What will you learn?

• What stress is, what causes it, and how can you better manage it
• The elements of a healthy support system
• Self-care and self-management skills
• Relaxation skills
• How to develop a personal stress care plan

What are some of the signs?

• Irritability
• Feelings of anger or frustration
• Increased tobacco or alcohol use
• Disrupted eating patterns
• Communication Difficulties
• Black and White thinking

How Does Stress Impact Common Medical Conditions?

• Fight or Flight responses create physical changes, even if the stressor is psychological
• Evolutionary response
• Physical changes

§         Increased heart rate

§         Rapid breathing

§         Pupil dilation

§         Digestion slows or stops

§         Vasoconstriction

Hypertension and Stress

• Due to sympathetic nervous system activation
• Chronic stress leads to:

§         Neuroendocrine changes

§         Cardiovascular changes

§         Peripheral vasoconstriction

• Mild hypertension found to be reduced by meditation and relaxation

Diabetes and Stress

• Norepinephrine alters glucose levels, especially for Type 2
• The body attempts to make more energy to manage the stressor by dumping glucose into the system.
• People make less healthy choices when stressed.  This makes the consequences of other medical conditions more acute.

Migraines and Stress

• Can actually be a causal or aggravating factor
• Stressor often occurs hours to days before the migraine
• Decreasing reactions to minor daily hassles decreases number and intensity of migraines

Back Pain and Stress

• People with psychological distress are 3 times more likely to develop back pain than others
• One prospective study discovered that psychological stress was actually found to be a better predictor of developing back pain than some physical methods

What can cause stress?

• Negative and positive life events
• Personal relationships
• Financial commitments
• Work
• Lack of sleep
• Illness

How do you know when you are over-stressed?

• Change from baseline

§         In reactions to events

§         In ability to think through solutions

§         In physical health

§         In coping behaviors

§         In thought patterns

• Immobilization
• Loss of joie de vivre (joy of life)

How can you manage stress?

• You don’t have to become a yogi!
• Develop support systems
• Take care of yourself
• Take charge of your time
• Change your mind
• Resolve conflict
• Know how to manage change

Develop support systems

Supportive people are those who:

• Listen
• Provide honest feedback
• Support
• Nurture
• Respect

Take charge of your time

• Plan/prioritize daily
• Focus on one project at a time
• Know your peak time
• Don’t procrastinate/set deadlines
• Reward yourself
• Organize
• Delegate

Take care of yourself

• Avoid perfectionism
• Engage in positive self-talk
• Assess effects of workaholism
• Vary work and play activities
• Relax
• Exercise
• Eat well

Resolve Conflict

• Learn to be assertive
• Identify unresolved or displaced anger
• Create win/win solutions

Change Your Mind

• Changing the way you think can change the way you feel
• Learn your ABC’s
  • Antecedent
  • Behavior
  • Consequence (emotional)

Relax

• Schedule decompression time
• Laugh
• Avoid the “happy hour trap”
• Practice relaxation techniques

Know how to manage change

• Do one thing differently
• Plan changes thoughtfully
• Make easy changes first
• Practice change for 3 weeks
• Assess enjoyment levels and results
• Keep or drop change
• Be patient

How Do I Start My Stress Management Plan?

• Inventory past solutions
• Tell someone about it
• Pick one thing
• Schedule the change
• Pick a time to check in
• Dig deeper into ABC’s if needed
• View it as an experiment

§         Give interventions a try

§         Keep the ones that work, throw out the ones that flop

When Is It Time for Professional Help?

• Any medical conditions
• Thoughts of harming self or others
• Inability to perform your usual roles
• Symptoms of anxiety disorders or panic attacks
• Exhaustion of your options – what you’ve tried hasn’t worked
• Unavailable or inadequate support system

Special thanks to Courtney Aberle, Licensed Psychologist, Ph.D.

