HChoices Managing Stress - Amazon Web Services

Optimal wellness through technology, education and social engagement 1

Optimal wellness through technology, education and social engagement

hChoices.com

Managing Stress


Goals

§  Facilitate a conversation to raise your awareness of the impact of stress in your life.

§  Look at barriers to Wellness

§  Provide you with practical techniques to move you toward wellness in your life.


Behavior Change: The Core of Wellness §  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC) estimates… 80% of heart disease and stroke 80% of type 2 diabetes 40% of cancer ….could be prevented if only Americans were to do three things:

ü  Stop smoking ü  Eat healthy Behavior change ü  Exercise

Many people are in an emotional state preventing change.


What Do You Think About Stress?

§  Are we a nation of stress?

§  Are you personally or professionally stressed?

§  True or false, does stress impact our lives physically and emotionally? –  Emotional or physical?


Stress: Findings

§  80% of all disease is stress related.

§  43% of all adults suffer adverse health affects from stress (emotional or physical).

§  75%-90% of visit to PCP’s are for problems related to stress.

§  10/90


Stress Can Be Fatal Linked to the 6 leading causes of death.

§  Heart Disease-stressful emotions are NOT heart smart!

–  Constriction of coronary arteries •  Increased and rapid heartbeats

§  Cancer §  Pulmonary §  Accidents §  Cirrhosis of the liver §  Suicide


The Stress Response

§  Your response to a real or imagined threat §  A physiological cascade that prepares the body to fight, flee, or

freeze –  This is a good thing – in small doses.

§  The stress response is in the eye of the beholder §  We all have different stress §  Stress hormones

–  Cortisol –  Adrenaline


The Body & Stress


Mood and Mind

§  Depression rates are 10 times higher than they were in the 1960s

§  14 is the average onset of depression, compared to 29.5 in 1960

§  Changing our state of mind

§  Keeping a gratitude journal of 5 things we are grateful for each night helps to improve mood and sleep function


Change What We Do, Not Who We Are

§  The conditioned emotional response that occurs from prolonged stress: –  Angry outbursts –  Emotional reactivity –  Feeling wiped out emotionally or physically

§  Memory is not about a vast pool from which you pull

knowledge, but rather a reconstruct each time it is used….

§  Reconstruction of response = lowers stress/high tolerance.

§  Reframing and reconditioning


Women & Stress

§  Women respond differently to stress due to the chemical reaction of Oxytocin (the tend and befriend chemical or “touch chemical”).

§  Men tend to flee under stress, women tend to gather or connect (or even cling).

§  The more some women engage in tending the more the stress response can have a negative impact.


The Impact of Stress on Workers §  40% of workers reported their job was very or

extremely stressful.

§  25% view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives.

§  26% of workers said they were “often or very often burned out or stressed by their work.”

§  35% of workers report their job is harming their physical or emotional health.

§  42% say job pressures are interfering with their personal relationships.

§  73% of workers would NOT want their boss’s job.

Source: National Institute of Safety and Occupational Health, 2000 Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003


Barriers to Happiness

§  Stress

§  Exhaustion

§  Fear

§  Dehydration/Poor Diet

§  Poor self regulation skills


How Can I Be Happier? The Ultimate Currency

§  Pleasure Principle –  Present Benefit - being in the moment and fully enjoying

where we are.

§  Meaning –  Future Benefit - creating meaning in our lives outside of

financial wealth and benefit.

§  Emotional Bankruptcy –  Invest in yourself


Mapping Your Life

§  Record daily activities

§  How Pleasurable on a scale of 1-5

§  How Meaningful on a scale of 1-5

§  Identify behavior patterns

§  Identify your unique needs and wants


Daily Activities

Activity Meaning Pleasure Time/Week

Spending time with family 5 4 2.2 hours

Meetings at work 4 2 11 hours

Watching TV 2 3 8.5 hours


Ritualizing Your Happiness

§  What rituals would make you happier?

§  What would you like to introduce into your life?

