Susan Rachele: The Link Between PTSD, ADHD, and OCD

Susan Rachele was originally diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD); two types of disorders that affect one's behavior. Oftentimes, the two are interchanged because on the outset, they display quite a few similar symptoms some of which include the following:

• Restlessness
• Problem sleeping
• Poor memory
• Lack of attention or short attention span
• Poor concentration
• Low self-esteem
• Anxiety
• Impatience
• Impulsiveness

While both display similar behaviors, the reasons for each disorder are different. For PTSD, it is usually exposure to a traumatic event. On the other hand, for ADHD, the reasons are still unclear but could be related to chemical imbalances in the brain, cognitive functions, or even anatomical.

For Susan Rachele, her PTSD developed as a result of her being exposed to traumatic events during childhood, having grown up in a household with a parent suffering from severe Bipolar Disorder. Studies reveal that children who were exposed to traumatic events were at a higher risk of developing ADHD.

Through medical testing, Susan was able to confirm she has PTSD and ADHD, though there was always a nagging feeling inside her that she is also suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). After a series of sessions with her cognitive behavioral therapist, it was later concluded that she does indeed have OCD on top of PTSD and ADHD.

Compulsive behavior can develop in individuals who have PTSD perhaps as an expression of having control over the traumatic events. For a number of years, OCD was treated as a singular form of mental disorder. Lately however, links have been found that connect OCD to a past traumatic event. Usually, these links are discovered as a result of the ongoing treatment of OCD in a patient.

Susan Rachele has taken a proactive role in overcoming her mental and behavioral disorders by seeking the help of a professional cognitive behavioral therapist. If you or a loved one suspect that there may be a deeper, undiscovered reason for your compulsions or behavior, please seek help.

The Giving Kitchen: Taking Care of Atlanta's Restaurant Workers

The Giving Kitchen: Serving Atlanta's Restaurant Community in Times of Need

Anyone who has ever worked in the restaurant service industry knows how difficult it is to budget for monthly expenses as they generally live from paycheck to paycheck. Most of time, allocating a certain amount for savings is not deemed as a necessary "expenditure." The Giving Kitchen (TGK) knows the challenges that restaurant workers face on a daily basis in terms of making their paycheck stretch until the next payday. The situation is often aggravated when a medical emergency or financial crisis strikes, which happens unexpectedly almost all of the time.

This unexpected burden is what TGK hopes to ease in some way.

Their goal is simple: To help workers in the restaurant industry in times of crisis. In their own small way, they wish to give back to the countless servers who tirelessly work to bring to your table food that you ordered. From those working in the kitchen to the happy, smiling food servers who deliver exceptional service, they wish to lend them a hand when emergency strikes.

But they know that they needed a steady source of funds, which is why they established a for-profit subsidiary; one of Atlanta's new favorite casual dining restaurant, Staplehouse. "Staplehouse's net profits will be channeled back to its nonprofit parent, as an ongoing stream of support." In a word, Staplehouse allows TGK to continue their advocacy.

However, even with the support of Staplehouse, they still need your help. And help can come in many different forms, not just financially. To give you an idea, below are a few programs that are currently in place to provide you with an avenue for showing your support to TGK.

Support for The Giving Kitchen

First off, TGK greatly appreciates your desire to help. One of the options you can consider is to volunteer your time and services. Whether it's volunteering to talk to restaurant workers about TGK's grant information or assisting in administrative work, The Giving Kitchen welcomes your expertise!

Restaurant owners and employees can help as well. Employees can participate in the "Employee Giving Campaign" where employees pool their money to make a donation to TGK. Restaurant owners, on the other hand, may want to participate in the "Host a Percentage Sales Day" program or donate an item for auctioning.

As you can see, there are many ways that you can lend your support to TGK. And for sure, they will gladly welcome any form of assistance that you can provide. You are encouraged to visit The Giving Kitchen website to learn more about how you can help.