Early on it was evident that I was a dreamer. My first grade teacher and many teachers that followed wrote on my report cards that I have a tendency to drift off and day dream during class. I guess I am who I am and I don’t think I will ever change. I actually visualize so hard sometimes that I actually believe I can see the future or should I say I have the ability to think and focus on certain ideas until they become my reality. Over the years I’m sure I have caused some frustration to many people that I am close to such as family or friends. For example when I was a bodybuilding bouncer in the late 70’s to the early 80’s I would practically tell anyone who would listen to me that I was going to have my own gym. Not just any gym but the best gym, in the best area, with the best staff and the best equipment. It would be so clean that you could eat off the floor. I had such a clear vision in my head yet at the time I was relying on rides to work because I couldn’t afford to have my broken down car fixed. Eventually people either would roll their eyes or I would stop sharing my dreams with those who I didn’t think cared one way or the other. Go to www.larrynorth.com to check out my gyms.

In the 80’s talk radio started to become very popular. I loved talk radio because I love to learn and be informed and was fascinated by the live interaction. I was a fan and much preferred talk over music radio and still do to this day. One day I woke up and decided I was going to get my own talk show. I had a vision for a show where I would share my wisdom and help encourage those folks who tended to struggle with weight control issues. I would be driving down the road and imagine that I was taking calls on my “Weekend Workout Show” (I even had a name for it). Then I built up the courage to walk in unannounced to the # 1 talk station in the 7th largest media market in the country. I asked if I could speak to the program director. The next thing I know I’m sitting in the boss’s office and he says; I’m very busy, what do you want? In less than 60 seconds I shared my thoughts, passion and vision and explained why I was the perfect guy for this new kind of show. I had never even talked into a Mr. Microphone yet alone done any form of media. The following week I was booked as a guest on a popular show. The week after that, I was offered my own show at the worst time slot on the worst day, 7:00 am on Sunday morning. I get chills of just reflecting back on the biggest game changer of my life at that time in my life!!! WOW my own show! At this point my gym buddies and friends were starting to believe I just might do what I say I will do. Within 3 short months I was on weekend primetime doing a show from noon-2:00 both Saturday and Sunday. Very similar scenarios have played out with my books, infomercials and even in my personal life. The reason for this is that I am a believer in myself and have mastered the art and power of visualization and so can you.

Now it is your turn. When it comes to you and your health nothing is more important that learning to visualize your success and most of all believing in yourself. From this day forward no more negative self talk. No more saying that you are fat and out of shape, no more saying you don’t have time or will power, no more self deprecating comments regarding your body or your health. I have been blessed with a wonderful gift and I see beauty in each and every person I meet. This isn’t brain surgery and I have never met a person that couldn’t go to a higher level if they chose to. Visualizing your success is more important than nutrition, vitamins, exercise, etc. Above all no more ridiculous excuses, after doing over 1000 radio shows and taking tens of thousands of calls I hear your excuses as if they are playing in my head like a tape recording going over and over and over again. I’m not listening and neither is anyone else. I tend to be empathetic with a sincere face but what I’m really thinking is: You have got to be KIDDING ME!!!

Mastering the art of visualization isn’t hard but it does take practice. First get a mental picture of what you want to achieve. Next write it down and then start to verbalize your thoughts and dreams. Follow this up with a series of smaller and more specific goals that are like tiny little steps leading to the top of a stairwell. Fist I wanted my own talk show. I then imagined what the show would be like and who exactly would benefit from it. I then wrote an outline of what the show would look like on paper. I then started telling people of my new endeavor. I also knew I would need to be knowledgeable so I started studying and seeking out higher authorities on every subject from nutrition-rehab. The final thing I did was create the opportunity as opposed to waiting for it to come to me.

Over the 25 years on radio I received hundreds of testimonials from listeners, book readers and those who have attended my seminars. There is one testimonial that stands out in particular that I would like to share with you. It touched my heart then and still stands out as a nice memory of what positive words can do for and open minded person.

