Health officials offer help with stress mangement

(CNS): Various community agencies are comingtogether to hold a number of workshops and activities this month to help families who are dealing with a loved one engaged in recovery and managing the stress associated with it. Part of Recovery Month which is focusing on stress management, the Department of Counselling Services Director Judith Seymour noted that stress can undermine the path to recovery for addicts as evidence shows it can lead to relapse. “It is critical to raise awareness of how stress can impact the quality of life and emotional health. We know that high stress levels can lead to or increase drug and alcohol use—which can in turn result in addictive behaviour.  And there is also evidence that stress can be a cause for relapse during recovery,” Seymour said.

Minister of Community Affairs, Mike Adam, urged members of the community to give support to those who are trying to get their life on a positive track.

“It is often said that the effects of addiction extend beyond those who are addicted, to impact family, community, and indeed the wider society,” the minster stated. We should therefore understand that it is within all our interests to sustain the efforts to promote a healthy lifestyle in our families and neighbourhoods.”

The Counselling Centre, The Family Resource Centre, Sister Islands Counselling Centre and Caribbean Haven Residential Centre are keen to lead the month’s events.

A workshop geared at guiding families on how to help a loved one engaged in recovery, will take place on Thursday, 16 September, and dealing with stress management is slated for Thursday, 23 September.  

Both workshops will be held at the Department of Counselling Service’s offices in the waterfront Flagship Building, from 6:00 to 7:30pm.

The Sister Islands Counselling Centre, on the Brac, will also provide a workshop on how to help a loved one engage in recovery, on 28 September. For further information on time and venue and to reserve a space, please call the Sister Islands office at 948-2374.

Other events in Grand Cayman include a church service at Savannah United Church at 10:00a.m. on Sunday, 19 September.

On Tuesday, 21 September, at the courthouse, the Drug Rehabilitation Court Programme (DRC) will hold a graduation ceremony for those clients who have successfully entered into recovery, completing their treatment experience and the DRC Programme.

Recovery Month will conclude with a private barbecue for Caribbean Haven Residential Centre clients and their family members on Sunday, 26 September.