Positive Attitude Development Workshop #3: Stress Management

What is Stress?

Dr. Keith Karren defines stress as “the mental and physical response of our bodies to the changes and challenges in our lives.” Good stress, called eustress, is helpful and gives us focus and motivation. Distress, on the other hand, is harmful and causes worry. 

The Yerkes-Dodson Model

Although the word “stress” carries a negative connotation, stress can be a great thing! Stress is what pushes us to become better. For example, an optimal level of stress enhances a tennis player's alertness and focus; it propels them to play better. With too much or too little stress, however, the athlete will not perform their best nor will they improve their game.

Therefore, this workshop was purposefully not titled "Stress Elimination" but "Stress Management". The goal of stress management is not to eliminate stress, but to “limit the harmful effects of stress while maintaining life’s quality and vitality” (Greenberg, p. 14).

Fight or Flight

When we experience stress, our body prepares for action. This response is popularly known as the "Fight or Flight response". The CDC describes it well: 

“Stress sets off an alarm in the brain, which responds by preparing the body for defensive action. The nervous system is aroused and hormones are released to sharpen the senses, quicken the pulse, deepen respiration, and tense the muscles. This response (sometimes called the fight or flight response) is important because it helps us defend against threatening situations. The response is preprogrammed biologically. Everyone responds in much the same way, regardless of whether the stressful situation is at work or home.” (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/99-101/)

Muscle Tension Activity

“FREEZE. Don’t move a bit! Now pay attention to your body sensations and position. Can you drop your shoulders? If so, your muscles were unnecessarily raising them.  Are your forearm muscles able to relax more? If so, you were unnecessarily tensing them. Is your body seated in a position in which you appear ready to do something active? If so, your muscles are probably unnecessarily contracted. Can your forehead relax more? If so, you were tensing those muscles for no useful purpose. Check your stomach, buttocks, thigh, and calf muscles. Are they, too, contracted more than is needed? Unnecessary muscular contraction is called bracing. Many of us are guilty of bracing and suffer tension headaches, neck aches, and bad backs as a result. Take a moment for yourself now. Concentrate on just letting as many of your muscles relax as possible.” (Greenberg, p.7)

Do you find yourself bracing? For example, it can be easy to brace your shoulders while you work on the computer.  Become aware of your posture and focus on relaxing your muscles. One way to do this is by a technique called Progressive Muscle relaxation. click here for more about progressive muscle relaxation

Why is Stress Management important?

Daily hassles can keep your body in a constant, chronic state of “fight or flight” response. This is hard on your body. In a “Stress At Work” NIOSH report , the CDC says:

“Short-lived or infrequent episodes of stress pose little risk. But when stressful situations go unresolved, the body is kept in a constant state of activation, which increases the rate of wear and tear to biological systems. Ultimately, fatigue or damage results, and the ability of the body to repair and defend itself can become seriously compromised. As a result, the risk of injury or disease escalates.”  

When you think about it, our body's physiological response to stress is amazing. Our hearts pump faster, our respiration increases, our muscles tense for action. We are biologically programmed to rise and take on challenges and threats. However, many of our 20th century stressors tend to create a chronic stress response, which is why stress management is an important part of good health. The good news is that you have more control over this stress response than you think! This is because the stress response all begins with your perception.

Perception & Stress

Stress does not start until there is a cognitive interpretation of the stressor.  A situation can be stressful or not-- it depends on your perception of the event. As the Hardiness Theory states, you will experience less stress in your life if you can perceive potentially stressful situations as a challenge instead of a threat.

The Stress Model

Life Situation -->

Perceived as Stressful -->

Emotional Arousal -->

Physiological Arousal -->

Consequences

Live In the Moment

Participate in the moment and enjoy life as it comes. Although it is important to plan for the future, it is not good to dwell and worry about it. Worrying will not ease your stress of tomorrow, but instead drains your strength of today. Sometimes it helps to just take it one day at a time and live in the present. As dear Edna Mode (from the Incredibles) wisely suggests, “Never look back, darling. It distracts from the now.”

“The past is behind, learn from it.

The future is ahead, prepare for it.

