MIND HEALTH | healthylifewithmike

AVOIDING UNHEALTHY STRESS: PROCRASTINATION

(Posted 9/6/13)

The school year has begun as well as stress that comes with it. Like an adult at their job, students feel stress everyday at school. Add to that additional responsibilities such as extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, house chores, and making time for friends and family, students will have stronger urges to avoid any activities they find boring or uninteresting. Too much avoidance leads to ‘P’ word-PROCRASTINATION.

Why do students put off things to the last minute even though they know it will have negative consequences? Two common reasons are:

Discomfort- performing such tasks creates stress that inhibits brain signals for pleasure. Kids with A.D.D, whose brain’s executive functioning parts are impaired, feel even more stressed when performing these tasks
Boredom- the activity is uninteresting and spending the time doesn’t feel like it would be worth the end reward

Unfortunately, dealing with mild to moderate stress on a daily basis is a skill that everyone must have in order to function in society

Procrastination as a habit can lead to stress levels so high they become toxic. Doing ass much as possible in as little time as possible often triggers ‘Fight or Flight’ response and constant release of adrenaline requires at least a few days for body go back to equilibrium or balanced state. Having such response consistently drains the body of energy, which can impair cognitive function as well as lower the body’s immune system

Students will often be too busy to recover from such a stress-related response, so here’s a few tips to break or avoid procrastination habits:

ASK WHERE AND WHAT:

Find out where in your life procrastination is taking place or is likely to take place, and think about what the possible reasons are for that procrastination-Is the task uncomfortable? Boring? Unrewarding?
Once discover the cause, then can come up with a solution. You’ve practically won half the battle right there!

DEVELOP A PLAN THAT WORKS FOR YOU:

Set realistic expectations for yourself when using tools such as a calendar, planner, and to-do list. For example, if you are a person who has a lot on their plate and it takes you longer to complete tasks and do a good job on them, prioritize what is on your to-do list based on how much time you will have to commit to that task and what the consequences are of putting the task off for that day.
Tasks that have small or little consequence of not getting them done for that day can be squeezed in during free time planned or marked down on your calendar or planner so that you will have ample time to complete your higher priority tasks that will have more serious consequences if they are not done soon.

PLAN TO ATTEND FUTURE EVENTS THAT YOU WILL ENJOY

Looking forward to future events that you will enjoy or find stimulating may help tolerate the discomfort and boredom of working on tasks ahead of time by reducing the urge to do something else briefly that seems more enjoyable and interesting

FAMILY DINNERS (Posted on 9/12/13)

Is your family very busy and constantly on the go? Does it seem like you hardly get any social interaction with the members of your household? Are you constantly eating out and buying food from restaurants, leaving nothing in your wallet but flies? Then try having family dinners!

While studies provide statistics that serve as evidence of health benefits from consistent family dinners, one does not need statistics to see these benefits of having a family dinner:

GREATER SOCIAL CONNECTION

Families get a chance to get updates and valid feelings about the current events going on in their household members’ lives.

BETTER FOOD DIGESTION

Taking more time to eat food in order to interact with family members at the dinner table allows food being ingested to send brain signals saying that you are ‘full.’ When busy or on the go, food often gets shoveled down so fast that it takes longer to process in the digestive system and feelings of fullness get delayed.

SAVING MONEY

Both delivery and sit-down restaurants are generally more expensive, so buying products at the grocery store will leave more money in your pocket.

GETTING MORE NUTRIENTS

Many restaurants, especially fast food restaurants, promote unhealthy meals and sides that greatly lack nutrients but taste great for less money. With the right ingredients, food in home-cooked meals can taste just as good without sacrificing nutrients.

With benefits like this, it’s definitely worth a shot at trying out regular family dinners for building better relationships as well as additional health benefits. Just be sure to plan each dinner about a week in advance, asking for likes and dislikes from each family member, and finding the best time during that week based on everyone’s schedule.

