of work, Kim enjoys rock climbing, yoga, and mind meditation.

“I like activities that put me in a better mood and mental state.”

Dr. Johnson and Dr. Boardman are part of a group of trained surgeons performing minimally invasive surgeries with the use of robotic technologies. One of the procedures is TIF.

Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication (TIF) treats the underlying cause of GERD without incisions. This innovative procedure uses the EsophyX device to reconstruct the antireflux valve and restore the body’s natural protection against reflux.

TIF is performed under general anesthesia and requires patients not to eat or drink several hours prior to the procedure. The procedure itself generally takes less than an hour.

Typically, patients can go home the following day as well as return to work and most normal activities within a few days.

For more information regarding this minimally invasive procedure, along with other surgical procedures performed by the group, please visit our website: www.MidFloridaSurgical.com

TIF: AN INCISIONLESS SURGICAL SOLUTION FOR GERD If you have heartburn more than once a week, you may have chronic acid reflux, or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). Heartburn is the most common symptom, but you may also experience:

• Regurgitation

• Pain or discomfort in chest

• Trouble sleeping

• Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)

• Frequent swallowing

• Persistent cough

• Intolerance of certain foods and liquids

• Gas and bloating

• Excessive clearing of the throat

• Excessive salivation

• Hoarseness or laryngitis

• Asthma or asthma-like symptoms

• Dental erosions or therapy-resistant gum disease or inflammation