Eveth Green: Self-Care and Stress Inoculation

HEALTH

15 Caring for Yourself: Self-Care and Stress Inoculation

BY VICTORIA FALK

The Chamber Coalition, which comprises the New American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), the African American International Chamber of Commerce (AAICC), and the Hispanic American International Chamber of Commerce (HAICC), celebrated Women's Month by holding a Bootcamp focusing on Women's Leadership & Wellness. One of the topics was Caring for Yourself: Self-Care and Stress Innoculation. Ms. Eveth Green, Family Nurse Practitioner with Advantage Care, was the presenter. She explained that self-care is essential and looks different for each of us. The Covid19 pandemic brought about a whole new level of stress and anxiety. "We're still seeing, two years later, the lingering physical and emotional impact of the pandemic," said Ms. Green, "…a lot of patients coming in with a lot of anxiety and a lot of dread still." Reportedly, some patients are making medical appointments for supposed medical ailments. However, upon further examination, it was discovered that their ailments were due to emotional stress and social issues. Therefore, "we at Advantage Care are thinking about 'the whole you' approach," reported Green. There has reportedly been an increase in hypertension, anxiety, and depression. According to Green, the World Health Organization recorded a 25% increase in anxiety and depression in the first year of Covid. Green explained that "…tells us that these things have already been around and are just now really compounded by the effects of the pandemic." Green confided that "as a leader and woman, there were so many moments of stress" in her life. As a leader, she was responsible for ensuring everything was in place for her team. "It was a very emotional, high-stressed time, even two years later," recalls Ms. Green. She stated that her priority was figuring out how to keep her patients safe, staff safe, and family safe." Overwhelmed by issues similar to what Green stated, with no outlet for their stress, many frontline workers resorted to suicide during the pandemic. Studies showed a significant increase in suicide among frontline healthcare workers due to the "adverse physiological effects of Covid-19 on healthcare workers." Regular mental health screenings were advised to evaluate stress, depression, and anxiety. But there are indeed signs of burnout that one can and should pay attention to. Some signs of burnout Green shared include: "Fatigue, lack of motivation, poor selfhygiene, and being more easily irritated." She stressed the importance of listening to your body and said that even if you can't pinpoint exactly what is wrong, you know when something is off. "Our bodies are very good at letting us know something is wrong," said Green. She said to seek professional help when "You cannot perform your daily activities, have thoughts of suicide, bouts of depression; feel hopeless, have difficulty sleeping, or find yourself having difficulty getting out of bed." Women's struggle is real, and some women choose to suffer in silence because they feel guilty about having negative feelings about being in a caregiver role. She encourages these women to "give themselves grace." "There is no shame in admitting you need help. It's okay to ask for help. It's okay to stop again and pause and say I deserve to be my best. Speak to your pricontinued on page 16

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Travel & Adventure Show Saw Successful New York City Debut and Announces 2023 Dates

