Author: Gulfcoasthc

Even Happy People Can Benefit from Seeing a Therapist

Talking with a therapist can be incredibly useful for people who consider themselves to be happy, content, and mentally healthy. Therapists can help you set, recalibrate, and strategize to achieve intelligent and lasting goals for yourself.

Even Happy People Can Benefit from Seeing a Therapist

When most people think about counseling, they associate the treatment with extreme situations like severe depression, abuse, and anxiety disorders. Everyone is right that therapy is essential to overcoming serious situations in life. The truth is, though, talking with a therapist can also be incredibly useful for people who consider themselves to be happy, content, and mentally healthy.

How Counseling Could Help You

Asking for advice in life is never off-limits; it’s also perfectly acceptable (and smart!) to seek life advice from a highly trained and experienced professional. Therapists can help you set, recalibrate, and strategize to achieve intelligent and lasting goals for yourself.
While it might seem like an easy task, figuring out what you actually want out of life can be tricky. Are your current life goals going to be fulfilling in the long run? Do you know what you need to do to achieve those goals? How will you react and adjust if your goals change over time? How will you handle and overcome potential failure?
A professional counselor can provide you with helpful strategies to determine your answers to all of these questions. In therapy, you’ll learn to identify patterns in your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and determine whether these patterns hold you back or propel you toward your goals.
Whether you could use help with learning to develop your time management skills, being more assertive at work or at home, navigating your personal or professional relationships, or kicking a bad habit, counseling can help. Therapy can provide you with all the tools you need to maintain a balanced and well-rounded lifestyl, to avoid serious pitfalls in life, and to continue working toward become an ever-improving version of yourself.
No matter what (good or bad) life brings your way, therapy will prepare you to handle it in the best possible way.

Therapy as Preventative Care

In the same way that it’s better to catch physical ailments and begin treatment early on, it’s also helpful to detect potential emotional or mental problems early. If working with a therapist can help you detect a potential problem and address it before it has a chance to develop into a serious roadblock in your life, then more power to you!
Having a mental and emotional check-in with an unbiased professional about your life goals, career, relationships, health habits, and family before any real problems arise can be incredibly helpful with continuing to move in the right direction and staying on a successful life path.

Schedule a Check-In at Gulf Coast Health Center

At Gulf Coast Health Center, we encourage patients to take advantage of our counseling services. Contact a location near you to schedule an appointment with a professional therapist.

Healthy Habits to Protect Yourself from COVID-19

With a healthy mind and body and smart sanitary practices, you can keep yourself and your family safe and healthy. Take these precautions to protect yourself from COVID-19.

Healthy Habits to Protect Yourself from COVID-19

When novel coronavirus is spreading like wildfire through Texas, take precautions to protect yourself from COVID-19. Practicing healthy habits and keeping your body strong will help keep you safe during the pandemic. With a healthy mind and body and smart sanitary practices, you can keep yourself and your family safe and healthy.

Bolster Your Immune System Against COVID-19

To boost your immune system, eat a well-rounded diet of highly nutritious foods. Try to fill each of your meals and snacks with lean proteins and fruits and vegetables in every color of the rainbow. In addition, it’s important to get enough quality sleep because the efficacy of your body’s immune response depends on a well-rested body.

Get a Healthy Mind, Healthy Body During the Pandemic

Weight, fitness, and cardiovascular health are major factors that determine the severity of COVID-19 in different individuals. Getting your body into shape with aerobic exercise is a great way to manage weight, increase lung capacity, and strengthen your lungs and heart. Plus, exercise releases feel-good endorphins that’ll help you stay happy and reduce the excess stress brought on by living through such a difficult time.
Respiratory health is essential for fighting off COVID-19. If you’re a smoker, quit now to reduce your risk of severe illness.