For more information on family dinners, click on this link: http://www.thescramble.com/family-dinner-challenge/

BALANCE AND LIMITS WHEN PURSUING HAPPINESS

(Posted on 9/19/13)

According to Sigmund Freud’s pleasure principle, humans instinctively avoid pain and seek to achieve pleasure. And in some instances, such as using optimism to avoid discouragement and maintain self-esteem, actions guided by the pleasure principle are effective. While it is natural to avoid discomfort and unpleasantness, this instinctive behavior doesn’t guarantee happiness and satisfaction. People who tend to be more pessimistic are aware of their problems and negative situations, but are often labeled or judged as less healthy than people who are optimistic. Suggestively, it is possible for both optimistic and pessimistic persons to maintain their health and achieve happiness.

In the September 2013 issue of ‘Experience Life’ magazine, an article discussing Oliver Burkeman’s book ‘The Antidote: Happiness For People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking,’explores excerpts from the novel related to these topics. The book says that one key for both optimism and pessimism is to avoid obsession or fixation on both positive and negative things, and accept them as they are for however long they will last. Clinging to good looks, wealth, and success can occur in both optimistic and pessimistic persons. An optimistic person with good looks, wealth, and success might become so eager to maintain these things forever that they go to unhealthy lengths to maintain them. A pessimistic person can fail to enjoy these things while they last because they are so attached to negativity they avoid pleasure thinking it is pointless since it will all eventually fade away. Either way, both optimistic and pessimistic persons need to let go of their attachment to their views of life so they don’t go to great lengths to avert what they don’t like or are not comfortable with (Bergeson, 2013).

Another topic explored is knowing one’s limits with their goals. Setting goals in life is not a bad thing. However, fixating on those goals to the point they become a part of one’s own identity is a bad thing. According to the article, obsession with achieving a goal can lead to insecurity from the thought of failure becoming an ingrained definition of who that person is. As a result, people will neglect their health and well-being just to guarantee that they will achieve those goals(Bergeson, 2013).

I enjoyed reading this article because the thought of positive thinking leading to unhappiness is a paradox that opened my mind to viewing other paths that could possibly lead to happiness. I believe that limiting happiness and joy to only optimistic persons is unfair. Each individual person has their own beliefs and views of the world based on their personal experiences. While it would be good for pessimistic persons to go out of their comfort zone and explore optimism, that doesn’t mean that they should have to become optimistic. Both optimism and pessimism should have paths that will result in good times in a person’s life.

Source:

Bergeson, L. (2013, September). The antidote: Happiness for people who are a little cynical about 'happy talk'. Experience Life

MUSIC-MEMORY (Posted on 9/26/13)

Before written and read language was a form of communication used for learning, humans have used music to recall important information. Music was used by our ancestors to remember how to cook food, as well as to remember directions to water or shelter when navigating an area. To this day, music is still very effective for storing and remembering information. ‘School House Rock’ is an example of this efficiency.

When learning a motor skill, from how to throw or catch a ball to folding laundry, kids should be allowed to listen to enjoyable music that helps them carry out these actions. The first reason is that enjoyable music releases a chemical called dopamine in our brains. Dopamine is associated with the pleasure and rewards system of our brain, and can reduce stress when released during activity. The second reason is that music can initiate neurons that communicate with the brain only when specific signals reach certain neurons. This is commonly referred to as ‘muscle memory,’ and is the reason why a certain step in an action sequence is only carried out when previous steps have taken place. Music can help stimulate these neurons and allow for better timing when performing steps in an action sequence that is relative to the rhythm and tempo of a song.

HAND IN HAND: TEACHER AND STUDENT HEALTH

(Posted on 11/5/13)

A recent paper published in ‘Preventing Chronic Disease’ journal reported adverse health conditions of many ‘Head Start’ female employees. Head Start is the largest government funded early childhood education program in the nation, and serves almost one million low-income children. While achieving results working with at-risk youth can be rewarding, it is also very mentally, emotionally, and physically draining. According to the survey in this study, nearly ¼ of the sample women reported depression symptoms that could qualify them for being diagnosed with clinical depression. Many of the women who took this survey also reported physical conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, migraines, and chronic lower back pain.

