Personal Safety
Give presents that promote a healthy lifestyle. Keep their well-being and self-care in mind when making your list and checking it twice.
Action Step:There are many thoughtful and joyful gifts to choose from that will enhance well-being, for adults and kids.
© American Institute for Preventive Medicine
SUCCESS OVER STRESS
If you’re feeling stressed, you’re not alone. The pandemic and recent world events can take a toll on your emotional health. But there are things you can do to help yourself feel better.
Take breaks from news and social media.
Hearing about a crisis throughout your day can be upsetting. Schedule a time once a day to check the news or social media, and then turn it off.
Take care of your body.
Your physical health affects your mental health. Try going for a walk instead of curling up on the couch. If you’re hungry, eat some fruits and vegetables. Limit or avoid processed foods, which can make you feel worse.
Keep in touch with others.
Call or text friends or family members. Talk about your feelings and let them talk about theirs. You can be a support system for one other.
If you need help managing stress or emotional health, talk to your doctor or call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Hotline at 800-985-5990.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
© American Institute for Preventive Medicine
SELF-CARE CORNER
Self-care at its most basic means taking time to do activities that improve your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
The goal of self-care is to invest in your well-being. While this can feel self-indulgent, good self-care habits help you enjoy life and care better for those around you. It’s a win-win for everyone.
How self-care evolved
The idea of self-care is not new. Throughout human history, people have always spent time caring for their physical needs. Finding food and shelter and preventing illness are fundamental forms of self-care.
However, more recently, self-care has expanded to include more than just physical health. The pressures of modern society and our expanding scientific understanding of how humans work demonstrate the need for self-care that provides for every aspect of being.
Investing time in your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health is true self-care.
Physical self-care
Physical self-care includes habits that keep you healthy and strong throughout your whole life. These include:
* Eat healthy, regular meals.
* Stay hydrated by drinking lots of water.
* Get at least 30 minutes of movement each day.
* Make 7-9 hours of sleep a priority.
* Get regular physicals and health screenings.
Mental self-care
Mental self-care means caring for your mental health by managing stress and improving resiliency. Examples are:
* Engage in relaxing activities.
* Listen to calming music or sounds.
* Take mental health/vacation days to unplug from work.
* Schedule time for yourself to do something you enjoy.
* Seek professional help to manage chronic stress.
Emotional self-care
Emotional self-care goes hand-in-hand with mental self-care but is focused on acknowledging and expressing how you feel. It can include:
* Acknowledge and express your feelings in healthy ways.
* Connect with supportive friends and family.
* Take a break from the news or social media.
* Keep a gratitude journal.
* Do a creative activity.
Spiritual self-care
Spiritual self-care means recognizing you are not the center of the universe and investing in connection with the world around you:
* Spend time in nature.
* Connect with a faith community.
* Pray or meditate.
* Volunteer for a cause you care about.
* Read inspirational literature.
© American Institute for Preventive Medicine
SUCCESS OVER STRESS
When it comes to dealing with deep inner emotions, there is a method you can really use to change, according to Dr. Claudia Sheftel-Luiz, a psychoanalyst and author of Where’s My Sanity? Stories that Help. It starts with 5 simple steps.
1. Look inward.
You don’t have to get stranded in a no-man’s land, replete with endless complaining that alienates everyone around you, if you look inward. Nor do you have to get trapped thinking, over and over, about how bad you feel or how hard and tough life is. Looking inward means trusting that there’s something about yourself that you don’t know yet.
2. Stick with it.
Don’t just take a quick peek inside yourself, freak out, and leave. You have to hang out with your own thoughts for a while, in search of something you don’t yet know about yourself. Simply put, there is just no way that you can know everything that’s going on in your own mind at any one time. If you’ve ever scratched your head and wondered why you can’t change, that’s why: you don’t know your whole story yet.
3. Find someone to listen.
A good sounding board keeps you moving forward, looking for the thoughts, ideas, and feelings inside yourself that you don’t know yet. Some people find that they can use a yoga mat, open valley or solitary journey to open up to themselves in a new way. But better yet, find a real live person to talk to. Someone who won’t judge you, who can tolerate everything you feel, and who can ask you questions. Someone to hear you.
4. Find strength in being heard.
Thoughts and feelings that are hidden from our conscious day-to-day life are generally strange. Our hidden stories keep us from moving forward, and they stay hidden because they are so quirky, irrational, negative, and strange. So keep working on being heard, and deeply understood, and the rest should follow.
5. Don’t bring your family into this.
As much as your partner, you parents, and your best friend (who is like family) love you and want the best for you, they are probably the worst people to listen to your emotions. Find a clergyperson, a new best friend, or a therapist who knows how to ask really good questions. This is not about more solving. It’s about evolving.
