Crestwood Employee Center
Contributed by: Alysia Robinson, Communications Manager
Throughout our life, there are times when we climb invisible mountains. Emotional Everests that others may never see. A Matterhorn jagged with grief or a Mount Kilimonjaro steep with regret, and yet we still press on. At times, we find ourselves navigating a gusty, rugged incline filled with life’s most unimaginable events, but like seasoned hikers in heavy weather, we continue climbing, carrying hope like a compass through the fog of uncertainty. Placing one foot in front of the other, we trek past sprouting shrubs of self-doubt and boulders of anxiety. With sweat on our brow and a determination to heal, we forge ahead through the thin mountainous air of emotional adversity.
Despite the challenges that we face, we are more than conquerors. We know that mental mountains are not invincible and that our ascent has an incontestable end because we’ve reached the mountaintop before. Its peak is distinguished by the cool refreshing mist of emotional regulation and personal conquest. When we look down, we see how far we have come, the emotional perils we survived, and the mental challenges that we triumphed. What seemed colossal and immovable, we overcame—we always do.
Along this journey to the summit, we laced up our boots of empowerment and backpacked with self-compassion. We fed ourselves with positive affirmations and quenched our thirst spending time with our natural supports. With our trekking poles of resilience and our WRAP tools strapped to our utility belt, we found ourselves perched high above the clouds like a blackbird resting on a Giant Sequoia. Standing on the icy snow caps of the mountaintop in valiant victory, our emotional challenges are now in a distant view. In this moment, we realize how strong we are, how committed we are, how hopeful we are, and how intrepid we are. In this moment, we reflect on the mountains we’ve conquered.
Contributed by: Hope Parr, Communications Manager
If you think about it, you’ll notice that Crestwood’s values are at the heart of friendship. You’ve heard it said that “friends are the family we choose,” and indeed they are! Many of us have deep, long-standing relationships with our friends. We know and love our friends like family! We understand that friendship takes commitment, and we stand by our friends through triumphs and trials alike. Friendship requires trust, loyalty, patience, respect, and understanding – all essential elements of a strong character. Our friendships blossom when we engage with enthusiasm, celebrating with our friends in their joy! Likewise, our friendships deepen when we display compassion, lending a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on. All friendships require a level of flexibility; things go more smoothly when we offer grace and understanding.
National Friendship Day falls on August 3 this year! Below are a few ideas to celebrate your friends:
- Treat a friend to coffee or dinner and catch up on life in-person. Enjoy some quality time together, listening to and encouraging one another.
- Send a long-distance friend a surprise gift in the mail… just because you care! They’ll be touched by your thoughtfulness.
- Get a group of friends together and do something fun you’ll all enjoy! Take a day trip, go on a hike, get your nails done, go bowling, enjoy a backyard BBQ, or attend a paint night!
- Write a card of appreciation to your best friend! Send the card in the mail as an encouragement to your friend, reminding them how much you value their friendship and noting the qualities that make them so special.
Contributed by: Hope Parr, Communications Manager
August 7 is National Lighthouse Day. Did you know that Point Piños Lighthouse in Pacific Grove is the oldest continually operating lighthouse in California, shining its light since 1855? Pigeon Point Lighthouse and Point Arena Lighthouse are tied for the tallest lighthouse in California at a towering 115 feet tall. What do these iconic lighthouses have in common with Crestwood’s Recovery Pillar of Hope? They all shine light into the darkness, each one a bright beacon signaling ships to safe passage.
At Crestwood, we have the opportunity to help others navigate their recovery journeys. Like a lighthouse guiding ships to harbor, we welcome the people we serve into our homelike environments with care and compassion, providing them with a safe place to land. Just as lighthouses serve as navigational aids up and down the coastline, Crestwood offers a network of Peer Support Specialists, Recovery Coaches, Service Coordinators, Clinicians and more to provide support, structure, and recovery services to those going through rough waters. Additionally, our Foundational Tools such as WRAP, Zumba, CRM, and DBT light the way in the midst of mental health challenges.
Like a lighthouse, we all have the opportunity to shine our light and offer hope to someone else who is struggling. We all experience storms in life. We’ve all had moments where the darkness is overwhelming. It’s during those times that we must be on the lookout for lighthouses shining in the night. We can take heart because we can all be encouragers. We can all be uplifters. We can all be beacons of hope.
Contributed by: Alysia Robinson, Communications Manager
There is something oddly satisfying about the click of a jigsaw puzzle piece tightly slipping into place. Witnessing the snug fit of its perfectly connected imagery is like a victory dance for our brain. Each puzzle piece is a tiny mystery, a clue in a cardboard treasure hunt. As we shuffle through the pile of mismatched tabs and blanks observing their peculiar shapes, what starts out as a colorful adventure, requiring focus, patience, and persistence, slowly transforms into a masterpiece—a portrait of dogs playing Texas Hold ’em in a dim smokey room or maybe the skyline of Oakland hugging a sapphire blue heaven, freckled with glistening stars like a Van Gogh painting. Piece by piece the image comes together, and a sense of accomplishment begins to surge within us. Whether it’s the practical approach to sort each puzzle piece by color or the quiet triumph of completing the puzzle’s border first, science suggests that jigsaw puzzles are mindfulness in motion.
Puzzling is a great way to ground ourselves, our thoughts and our feelings. “It engages both the left (analytical) and right (creative) side of our brains,” fully immersing us into a parasympathetic state that reduces stress and increases relaxation.1 When we solve puzzles, intrusive thoughts and rumination come to a halt. So, for your next mindfulness activity, consider solving a jigsaw puzzle for at least 30 minutes a day, it can ease mental health symptoms kindled by ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and more.2
August 3: National Friendship Day
August 7: National Lighthouse Day
August 9: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
August 15: National Relaxation Day
August 26: Women’s Equality Day
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