After working with youth for several years, I am not too surprised at these reported adverse conditions. Any time some one is working with large youth groups in a school or community setting, they are dealing with many opportunities for germs to spread. High stress levels from the demands of meeting youth needs lower the immune system, giving those germs a higher chance of not only reaching somebody, but leading to illness as well. When too many employees get sick, the risk of illness goes up even more because short-staff groups need to work harder to make up for the lack of employees available for assistance with tasks. The less staff available, the less likely education and youth programs are to achieve goals.

I believe there are a couple of things that can be done to increase the wellness of teachers and youth workers in settings related to Head Start. The first is to promote nutrient-dense meals for both employees and youth. When I worked at the Y, kids and employees were not allowed to eat fast food or drink pop during snack times. Having nutritious alternatives readily available, instead of sugary or fast foods, is an excellent strategy for preventing obesity, especially for at-risk youth. The second is to promote physical activity among both the staff and children in the programs. At the Y, all employees received free memberships and access to exercise facilities and equipment. Even if Head Start cannot give all of their employees convenient access to exercise facilities and equipment, they can promote health and wellness by requiring daily physical activities that both staff and children in the program must participate in. Any type of exercise or physical activity can help relieve much of the stress that contributes to illness.

SNOOZE AND LOSE (Posted on 11/15/13)

Some experts believe that hitting the snooze button and lying in bed for an additional amount of time does more harm than good. These experts believe that the body is actually using more energy during snooze intervals by quickly going from being awake and back to sleep mode. The snooze button typically doesn’t allow enough time for the body to fall back into deep or REM sleep, which are the stages that the body’s immune system and other functions are restored.

Given the information in the previous paragraph, one is better off getting up when the alarm goes off and going to bed at an earlier time that day. By getting up at the alarm, a person will be more tired and motivated to listen to their body as they go to bed earlier. Once the sleep cycle is started at an earlier time, the body has more time to reach the deep and REM sleep cycles where the body is restored.

When faced with challenges and adversity in our everyday lives, it is common belief that positive self-esteem and character is required to overcome those challenges and adversities. Positive self-esteem can be defined as ‘believing you are worthy of and deserve respect.’ Character can be defined as ‘regulating one’s behavior to act on responsible values.’ I believe that our self-esteem varies based on our experiences and emotions, but character can remain constant as long as we choose to act on responsible values despite our self-esteem level. The science fiction franchise ‘Star Trek’ explores how character can be used to enhance self-esteem and maintain mental health.

For those of you unfamiliar with ‘Star Trek’ television series, movies, books, etc., the plot follows members of the organization Starfleet Command. Starfleet’s overall mission is to explore outer space for sentient life forms, and maintain peace throughout all of outer space that has been and will be explored. Starfleet accomplishes this mission through diplomacy, scientific research, and military defense. Starfleet members develop responsible values, such as discipline, integrity, respect, and selflessness, at the Starfleet Academy training school. Starfleet Academy teaches students what these values are, and tests the students’ ability to act on those values so that Starfleet Command can successfully carry out their mission.

One particular test Starfleet test of character is the Kobyashi Maru, a computer simulation that is described as a ‘no-win scenario.’ For this simulation, students must attempt a rescue mission in a hostile environment where the rescue crew is outnumbered and outgunned. After attempting a diplomatic solution in which the computer never compromises with the negotiator, the rescue crew attempts to engage the hostiles and rescue the hostage ship by force. In the end, the rescue crew is always blasted away and destroyed. In spite of knowing beforehand that it is impossible to win, students must regulate their behavior to act on the responsible values they were trained to carry out, and attempt to pass the test anyway. The students were tested on whether or not they could demonstrate their respect to Starfleet values by performing their duties even if they were scared, discouraged, or felt unworthy, all in the face of certain death.