Limit Your Exposure to the Novel Coronavirus by Practicing Social Distancing

Remember that, when it comes to COVID-19, not everyone who’s contagious has symptoms. So, it’s important to practice social or physical distancing. Before deciding whether it’s safe to attend a group gathering or to spend time indoors with people outside of your family, assess the potential risk of the event or gathering you’re considering attending.
If you must be around other people, protect yourself and your family from COVID-19 by wearing a mask and staying at least six feet apart from others at all times. Limit your exposure to potentially infected people by practicing the social distancing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Use Smart Sanitary Practices to Keep Your Body and Your Environment Germ-Free

Don’t touch your face. Wash your hands after going anywhere public, before preparing food, before eating, after interacting with animals, and after using the restroom. If you don’t have access to a sink, use a safe hand sanitizer to disinfect your hands until soap and water are available. Use an EPA-approved disinfectant to sanitize your home and work environment, focusing on high-traffic and high-touch areas.

Learn More about Novel Coronavirus, Testing, and What You Can Do to Stay Safe

To learn more about COVID-19, testing centers near you, and keep your body strong and healthy, we welcome you to contact a Gulf Coast Health Center location near you.

Why Telehealth Has Become More Important Than Ever Before

During the COVID-19 crisis, telemedicine has become the champion of ongoing wellness care and chronic disease management because it allows patients, especially those who are considered to be high risk, to access medical care and keep in touch with their doctors without risking exposure to the novel coronavirus.

Why Telehealth Has Become More Important Than Ever Before

Telemedicine, the practice of seeing and treating patients via electronic means, has always provided a convenient option for healthcare providers and patients to come together. Emails, over-the-phone appointments, and video conference calls have helped patients access regular medical care and reduce gaps in their healthcare. Whether a patient is homebound, lives far away from the doctor, or faces issues with finding reliable transportation, telemedicine offers a simple solution. Telemedicine also helps patients seek expert care – without travel – when nearby medical specialists are limited.
So yes, telemedicine has always been a powerful tool in the modern medical professional’s doctor bag, but until now it has been underutilized.

Why Is Telemedicine More Important Now Than Ever?

During the COVID-19 crisis, telemedicine has become the champion of ongoing wellness care and chronic disease management because it allows patients, especially those who are considered to be high risk, to access medical care and keep in touch with their doctors without risking exposure to the novel coronavirus. During this worldwide healthcare crisis, social distancing to limit exposing yourself or potentially exposing others to illness, has become essential to public safety.
In spite of the importance of social distancing and preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus, it’s still extremely important to keep up with regular healthcare. You should not delay your wellness examinations, follow-up appointments, or appointments aimed at managing a chronic illness. While it’s important to stop the spread of coronavirus, it’s equally important that you maintain your personal health and wellbeing.
With the capabilities of telehealth, patients can do both! Telemedicine allows patients to schedule follow-up appointments with their doctors, get prescriptions renewed, and seek medical advice – all from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

Experience the Convenience of Telehealth and Remote Medical Care with Gulf Coast Health Center

In addition to telehealth and telemedicine services, Gulf Coast Health Center provides patients the convenience of prescription refills through an easy-to-use mobile application and access to their health charts and records via our secure online patient portal.
Whether you’re an existing patient or are new to Gulf Coast Health Center, we welcome you to schedule an online telehealth appointment with one of our providers. To safely access expert medical care from anywhere, all you need is an internet connection and a computer or mobile phone equipped with both a camera and a microphone.
To learn more about telehealth with Gulf Coast Health Center or scheduling an in-person appointment during the novel coronavirus pandemic, we encourage you to call the location nearest you today.

Coronavirus and Your Mental Wellbeing

The whole world is experiencing fears, worries, and changes to normal daily life that are unprecedented in our lifetimes. Not only are we having new anxieties, but many of us are unable to cope with the stress in the same ways we normally would, primarily by getting out of the house and spending time with loved ones.

Coronavirus and Your Mental Wellbeing

The current pandemic has placed an excessive strain on our mental wellbeing. The whole world is experiencing fears, worries, and changes to normal daily life that are unprecedented in our lifetimes. Not only are we having new anxieties, but many of us are unable to cope with the stress in the same ways we normally would, primarily by getting out of the house and spending time with loved ones. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, unable to complete tasks, increasingly irritable, lonely, or crying easily, consider the following advice from our behavioral health team to calm your anxiety.

Ways to Cope with the Stress During the Pandemic

Accept

It’s okay to acknowledge and accept the fact that the current situation is stressful. It’s okay to feel anxious. Don’t get frustrated with yourself if you have these feelings. Instead, focus on controlling what you can in your life. Concentrate on maintaining your routines, exercise, personal hygiene, and nutrition.

