The Selma-Dallas County Public Library’s final “Medical Matters” presentation of 2019 took place Friday morning.

This month’s topic was emotional wellness, covered in great detail by Dr. Abhinit Jawanda, M.D.

“A lot of times, when we think about health, we only think about the physical manifestation of health,” said Jawanda. “If you’re looking at things like hypertension or diabetes, you have obvious symptoms. With mental health though, you can’t always tell what’s going on with someone.”

Jawanda stressed that health takes many forms and said that if one neglects their mental health, it can affect their physical well-being as well.

Jawanda offered a plenty of information to those in attendance Friday on taking care of their mental state, including the importance of diet, exercise and sharing negative feelings with others.

“It’s important to seek help if you feel like things are off,” said Jawanda. “Don’t be afraid, you aren’t the only one that feels this way. Three hundred million experience depression every year.”

The “Medical Matters” series began in September as a partnership between the library, Vaughan Regional Medical Center (VRMC) and UAB Family Medicine-Selma.

Over the past four months, loyal attendees of the “Medical Matters” series have learned about a range of topics including aging, women’s health, influenza and, on Friday, emotional wellness.

Selma-Dallas County Public Library Director Becky Nichols said the “Medical Matters” events have been a great success and she looks forward to next year’s series of presentations, which will include topics chosen by attendees of the first run of presentations.

“I think we’ve had a lot of response because people have been able to ask questions straight from the floor,” said Nichols. “It’s not just another lecture where you just sit and listen, there’s been a lot of great interaction.”

The next series of presentations, beginning in February, will cover heart-healthy habits, healthy eating with diabetes, men’s health and memory.