A Senior Cultivates A Passion for Mental Wellness with support through United By Wellness
By Beth Wade, Public Relations Specialist
MHANJ in Atlantic County
To recognize National Wellness Month, we are spotlighting a senior standout from Atlantic County who found his way to MHANJ online groups through a therapist. He asked not to be identified in this story in order to protect the privacy of his family. When a cardiologist said his symptoms of AFIB were aggravated by his anxiety and trauma, “Bud” took the first step toward recovery for his mental health – at age 70.
For Bud, the availability of virtual medical appointments proved to be a gift from the pandemic — he was not driving much anymore and living with agoraphobia. First, he tackled the challenge of learning enough about technology to attend online therapy through AtlantiCare and succeeded. When the therapist suggested he try virtual groups through United By Wellness, UBW, he did that, too, and found supplemental help through peers.
For about 3 years, he attended a variety of groups, among them meditation, anxiety, Humanist Recovery, and gratitude.
“The experience was beneficial, very positive,” he said. “I kept on growing during that time. My only regret is it didn’t happen at age 40.”
Looking back, he says that being in groups with people of all ages helped him improve his empathy and compassion. In his family, multiple generations are affected by mental health disorders. Being able to pose questions to facilitators in the chats helped him understand their experiences and support loved ones.
He also appreciated each facilitator for their ability to run a meeting, maintain composure, keep boundaries and focus. As a person who appreciates a good analogy, he used one to explain how he saw facilitators during group, “They control the vehicle while riding on bumpy ground.”
A side benefit of the group experience was that one facilitator, Bern Trendler, who ran the meditation group, encouraged him to go back to school and finish his degree in Liberal Arts. Bud has taken 5 classes like Philosophy, Food and Culture, and Hindu Ayurveda during the past two years. (He earned three As, one B+ and one B.) Bud has 11 more credits to take in order to graduate.
Recently Bud called MHA Atlantic to say he appreciated Bern’s encouragement and what UBW did for him. He also wanted to tell another facilitator, Emily McCall, that a book she’d recommended to him made a difference in the way he could relate to and support a family member.
Another reason he picked up the phone – he was seeking a resource for someone who reached out to him for help.
Bud is 74 now. He is still learning, still helping, still telling stories peppered with endearing analogies.
He acknowledged how hard it was to control PTSD, agoraphobia, anxiety and substance use disorder for a long time – too long. Reflecting on it, he picked an analogy (very fitting), and said that the experience was “like catching four baseballs with two hands.”
To this remarkable senior wellness “athlete” of sorts, we wave our caps in the air today. Happy National Wellness Month, sir.
