Self Care Sunday Series; Laughter Can Be Healing

It may not seem like it, but laughter is one of the best medications we can self prescribe. 

It’s true that laughter is the best medicine and making jokes actually has a physical effect on the body. 

Laughter boosts your mood, raises metabolism, strengthens the immunity system, diminishes pain and helps decrease the effects of stress.

Boosting your mood, there was a scientific study done by the Mayo Clinic about Stress Management and laughter.

  • Stimulate many organs.  Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
  • Activate and relieve your stress response.  A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
  • Soothe tension.  Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Norwegian scientists found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who don’t laugh as much.

Social benefits of laughing

The world could use a little more laughter right now. I’m not saying that what’s going on around the world should be laughed about, what I am trying to make people realize making jokes, seeing someone 😊 changes our mood. Changing our moods for a positive instead of a negative makes the day flow better.

I wish you all health and happiness. Please work together so we as a society can come out and play again soon.

Gain The Advantage.

Alicia Osmera

The Unseen War of 2020

The world is fighting an unseen war. These soliders are not your ordinary man or women dressed in a uniform, carrying guns and ammunition. These soldiers are tiny viral microbe particle that infects a person’s body, causing an automatic response to rage a war within the human body.

What military is coming to fight against this mysterious soldier?

Just like the past wars of WWI and WWII, the Civil War, the American Revolution and the Vietnam wars, men stepped up to fight for their countries against certain tyrannies and viruses that threaten their freedoms. The war we are facing right now, today is not one with ammunition, guns and tanks. In fact this war is much more of a detriment to the whole human race.

Men and Women are at the forefront of fighting this war. From EMS, Firefighters, Police Officers, Doctors, Nurses, Respiratory Therapists, Certified Nursing Assistance and more. These human beings are putting themselves at risk everyday to fight off the symptoms and potential deadly effects of this war. We have all been asked to please do our part as Americans and help fight in the effort against this invader of our country. From helping with providing the necessary equipment needed to those at the front lines, limiting our own comings and goings to what has been determined as only a necessity in our daily lives.

To win this war against all of humanity, we must act together as one!

The SARS – COVID19 – Coronavirus does not discriminate against race, creed, sex, and political or spiritual affiliation. It doesn’t care if you’re strong or weak, younger or older, wealthy, middle class or poor. The COVID 19 -Coronavirus strikes a person with a vengeance and it continues to strike in the silence until your body is left screaming out at you for it to stop.

Yes, we are fighting a war. A war which we can’t see with our own eyes, but yet we can see the mayhem and devastation that it leaves behind. We must fight for our lives and the lives of the ones we love. We must practice being away from each other for a short period of time to increase the chances of this monster leaving humanity alone.

This war will end just like the others before it. We will prevail! And once we have won the battle we will be stronger and better for having gone through it. We will come together with more humility, compassion, and love for each other.

Be kind to one another during this difficult time and let’s help heal our nation together.

Written by Alicia Osmera, CRT, LRT March 26, 2020

Self Care Sunday’s Series; Mental Health During Times Of A Crisis

In today’s Self Care Sundays series I want to address mental health for everyone. During this time across the world, mental health care should be addressed not just for those already with behavioral and mental health issues, but our first responders, healthcare professionals, grocery store workers, truck drivers and so many more.

Mental health is just as important as physical health. My biggest concern is for my fellow colleagues and what’s going to happen to their mental health when our hospitals are overrun with patients.

I found a great article by the CDC on stress and coping during this pandemic outbreak.  As healthcare workers, we are constantly tending to the needs of others; while we tend to forget our own mental and physical health needs.

If you, or someone you care about, are feeling overwhelmed with emotions like sadness, depression, or anxiety, or feel like you want to harm yourself or others call

  • 911
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746. (TTY 1-800-846-8517)

Healthcare Workers

For healthcare workers, it’s quite natural to feel stress. Many relieve their stress with the form of dark humor. What most people may see as incentive, mean or despicable others find relief with humor.

Take care of your basic needs. Food, shelter, clothing and family. It’s important to remember that if you go down with illness it will affect more than just the people you work with.

Coping With Stress

It’s normal to feel sad, angry, confused or even scared during a crisis.

I wish anyone reading this health, safety and wellness. Please try not to panic over this war we have raging in the world. If we all do our part and work together we will get through this together.

Leave a comment and as always,

Gain The Advantage,

Alicia Osmera

Will Americas Heart Ever Beat Again

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The whole world is turned upside down right now. What we once considered to be the “normal” way of life has come to a screeching halt.

On Sunday, March 8, 2020, most of us were complaining about the recent daylight savings time change without what seemed like a care in the world. That is until President Trump declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020 due to the rapid spreading of the COVID 19 – Coronavirus into the United States of America .

