I love Halloween and Spooky Season probably more so than anyone I know. Just ask my husband, who is already trying to get me to watch White Christmas when I want to watch Beetlejuice.
 
I myself have general anxiety disorder, and I know several others who have various mental issues such as depression and PTSD to name a few. While I love Spooky Season, and I know a lot of them do too, it might be a difficult time for others with the same illnesses.
 
In today’s post, I want to talk about the four ways Spooky Season can harm people with mental illnesses.

​It might be annoying or difficult for someone with a mental illness or someone who is a family member of a person with a severe mental illness, to see costumes involving straight jackets or other things associated with “crazy people.” These are also mental health stigmas that the community is trying to overcome. It is harder to normalize and talk about mental health issues when they are portrayed this way.

​I wouldn’t call what my friends did “pressure,” because they always let it go and never made me feel bad about it. However, I know some friends will make their friend with anxiety or another mental illness feel terrible for not going with them.

​This section is really for those who may be affected by these triggers. If you are one of these people, be sure to stay away from Halloween parties and events, as costumes might be at play here. This will also help you avoid negative stigma.
 
Be as firm as possible with your friends, and try to be honest with them. If you believe going to a haunted house or on a haunted trail will trigger an attack, do not be afraid to tell them that. 

Candy is one of the best parts of Halloween, but it can also be one of the most unhealthiest parts of Halloween.

No matter if you're a child or an adult hoping to sneak some of your kids candy after they nod off, candy can be dangerous if you eat too much at once. It can cause you to crash, add a ton of excess calories to your diet, and so on and so forth.

I'm not making this post to say that candy is this terrible thing and you are dumb if you have a few pieces this Halloween. Instead, I had my own interest piqued and wanted to learn how many calories some of our favorite Halloween candy held.

So, if you want to know how many calories are in Halloween candy, keep reading!

A crispy cookie surrounded by caramel and chocolate sounds pretty good right? 

These little crunchy candies allow for a serving size of three which will cost you 150 calories, making them 50 calories each. The candies also contain 7 grams of fat, 60 mg of sodium, a gram of protein, and 20 grams of carbohydrates (15 g from sugar).

Suggested way to burn those calories: To burn off these candies, walk up and down a flight of stairs six to eight times!

Lollipops are all made differently. For this blog post, I wanted to get a lollipop that had bubblegum in them, because I remember getting those often when I was a kid.

This brand has a serving size of one for 60 calories. The only other listed nutrition is 16 grams of carbohydrates (12 grams from added sugar).

Suggested way to burn those calories: Seven minutes of kickboxing!

Tootsie rolls are a type of chocolate caramel if I'm not mistaken! They are peanut- and gluten-free for those who have allergies. 

You can have five Tootsie Rolls for 120 calories, making one 24 calories. Other nutrition includes 2.5 grams of fat, 10 mg of sodium, 23 grams of carbohydrates (17 grams of sugar), 12 mg of calcium, and 33 mg of potassium.

​Suggested way to burn those calories: Play a round of basketball for about 15 to 20 minutes to burn off the calories you ate when you had five Tootsie Rolls!

Candy is delicious, but it certainly adds up. If you have JUST ONE PIECE of each of these candies, you will have eaten 413.8 calories! Keep that in mind when you reach your hand into the trick-or-treat candy bowl next week!

Yet another Wellness Wednesday is upon us, so I wanted to make sure I added some physical wellness things into the mix for today's blog post. So, I would like to share a few ideas to help you "spook" up your workout this Halloween season, no matter if you lead a fitness class or work out at home.

So, grab a towel, head to your workout space, and try these workout tips. Maybe, actually, you should read them before heading to the gym. There are a few things you might need.

You've come upon a muddy pond and you have to walk through it. Lunge your way through the water (20 lunges)!
You see the police station! Run another 1/4 mile to safety!

Compile a list of Halloween candies and look up the calories it will cost you. Do different exercises to help you burn off the calories for each one. If you want to, you can always indulge in a few pieces of candy post workout, or you can burn those calories and let that be that!

- Let everyone in the group dress up for your next workout session or class. 
- Watch a Halloween movie and do a set number of a certain workout every time a specified action is performed or
   a specific word is mentioned.
​- Let everyone come up with a workout that is Halloween inspired and perform them as a group.

Use these various workout ideas to help make your Halloween workout spooktacular! Do you have a workout idea? Let me know in the comments below.