Transcription
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Take 22, soft rock 97.3 WZBG. This is kind of an odd month because the third Wednesday of the month we talked with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. But the third Wednesday was the 15th, so we thought that was kind of a little bit early in the month So we pushed off the interview till today the 22nd and I want to welcome to the broadcast Melissa Clark Melissa is a specialist with McCall BHN. Welcome to the show.
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Thank you. Thank you for joining us appreciation coming in Um, so you’re an employment specialist and also you lead the wellness and fitness groups at McCall, correct? Correct. I got that part right? This is kind of apropos because it’s brand new year, right? We got 2025. It’s a bit of a mental reset, but that can be a little bit tough, you know a lot of uncertainty and that all gets into our head doesn’t it.
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It does it does, and with the coming of the year we have so many changes happening. Not only it’s a new year where people usually create New Year’s resolutions, which also adds a lot of pressure, but there’s a lot of changes going on with the world around us. Domestically, there’s a lot of shifts happening around the world, across seas, there’s a lot of things that are changing. And naturally, some people may adjust well to the change, but there are some who may struggle with some of those changes.
0:01:29
Or they realize they feel a little uneasy or unsettled, or maybe some anxiety might spike at times, and with the uncertainty of what the future may hold. I know for myself, I usually will feel some form of uneasy, unsettling feeling when there’s a change or there’s a lot of tasks where I feel overwhelmed. What normally works for me is really just realizing how I’m feeling for one, and also focusing on the things that I have control over, right? Life always happens.
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We can’t stop life from going. There will always be situations going on around us. But it helps ground me by focusing, okay, I can control myself. Why am I feeling this way? Let me focus on the duties that I can control. My reaction to situations is what I have 100% control over.
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And that’s also the message I try to share with some of the individuals I serve, whether it’s with employment and their goals for success with the career goals or with their fitness goals or just their overall well-being. I try to, you know, shed light or change their perspective. Like, these are, what are some things you can do to improve yourself?
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It doesn’t control a lot of it, and that’s what really hits us with that uncertainty, kind of stops you in your tracks, because it’s a new emerging situation. You don’t have experience, maybe, in this situation. It’s new to you, so you’re like, I don’t control this. How am I going to handle it? And it can stop you right in your tracks.
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I would imagine fitness, wellness, those groups, that’s got to improve that, doesn’t it? Because even if you maybe don’t have control yet, you feel like you’re doing something, you know? And it gives you some, you know, physical activity is a good release. It’s a good way to get rid of all of that anxiety that builds up in us.
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It is, it is. And I do like to also highlight the fact that I want to have people acknowledge the small successes that they make throughout their journey, whether it’s employment goals, again, or also fitness or wellness.
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And just get used to celebrating the progress and the journey itself becomes very rewarding. And again, progress is not pretty. And I say that. Yeah, it’s not, because most people mostly look at the end result, like, oh, this person had a, it was easy for them.
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Because look at where they are now, but you don’t realize the journey that they had to go through to get to that end result. And you know, it also helps to break down those goals, you know, and even break it down to more tangible, step-by-step, actionable items so it can be more feasible, it can feel more manageable.
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Give yourself some step goals. You know, don’t look at, you know, the highest lofty peak first. Look at those steps along the way so that progress is rewarding.
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Correct. And that’s what we do at McCall. And everyone that I work with, I think it helps them to see their progress with those step-by-step goals. Because there will be some setbacks. Setbacks are normal.
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I think we all, whatever we’re working towards, everyone experiences some form of hardship or setbacks or maybe things don’t pan out the way that they planned it originally to be, and that’s okay. Everyone is going through the same similar emotions when it comes to challenges. What’s really important is how you tackle those challenges and asking for help. Sometimes oftentimes people don’t feel comfortable asking for help or don’t know what to ask for or how to ask for help.
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And I think what McCall offers that community of belonging, you know, there’s times where if you don’t know what you need help in, you can just say something. Like, just speak up. Like, hey, I’m struggling this. I don’t know how to help myself. I don’t even know what to ask for, but this is what I’m struggling with.
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This is what I need help in. And I think we do a good job at sharing resources and connecting individuals, regardless of where you are in your journey.
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There’s a great quote that I read, and it kind of goes along with this, that speaks a lot to empathy and compassion. It’s that try to remember that everyone is going through a hard struggle. And, you know, everybody’s got stuff. Everybody’s got challenges. And that whole thing about walking mile in somebody’s shoes,
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And you’ll be like, okay now I understand where they’re coming from because I’m in the same place so there is that I think we’re all kind of at that place with this reset here in 2025 Melissa Clark is our guest this morning she’s an employment specialist and does the wellness fitness groups for McCall BHN joining us this morning talking about that new start about resolutions about reaching out for help.
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We’ve got about a minute left on the program, just to kind of sum up for people who find themselves in that sit and go situation, first thing here in 2025, about reaching out and setting those small goals.
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Exactly.
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So folks can reach out to McCall. You guys are easy to get a hold of, mccallbhn.org. Is there a general phone number or a way in which people can kind of get into the person at McCall who can give them the answer they might be seeking in this brand new year? Yes, you can go on our website or you can just call our main office. It’s 860-496-2100.
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And just speak, our staff is always there willing to help you, anyone. Full disclosure, I want to say that Melissa became our guest kind of at the last minute. You’ve done a stand-up job.
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We so appreciate you coming in this morning. Thank you, and hopefully we’ll have you back again Yeah, but again reach out to McCall BHN a lot of us facing a lot of the same things in this brand new year Yeah, but again reach out to McCall BHN a lot of us facing a lot of the same things in this brand new year We’ll get back to the newsroom with Jeff coming up just half a minute.