§  Introduce no more then one or two rituals at a time.

§  Rituals allow for spontaneity and move us away from “reactive mode.”


Ritualizing Your Happiness

§  Create Internet/TV/Cell Phone – Free Zones

§  Create Quiet Time

§  Learn to say “No”

§  It’s okay to say “Yes”


Reframing Stress

§  Working with stress in a positive manner can help us transform a moment of stress into a moment of being open to possibility.

§  Stress can shut us down or –  Help us refocus –  Breath deeply –  Allows clarification to what we do or do not have control

over –  Provide motivation


Awareness

Awareness is the first step in reversing the impact of stress on your life.

§  What are your stress triggers?

§  How do you cope with stress?

§  What do you do when you feel exhausted?


How do you know when your stressed?

My warning signs of stress

Physical Symptoms Behavioral Symptoms

Emotional Symptoms Cognitive Symptoms


Make a list of all the things that drain you of your energy.

§  What have you been putting off?

§  What do you find taxing in your everyday life? –  Think about your senses. –  Relationships? –  Keeping the house, dog, car clean?

Identifying Energy Drains


Satisfaction Inventory

§  Identify every aspect of work duties and office environment which is presently satisfying. –  Scheduling flexibility, wages, benefits, coworkers, proximity,

etc.

§  Being aware of the these will better able you to identify ways in which workplace changes will impact you.


Self-Talk: False Expectations Appearing Real

§  85% of Self Talk is ____________. §  _____% of what you worry about never happens. §  _____% of conversations are about complaints.

§  Self talk is your mental evaluation/judgment of your behavior and performance. In other words it is the conversation that goes on in your mind after or before you have done something.

Are you choosing your thoughts or are your thoughts choosing you?


Self-Talk Cycle

Copyright © 2006-2010 All Rights Reserved Leadership and Motivation Training

Copyright © 2006-2010 All Rights Reserved Leadership and Motivation Training


Cognitive Distortions: “Thought Detours” §  Filtering

–  We take the negative details and magnify them while filtering out all positive aspects of a situation. For instance, a person may pick out a single, unpleasant detail and dwell on it exclusively so that their vision of reality becomes darkened or distorted.

§  Jumping to Conclusions –  Mind-reading or Fortune-telling (ASSUME)

§  Catastrophizing –  We expect disaster to strike, no matter what. This is also referred to as “magnifying or

minimizing.” We hear about a problem and use what if questions (e.g., “What if tragedy strikes?” “What if it happens to me?”).

§  Personalization –  Thinking that everything people do or say is some kind of reaction to us. We also compare

ourselves to others trying to determine who is smarter, better looking, etc. A person sees themselves as the cause of some unhealthy external event that the were not responsible for. For example, “We were late to the dinner party and caused the hostess to overcook the meal. If I had only pushed my husband to leave on time, this wouldn’t have happened.”


Cognitive Distortions: “Thought Detours”

§  Blaming –  We hold other people responsible for our pain, or take the other track and blame ourselves for

every problem. For example, “Stop making me feel bad about myself!” Nobody can “make” us feel any particular way — only we have control over our own emotions and emotional reactions.

§  Fallacy of Change –  We expect that other people will change to suit us if we just pressure or cajole them enough.

We need to change people because our hopes for happiness seem to depend entirely on them.

§  Always Being Right –  We are continually on trial to prove that our opinions and actions are correct. Being wrong is

unthinkable and we will go to any length to demonstrate our rightness. For example, “I don’t care how badly arguing with me makes you feel, I’m going to win this argument no matter what because I’m right.” Being right often is more important than the feelings of others around a person who engages in this cognitive distortion, even loved ones.


How Do You Gain Control Over Your Thought Detours?

§  Identify YOUR OWN cognitive distortion(s)

§  Examine the evidence

§  Think in shades of gray and consider alternative perspectives – Try not to ASSUME

§  Survey method (only with trusted friends or relatives)

§  Defining/labeling ourselves

§  Re-attribute

§  Cost-benefit analysis


The Power of Positive Thought!