Inward journeys, where we connect to unseen parts of ourselves and seek to be heard rather than improved, are deeply rich and unforgettable. Those emotional “aha” moments, when we finally land on what has been holding us back from changing a small habit or realizing a large dream, change us naturally and eternally.
© American Institute for Preventive Medicine
SUCCESS OVER STRESS
Don’t let stress take over your day! Try to do one (or a few!) of these things to start feeling better:
1.Connect with friends:Meeting up with other people can help reduce symptoms of stress and increase feelings of happiness.
2.Meditation:Meditation, such as mindfulness, is a proven way to help reduce stress.
3.Deep breathing:Slow, deep breaths can calm the body’s stress response and help you relax.
4.Playing with pet:Walking the dog or petting an animal companion may calm you.
5.Yoga:Practicing yoga can help the body relax. Try doing yoga videos at home or attending a local class.
6.Listen to music:Music helps the body cope with stress. Listen to music that makes you feel happy or relaxed.
7.Read a book:Escape to another world and take your mind off the day with a favorite book.
8.Exercise:Regular exercise has many benefits, including improving your mental health and stress management.
9.Massage:A massage not only feels good, but it can help reduce stress and muscle tension.
Sources: Anxiety and Depression Association of America, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Mental Health
© American Institute for Preventive Medicine
FAMILY LIFE
Stress, anxiety, and burnout are never far from the doorsteps of millions of Americans who are caregivers as they often juggle the responsibilities of providing daily care for a loved one with dementia or another condition with the added demands of working, maintaining a household, or raising children.
Too often caregivers don’t know how to ask for help, and friends and family members aren’t sure of how to lend a hand.
“Caregivers will say ‘no’ when offered help because they worry it will reflect poorly on them or because they ‘don’t want to bother’ others. And some caregivers get so attached to their role that they just can’t let go,” said Nancy Alterman, a licensed clinical social worker with the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine.
If you know a family member or close friend who is a caregiver, Alterman offers the following suggestions to help ease that person’s burden.
* Be sensitive about visiting by calling ahead to schedule a time that is convenient. But if the caregiver routinely declines offers of a visit, you may need to just show up with special foods or an easy activity like a puzzle.
* Avoid bringing a crowd, but visiting with at least one other person gives the caregiver a chance to go out with a friend, knowing that another trusted person is there for the patient’s needs.
* Instead of asking, “What can I do?” offer to grocery shop, go to the post office, do laundry or cook a meal that you can bring over.
* Be a good listener. Whether in person or by phone, sometimes just having a contact to the outside world is all the caregiver needs to help cope with that day’s burden.
* Be alert for signs of caregiver stress, such as denial, social withdrawal, sleeplessness, or lack of concentration.
* Offer to spend the night so the caregiver can get some rest. Lack of sleep can quickly lead to a deteriorating situation or a health crisis. Make sure the caregiver and the patient are discussing any sleep issues with their doctors.
* Research adult medical day services in your community and share that information with the caregiver. These medically supervised programs can actually help extend the time that the patient can remain at home.
© American Institute for Preventive Medicine
FAMILY LIFE
There’s no doubt: caregiving is a stressful job. If you help take care of an aging, ill, or disabled loved one, you are a caregiver. And although caregiving may take up a lot of your time, you need to make time for yourself too, says the Family Caregiving Alliance.
If you’ve been trying to juggle caregiving with your other commitments, it’s time to take a moment and think about your own needs. If you keep doing things for others without taking time for yourself, your health and entire life could suffer. Caregivers of all ages can be prone to the following problems:
* Depression or anxiety
* High stress levels
* Poor quality sleep or not sleeping enough
* Unhealthy diet choices
* Lack of exercise
* Not getting needed health care for themselves
* Financial problems
* Feeling isolated and alone
These factors together can create health and personal problems. Before you reach the point of burnout, try to find a way to get a break from caregiving. Think about what would relax you and help you recharge. Is it a lunch date with a friend? An aerobics or yoga class? A walk through the park? A soak in the tub? Whatever it is, you deserve the time to do it.
How to find the time
Not sure how to find time for yourself? Talk to others who can help out. Ask friends, neighbors, or family members to step in for just an hour or two so you can have a break. Or, if you can, have your loved one spend some time at an adult day care or respite center. If others have offered to help in any way, learn how to say, “Yes, that would be great,” and accept their offer. Many caregivers mistakenly think they need to do it all themselves – don’t!
Many people feel guilty leaving their loved one for even a short while. But remember, you need to recharge yourself so you can be the best caregiver possible. You’re doing it for others just as much as for yourself.
Talk to others
Many caregiver support groups are available online and in local communities. Connecting with others who understand can go a long way in helping you feel better. The local Area Agency on Aging (AAA) is a good place to start. Some support groups are online, while others offer in-person meetings. Choose what is right for you.
