Ep. 67 - Guest: Bill Hebble (The ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County) (Part 2)

Guest: Bill Hebble (The ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County) (Part 2)

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Now this is the FCB Podcast Network, This is the Jeff Glory and Nick
Show. Welcome to the Jeff Gloriand Nick Show. And we are going

(00:24):
to continue with our guest, oneof our former guests, mister Bill Hebbell,
who is the Client Rights Officer forthe Adams Board of Cuyahoga County.
And we've been talking about mental healthand of course that's a subject that's on
everyone's mind and everyone has someone intheir circle who is dealing with issues of

(00:47):
mental health, could even be intheir own household. So we're going to
continue with our guest, Bill,how are you today? Excellent, good
morning, How are you doing great? Doing great? Yeah, you know,
the holidays and the winter months seeingto bring a lot of issues with
focusing the struggle with all different mentalhealth and issues of life. What about

(01:14):
children, we'd like to just talkabout some of the things that affect children.
Let's talk about children and the holidays, you know, and after holidays
and COVID we're dealing with all ofthis. Can you tell us a little
bit about that speak on that Yeah, absolutely absolutely, Well, just like
us, you know, children,youth, teenagers, they experience stress just

(01:37):
the way we do. You know, sometimes it can manifest differently, but
you know, we need to bemindful that, you know, our our
children and our youth, you know, can experience stress just the same way
we do. Some of the bestthings that we can do, you know,
as as guardians or parents or caregiversor family members or friends or you
know. However, the children andyouth, you know, manifest in our
lives is to be just you know, mindful of any of the stress or

(02:02):
discomfort they may be experiencing. Andyou know, particularly around the holiday time,
particularly particularly around the winter time.You know, we want to be
mindful of that. You know,there's different things that we can look for.
You know, one of the biggestones when it comes to our children
and our youth is is to bemindful of any behavior changes or you know,
any change in you know, attitudeor you know, feelings and emotions

(02:27):
and things like that, particularly inour younger children. We want to look
for, you know, things thatmay involve excessive crying or you know,
excessive tantrums or you know, excessivesadness or depression. That latter part also
can certainly apply to teenagers. Youknow, any kind of reverting back to
you know, older behaviors, youknow, things such as you know,
ped wetting or toileting accidents, youknow, things like that, things that

(02:50):
would be out of character. Youknow, for our children, you know,
these are kind of signs, youknow that they may be experiencing some
additional stress. And these are signs, you know, are ways that we
can be helpful and perhaps inter beingwhen we see these things in our children,
what kind of action should we take? So, I mean, really
the absolutely one of the best thingsthat we can do, of course,

(03:14):
you know, being mindful, youknow, making sure that we're paying attention,
you know, to any of thesebehavior changes, and sometimes they may
be kind of minimal, they maybe kind of small. So the best
thing we can do is making surewe're touching base with our youth and our
children, you know, making surewe're talking to them on their level,
you know, making sure that there'sa safe place where they can express their
feelings and emotions. You know,children and youth, they have feelings and

(03:37):
emotions just the same the same aswe do, and their feelings and emotions
are just as valid as ours.So we're wanting to give them that safe
space where they can you know,express those feelings, express those thoughts,
let you know, let the adultsand caregivers in their lives know how they're
feeling, and that way we canget a better understanding of where they're coming
from and then offer them some tipsand suggestions on how to deal with stress.

(04:00):
So do you think it's good toask our children? How are you
feeling today? How did things gofor you today? I think that's a
daily question that we should be askingour children and our youth. I mean,
we really should be taking the timeevery day, how was your day
today? You know, what aresome good things that happened for you today?
You know, what were some negativethings that happened to you today?

(04:24):
You know, if there were negativethings, well, you know, how
did you respond to that? Howdid you react to that? You know,
what would you like to do toprevent that negative thing from happening in
the future. I really think weshould be taking that time every day to
sit down with our youth and ourchildren to have a discussion about their day.
I think that's a great thing todo. Now, how about other

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children in groups? Sometimes we adultsare in group settings where children where there
may be not necessarily a school,but maybe some type of class or some
type of recreational facility that we encountera lot of other children. Are there
things that we should look for ingroup settings like that? Absolutely? And

(05:06):
in group settings for our youth today. Maybe it's me, but they look
very different than they did in inyears past. I have a teenager at
home and some of those group settingsare much different than the group settings when
I was a youth. But Imean certain things that we want to look
for, you know, any kindof like secrecy or you know, kind

