Category Archives: Education

A New Era is Unfolding . . .

Student PictureDear Maria Sanchez Show fans.

I apologize for my absence from this website in the past several months. We’ve kept our blog very much alive and well and you can click on it to the right of the post to see what you may have missed there at TheMariaSanchezShow.com

However, I have begun a new journey that is a dream revisited and I wanted to share with you my next venture in life.

24 years ago I started my Masters degree in between child 3 and 4. A subsequent move back to the Los Angeles area from Portland, OR, a divorce and a career in radio postponed my dream. I applied for and I was accepted to Pepperdine University in their Graduate School of Education & Psychology to study for my Masters degree in Clinical Psychology.

My first semesters began in April of this year and continued until the end of July. My 3rd semester begins next week. I’m taking 5 classes. I just accepted the position of Public Relations Graduate Assistant for the Marketing Department of the Graduate School of Education & Psychology and those duties begin next week as well.

I cannot tell you how exciting it is to be a student once again. How much I adore being back in the classroom, surrounded by intelligent and curious minds, being taught by amazing faculty and learning about the field of psychology and all that it has to offer.

My intention is to graduate and to sit for the Marriage, Family, Therapy license (MFT) and perhaps thereafter the more recent discipline of the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC).

Unlike a lot of fields in today’s economy, psychology doesn’t discriminate regarding age. In fact, wisdom appears to be celebrated and thus the life that I have lived thus far, the experiences that I have had, the successes and the failures that I have been involved in and finally, the education and training that I am receiving all appear to be poised to help me to be of service to those in need.

As one of my professors so poignantly stated, psychology and therapy can help alleviate suffering, and that’s what I would like to do until I draw my last breath on this planet.

I see no need to retire. I’ve lived a wonderful life thus far, traveled to amazing places on this earth, volunteered my time, treasure and talent to some fantastic organizations and now I’d like to focus on the individual who is looking to seek some relief or a solution or fix a challenge. I will do my very best to keep my posts active as I continue along this journey as a student.

Thank you for taking the time to read what I have written.

Warmly,

Maria

Heart Health for Women & Men

Heart Month 2015Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States. It is also largely preventable. To bring awareness, the American Heart Association has declared February American Heart Month.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD)—including heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure—is the number 1 killer of women and men in the United States. It is a leading cause of disability, preventing Americans from working and enjoying family activities. CVD costs the United States over $300 billion each year, including the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity.

CVD does not affect all groups of people in the same way. Although the number of preventable deaths has declined in people aged 65 to 74 years, it has remained unchanged in people under age 65. Men are more than twice as likely as women to die from preventable CVD.

Having a close relative who has heart disease puts you at higher risk for CVD. Health disparities based on geography also exist. During 2007–2009, death rates due to heart disease were the highest in the South and lowest in the West.

Race and ethnicity also affect your risk. Nearly 44% of African American men and 48% of African American women have some form of CVD. And African Americans are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to have high blood pressure and to develop the condition earlier in life. About 2 in 5 African American adults have high blood pressure, yet fewer than half of them have the condition under control.

Many CVD deaths could have been prevented through healthier habits, healthier living spaces, and better management of conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes.

You can control a number of risk factors for CVD, including:

Diet
Physical activity
Tobacco use
Obesity
High blood pressure
High blood cholesterol
Diabetes

As you begin your journey to better heart health that can last a lifetime, keep these things in mind:

Try not to become overwhelmed. Every step brings you closer to a healthier heart, and every healthy choice makes a difference!
Partner up. The journey is more fun—and often more successful—when you have company. Ask friends and family to join you.
Don’t get discouraged. You may not be able to take all of the steps at one time. Get a good night’s sleep—also important for a healthy heart—and do what you can tomorrow.

Reward yourself. Find fun things to do to decrease your stress. Round up some colleagues for a lunchtime walk, join a singing group, or have a healthy dinner with your family or friends.

A healthy lifestyle can make all the difference for our hearts, so opt for healthy recipes like this one. To make it, you will need:

1/4 cup of orange juice
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
4 – 5 oz. salmon fillets with skin, rinsed and patted dry
1 1/2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of curry powder
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons of orange zest

Mix the orange and lemon juice in a large, shallow dish. Add the salmon, coat with the juice, and let marinate in the refrigerator for thirty minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Mix the brown sugar, curry powder, paprika, salt, cinnamon, and orange zest.

Drain the fish and arrange the fillets skin side down on a baking sheet. Rub with the brown sugar mixture. Bake for about 14 minutes, or until the fish is done.

Enjoy this recipe! To catch up on the latest from The Maria Sanchez Show, download the latest podcast today.

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

cervical cancer

During the month of January, awareness and education of the disease is promoted in hopes of increasing early detection.

