Published October 30, 2004
in the North Island Weekender
Back in
August I wrote an article Control the Stress
Pathway which explained some of the medical advice I give for stress
reduction. Here I would like to write more about the fun stuff you can to do
for stress management which I recently presented at the CUPE Pro D day in
Courtenay. I developed “52 Stress Reducers” and put them into a handout. If you
keep on doing what you are doing, you will keep on getting what you are
getting. Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn Ph.D.
author of Full
Catastrophe Living, states that in order to incorporate new techniques into
your life this can in and of itself be stressful, however to institute change
requires work. Here are a few from the list of 52 techniques to get you
started.
Tip #1. Laugh : When we laugh or smile blood flow
to the brain is increased, and levels of cortisol and epinephrine are decreased
lowering blood pressure, diminishing other cardiovascular problems, increasing
white blood cells to improve immunity.
Saranne Rothberg started www.ComedyCures.com while she was battling an aggressive breast
cancer. It is a charity to help those experiencing tragedy to have some humor.
“First you have to mourn, then you can give pain the freedom to leave” she
says. Adults manage 15 laughs per day and toddlers laugh an average of 400
times per day! Rent comedy videos once per week for comedy night: Rat Race, Me,
Myself and Irene, Naked Gun, Naked Gun 2, Best of Bill Cosby, Some Like it Hot.
Stuart Mclean (Vinyl Café) on CBC radio, on the weekend is a weekly treat for
me too!
Tip #2. Breathe: Square breathing is a technique
where you pick one corner, count to four as you exhale. Reach the next corner
on the inhale, leave it on the exhale. Four corners four deep breaths. This
increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the body, which reduces the panic
response.
Tip #5. Take a hot bath or a steaming shower. I saw an ad for a bathtub once that
said “stress can’t swim”. Visualize all the troubles of the day melting in the
water and then traveling down the drain. (This is an important technique for
fostering sleep as studies indicate people cannot fall asleep as easily if they
are too cold or if their feet are cold).
Tip #7. Put yourself first: If you don’t have yourself then you
can not be as effective in the other roles you play in your life. It isn’t
being selfish, it is being self-respectful. See Family
First by Dr. Phillip McGraw. Start the day with “What would I love to do
today?” and schedule time for it. If you don’t know what you love to do then go
through The
Artists Way by Julia Cameron. This is a constructive form of rewarding
yourself instead of doing it with addictive behaviors such as drinking alcohol,
taking over the counter drugs or using sweets or coffee. For some this step may
be very hard to overcome as our society is quick to label this technique as
being selfish. During the workshop I had the participants write out 10 things
they loved to do and then try to schedule it into their lives the following
week.
Tip#10. What IS working in
your life: this is the basis of the gratitude journal. We all know what is
not working, but writing five things per day in a lovely book (Simple
Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach) or emailing your friends or spouse
allows you to recognize wonderful things that are happening in your life while
they are happening. You will find yourself saying: “I have to remember to write
this in my gratitude journal tonight” which is a mindful exercise and makes a
great diary too! This exercise was fun for the participants as I had each share
with their neighbor what they had written.
Tip#26. Identify Role Stress: Most of us get stuck in a few
urgent roles in our lives but forget about other IMPORTANT roles that may be
less urgent. These roles are what Steven Covey has you identify in his book: First
Things First. Identify the 7 key roles you play in your life. Establish
mission statements and goals for each one, and then give them some attention
every week. Most of us give plenty of attention to our roles as a worker of
some kind, but we pay little attention to our role as spouse, mother or father,
grandparent, financial organizer, friend, member of your church, or creative
coordinator. Exercise: List four people who are important to you. List the role
you play in your relationship with each person. Ask yourself for each person:
“what activity can I plan to do with this person that will have a positive
impact on our relationship?” and plan this into your coming week. You don’t
have to work on all your roles at once, focus on one substantial goal in one of
your roles each week.
For a copy
of the complete list of “52 Stress Reducers” drop by the office or call and we
can email it or fax it to you.
Dr. Pincott has been practicing naturopathic medicine since 1985 and is currently practicing in Campbell River. She can be reached at (250) 286-3655 or www.DrPincott.com