(05:26):
of that sneaky behavior. You know, we want to try to be mindful
of that, you know, makingsure that we're you know, encouraging our
youth to make wise choices, youknow, making sure that they're you know,
considering things before actions are taking place. And I think you know,
as you know, as guardians,as caregivers, you know, whatever our
role in AGST life, you know, be aware of the of the circles

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in which our youth are are arein. You know that they're surrounding themselves
with you know, who are theirfriends. You know, what are the
type of things that they like todo? You know, what are some
of the activities in which they partake? You know, these are things that
we can be mindful of so thatwe know, you know, to the
best of our ability. You know, I know with teenagers it's a little
bit different. They like their independence, they like to kind of go off

(06:09):
and do their own things. Butyou know, we would still like to
know, you know, who areyou with, what time are you going
to be home, you know whereyou will be going. You know,
these things are all kind of important, you know, questions to ask,
and then of course arming them withthe tools and techniques that are necessary so
when they do encounter, you know, challenges or if there's you know,

(06:30):
peer pressure to encourage them to engagein behaviors that may not you know,
be the best thing for them,they have tools and strategies for how to
remove themselves from that situation or youknow, to interpret whether or not a
decision or an activity is going tobe good for them. I may ask
you this and I kind of talkabout this a little bit. It seems

(06:51):
like a lot of folks believe thatChristmas time is the worst time for the
US, and that's not necessarily true. Could you kind of speak to that
absolutely, certainly not necessarily true.I mean the holidays certainly I mean there's
a lot of stress that surrounds it. You know, it's a very busy

(07:12):
time of year. You know,we're all trying to you know, get
to our locations and visits and youknow, for those of us that may
participate shopping or cooking, and youknow, certainly a lot of stress,
but it's also you know, italso is a joyful time of year,
you know, for for many people. And really what we recommend is if
you if you feel yourself kind offeeling down or you know, becoming overwhelmed

(07:33):
with the stress of the of theholiday season, you know, take some
time for yourself and reflect. Youknow, this is a joyful time of
year as well. If we needto take a step back and say,
hey, I need a minute todecompress, I need a minute to enjoy
myself, absolutely appropriate. You know, we never want to go so hard
and so busy that we're you know, completely missing you know, the joyful

(07:55):
times of year, and you know, please but during the new year kind
of speak to that. It seemslike after the holidays and into the new
year, that's another time where depressionand is a high time. Are you
absolutely one of the biggest you know, particularly for this time of year.

(08:15):
We call it SAD or seasonal effectivedisorder. It's a challenge that many people
experience. I'll be honest, Imyself have a little bit of sad this
time of year. The holidays areover, the new year has come and
gone, and now we have nothingto look forward to but that long dark
winter. That's you know, oneof those where you know, it can

(08:37):
be a little doubting, you know, for us, but it's something that
many people struggle with. You know, we're not getting the vitamin D you
know, from the sunshine that youknow that we get during the warmer months.
We're not getting an opportunity to spendas much time outside or participating in
activities as the warmer months. Soone of the things that we we you
know, really can do to combatthat. I mean, there's like special

(09:00):
that you can buy for your home, little light bulbs that you can just
screw into your lamps that kind ofincrease that feeling of the vitamin D that
you would get from the from thesunlight. Artificial of course, but one
of the things that I like todo, I go around, I turn
on every light in my house.You know, we'll get a little bit
of brightness in there, you know, open the shades, open the curtains
and the blinds, and you know, let even the gloomy light that is

(09:26):
so prevalent this time of year comein. But the seasonal effective disorder,
it doesn't affect many people, butit's also very manageable. And please know,
you know, for those of usthat you know that are challenged with
this, ye're not alone many peopleout there this time of year. I'm
the one. I Am going togripe and complain until May, until the

(09:46):
hours bloom and the sunshine comes back. So we're not alone. You know,
there are others out there that areexperiencing the same thing. And then
also spending time with people, youknow, even if it's a phone call,
even if it's a text message oran email or a FaceTime call or
something that puts us in contact withpeople, so that we're not you know,
experiencing all this challenge by ourselves,right, and this it's called said

(10:11):
seasonal effective disorder, And there's somany people that are dealing with it.
They're saying, Hey, the daysare short, and I myself, when
I get home, first thing Ido is turn on lights. I need
light I mean, it's dark soearly, but I need more lights,
So I turn lights on everywhere justto kind of combat that feeling of darkness
and the end of the day.So and again we get more energy from

(10:37):
the sun and we get and fromlight, so that is important to kind
of have that feeling of daylight.And like you said, get out or
talk to folks. And there area lot of folks that live alone that
are that really struggle, and myheart goes out to them. And then
what about the individuals that are dealingwith recovery. We can you speak to