New YORK CITY, April 4, 2022: New Yorkers are ready to travel again as shown by the Travel & Adventure Show which debuted its fifth live event in 2022 in New York on March 18-20 welcoming over 14,000 travelsavvy consumers, over 200 exhibitors, over 250 media attendees and nearly 2,200 trade delegates manning hundreds of exhibits from around the globe. The show gave attendees an opportunity to engage with destination representatives, tour operators and travel companies offering up travel ideas and inspiration as travel rebounds. Attendees were even invited to take advantage of special deals and promotions on the spot to make their dream vacation a reality. Following on the success of this weekend, Travel & Adventure Shows has officially announced the show will return in 2023 to the Jacob Javits Center from January 27 - 29. The next event promises to be bigger, with more exhibitors, more attendees, and more opportunities to be inspired to travel. “As the travel industry emerges from perhaps its most challenging years in history, we could not be more excited to have helped lead so many storied travel brands, destinations and suppliers back to a proactive environment,” stated John Golicz, CEO of Unicomm, LLC, the event’s producer. “Our New York debut was our fifth live show in five consecutive weekends, and we were overwhelmed by the reception we received by a very eager crowd of New York travel enthusiasts. We’ve already secured January 27-29 at the Javits to bring the show back even bigger and better with a larger showroom, more exhibitors, speakers and additional interactive opportunities for attendees.” The New York Travel & Adventure Show kicked off with a Travel Trade Summit on Friday, March 18th which invited travel industry experts, tour operators and travel agents for a day of informative panels, sessions and discussions before an unveiling of the expo floor. Hosted in partnership with Travel Market Report, the Summit offered a myriad of industry-specific content taking place across four separate stages giving attendees a choice of three keynote and eight breakout sessions. A VIP Networking Reception was held on the Show Floor Friday evening, as exhibitors and trade members spent a couple hours discussing ongoing travel plans and trends right on the show floor. Overall, over 500 members of the travel trade and media came to the 1st annual Travel Trade Summit at the New York Travel & Adventure Show. Then Saturday and Sunday the Show opened to consumers for an exciting two days of travel seminars, exciting trip giveaways and special on-the-spot deals that many consumers took advantage of. Over the course of the two days, roughly 14,000 consumers attended the first ever New York Travel & Adventure Show and for next year’s event the organizers are anticipating even greater numbers as the pandemic recedes and travel reaches new heights. Show sponsors included Major Sponsor Cruise Planners, The Islands of the Bahamas and Royal Caribbean were supporting sponsors, Croatia National Tourist Board was the event’s featured exhibitor as well as an international destination sponsor for the Travel Trade Summit. The Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism was also an international DMO sponsor for the Travel Trade Summit, as well as a supporting sponsor of the event. Bronze sponsors for the Travel Trade Summit included the Israel Ministry of Tourism and ProColombia, and Fort Myers Islands, Beaches and Neighborhoods was the official cocktail reception sponsor. The Florida Keys & Key West sponsored the green screen photo booth. Over 40 live consumer-focused travel seminars allowed what would-be-travelers to re-hone their skills, learn about what has changed in travel since the pandemic, what destinations are in demand and even how to take better travel photographs. Our four dozen speakers filled the four on-floor stages featuring top travel celebrity personalities including: actor, director and award-winning travel writer, Andrew McCarthy; CBS News travel editor and Emmy award-winning investigative reporter, Peter Greenberg; Editorial Director of the Frommer’s Guides, Pauline Frommer; Emmy awardwinning host of Samantha Brown’s Places to Love, Samantha Brown; bestselling author of “1,000 Places to See Before You Die,” Patricia Schultz; and “The Points Guy,” Brian Kelly, all spent time discussing the new travel normal in front of hundreds of eager travelers. “As New Yorkers welcome back tourists to their city, many are also eagerly planning for trips that they’ve put off, so the energy from our attendees was palpable and invigorating. They are ready for their next adventure so what better way to decide where to go next than with the chance to personally discuss their travel plans with the people from destinations from all over the world, all in one place,” said Jonathan Golicz, Vice President of Unicomm, LLC. Recognizing that while travel is important to people and industries around the world, it is also a privilege and helping people in a fundamental way is the most important thing one can do, Travel & Adventure Shows CEO John Golicz welcomed a representative from the office of the Consulate General of Ukraine in New York to announce that all proceeds from the Travel Trade Summit would be donated to assist the refugees of Ukraine ensuring they receive critical humanitarian assistance. l

Photo courtesy: The Travel & Adventure Show

Interested in becoming a Certified Travel Agent? Visit www.nacc.nyc/travelagent to learn more.

Caring for Yourself/ continued from page 15 mary care physician, connect with someone, said Green. Green noted that 2 out of 3 women are caregivers, and 70% of the global workforce is women. Women already "…wear so many different hats," she stated, and during the pandemic, if you were a mother, you became a teacher, a caregiver. You became isolated from working from home." Green discussed the importance of "pausing" to do self-care. She defines self-care as showing up for yourself –doing for yourself. It is making a conscious decision "…to tap into the moral and spiritual support, eating properly, enjoying time with friends and family." Green warned that caregivers have a natural tendency to put themselves last. However, she stressed the importance of knowing that you deserve to be your best self. "You really have to be filled up yourself. If you don't have emotions for yourself, how are you showing up for others?" she asked. Self-care doesn't have to be huge to be effective. Green stressed the importance of self-care, even if it is "5 to 10 minutes before you go to bed to take care of yourself. It may be a phone call or a virtual visit to your healthcare provider." She wants people to know that taking care of themselves is not 'selfish' and that they deserve to take care of themselves. "Even when there is no one else, there is still help. There are still resources and help out there you can leverage – even when you are alone." l

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You Can Learn to Enjoy Being Alone

BY MARY CAMPBELL

Solitude may be uncomfortable, but you can discover how to love spending time by yourself. Once you know the benefits of being alone, you'll wonder why you didn't strive for more solo time earlier.

Five joys of being alone These five joys of being by yourself stem from absolute alone time. Listening to podcasts, TV watching, video game playing, and partaking in other digital distractions isn't as helpful as complete solitude. To be alone, spend time by yourself without switching on devices.

1) Find solutions Most of your aha moments arise when you are alone. Typically, people have new ideas during simple solo activities like taking a shower or lawn mowing. Or they might engage in lightbulb moments while they meditate or stroll amid nature. If you need a solution to a problem, engaging in solo time can help. Without distractions to steal attention, you're free to work on difficulties or let thoughts stream. Problem-solving is simple when you are alone compared to times spent in the company of others. 2) Increase self-awareness Being alone will work wonders if you plan to embark on personal development. You can focus on growth projects, consider what you learn, and assimilate information. You can examine self-talk when you're by yourself and think about what you want in a distraction-free environment.