Remember:Taking time for you is not being selfish. It’s a necessity. You deserve some time to take care of your own needs. It will allow you to be the best you can be in all areas of your life.
© American Institute for Preventive Medicine
SUCCESS OVER STRESS
Stress happens to everyone at some point. We all face problems and situations that can be stressful. This can be losing a job, an unexpected move, losing a loved one, or problems at work. Even happy events such as a marriage, new baby, or new job can cause stress and anxiety.
Too much stress can hurt your health. The American Psychological Association says chronic stress can lead to heart disease, depression, headaches, weight gain, and other health problems.
But no one can avoid stress completely. The best strategy is to learn ways you can cope with the challenges of life and lower your stress levels through healthy thoughts and habits. The American Academy of Family Physicians offers these tips:
* Figure out what you can and can’t control. If you have no control over something (like the weather or someone else’s behavior), try not to worry about it.
* Tackle small, doable problems if the big ones can’t be done right now.
* See change as an important lesson and a challenge that will help you learn and grow.
* If you have conflicts with others, try to address them calmly. Resolving differences can relieve stress, anxiety and anger.
* When you’re feeling stressed, talk with someone you trust.
* Be realistic with your schedule. Say “no” to things you can’t do.
* Get regular exercise. It can lower stress levels and help you sleep better.
* Choose healthy foods to nourish your body and help you feel your best.
* Take part in an activity you enjoy that can take your mind off stressful things. Sports, music, classes, or just a regular walk around the neighborhood can help you clear your mind.
© American Institute for Preventive Medicine
SUCCESS OVER STRESS
Do you ever wish you could erase the stress from your life? Although that’s not possible, there’s another option: change the way your body responds to stress. The American Heart Association recommends the following strategies for dealing with stress.
Change your self-talk.
Think about some of the thoughts that pop into your head when you’re stressed. There’s a good chance some of these thoughts are making your stress response worse. Thoughts like “I can’t do this” or “Everything is going wrong” can be replaced with positive thoughts that can calm your body and mind. Practice telling yourself, “I can handle this, one step at a time,” or “Everyone makes mistakes, and I can forgive myself.”
Adopt a healthy habit you enjoy.
Many people respond to stress by overeating or other unhealthy habits, such as drinking alcohol or using tobacco. Instead, try going for a walk, calling a friend, listening to your favorite music, or reading a good book or magazine. Try to do this healthy habit at least once a day for 15 minutes to keep stress levels under control.
Look into relaxation.
Relaxation is about more than just sitting down in front of the TV. True, deep relaxation involves exercises such as deep breathing, meditation, yoga, or tai chi. These can take some practice to learn how to do them, so look into community classes or one of the many meditation apps available.
When you change your body’s stress response, you’ll feel better and may possibly avoid some or all of the health problems stress can cause.
© American Institute for Preventive Medicine
SUCCESS OVER STRESS
Is your relationship stormy? Indifferent? One-sided? According to Pennsylvania psychologist, Dr. Michael S. Broder, these are the three types of troubled relationships. They account for the high divorce rate, as well as the much higher percentage of non-married relationships that end.
Stormy Relationship:
This type has plenty of passion, but it may not be the positive kind. Positive passion is a relationship at its best. Too much negative passion results in a great amount of anger and discomfort. At the extreme, these relationships can become abusive and even dangerous. A relationship with a lot of passion and little or no comfort can still be highly charged romantically and sexually. In some cases the most passionate sex actually occurs after the meanest and volatile arguments. The sad part is that the cause of the anger is never dealt with or resolved. Thus, the pattern can continue indefinitely.
Indifferent Relationship:
With this type, most-if not all-of the passion is missing. There can be a very comfortable living arrangement, but partners may have little feeling or sexual desire for each other. Sometimes partners simply grow apart without anger, or there can be as much anger as there is in the typical stormy relationship. The main difference is that there’s just not the tendency to argue or do battle with each other. This may be a result of the partners’ personality styles, or the absence of passion-including negative passion. Instead, the relationship merely begins to die a slow and quiet death. In other words, it may be brain alive but heart dead.
One-Sided Relationships:
In this type, one person usually puts out much more effort and energy to maintain and nurture the relationship than does the other. One partner can be quite content, having all the passion and comfort he or she needs. Yet the other partner feels somewhat to totally unfulfilled.
In all types of troubled relationships it is important to ask: “What is the potential for change?” If the answer is none, the next question to ask yourself is, “Is this where I still want to be?”
Adapted from Can Your Relationship Be Saved? How to Know Whether to Stay or Go by Dr. Michael S. Broder.
© American Institute for Preventive Medicine