(10:58):
how what can you say to them? That's a big one, particularly around
the holiday times. You know,it's it seems, you know, we
folks spend a little bit more timemaybe imbibing, you know, during this
time of year. You know,it's more common in our culture, I
think sometimes for you know, certainitems to be available for you know,

(11:20):
to aid in our celebration for thosethat are in recovery. I'm in recovery
myself, So one of the thingsthat we encourage, and you know,
one of the most important aspects isyou you know, make sure you're putting
your recovery first, you know,making sure that you understand what your limitations
are, what you're comfortable with,and making sure that you're paying attention when

(11:41):
we are going to gatherings or whenwe are socializing, understanding in advance,
will there be opportunities there for meto be tempted? You know, would
there perhaps be activities there that wouldmake me uncomfortable. So we want to
make sure that we're mindful of that. And then of course, you know,
and we talked about this last time, we don't have to accept every
invitation. Just because an invitation isgiven doesn't mean that we have to participate

(12:05):
in it. There's nothing wrong withsaying, you know, I would you
love to see you, but unfortunatelyI'm gonna have to miss the gathering this
time. M h. Yeah.And the activities always continue their birthday celebrations
and there are all kinds of holidaycelebrations through throughout the winter months. And

(12:26):
what about kids activities? What whatwhat kind of things can they do?
Or would you suggest absolutely? Imean certainly, you know, we want
to make sure that we're you know, staying within our support system as best
as we possibly can, and thatincludes our children and our youth. You
know, they have a support systemas well, whether it's through family or
caregivers and after school club. Youknow, however, you know, they

(12:48):
they involve themselves. You know,it's important to keep in contact with them
as well. But as far asactivities for children and youth, even in
the wintertime, just you know,for shoveling snow, I mean, that's
that's a big one. That's ayou know, an activity we may not
enjoy, but it can be afamily activity. You know, something we
can all go out and do together. Sledding is a big one, you

(13:09):
know, during the holiday times.You know, we can you know,
bake cookies together, cook a mealtogether. You know. One that's a
favorite around our household is helping youthmake homemade gifts for family members. You
know, we don't have to spenda ton of money. You know,
we can allow them to make thingsat home or you know, to engage
in some kind of craft activity wherethey get to be creative and you know,

(13:33):
use their you know, use theirbrilliant minds to create you know,
these beautiful things for our family members. You know that they can give out
during the holiday season, and itdoesn't have to just be holidays. You
know, we can have craft timeand you know, make gifts for our
family members any time of year,and it's a great way to stay busy
during the winter months. Absolutely,there's so much to do. We want

(13:54):
to be concerned and involved in thehealth of our the mental health of our
young children. Also on your website, I know that you produced the Adams
Board the booklet called Coping with theHolidays. Is there something in there for
children, like a coloring page orsomething like that. There is, yes,

(14:18):
indeed, and that's one of thethings we love about the Coping with
the Holidays. We do include acoloring page. We also have a word
search, and the word search it'snot just at that by itself. If
you're going to look at the words, you're going to find that they're encouraging
that these are suggestions that we canuse to help ourselves navigate through tough times
or you know, coping with theHolidays. How can we find that booklet?

(14:41):
How can we get there? Soif you go to the Adams Board
website that's www dot ADAMSCC dot org, and if you search for Coping with
the Holidays in our address bar,you will find that booklet readily available around
the holiday times. Actually going tobe front and center on the front page
of the website, so after theholidays you can certainly find it by typing

(15:07):
it in the search bar. Okay, thank you. We're going to take
a quick break and we'll be rightback. Okay, we're back with our
guests. Mister Bill hebbl from theAdams Board. He is the client Rights
Officer, and he has been sohelpful and helping individuals cope with just life

(15:30):
and the struggles of life and mentalhealth and substance abuse and all of that.
Bill, can you continue to tellus how we can be there for
individuals, for older adults during theholidays and after the holidays. Absolutely,
absolutely. You know, we talkeda lot about our youth, our our

(15:50):
children, you know, making surethat we're you know, taking time for
ourselves, the individuals and recovery,my goodness. Just as importantly we need
to make sure that we're available andtaking care of the older adults in our
lives as well. You know,a lot of you know, particularly around
the holiday times, a lot ofthe traditions and things that we have in

(16:11):
our in our families, in ourin our social circles, a lot of
those are as are of the resultof traditions that we're put in place by
the older adults in our lives.So you know, we want to make
sure that we're honoring them and youknow, including them and all all of
the celebrations. Certainly during the holidays, but this is true, you know,
certainly any time of year. Ismaking sure that we're spending time with

(16:33):
that older adult in our lives,making sure that they're included in the festivities,
making sure that we're checking in withthem regularly. Particularly so important you
know during the winter months. Youknow, might if you know, say,
if we have you know, awinter storm or you know, something
that may you know, create adangerous situation for for our older adults.