The lesson that can be taken from the Kobyashi Maru is that despite how we may currently feel about ourselves or how difficult our lives may be at a certain time, we can balance our self-esteem and maintain mental health by choosing to act on responsible values that allow us to overcome challenges and adversity. By demonstrating values of a responsible group, you are proving that you deserve that group’s respect. If self-esteem level is based on how much an individual feels they are worthy and deserve respect, and showing character demonstrates morals and ethics valued by a group as well as the individual, then logic dictates that a person who shows character should have positive self-esteem and feel worthy of respect. Regardless of what mistakes humans make or experiences that may bring us down, we should always remember to act on responsible values that we share with a group or community so that we can feel good about moving forward with our lives. After all, to act on values and not receive respect would be……..illogical.

MIND HEALTH AND SCIENCE FICTION: INTERRELATIONS BETWEEN SELF- ESTEEM, CHARACTER, AND STAR TREK

(Posted on 1/24/2014)

BURNOUT! (Posted on 3.29.15)

Both stress and stamina is caused by the demands of our lives, and both can cause negative emotions. However, these negative emotions are different based on the two health statuses. If an individual is stressed out, they often feel frustrated and irritable when the stressor is present, causing them to be extra sensitive and overreact some times. On the other hand, an individual with burnout is often cynical or pessimistic about their situation. They seem to always have a bleak or negative outlook towards others and the future. Also, individuals with burnout will isolate or detach themselves from things that are not important. For example, they will not spend time with family, friends, or hobbies, or be around them but never seem engaged in the conversation or activity the others are doing. In this way, individuals with burnout underreact instead of overreact emotionally to situations.

Another key difference between stress and burnout is the physical and mental energy. When an individual is stressed, their physical stamina is reduced and by the end of the day all they want to do is crash on the couch or go to sleep. An individual with burn out feels exhausted from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep. This exhaustion can often lead to loss of motivation and hope. Also, one who is stressed out can still manage to be productive. It is common for individuals with burnout to have production that is consistently worse than it was in their past. Since burnout involves such a great loss of physical and mental energy, others will often recognize loss in production before the individual with burnout.

As a Health Educator, it is my job to help others recognize and prevent illness, and refer them to proper resources. It is NOT my job to tell others how to cure illness. Therefore, if you recognize most or all of the burnout symptoms I’ve mentioned, please consult with your primary physician. It may also help to speak with a therapist to help you cope with the mental and emotional effects of burnout.

Tune in for the next post, as I discuss tips and strategies for preventing burnout! : )

SOURCES:

1. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burnout

STRESS

BURNOUT

PREVENTING BURNOUT (Posted on 6.21.15)

In my last post, I compared and contrasted stress and burnout. While too much stress for too long can lead to burnout, stress is inevitable and must be managed. However, burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion that should be avoided. In this article, I will briefly list typical causes of burnout, and discuss tips and strategies for preventing burnout.

Some internal causes, thoughts or feelings, can also lead to burnout:

Trying to do everything perfect
Trying too hard to please everyone at all times
Putting too much pressure on yourself
The need to be in constant control of everything
Trying too hard to be independent/Wanting to do everything on your own

Now that we know what some causes are for burnout, we can now take action to prevent burnout. Listed below are several tips for preventing these causes from occurring:

Create Realistic Goals- When writing down what you would like to accomplish and making a deadline, make sure that you are honest with yourself when knowing how much time and effort things are going to take you. Focusing on personal goals can make you feel more confident in adverse situations by not worrying so much about unrealistic expectations from others.
Prioritize Tasks- As nice as it would be do everything at once, in most cases, it’s just not possible. By listing tasks from most to least urgent, based on how soon you need to get things done and how vital it is to your life that you finish it, you leave more flexibility to achieve a work-life balance.
Set Boundaries- Knowing when to say ‘No’ to people is important, because it prevents you from trying too hard to please others. While relationships require a certain give and take, it is important that you don’t compromise your health in the process. Also, by accepting what you can and cannot control, you can let go of excess stress and pressure that will only drain you of energy.
Ask For Assistance- At some point in time, you are going to need someone else’s help with something. When others help you with a task, you can get tasks done with less time and effort. Also, having someone more experienced guide or teach you how to work more efficiently gets rid of the task of learning to do something yourself, which means you can now focus on completing the task without spending extra time figuring out how to do it.
Take a break from technology- When using the laptop, phone, tablet, television, etc., everything is quick and easy. If you spend too much time doing these things, then your mind gets used to everything being quick and easy. For this reason, it is important to find a balance between electronic and non-electronic activities. By disconnecting your brain, you remind your brain that you are not a robot or computer and that washing the dishes or filling your car up with gas is not as quick and easy as pressing a button : P