Act

Fill your time with positive, calming activities. Create a routine with things like meditation, walking, reading, gardening, and making art. Use this time to try a new hobby or to learn something new.

Connect

We’re fortunate to have modern technology that makes it easier than ever to stay connected even when we can’t travel or mix households. Schedule a time to video chat with your friends or family. Or get away from screens altogether to play with your children and pets.

Take a Break

Although it’s good to stay informed, it’s also smart to take a break from the news. Watching endlessly or even just letting news channels play in the background of your day to day life can induce additional stress. Try to limit your time with the news and only listen to reports from trusted, reputable sources.

Practice Gratitude

No matter how stressful a situation might be, we can always find reasons to be grateful. Focusing on the things you appreciate in your life (family, friends, health, shelter, food, pets, or the cool breeze coming off the ocean) has the power to calm. Set aside time to write a gratitude list and read it whenever you feel down.

Reach Out

Pay attention to your own behavior, feelings, and thoughts to identify warning signs of trauma, depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Contact behavioral health services at Gulf Coast Health Center, if you are feeling angry, irritable, or isolated, if you have trouble sleeping, suffer nightmares, can’t stay focused, or can’t stop crying. Remember that you are not alone. We are here for you, and we can help.

Staying Healthy and Stopping the Spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Novel Coronavirus, officially called COVID-19, has arrived in Texas (track the state’s up-to-date case count by county here). With the spread of the highly contagious disease in our state, Gulf Coast Health Center wants to do everything we can to help keep our communities safe and healthy by raising awareness and preventing further transmission of this virus

Staying Healthy and Stopping the Spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Novel Coronavirus, officially called COVID-19, has arrived in Texas (track the state’s up-to-date case count by county here). With the spread of the highly contagious disease in our state, Gulf Coast Health Center wants to do everything we can to help keep our communities safe and healthy by raising awareness and preventing further transmission of this virus. Whether you’re part of an at-risk group or not, the best way to keep yourself, your loved ones, your neighbors, and people who are at a high-risk safe from COVID-19 is to educate yourself on the facts about the novel Coronavirus.

How Does Coronavirus Spread?

COVID-19 is transmitted through exposure to respiratory droplets deposited into the air from sneezing or coughing. It can also spread as a result of touching contaminated surfaces.

Tips for Preventing the Spread of COVID-19

Basic preventative measures against novel Coronavirus include:
  • Frequent hand washing
  • Social distancing
  • Not touching your eyes, nose, or mouth
  • Covering coughs and sneezes
  • Wearing a mask when you are sick
  • Disinfecting frequently used or touched surfaces

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of COVID-19?

  • Patients with COVID-19 report:
  • Mild to severe respiratory illness
  • Dry cough
  • Fever
  • Shortness of breath

Who Is at the Highest Risk Due to Coronavirus?

The following groups are at an elevated risk of developing serious illness after contracting COVID-19:
Adults over 65
People with medical issues such as:
  • Lung disease and respiratory problems
  • Heart disease or high blood pressure
  • Diabetes
  • Cancer
  • Weakened immune system

What to Do If You Are Sick

Coronavirus symptoms can develop 2 to 14 days after exposure. If you suspect you have contracted COVID-19, follow the CDC’s recommendations, which include staying at home, monitoring symptoms, avoiding contact with pets and people, wearing a mask, washing hands frequently, and sterilizing surfaces. If you are a high-risk individual, call your doctor’s office right away for instruction. This will allow them to provide you with care without putting others at risk of exposure. If you have any emergency symptoms such as struggling to breathe, persistent chest pain, new confusion, or bluish lips, seek emergency care immediately. If you are generally healthy and not a high-risk case, then it’s best to remain at home, stay hydrated, and care for yourself, as you would when suffering from influenza or a cold virus. If you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone who has been diagnosed, please call Gulf Coast Health Center or your nearest emergency room as soon as possible. We will provide you with instructions for receiving care without putting others at risk. If you have any other concerns, we welcome you to contact any of our five clinics.