The present is here, live it.”

There are many different techniques and ways to manage stress, but in our workshop we focused on 3 areas: Time Management, Humor, and Meditation.

Time Management Tips

1. Assess how you spend your time
2. Set goals (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly)
3. Prioritize your goals and activities
4. Create your schedule
5. Know when to say “No”
6. Delegate
7. Evaluate Tasks Once
8. Limit Interruptions
9. Invest Time

The quadrant to the right helps us prioritize our daily tasks. Ask yourself: Is this urgent or not urgent? Is this important or not important?  By prioritizing your “to-do” list, you can better manage your time and avoid stress.

Humor

The average child laughs 300 to 500 times a day while the average adult laughs only about 15 times a day. We can learn from children’s example to find joy in even the little, daily experiences. 

When life gets stressful, sometimes it is just good to laugh! Laughter has beneficial physiological effects on the body-- supporting the old saying that “laughter is good medicine.”

“Humor results in both physiological and psychological changes. Laughter increases muscular activity, respiratory activity, oxygen exchange, heart rate, production of catecholamines, and endorphins. These effects are soon followed by a relaxation state in which respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension rebound to below normal levels. Psychological effects include the relief of anxiety, stress, and tension; an outlet for hostility and anger; an escape from reality; and a means of tolerating crisis, tragedy, and chronic illness or disabilities” (Greenberg, p. 184).

Meditation

“When you get into a meditative, prayer-like, contemplative frame of mind, the metabolism slows down, the immune system is refreshed, blood pressure and heart rates subside, blood lactate level falls, and oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production are diminished. A lot of changes happen, the result of which is that the body becomes healthier.”  --Dr. Keith J. Karren

Take some time today to just relax and meditate. Research has shown that meditation has many wonderful physiological effects, including:

• reduced pain perception
• decreased respiration
• decreased muscle tension
• decreased heart rate
• better able to cope with stress & more stable autonomic nervous system
• positive effects on blood pressure
• lowers baseline cortisol
• better brain function, ability to control thoughts and focus
• improves sleep behavior

(Greenberg, p. 245)

Our last Positive Attitude Development Workshop is Tuesday, February 18th. We will be discussing the health benefits of gratitude, humor, and having a positive attitude. Hope to see you there!







Additional Resources:

Ways to Increase Mindfulness in Your Daily Routine

Coping with Stress: Workplace Tips 

Forest Guided imagery Video

"The 5 Minute Vacation" Relaxation Video

References:

Greenberg, J. S. (2013). Comprehensive Stress Management (13 ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

It's Random Acts of Kindness Week!

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." - Aesop

Breast cancer survivor Lauren E. Miller says: "When you are grateful and practicing random acts of kindness in your life, you end up feeling safe and connected to that which is good and true in this world and the result is inner calm, clarity of thinking and a heart full of love."

According to scientific studies, some of the physiological benefits to this experience include:

• Increased immune system
• Improved Cognitive Performance
• Increase in energy
• Lower heart rate
• Balanced cortisol levels which result in less internal stress
• More likely to live a longer and more satisfied life
• Laughter and inner joy resulting in decreased stress hormones; lower blood pressure; diminished pain

Check out the full article at http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindness-research/782-acts-of-kindness-relieves-stress

Have a great week!

Positive Attitude Development Workshop Week 2: Goal Setting, Direction, & Self-Esteem

Thanks for everyone who came and made class so much fun! We appreciate your participation and the great thoughts you bring to class. Here are some notes and resources from Tuesday.

Goal Setting

In order to have direction in life, we need vision of where we want to go and set goals to get there. Goal setting is the difference between wishing for something to happen and making it happen. There are several benefits of setting goals:

• Keeps us on track
• Forces us to establish a direction
• Improves our self-esteem as we achieve small accomplishments along the way
• Makes us aware of our weaknesses
• Makes us aware of our strengths
• Brings to mind past victories, which energizes our present state of mind
• Defines reality and separates it from wishful thinking
• Sets a standard for our decision-making process

When setting goals, make sure they are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-oriented.  Following the SMART criteria gives focus to our goals and empowers us to succeed.