While I’m sure there are plenty of other helpful tips for preventing burnout, the preceding tips can help you get started. Good luck! : )

Burnout can happen to anyone in any setting. CEOs, computer ITs, engineers, school teachers, stay at home parents, and students can all get burnt out. Some external causes, which come from the environment, of burnout are listed below:

Unreasonable expectations of work performance as well as personal growth and development from others
A high quantity or amount of responsibilities that leave little time for the life part of the work/life balance
One has been performing uninteresting or non-challenging tasks over a period of time
Spending too much time in an aggressive/hostile and adverse environment

WHY DO YOU WANT TO

ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS? (Posted on 8.9.16)

When it comes to goal setting, many people have been educated on what a good goal looks like, and how to make one. One of the most popular methods of goal setting is the SMART acronym:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time-Related

While this is an effective way to create a goal, the reason or purpose behind why you want to aim for that goal will have a powerful effect on how close you get to achieving that goal. Regardless of whether your goal is short-term or long-term, a purpose or reason that you truly believe is legit will allow you to reach farther for your goal.

When asking yourself why you want to achieve your goal, ask yourself this one question: Is the juice worth the squeeze? In other words, make sure that your reason behind a goal is worth any effort or sacrifices you will make to attain your goal. For example, let’s say that you want to be able to run a 5k race 8 weeks from now. This probably means you will need to find time to run on your own multiple times a week to prepare yourself for the race. It also means that you will need to make sure you are getting the right nutrients in your diet and drinking enough water to keep you hydrated on a regular basis. As a result, you might need to reduce the amount of television you watch to make time for running, and cut back on the carbonated beverages to stay hydrated. Considering that reduction doesn’t mean to give up something completely, just more than your typical amount that you are comfortable with, I believe that running a 5k 8 weeks from now is worth the preparation.

On the other hand, let’s say that you want to have toned muscles and 6-pack or 8-pack abs 6 months from now in order to look more attractive to the opposite sex. If this look is the goal for some of you reading this blog, more power to you. However, anyone with this goal needs to realize that in order to look like a magazine model or a Spartan from the movie ‘300,’ one usually needs to follow a strict diet, go through a grueling exercise program, and get plenty of sleep. These requirements usually make social life more challenging, since it limits what you can eat at restaurants and you can’t stay out late with your friends since you need to get a good night’s sleep. In many celebrity interviews I’ve read, many of the celebs mentioned they did not enjoy or have fun getting a certain amount of muscle tone or a certain look for their movie role. In my opinion, if your reason for getting ripped or achieving a certain physique is to challenge your mind and body, then you will be more likely to achieve this goal. However, if your main reason for this goal is to get attention from others, then your squeezing hard for little juice.

What are some of your reasons or purposes behind your health and fitness goals? Leave me a comment on Facebook or Twitter, or send me an email and let me know. Until next time, thanks for reading and stay healthy!

CELEBRATE SMALL SUCCESSES

(Posted on 1.11.17)

Rewarding or praising yourself for progress made towards health and fitness goals will increase your likelihood to persist in achieving those goals. Goals such as losing 10 pounds in 2 months, or practicing yoga for 4 times a week for 4 months, won't happen overnight. Rewarding smaller milestones towards those goals can help you be more patient and persistent towards those goals. Reward and praise yourself after losing those first few pounds, or went to yoga class for four days in one week, because you're now closer to your goal than you were before!