A Shining Star in Atlanta

There is a special shining star in Atlanta, Georgia that goes by the name of The Giving Kitchen. This charitable organization was formed specifically to provide aid and assistance to local restaurant workers in need due to medical situations that have spiraled out of control.

Formed by Ryan and Jen Hidinger and launched in 2014, The Giving Kitchen has made incredible strides in such a short period of time. They have been able to raise and grant to over 365 individuals more than $650,000 in direct financial aid, and this is merely the beginning of the work that they have planned for the future. In addition to this direct gifting program, The Giving Kitchen remains front and center on any issues that can and do impact restaurant workers, including chefs, line cooks, waitpersons, and even dishwashers and other seemingly minor positions in any restaurant or bar.

For instance, a recent setback by a local chain of restaurants forced their immediate closure, while leaving more than 1,000 restaurant workers out of jobs. News of this tragic event reached The Giving Kitchen, and into action they went! They contacted other restaurants and personnel and sought their assistance in helping this group of unfortunate and now unemployed workers. With their connections and influence, this ad hoc group were able to network with other professionals and colleagues in order to dig up new work positions while simultaneously offering immediate assistance by having some local restaurants donating meals and foods for the families affected by this blow.

It is not that often that someone stumbles across such a shining star as can be found at The Giving Kitchen. Readers are encouraged to discover more of the background and history of The Giving Kitchen at their website. Of particular and poignant interest is the reason why Ryan and Jen Hidinger decided to devote their energies to this important and vital program. Of equal value is to read about their upcoming programs and projects designed to help save and improve the lives of their fellow workers in Atlanta.

Dedicated to Make a Difference

It is not every day that you run across a charitable organization that works at a ground level and gets a lot accomplished, particularly in their first couple of years. However, that is precisely what The Giving Kitchen was able to do in less than two years of focused and dedicated effort.

Established and launched in 2014 and operating out of Atlanta, Georgia, The Giving Kitchen has one very clear and important purpose, which is to offer direct financial assistance to workers in the Atlanta restaurant industry when one of them ends up facing a medical crisis. Oftentimes, the illness or accident is unrelated to their work, but from the perspective of The Giving Kitchen, a person who is in financial need due to a crisis does not need to have someone determine whether that particular crisis or cause of need is properly qualified and approved by some rigid set of guidelines.

To date, The Giving Kitchen has granted over $650,000 to more than 350 deserving recipients, and they are just beginning to gain momentum. Much credit is also given to the more than 400 local restaurants who have strongly supported their cause and have gotten involved in food-related events and festivals that also serve as fundraising opportunities for The Giving Kitchen. Many local patrons also eagerly follow them and participate in their offerings as often as possible.

Finally, Staplehouse is a fine dining establishment in Atlanta that is 100% owned by The Giving Kitchen, so all of the profits from this restaurant are also dedicated to make a difference to the more than 235,000 workers in the Atlanta restaurant community. You are encouraged to visit The Giving Kitchen website in order to learn more about both the beginnings as well as the future of this unusual and inspiring charitable organization that understands the true essence of giving.

Meet Team Hidi 4.0

When it comes to sports, most people can readily identify their favorite teams. When it comes to charitable organizations, the most popular team in Atlanta, Georgia remains to be Team Hidi 4.0. With more than 50 local restaurants on the team roster, this dynamic group has become the heart and soul of the important work performed by The Giving Kitchen.

Ranging from upscale and trendy eateries, to small local pubs and restaurants, all of these businesses have joined together to help The Giving Kitchen raise much needed and appreciated funds that are ultimately donated to individual workers in the Atlanta restaurant circle. Helping those that face medical crises or conditions, The Giving Kitchen has already gifted over $600,000 to help more than 350 people work on their treatment and recovery programs in order to get back on their feet.

Team Hidi 4.0 is named after the founders of The Giving Kitchen, Ryan and Jen Hidinger. Both Ryan and Jen had dedicated their lives to bringing joy and good food to their restaurant patrons. When Ryan was discovered to be dealing with a late stage of cancer, their focus had to turn towards their own personal needs. That is when their friends and colleagues in the restaurant field got together and raised much needed funds to help Ryan and Jen cover excessive medical costs. They were both so touched by this spontaneous outreach by their friends and local community, that they agreed that the best repayment was to offer the same help to others. This is how The Giving Kitchen was started.