Cervical cancer is caused by a virus called HPV. HPV is short for human papilloma virus. This virus can cause changes in the cervix. HPV is not the same as HIV. HPV is not a new virus, but we are learning more about it. Most men and women who have ever had sex have had HPV at some time in their lives. HPV is spread through sex, and it can cause an infection in the cervix. The infection usually doesn’t last very long because your bodies are able to fight it.

HPV infection can change cervix cells into pre-cancer cells. Pre-cancer cells are not cancer, and they don’t cause changes that we would notice. Most cells with early pre-cancer changes go back to normal on their own. If they don’t, they can be treated. Sometimes, if they aren’t found and treated, the pre-cancer cells can turn into cancer. Cervical cancer can also be treated if it’s found. Very few HPV infections lead to cervical cancer. Because HPV is so common, any woman who has ever had sex can get cervical cancer. But, most women who get HPV do not get cervical cancer.

Women who get their tests for cervical cancer as often as they should are least likely to get cervical cancer. Some women have a greater chance of getting cervical cancer if they: have HPV and it doesn’t go away, have HIV or AIDS, smoke.

Most people will never know they have or had HPV. But if the HPV doesn’t go away on its own, it can cause changes in the cervix cells. These changes usually show up on Pap tests.

How is HPV treated?

There’s no treatment for the type of HPV that causes changes in cervix cells, but most HPV infections go away without treatment. There are no medicines to treat HPV. There are treatments for the cell changes in the cervix that HPV can cause. If your Pap test shows cervix cell changes, your doctor or nurse will talk with you about treatments, if needed.

If you are interested in spreading the word in your community and promoting the cause, try these ideas:

You can contact your local media and ask them to cover Cervical Cancer Awareness month.
Social media has such a heavy influence nowadays and many of us forget how simple spreading a message can be. Simply change your Facebook and Twitter status’ and pictures to Cervical Health Awareness and use the hashtag: #CervicalHealthMonth
Log on to http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/HPV

Most importantly, explain to everyone you know the importance of recognizing this special month. When more people are in the know, early detection is possible.

Join me in recognizing January as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month!

Voter Information Tool

Please use this tool to assist you if you don’t know where your polling place is and please feel free to share this other folks that may be in need of the information as well. Tomorrow is our General Election in the United States and it is imperative that if you are registered to vote, that you actually do vote!

Please read yesterday’s post about my feelings on this matter, I won’t be redundant here by repeating what I wrote yesterday. Suffice it to say, it is our responsibility as good citizens to elect those leaders who we believe will serve our best interest as well as the less fortunate and those that may be unable to speak for themselves.

I must say I am a big believer in teaching people how to fish instead of handing them fish but I also know that there are times when through no fault of our own, we find ourselves in need of assistance and that’s when those programs become essential and why they exist.
The hours that the polls are open do vary by state and time zone.

Time zone note: Arizona and Hawaii do not observe Daylight Savings Time (DST). Thirteen states have multiple time zones. Idaho and Oregon are split between the Mountain and Pacific time zones. Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas are divided between Central and Mountain time zones. Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee are split between Eastern and Central time zones. Alaska is divided between the Alaska time zone and the Hawaii-Aleutian time zone. Whew!

So please use our guide below or log on to your local county/clerk/recorder website for your community to fully understand where you will be going and at what time you are able to cast your ballot.

 

General Election, USA, Tuesday, November 4, 2014.

General Election While we’ve kept up our blog posts on a regular (usually 3 times a week a www.TheMariaSanchezShow.com) basis, we’ve taken some time away from the website and the podcasts to focus on some other professional opportunities, political campaigns and family matters.  It is terribly important that if you are a registered voter that you vote on Tuesday, November 4th. I’ve been fairly political most of my life. I was always the President of my class or a Student Body Officer while in high school and pretty much the same scenario in college when I attended and graduated from the University of California, Davis.

As an adult, I registered at the age of 18 and feel that our votes count. One of my favorite personal mottos is, “one voice, one vote, one pay check.” What say, what we do, how we spend our money and how we vote matters! I think far too often people feel that it is one vote, what could it possibly matter?

Well it does. Whether we agree politically or not really isn’t the point. That we participate in the process of our democracy and go to the polls is really more important.
Our representatives in our state capitals and in the corridors of Washington, D.C. need to be there because the majority of the people voted and thus our leaders represent the majority of the electorate. That seems pretty straightforward to me.

Unfortunately, what we’ve seen in the past is that the minority of people show up, mostly the extremists of both parties and thus they elect the exception or the more polarizing candidate.

So please, whatever you do, V-O-T-E on Tuesday!

If you have an absentee ballot and you haven’t mailed it yet, BRING IT IN PERSON to your polling place. The postmark does NOT count! It has to be received on or before November 4th so don’t trust it to the USPS at this point. Hold on to it and take it to your polling place.