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W I N T E R 2 0 1 3
H E A L T H Y
C O M M U N I T Y
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
take hard work. DCH Em-
ployee Assistance Program Director Donna Avant said
that focusing on friendship and learning to manage dif-
ferences keeps relationships strong
and satisfying.
STAYING FRIENDS
“Maintaining
a strong friendship is a form of
intimacy,” Avant said. “It repre-
sents sharing—a willingness to be open and vulnerable.
Friends will show they care by being available, by being
thoughtful and by listening. ese actions provide com-
fort and con dence in a relationship.”
Strong friendships are important in our lives, and
they are especially important in marriages and intimate
relationships. However, keeping a friendship going in a
marriage—orwith another familymember—can sometimes
be more di cult and take more time and attention than
with other friends. Here are some approaches that can help.
SHARE EVERYDAY HAPPENINGS
When you talk to a
friend in person, on the phone or through an email mes-
sage, you may share what’s going on in your lives and
listen to each other. e same thing needs to happen with
close family and couples.
Couples who have lived together for many years may
think they know everything there is to know about each
other. But people are constantly growing and changing, and
their reactions to what is happening around them change,
too. Unless that is continually shared, a partner may have
no idea a change in the other person has occurred.
Having a deep friendship helps people turn toward rather
than away from a special person during both good and bad
times. at is important for long and enduring relationships.
NEVER STOP DATING EACH OTHER
“Some couples actu-
ally sit down together and schedule date nights on their
calendar,” Avant said. “ is sends a strong message—we
matter, our relationship matters—and it gives the couple
something to look forward to, especially if they take turns
planning the date.
“It doesn’t have to break the bank, and with the help
of the Internet, a little research can help couples be cre-
ative,” she added.
LISTEN ATTENTIVELY
“One of our greatest human needs
is to be heard and understood,” Avant said. “Marriages
can be created, maintained and/or destroyed through
our ability or inability to really listen to what the other
person is trying to communicate. In marital counseling
we remind individuals to listen with the heart as well
as the ears.”
Listening is o en more di cult than talking. To show
that you’re listening, try maintaining eye contact, lean-
ing forward, giving simple and positive responses, and
never interrupting—even when you disagree or have
something to share.
It takes patience and determination to hold your opin-
ion until you reverse roles and have the opportunity to
be heard.
SHOW FONDNESS AND ADMIRATION
It is sometimes
much easier to criticize and find fault rather than
Y
ou’d love to do more to protect
your family from heart disease.
But where do you start?
How about the kitchen?
After all, eating right is one of the
best ways to help your heart stay
healthy.
Consider these tips for choosing
and preparing foods:
Keep a fruit basket or bowl with
apples, oranges, bananas and other
tasty fruits.
Stock the fridge with low-fat or
nonfat milk and other dairy products.
Load the veggie drawer with
crunchy carrots, broccoli and red pep-
pers along with spinach, lettuce and
other healthful items from the produce
aisle.
Fill the bread box with whole-grain
breads and rolls. Use whole-grain
pasta when cooking.
Go fish. Omega-3 fatty acids found
in oily fish, such as salmon and tuna,
help protect against heart disease.
The American Heart Association
(AHA) recommends eating at least
two servings weekly.
Lean toward beans. They can be
used in many recipes instead of meat
and are a more healthful source of
protein. When using beef, choose lean
cuts. Round steak, sirloin and flank
steak are good choices, according
to the AHA. Choose lean, white meat
when buying poultry.
Do an oil change. Replace butter
and oils containing saturated fat with
canola and olive oils. Use nonstick
vegetable oil spray for cooking.
A kitchen redo can benefit your heart
MATTERS OF THE HEART
ENHANCING CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS
recognize positive qualities about the special people in
your life, especially family members.
“Hanging on to old hurts or keeping score keeps a
couple frommoving forward in their relationship,” Avant
said. “When couples keep score, they usually see every-
thing they have done that’s positive and only a small
fraction of what their partner has done.”
But inmost cases, complainingwill not help the situation.
It takes e ort to stop the negative thoughts, to remember
good times and to remember how valuable that person was
to you in the past. Forcing yourself to have positive thoughts
about the other person when you’re apart can help set the
stage for more positive interactions when you’re together.
Source: Workplace Options
Donna Avant is a licensed certi ed social worker, a
certi ed employee assistance professional and a certi ed
tobacco cessation counselor. She is the
recipient of the
Hall Davidson Award as the Employee Assistance Profes-
sional of the Year from the Alabama chapter of Employee
Assistance Professionals Association.
An overview of
DCH Cardiac Services
D
CH Regional Medical Center is desig-
nated as a Blue Distinction Center for
Cardiac Care by Blue Cross and Blue
Shield of Alabama. A Blue Distinction Center
must have intensive and emergency care and
a full range of cardiac services. The Regional
Medical Center offers comprehensive cardiac
care services, including an emergency depart-
ment, inpatient cardiac care,
cardiac rehabilitation, cardiac
catheterization and cardiac
surgery—including open heart
surgery.
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