I was well into my second year on the radio and my show was developing a grass roots following. The year was 1986 and I received a letter from a man I did not know and have never met. His letter started off explaining he had hit a real low point in his life. He lost his job, his family and as a result of drugs and alcohol addiction became homeless and lived on the streets. The money he made while panhandling all went for booze and junk food. One of the few possessions he owned was a battery operated AM radio. One day he stumbled across my show. Initially he was uninspired but he enjoyed the way I treated people whom he felt asked rather stupid questions (his words not mine). He soon became a regular listener and before he knew it he was following the advice I was giving to other listeners. He went down to the Salvation Army and obtained a pair of tennis shows. Before long he started walking and soon after that would go to the park and started doing push ups, crunches and stretches. He started eating canned tuna and chicken, canned veggies and instant rice. He entered a rehab program and gave up the drugs and booze. Within 4 months he lost 30 lbs he didn’t even know he had to lose.

His physical appearance changed dramatically but he never really noticed it but others did. What he did notice and why he chose to share his story with me is the changes he felt psychologically. He went from fat to thin, from jobless to employed and homeless to having a roof over his head. All his words not mine! His heart felt thank you will stay in my heart for the rest of my life. He had no excuses and no regrets. He chose to make a difference in his life and I would like to believe that because I chose to go and pursue my dream of having my own show that I made a difference in his.

It really is your turn and even the fact that I am your voice of wellness can be attributed to a vision and deep rooted relationship I have had with ACS that spawns over 18 years. I hope you have a spectacular year and remember I am hear for you along with the entire wellness team to help guide you to your desired higher level.

Larry

JoyLynn Hailey Reed, Ph.D.

We all know what motivation is, right? If we are trying to eat healthfully and we turn down French fries, we tell friends we are motivated. If we exercise, we are happy that we are motivated. But do we really know what motivation is and understand how it works?

Philosophers and psychologists have studied motivation for hundreds of years and learned that it is complicated but not mysterious. We can understand motivation and use it to our advantage. The next time you say, “I’m just not motivated to exercise,” you could realize that motivation is not an on/off switch like a light.

So, what IS motivation. There are so many ways to define and explain it but let’s start with this:

· Motivation = What you expect to get from something + What you value about it

If we are talking about healthy eating, we might say:

· Motivation for healthy eating = Feeling energetic + Valued because energy lets me make it through the day

If we are talking about exercise, we might say:

· Motivation for exercise = Looking leaner + Valued because I like to get compliments

We become less motivated when either we don’t expect to get anything from our efforts or we don’t put a high enough value on what we will get. Thinking about the healthy eating example, if we do not believe that eating healthy foods will give us more energy, we do not have a reason to do it. Or, maybe we believe that choosing good food will energize us but we think we already have enough energy every day. If either of these thoughts is true, we won’t worry about eating healthy food.

Just as most people won’t buy a product they don’t want or need, most people won’t do something that doesn’t give them a valued result. The problem is that most of us feel guilty for the “shoulds” that we don’t do instead of realizing that those things are not what we WANT to do.

Is there something that you would like to be motivated to do? To accomplish it, start by analyzing your thoughts about it. Ask yourself these questions:

1. What exactly is it that I want to do? Remember that specific motivations are better than general ones. For example, “I want to walk for 20 minutes today” helps with motivation more than “I want to exercise.”

2. What will I get that will make me happy or make my life better in some way? For example, “if I eat more fruits and vegetables, I might not have to take as much medication as I take now.”

3. How much do I value that outcome? Is it worth my time and effort? For example, “I definitely want to spend less money on prescriptions every month so I can save for a trip.”

The next time you think about something you “should” do, analyze your motivation and decide whether it would give you a valuable outcome. This can free you from feeling guilty and let you focus on what you ARE motivated to do.

Tip: Get a motivation notebook where you can write down the things you think you “should” do and keep track of their outcomes and how much you value those results. This step can tell you a lot about what motivates you.