To the editor:
As someone living with a chronic anxiety disorder/complex posttraumatic stress disorder, I’m proud to be able to volunteer my time to facilitate Healthy Living for ME online workshops.
These are transformative programs that make a big difference in the quality of life and health outcomes of Mainers across the state.
This past March, I participated in HL4ME’s virtual leader training for Living Well for Better Health. Since then, I’ve led that workshop through the Aroostook Area Agency on Aging and it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s remarkable to see the real impact that this program makes on people’s lives. Participants learn from the workshop materials and leaders, but also benefit from hearing others’ stories and being part of a group that can relate to their experience.
With so many Mainers coping with persistent conditions, whether arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, or, like myself, anxiety, it’s important that they know help is available. And those are only some of the chronic conditions that HL4ME workshops can help with.
A total of 5,400 lives could be saved annually in Maine through better prevention and treatment of chronic conditions, according to the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease. Every lifestyle change or management strategy we can help Mainers implement is a step in the right direction. If you’d like to join me as a leader for HL4ME workshops, or if you’d like to find out more about participating in a workshop, email info@healthylivingforme.org or visit www.healthylivingforme.org.
By getting involved, you’ll be making a difference in your own life and in others’ lives.
Dianna Leighton
Fort Fairfield