Stages of Change

Change is a process, and setbacks are part of the process. Remember, “you have not failed until you quit trying!” Don’t give up!

Tenacity While Achieving our Goals

Change takes time. Achieving goals will be a process. Because set-backs are expected, persistence is an essential ingredient to success. Lyle Wildes says,“(let) go of setbacks and (accept) them as temporary, rather than dwelling on them as if they are permanent. In fact, something that appears to be failure is often a step along the road to success.”

“If at First You Don’t Succeed, You’re in Excellent Company”. This article gives several inspiring examples of overcoming setbacks and disappointments. When you find yourself struggling, remember that success if often just around the corner.

Tenacity through Life’s Detours

“It is more useful to think of a meaningful life as a journey that unfolds before us. It is smart to have a map to guide our trip, but it is also smart to be prepared for detours, surprises and beautiful vistas that do not appear on the map. Setting a goal is like creating our own personal map.” --Lyle Wildes

While it is important to set goals, we also must be flexible for life’s surprises. Each of us will experience life’s “peaks and valleys” -- times of success, and times of adversity. In the workshop we discussed one Mother's inspiring story of raising handicap children. Though all of our life challenges will be different, we can learn from her inspiring example. She overcame her valleys with tenacity and optimism. We too can reach our life goals despite our personal life trials.  Welcometo Holland Story

Martin Seligman’s Learned optimism

The benefits of an optimistic outlook are many: Optimists are higher achievers and have better overall health. Pessimism, on the other hand, is much more common; pessimists are more likely to give up in the face of adversity or to suffer from depression. Seligman invites pessimists to learn to be optimists by thinking about their reactions to adversity in a new way.

Three P’s to thinking more positively during adversity

Permanence: Optimistic people believe bad events to be more temporary than permanent and bounce back quickly from failure, whereas others may take longer periods to recover or may never recover. They also believe good things happen for reasons that are permanent, rather than seeing the transient nature of positive events. Optimists point to specific temporary causes for negative events; pessimists point to permanent causes.

Pervasiveness: Optimistic people compartmentalize helplessness, whereas pessimistic people assume that failure in one area of life means failure in life as a whole. Optimistic people also allow good events to brighten every area of their lives rather than just the particular area in which the event occurred.

Personalization: Optimists blame bad events on causes outside of themselves, whereas pessimists blame themselves for events that occur. Optimists are therefore generally more confident. Optimists also quickly internalize positive events while pessimists externalize them. 
(taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_optimism)

Goal Setting & Self-Esteem

What is self esteem? Self-esteem is having confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-respect; positive regard for yourself; feelings of worthiness. Self-esteem is different than self-worth. Your personal worth is great and it never changes. What you think about your worth, however, does fluctuate. We must be careful not to tie our self-esteem to external factors, such as job position, relationship status, income level, and so on. These external factors are unstable, and thus builds your feelings of self-respect on a shaky foundation. Positive self-esteem is independent of those external factors. It is when you come to realize your great worth and love yourself. 

Self-esteem is closely tied with self-efficacy, which is our confidence in our ability to carry out actions. As we strive towards our goals, we will increase our feelings of self-efficacy and consequently improve our feelings of self-esteem.

Lyle Wildes says that self-esteem ties in with humility, service, and respect.

Self-esteem & Humility

“Strong self-esteem and meaningful living have their roots in humility...True humility is not the same as humiliation. While small, our place in the universe still has meaning. In other words, healthy self-esteem requires the humility of balance-- living without either grandiosity or self-abasement.” --Lyle Wildes

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less.” --C.S. Lewis

Self-esteem & Service

“Self-esteem grows through true, selfless service to people--including to ourselves. Such service is totally in our control, which means that our self-esteem is also in our control.”

-- Lyle Wildes

One study found that “those who gave social support to others had lower rates of mortality than those who did not, even when controlling for socioeconomic status, education, marital status, age, gender, and ethnicity” (Brown et al., 2005).