Shortly after January 20, 2020 the first case of coronavirus found it’s way to the United States. A man in his 30’s was traveling from Wuhan, China to Washington was infected with the virus causing a domino effect nationwide.

It seems like just yesterday we went to work and although we were concerned about this illness, most of us didn’t really pay attention because it was happening away from our little bubble of the world.

Our favorite sports teams were playing from the National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, even Major League Baseball was getting ready to start up for the 2020 season. The bottom of sports dropped when all these teams announced that they were suspending or pushing back the start of their scheduled seasons. I am pretty sure that my local sports broadcasters on Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 are going bonkers at this point! You can listen to all of them from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday.

On Monday March 16, 2020 my older grandchildren were in school, most of my family and friends were working without having any real major concern. Then as the coronavirus started to spread more rapidly across the United States, President Trump declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020.

Will Americans heart ever beat again?

Yes, yes it will. We are a strong and resilient nation. We have been through much worse than this. Now is the time to build each other up, check on your neighbors and friends. Stop the insanity of hoarding all the toilet paper America! Think about your fellow human beings and work together in one accord to bring healing, compassion, and love for one another.

Our heartbeat is strong! If we can survive through world wars, many other infectious diseases that have wiped out previous generations. Most of all let’s not forget one of the most terrifying and horrific events to hit on American soil. On September 11, 2001, we were attacked by Islamic extremists which assaulted upon our way of life by using airplanes to crash into the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, New York City.

America’s heartbeat stopped for a moment in time that very day. Those of us who watched in horror as our nation was under attack felt sadness, rage, depression and love for our fellow mankind.

We came out on top. We pushed through the sadness, anger and all of the other emotions we felt, to unite together and help each other during our time of need.

I’m issuing out this challenge to all my fellow Americans today. Stop the hate and start showing love. People are scared of the unknown, scared of loss of incomes, and many other things. Bring back the 2001 American spirit. We have lost our way from that day and now we find ourselves asking the same question over again, will American’s heart ever beat again?

Tell Your Heart To Beat Again by Danny Gokey is one of my favorite songs for a time such as this. Please take a listen and enjoy.

Let’s bring healing to each other even in the midst of this pandemic and heal our land together.

Gain The Advantage,

Alicia Osmera

Think About Your Fellow Human Beings

Today I read an article from the website Love What Matters Most.com. As I read it, I actually had tears streaming down my face.

Today I cried is not just another hyped up article made to make you feel panic or fear of the COVID19 – Coronavirus. It is the story of a 92-year-old man and his struggle to find? If you guessed toilet paper you’re right.

Our Senior Citizens have lived through the worst of times. The #coronaviruis is not the worst thing they’ve lived through. We have a duty as a society to care for, appreciate and listen to their lives stories.

Did you get caught up in the great toilet paper hoarding? How much do you really need for your family for one month?

The United States of America has survived through World War I, The Great Depression, World War II otherwise known as the Second World War. We have overcome so many disease outbreaks such as smallpox, yellow fever, polio, the Spanish flu, measles and more.

A Migrant Women From The Great Depression

Listen, I’m not trying to make light of this new obstacle in our daily lives at this time. The point I’m trying to get across is to stop and think about how we as individuals and what we affect all of us!

Show #kindness, #understanding, #patients and most of all

LOVE

Love one another.

Gain The Advantage,

Alicia Osmera

Excitement! Episode 3, Season 1 of My Podcast; It’s Your Life!

With all this talk and drudge in the news let me ask you a question. Is there something that you are excited about.

Can excitement be us hearing the voice of God? Listen to my podcast series called; It’s Your Life

Our lives are the product of the choices we have made. Together explore with me how to live a more fullfilled life. Afterall it’s your life, live it well.

Gain The Advantage,

Alicia Osmera

Octothorpe! The Original Name For The #Hashtag

#hashtag this and #hasgtag that. They’re in almost every social media post we see today. However the famous symbol # was once referred to as the “pound” symbol.

Where did it originate from?

According to lexico.com in North Anerica it’s used in context such as go to question #2. In music the symbol is known as a sharp note.

The name octothorpe is said to have been invented by a Bell Laboratories employee in the 1960’s to honor the American athlete and Olympic gold medallist Jim Thorpe.

Jim Thorpe

Surprisingly the first hashtag was first brought to Twitter on August 23, 2007 by Chris Messina. Chris wrote an blog post expressing his interest in using hashtags when posting on social media.

Tagging when posting on social media also allows you to express words with an #throat punch in your sentance.

#hashtag, #writing, #blogging basically any word can become a hashtag.

Some of the top hashtags can be found here.

#peace

#love

#keephasing

Gain the advantage,

Alicia Osmera