§  Positive thoughts –  Your body actually physically responds to positive thoughts by release self-

soothing chemicals

§  Uplifting stories –  Chicken Soup for the Soul

§  Watching uplifting media –  Comedy –  Example: Harvard Research Nazi vs. Mother Theresa


Techniques for Managing Stress: Mindfulness

§  Practicing mindfulness –  Living in the eternal present moment –  Intensely aware of your senses –  What are you most aware of in this moment? –  Observing your thoughts without judgment and gently

turning your thoughts back


Techniques for Managing Stress: The Relaxation Response

Herbert Benson, MD

§  A state of profound rest and release

§  Regularly evoking this response can erase the cumulative effects of stress –  Reduces high blood pressure –  Mitigates impact of flight or fight response


Techniques for Managing Stress: Exercise

§  Daily exercise helps to elevate and even mood and motivation §  Increases the production and flow of dopamine and serotonin §  Depressed patients in a study who exercised had declines in

depression = to those taking an antidepressant and 50% less likely to develop relapse.

Michel Babyak and James Blumenthal Psychosomatic Medicine, October 2000


Techniques for Managing Stress: Massage/Touch

§  Lowers levels of cortisol

§  Stimulates pleasure related brain chemicals

§  Lowers blood pressure

§  Decreases heart rate

§  Enhances immune functioning


Techniques for Managing Stress: Sleep & Quiet Time

§  Get up and go to bed at the same time daily

§  TV off/Lights off

§  Bedroom should be a sanctuary for sleep

§  Get up if you can’t sleep


Techniques for Managing Stress: Journaling

§  Elevates the immune system

§  Calms the autonomic system

§  Smoothens heartbeat, breathing, and respiration


Techniques for Managing Stress: Conscious Breathing

§  Breath is part of the limbic system and unconscious mind.

§  When the breath rate is slower and the brain is at rest, less toxins are released into the body. –  The how to’s:

•  Sit in a comfortable, quiet spot. •  Don’t try too hard. •  Use a focal point. •  Practice at least 1x daily before breakfast. •  Start with 5 minutes and make 10 minutes your goal in 4

weeks time.


Techniques for Managing Stress: Laughter and Humor

§  Muscle relaxation

§  Reduction of stress hormones

§  Pain reduction

§  Cardiac benefits

§  Decreases BP

§  Improves breathing

§  Elevates the immune system


Techniques for Managing Stress: Creating Ritual

§  Try something new!

§  Make a commitment.

§  Start small.

§  Thinking is not an action!


Techniques for Managing Stress: Social Support

“Relationships either support or contribute to our stress response and health.” James Coan, University of Virginia study

§  The great protector of health - quality relationships are correlated with improved

physical health, decreased doctors visits and life longevity.

§  Improves immune system and ability to cope with care-giving, surgery, exams and job strain better.

§  Helps to develop compassion

§  Keys to being a good support person: –  Don’t Interrupt. –  Seek To Understand. –  Are you listening, or are you just waiting to talk?


The Four Most Important Things You Can Do to Alleviate Stress

§  Set boundaries –  Set clear boundaries with work and home, try not to take work home

via emails or your cell phone

§  Learn to quiet the mind –  We are in the information age and are continuously bombarded with

information. Turn off the radio in the car, turn off the TV and sit quietly. Just five minutes of meditation daily has been found to have a positive impact on a persons overall health.


The Four Most Important Things You Can Do to Alleviate Stress

§  Decrease stimuli –  Many people watch TV as a means to "numb out" in an attempt to forget their

problems. We are held captive by the immediate availability of cell phones, wi-fi computers, and television. Turn them off.

§  Practice compassion –  Social support is the great protector of health. People who spend time with

friends and family engaged in pleasurable activities rate better on measures of immune function, recuperate more quickly from surgery, and report less job stress.

Managing stress requires taking a daily approach and

making a commitment to one’s own health and well being.

Documents

HChoices Managing Stress - Amazon Web Services