Self-esteem & Respect (for ourselves and others)

Wildes also talks about how self-esteem is related to respect, and how we need to respect other and ourselves. As we are striving to improve all dimensions of our health, that is self-respect! Consequently you will feel better about yourself.

Videos

Jessica’s Daily Affirmation  

A cute reminder that “you can do anything good!” There is something powerful about saying positive affirmations aloud. Though you may feel silly, say some daily affirmations aloud to yourself today.

Kid President Pep Talk 

You have great potential to do something amazing today! “So get to it!”

If you would like a WORKBOOK, please email us at ucwell4life@gmail.com and we will send you a copy. We will also have extras at our next workshop on February 11th. Hope to see you there!

Positive Thinking Workshop Week 1: The Power of Your Thoughts

"It is so important for us to develop  new attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs--so that we have more capacity to successfully deal with the new and surprising situations life has in store for us." - Lyle Wildes

What is your definition of health? We believe that society puts a greater emphasis on the physical aspect of health. We recognize that working on physical health is noble, but we see a need to focus more attention on our emotional health. After all, having a positive attitude has many physical health benefits such as; stronger immune system, heart health, longevity, better cholesterol and lower your risk for a stroke.

The purpose of this workshop is to:

• Increase awareness of your thoughts
• to understand the powerful mind/body connection of thoughts
• and equip you with some tools to improve your thoughts

Dr. Amen, an award winning psychiatrist, blames negative thinking on 9 ANTS or "Automatic Negative Thoughts." He claims that if we can squish the ANTs in our lives we will start thinking more positively. The species of ANTs that many people encounter in their lives include;

1. Always/Never thinking: Thinking that something that happened will 'always' repeat itself.
2. Focusing on the negative: Only see the bad in a situation and ignore any of the good parts that might happen.
3. Fortune Telling: Predicting the worst possible outcome to a situation
4. Mind Reading: Believing that you know what another person is thinking even when they haven't told you.
5. Thinking with your feelings: Believing your negative feelings without ever questioning them.
6. Guilt Beatings: Happen when you think words like 'should, must, ought, or have to.'
7. Labeling: Whenever you attach a negative label to yourself or someone else, you stop your ability to take a clear look at the situation.
8. Personalization: Occurs when innocuous events are taken to have personal meaning.
9. Blame (The most poisonous red ANT): When you blame something or someone else for the problems in your life, you become a victim of circumstances and you cannot do anything to change your situation.

Taken from http://ahha.org/articles.asp?ld=100

If we can challenge every thought that we have for its validity and talk back to the negative thoughts, we will be able to 'squish' the ANTs that are present in our lives.

We would like to extend the Happiness Advantage Challenge to everyone. Choose one of the following activities to participate in everyday for 21 days. If you do this devotedly you will see a difference in the way you perceive the world.

• Write down 3 different gratitudes
• Journal one positive experience
• Exercise
• Meditation
• Random Acts of Kindness

Come next week at the same location and time (Health and Justice Building 2601 @11 AM) for more insights on developing a more positive outlook on life.

Take 10 Challenge!

This year we want to encourage more physical activity throughout the workday so we're encouraging employees to take 2 10 minute walks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon to break up the day a little bit and squeeze some daily physical activity into your stressful work-packed days.  We're calling it 'Take 10' and will have monthly drawings for everyone who takes 2 ten minute walks at least 4 out of 5 days each week and returns their punch cards at the end of each month.
Start walking today!

Healthy Holidays Group Week 5!

There are exactly 2 weeks until Christmas Eve!  

Does that stress you out?

We’re right in the thick of it!!! 

What is causing you stress this holiday season? 

Go ahead, make a list……

Maybe you haven’t started your Christmas shopping… or are having trouble finding something for that last person on your list?  Have the holiday treats staring piling up on your front door?  Are the holiday parties and activities filling up every night of your week?  Did you go over-budget?...

Here are a couple of our favorite holiday stress relievers…

“Quiet time with the Christmas Tree” Appreciate the little things we love about the holidays… like spending the evening cuddled up on the couch watching cheesy Hallmark movies by the light of the Christmas tree.  There are so many little things about this time of year to appreciate.  What is your favorite thing about the season?