(16:55):
We want to be making sure thatwe're checking in with them, you know,
at regular intervals. You know,are you able to leave the home
if necessary? You know, doyou have access to food? You know,
everything okay with you know the utilitiesin the home, no pipes,
you know, frozen or burst,and you know, things like that.
We want to be doing that forour neighbors. We want to be doing
that for for our family members,making sure that the older adults in our

(17:18):
lives are cared for. Particularly important, the holidays and the winter months,
and yeah, you know that's soimportant, and that what came to my
mind was a scripture that says,whatsoever a man soweth, that silly also
reaped. So I think that wealso have to and also love your neighbor
as yourself, and we should rememberthat one day we may be in that

(17:41):
we may be that older adult thatneeds someone to check on them, or
someone to uh uh, someone thatjust needs just a little extra hand.
So we have to be kind andtake and consider it and take time out
just to check on that older personduring this time, Bill, Can you

(18:02):
go ahead and continue with that?Absolutely absolutely, you know, and you
know we're talking about the winter months. You know, here we are in
you know winter months, so youknow, our older adults may need help,
you know, clearing snowfall, youknow, from their driveways and their
sidewalks so that they can safely navigate, you know, to get their mail.
They may need assistance getting to thestore, to the pharmacy, you

(18:25):
know, to pick up food,medications, you know, things like that
along with medications. You know,as we were talking about seasonal effective disorder,
you know, seasonal effective disorder doesnot discriminate based on age. You
know, anybody you know can canbe impacted. So you know, some
of our old the older adults inour lives may be taking more medication you
know, than you know, maybeothers. So what we want to do

(18:48):
is be careful and cognizance you know, you know, if necessary, and
you know, if possible, helpingthat older adult monitoring their medications. Are
they taking them as prescribed? Youknow? Do they have access us too?
You know, if we're running lowon a medication, can we help
them you know, get to uh, you know, the pharmacy to have
those refilled. We want to makesure that we're paying attention to that to

(19:11):
make sure that that older adult issafe, you know, and an inclement,
whether you know, a medical emergencyyou know, unfortunately, can create
a challenge for our ems or forour workers to get help to that older
adult. So we want to makesure that we can you know, prevent
that whenever possible. Bill. Afterwe've done those things, is there how
do we get help for an individuallike that? Is there a number that

(19:33):
we can call? Absolutely absolutely,you know it's this is a nationwide number
you can call nine to eight eight. It's as simple as that nine to
eight eight. That's going to putyou in touch with a licensed clinician that's
going to be able to help younavigate whatever challenge that you're experiencing. They
can connect you with with local authorities, with people locally to help you immediately.

(19:57):
They can provide excellent re sources andguidance for you. So nine to
eight eight is the number to contactif you need and if you're in a
crisis situation, uh, you know, some type of emergency. If you
just need some help during regular businesshours, people can call me at the
out of the board. I'm availableto provide resources. You know, we're

(20:19):
we don't provide the emergency services.But if somebody says, hey, you
know I you know, I amstruggling a little bit this time of year,
I could benefit from talking to somebody, you know, you could point
them right, You could point themin that direction to get all the help
that they need. What's your number? Absolutely, our number is two one
six two four one three four zerozero, and you can access my office

(20:44):
by dialing eight two five or justsay my name Bill Heble, It'll transfer
you right over to me. Ijust spend most of my day on the
phone, so if you get myvoicemail, leave me a message, but
I almost always get my calls returnedthe same day. Oh Bill, we
just thank you for again being withus and providing more information on how to
cope with the with the stresses oflife and holidays and after the holidays and

(21:08):
beyond. Uh So, into ouraudience, we just thank you, Bill.
We're gonna stay in touch with you. We want to continue to have
this dialogue to help people that strugglewith life. So and to our audience,
let's remember to keep doing good,keep fighting the good fight, and
let's remember that we can all dobetter to make our country and our communities

(21:33):
a better place to live. Keepfighting, keep doing good, keep encouraging
one another, and let's remember Godbless you all and keep doing what you're
doing. This has been a presentationof the FCB podcast Network, where Real

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Talk lives Visitors online at fcbpodcasts dotcom.