3) Relax You can relax when you are alone. There's no one to satisfy when you are by yourself. You can take deep, calming breaths and watch the world go by without engaging with anyone or anything. 4) Refresh your mindset and appreciate people Paradoxically, being alone might be helpful if you have become so familiar with people you take them for granted, or vice versa. You can enjoy being with people because you feel refreshed. They might also appreciate you more after you've been apart for a while.

5) Boost creativity Most individuals find their creativity drops unless the environment is distraction-free. If the scenario rings true, you will work on creative projects better when alone. Being alone can aid creativity, whether with a paintbrush or words. Alone time while you engage in artistry is the equivalent of dancing while no one's watching. You aren't embarrassed and don't aim to please, so you're likely to have unique ideas and ways of expressing yourself. You might dislike being alone at present, but think of the advantages. If you are by yourself, you can enjoy enhanced creativity, relaxation, and time for personal development. Solo time may also strengthen your relationships and aid problem-solving. Just recognizing what you can gain from solitude may be enough to help you embrace it.l

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18 Two Years On - What We've Learned About the COVID-19 Virus and Vaccines

BY MANUEL HOLGUIN

More than two years into the pandemic, things finally seem to be moving in a somewhat promising direction; despite the spike in COVID cases this past January, numbers across the nation have decreased. So, to address questions that the public might have, Ethnic Media Services and the CDC held a briefing. Two subject-matter experts from the CDC, Dr. John Brooks, MD, Senior Science Advisor, CDC Emergency COVID-19 Response, and Dr. Shannon Stokley, Dr. Public Health, Co-lead, Vaccine Task Force, CDC Emergency COVID-19 Response, led the briefing. Both spoke on where the country stands and how we can reach a point where COVID is no longer controlling people's lives.

Dr. Brooks spoke on the dramatic decrease in COVID cases throughout the country. New York City reported a day with zero cases at the beginning of March and had a seven-day average of reported cases in the mid-twenties. Numbers not seen in New York City since August of the previous year. This significant swing comes after a stellar spike in January, when the seven-day average reached more than 600. A report Dr. Brooks called "encouraging." "In some areas, we are now recording small increases, even as cases continue to fall in others," said Dr. Brooks, referring to the BA.2 sublineage of the Omicron variant that has been reported in the U.S. and around the world in increasing numbers. During the briefing that Friday, March 25, Dr. Brooks advised reporters that BA.2 represented 35% of all the variants in the nation. However, the CDC website informed that the BA.2 variant was responsible for more than half of all cases at 54.9% by the next day. So far, the reports show that although the variant BA.2 has higher transmission than its predecessor, it does not cause any more harm, and vaccines are effective against it. Though the number of confirmed cases increases, hospitalizations and covid confirmed deaths decrease. "I would like to emphasize that if cases rise, from the Omicron variant or any other variant, we have the tools – vaccines, tests, and therapeutics – to be prepared," assured Dr. Brooks. Dr. Stokley delivered only more reassurance of the ground gained over the past two years: "We've made tremendous progress over the last year and a half with more than 559 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered." Dr. Stokley emphasized that these numbers are higher than the amounts of vaccines given out during flu season. 89.6% of New York's population has received at least one dose, and 76.2% are fully vaccinated. But as many states throughout the nation begin to lift restrictions set during the pandemic, many parents wonder when their children under the age of five will be able to receive their vaccine. The CDC has reported more than 400 deaths of children between zero and four years old. "I imagine that many of you are parents who may be worried about ensuring your children are protected against COVID-19," said Dr. Stokley, a parent with the same concerns. Still, before vaccines are available to this age group, "they must go through a rigorous process to determine safety and efficacy, in keeping with all other recommended vaccines." Once one of the many manufacturers working on the vaccine determines it is safe for children in this age group, they will apply to the FDA, which will assess its safety and effectiveness before being authorized to use. Despite the silver lining that everyone would have wanted a year – or even just a few months into the pandemic – skepticism still exists about vaccines and boosters, especially after people who have received all the doses recommended by the CDC still come down with COVID. But Dr. Stokley had a message for those skeptics: "What we're really concerned about is preventing hospitalization, preventing death, and these vaccines are very good at preventing these severe outcomes. You may still get an infection even after receiving the vaccine, but usually, the symptoms are mild." She points out that the statistics of those who are boosted are 21 times less likely to die from COVID. "Our goal is to get to a point where COVID-19 is no longer disrupting our daily lives," said Dr. Stokely. "Vaccination and our proven prevention measures are how we reach this point."l