In case you are having trouble finding little successes worthy of reward or praise, here are a few tips I have to help you do so:

You did it, no excuses!- No mater what adversity or challenges you faced today, you still successfully took a step towards your goal. For example, may be your car wouldn't start this morning, or you unexpectedly needed to stay late at school or work. Nevertheless, you still got to the gym, made it to Yoga class. or avoided fast food and cooked a lean, healthy meal despite those challenges.
Token rewards- Give yourself points or tokens for each day that you workout or eat lean and healthy, and give yourself a reward once you earn a certain amount of tokens. For example, if your goal is to work out at the gym 5 times a week for 4 months consecutively, allow yourself to go out and order dessert at a restaurant after earning 5 points, with 1 point earned each time you work out at the gym. Websites such as SparkPoints are helpful for tracking token reward systems as you progress towards your goals. Some gyms even allow members to exchange points they earn for working out at the gym for towels, water bottles, and gift cards.
Accountability from others- having a few people compliment you as you make progress towards your goals can feel encouraging and that you are being supported towards your goal.

Remember, goals should be challenging but attainable. Small rewards will help remind you that your health and fitness goals can be achieved no matter how hard they seem at the time. Good luck!

It's 11 days into the new year-how are your resolutions coming along so far? Have you started making progress towards any of them? If so, then good for you; you should celebrate your success! Too often, people in January make health and fitness goals for the new year, join a gym or exercise program in January, and then stop going as soon as February comes around. A good way to prevent this from happening to you is to reward or praise any progress towards your goals or resolutions, no matter how small they may seem.

MINDFULNESS LESSONS FROM PHIL JACKSON (Posted on 7.23.17)

As a coach who has lead two professional basketball teams to a combined total of 11 National Basketball Association (NBA) championships, Phil Jackson credits a lot of his success as a coach by teaching his players about ‘mindfulness.’ Mindfulness can be defined as “the act of paying attention to or being aware of one’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences without judgment.” Jackson believed that he could develop mental strength in his players by having them practice mindfulness to clear their minds and focus on the present moment. He would dedicate at least 5 to 10 minutes of practice to simply meditating and clearing their minds of all the stress that comes with being a professional basketball player on and off of the court, as well as clearing their mind from stress in their personal lives. In addition to training players to take their mind off of their troubles to help them focus during basketball games, mindfulness has also trained Jackson’s players to let go of their individual desires or egos. Putting together a team of talented, individual athletes with strong personalities is

no easy feat. Many players focus on setting individual stat records, like most points scored during a game, or getting selected to play in the All-Star Game where the best individual players from all of the basketball teams in the NBA are chosen to represent the best in the sport. Mindfulness allowed those players to clear their minds of those individual ambitions so that they can work with other players as a team to win games and team championships shared by everyone on the team.

One reason that Phil Jackson’s players responded well to mindfulness is because Jackson does an excellent job of modeling this practice on and off of the court. Regardless of whether he is on the basketball court during a championship game, or conducting a post-game interview, Jackson is always calm, cool, and collected. When it is typical and often expected that a coach in any sport shouts at his players, yells at referees, is explosive during press conferences and interviews, and kicks chairs over when angry, maintaining mindfulness as a coach is not easy. However, the fact that Phil Jackson is able to demonstrate mindfulness under adverse conditions shows his players that it is possible to be mindful in their profession, and that mindfulness can lead to success in that profession as well.

I really admire Phil Jackson’s mindfulness approach to coaching and leadership. In my experience working with youth AND adults, I’ve found that being calm, cool, and collected always lead me personally to success, while being aggressive and intimidating has never gotten me anywhere. I don’t like yelling at others because it never leads to progress or growth. I feel like yelling is necessary at times, like when a student is being unsafe on the other side of the school’s pool and I need them to immediately stop what they are doing. However, I need to be calm, cool, and collected with that student after so that I can explain why I yelled at them and why I cannot have them performing those unsafe actions so that he can understand what I am saying. Continuing to shout and act aggressive usually only results in me frustrating and confusing the student. I believe that being mindful like Phil Jackson allows me to lead and cooperate well with others because it allows people to hear and understand my instruction or feedback, and will make them more likely to follow directions. I believe this approach can work for me, and it can certainly work for you!

HEALTHY LIFE WITH MIKE