“White Space” Is your calendar crammed with night after night… after night holiday activities?  Don’t cram so much into the holidays that you can’t enjoy them.  Be sure and schedule free-time, some down time to do nothing but enjoy the lit up Christmas tree.   Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ to that extra holiday party.

“Make your list and check it twice!”  Prioritize your holiday activities.  What is most important to you?  Use your priority list to make a plan.  Organize your ‘to do’ list so you have some direction as you navigate the busy holiday season. 

 “Buddy the Elf” What do we all love about Buddy the Elf? 

He is such a positive person, just rolls with the punches and MAKES US LAUGH!  Let’s not forget to laugh at the funny things this holiday season and even the not so funny things…if nothing seems to be going right (we all have those days!) just laugh about it.  There’s no reason to stress over things we can’t control. 

“Watch Your Wallet” Watch your wallet so you don’t get pick-pocketed….and make your holiday budget and stick to it.   There are lots of great ways to save money like shopping  holiday sales, making homemade bread, rolls or jam for your neighbors,  making homemade heartfelt gifts, take your family to the dollar store to purchase family gifts…this could be very entertaining!  

Healthy Holidays Group Week 4!

Healthy Holidays Group Week 4!

Challenging the Food Police…

The food police is anything or anyone that tells you that what you are eating is ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Many people feel guilty after stealing or lying.  The same type of guilt can also be felt after eating something “naughty”.  With so many daily reminders, it’s difficult to view food as just a normal pleasurable activity because it either makes you  ’good’ or ‘bad’. 

The first step in challenging the food police is to identify who is talking…

Who’s Talking to You?

We all have inner voices that talk to us all day, every day.  Which of these voices is talking to you?

The Food Police: This could be your inner judge telling you whether a food is ’good’ or ‘bad’.  (Or it could be a look from your spouse or family member…)  The food police keeps your body and food at war.  “Are you really going to eat that?”  “I’m so naughty for eating this cheesecake.”  “I’m so good for having just a salad for dinner.”

Nutrition Informant: You believe you have rejected dieting and now TRULY want to eat in the name of health...  but are still living by rules…  Such as “I will not eat food with added sweeteners or anything that has X amount of fat grams.”  This is still diet mentality.  When released from the food police aspect of this, then this voice becomes a Nutrition Ally and that’s the voice we want to hear.

Nutrition Ally:  Eating in the name of health with no hidden agenda!  Let’s say you have decided you want to have a salad for lunch.  You head over to the salad bar and see all your options there. The bacon and cheese look good but would the salad still be satisfying without loading it up with bacon and extra cheese?   This is when you start making healthy choices and cutting out less healthy things because you won’t miss them.  How can you tell between the Nutrition Informant and the Nutrition Ally?  How do you feel?  If you feel guilty you’re probably listening to your Nutrition Informant voice. 

The Diet Rebel: “I’m just going to wait until my spouse goes out of town so I can eat what I want!”  This is the “screw you” voice.  “Oh, you think I need to lose five pounds?....fine I’ll gain 10!”

Rebel Ally: Use your mouth for words instead of food in a direct but polite manner.  No one has the right to comment on your body or make you eat more or less than you want.  Change that Diet Rebel voice into the Rebel Ally voice!

Anthropologist: This is just a neutral observer.  “Ok…so  I ate ten cookies (no judgment, just facts).  Hmm…..I skipped breakfast and was ravenous at 2.” 

“I felt a little guilty after eating that dessert.” (no condescending statements, just an observation of how you felt). 

Keeping a food journal can help awaken your Food Anthropologist.  It’s an experiment, not a tool of the food police.  This voice can help find loopholes in your thinking but it does take practice.

Nurturer: This is the loving grandma voice. “I really overate today… I wonder what I was feeling that could have made me need more food to comfort myself? When I take care of myself I feel great!  I’m doing so well this week! There were only a few times I didn’t honor my hunger.  Losing weight is a long and slow process, and I’m having many successes along the way.”  The nurturer speaks kindly to yourself. 