Their efforts now extend beyond helping persons on a one-on-one basis. Recently, The Giving Kitchen was instrumental in bringing together restaurant professions, such as Susan Rachele, who had many other connections in the industry, in order to help more than 1,000 restaurant workers who found themselves out of jobs after their chain of a dozen restaurants closed without prior notice. By networking together, this group was able to help these workers get new jobs.

Be sure to visit The Giving Kitchen at their website at http://thegivingkitchen.org/ where you can learn more about the valuable work that they do in Atlanta, Georgia.

Community Outreach Through Giving

There is nothing quite as inspiring or motivating as discovering a successful and thriving organization that was created in order to serve local interests. In Atlanta, Georgia, something emerged from the local restaurant community that perfectly captures the spirit and purpose of helping one another out in times of need or crisis. Although fairly new on the scene, The Giving Kitchen has made its mark by raising funds through the support many of the local restaurants and a variety of efforts, such as fundraisers, feasts, and beer festivals.
The Giving Kitchen focuses on giving direct assistance to people who work in the restaurant industry in the greater Atlanta area and have encountered medical problems, either through illness or accident. These people find themselves facing medical bills and unable to work while they are dealing with treatments or recovery, and to have a group like this appear and offer its help through direct contributions must often feel like an unbelievable miracle to the recipient of their generosity.
This organization continues to raise awareness and much needed funds for its nonstop efforts to help their colleagues and friends, all of whom are very much like a huge extended family. It is particularly inspiring to see that their direct involvement made a difference and helped another person to get back into participating in and contributing to society.
Equally inspiring is the enthusiastic participation of so many other local restaurants who understand what it means to serve their own community with love and support. In many different fashions, other restaurants have promoted and sponsored the good work of The Giving Kitchen, either through fundraisers, food and drink celebrations and festivals, or direct donations from sales.
The bottom line that measures the success of this organization is the amount of money that has been placed in the hands of people in need, and that sum is indeed worth noting. To date, more than $500,000 has directly helped over 325 people who have faced medical crises or are seeking treatments and recovery.
Those numbers clearly show The Giving Kitchen to be a success that everyone hopes will be around for many more years to come.

The Power of Benevolence

In these times of both bad and scary news, we all seek out “feel good” stories to give us hope for the human race. There is nothing that makes us cheer more readily or happily than when we come across a story showing the power of benevolence and how local groups can still make a difference for their friends and neighbors. So get ready to cheer happily…

The Giving Kitchen was founded a few years ago in Atlanta, Georgia with the express purpose of offering aid and support to workers in the local restaurant community. Specifically, their focus is to directly aid anyone afflicted with a medical problem, from accidents to life threatening illnesses. To date, they have helped hundreds of people with grants in excess of $500,000, often becoming the difference between these workers losing everything they have worked for due to medical problems. 

The Giving Kitchen helps by paying rent, covering additional medical expenses, and even travel costs for family members to come and assist in their recovery. It is funded in part through the local restaurant industry, who have held numerous also proud to be part of this positive and important effort. In addition, Staplehouse, a local and popular Atlanta eatery, donates 100% of its profits into The Giving Kitchen. 

This mission initially grew from the hearts of Ryan and Jen Hidinger, a local couple that had been part of the Atlanta restaurant community for years. In late 2012, Ryan was discovered to be in a late stage of cancer. Facing treatments, health costs, and emotional trials, the community came together and raised funds to help them in Ryan’s final months of life. In return, Ryan and Jen gave birth to The Giving Kitchen which has shown tremendous growth and enthusiasm since its inception. 

This is perhaps one of the best tales of how the generous and unselfish act of benevolence can empower friends, colleagues, and even strangers to step up and offer a helping hand to another human being in need.