The Intuitive Eater: You were born as an intuitive eater.  But chances are your Intuitive Eater voice has been suppressed by these other voices at this point.  Intuitive Eating is a combination of the positive voices and knows how to defend against the food police.  These are your gut and instinctual reactions.

Self- Talk and Self Awareness

We need to learn to be aware of those voices that speak to us every day.  Are they negative?  Are they positive?  How do they make us feel? 

Our self-talk should be positive and if not we need to change it! 

Today, notice those thoughts that pop into your head….What are they saying to you? 

If they’re negative, change them to a positive! 

“The next time you see yourself eating in a way that feels uncomfortable, unsatisfying,

or even out of control,

try to remember what you were thinking before you took that first bite of food.

Examine that thought and challenge it.”

Healthy Holidays Group Week 3!

The Satisfaction Factor….

Abraham Maslow has taught that we’re driven by our unmet needs.  It’s human nature to want what we can’t have.  We will usually do what it takes to calm down our sense of deprivation when our needs are not satisfied.  This is applicable with food, relationships, career, etc.

Many of us have lost the pleasure in eating and feeling satisfied.  If you feel truly satisfied with your eating experience, you will find that you eat far less food. Conversely, if you are unsatisfied, you will likely eat more and be on the prowl, regardless of your satiety level.

Take some time this holiday season to seek satisfactory eating experiences and remember this quote:

“In matters of taste, consider nutrition.  In matters of nutrition, consider taste.”

Try to make each meal the healthiest it can be (while still being satisfying).  And when it comes to eating nutritiously, try to make each meal as tasty as possible.  When we can find this balance we are more likely to have more satisfying eating experiences.

Healthy Meals and Snacks!

It’s probably not the best idea to head to a holiday party ravenous…

Have some healthier snacks and meals ready to go to avoid over indulging on sweets and treats because you’re so hungry and that’s all there is to eat.  You may be surprised how much less you’ll eat (and how much better you’ll feel!) if you’ve had a good satisfying meal beforehand. 

One easy way to make meals and snacks healthier is to include more fruits and vegetables! 

Here are a few ideas we came up with to fit more fruits and veggies into your day:

Add veggies to soups, stews and casseroles!

Add fruit to your oatmeal, cereal and pancakes!

Have a salad for one of your meals!

Keep frozen vegetables in your freezer so they’re ready to add to any meal!

Cut up your fruit and store them in ready to go bags and containers so you can grab them and go!

Try a new fruit or vegetable each week!

Have fruit for dessert! (You can even dip it in a little chocolate if you need your chocolate fix!)

Some great snack ideas are:

Frozen cubes of mango, Veggie quesadilla, salsa and whole grain crackers, low-fat cottage cheese with fruit spread and pretzels, trail mix, peanut butter and celery sticks, yogurt with berries and flaxseed, veggies dipped in hummus, a handful of nuts… try one today!

Try freezer meals!

You can make all your meals for the week in one day and just pull them out of the freezer when you need a quick meal!  Type ‘cooking for a week’ in your search engine and you’ll get tons of great websites!

Some Food Freezing tips:

Before freezing hot food, it’s important to let it cool down before you freeze it.

Portion your dish into meal sized containers or packages.  Label and date the containers and place them in a single layer in the coldest area of your freezer.

Use only specialty freezer wrappings: they should be both moisture-proof and vapor proof.  Look for items that say ‘freezer quality’ or ‘freezer safe’.

Leave as little air as possible.

Wrap solid foods like meats and baked goods tightly in foil before you bag them.

Meats from the butcher block are usually wrapped well enough to freeze... However if you buy the meat wrapped on Styrofoam trays with plastic wrap it won’t hold up well to freezing.  Re-wrap it before you freeze.

Check out the ‘Frozen Food Storage Guide’ to know how long you can freeze your favorite foods: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lane/sites/default/files/documents/sp_50_711_frozenfoodstorageguide.pdf

Here’s some great websites for some quick and easy recipes:

Eatingwell.com

Cookinglight.com

Campbellskitchen.com

Allrecipies.com

Kraftrecipies.com

Momswhothink.com

Skinnytaste.com

5dollardinners.com

Delish.com