My Lifestyle

Health and Wellness

work-life
Day in and day out, the pressures of life can take a toll on your mental and physical health. To function at your peak level, you must listen to and heed your mind and body’s needs. Read through the sections below that provide suggestions on how to achieve a greater level of total wellness.

Resources

National Mental Health Association
http://www.nmha.org/
Information about mental health & illness and local support groups.

U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services - Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Ad.
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/
Includes general information, local services locator and 1-800 numbers.

National Mental Health Information Center
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/child/childhealth.asp
Child and adolescent mental health information

Depression Screening
http://www.depression-screening.org/
Confidential screening test and resources.

Work/Life Balance

Taking Work Too Far?

Do you find yourself drinking coffee by the pot, rather than the cup, in order to keep up with your workload? Have you dropped out of your exercise routine? Put personal pursuits on the backburner to make more time for your job? If you find yourself answering yes to any of these questions, it’s probably time to assess your work/life balance.

Many jobs today demand a lot-heavy workweeks, extended travel schedules, dinner meetings and weekend trainings. And there is nothing wrong with high achievement and working hard. But everyone must have life, fun and activities outside of the workplace. In fact, being well rounded, balanced people makes us all better, more interesting and often healthier professionals. Other benefits you’ll enjoy from maintaining a work/life balance:

  • Improved self-esteem, health, concentration & confidence 
  • Loyalty & commitment 
  • Relieved, by not bringing problems at home to work & vice versa 
  • Time to focus more on life outside work 
  • Greater control of your working life

To the right are a number of tools and resources to help you analyze your work/life balance and explore ways to give both your career and your personal life the dedication they deserve.

Coping With Change

Basics

“Nothing endures but change.”
- Heraclitus

Heraclitus had it right: Change is a fact of life. In the Greek philosopher’s time, change tended to unfold gradually. But today’s world changes at an alarmingly rapid pace. Thanks to television and the Internet, images and information zip around the globe in seconds, and we’re sometimes expected to respond just as quickly.

Change can take many forms and affect every aspect of our lives. It occurs in our family, work, social life and well-being. Some changes involve additions, such as births, new friends or relationships, and new possessions. Others involve losses, such as death, divorce or illness. Some changes are sudden, such as losing your job, while others are more gradual, such as entering middle age.

Change can be good or bad, depending on the person and the circumstances. For example, a divorce may be seen as a tragedy or a relief. A promotion is generally viewed as a change for the good, but if you’re anxious or unsure of your skills, you may view it as negative or threatening. Change may be sought out, appreciated or accepted, or it may be forced upon you, and resented or resisted. It can challenge or stimulate you, or make you feel anxious and threatened. Too little change can make life boring or depressing, while too much change can be uncomfortable or overwhelming.

Whatever its form, change requires an adjustment of some kind. This takes energy and, when the demands are too great, it can drain you physically and mentally. Change creates stress, so it needs to be managed effectively to prevent the development of stress-related symptoms and illnesses. Unmanaged stress can cause physical and emotional disorders, including everything from headaches and digestive problems to high blood pressure and insomnia.

The key to coping with change is to recognize it, understand its effects, and bring it - or your responses to it - under control as much as possible. When you can’t control the change itself, adjusting your attitude toward it can help lessen any stress or tension. You’ll stay healthier that way.

Key Tips

Key Tip 1

Change is stressful, even when it’s positive and welcome. But no change at all can make us feel like we’re stagnating. Strive for balance. Too much stress at once, or even a moderate amount of stress over a long period of time, can be unhealthy. People who experience a lot of changes in a brief period - within a year, for instance - are more likely to experience an accident or illness within that period than people who face fewer changes, research shows.

Key Tip 2

The Chinese word for crisis is made up of two symbols: the symbol for danger and the symbol for opportunity. Try to think of change as a mixture of crisis (or danger, or uncertainty) and opportunity. Ask yourself what lesson you might learn, what skill you might develop, or what aspect of yourself you might strengthen as a result of coping with this change.

Key Tip 3

During times of change and high stress, remember that regular exercise, a balanced diet and adequate sleep is needed to maintain your ability to cope.

Specifics

Evaluate your life on a regular basis - every few months or so - to determine how many significant changes you are experiencing. Just being aware will make it easier for you to understand and deal with the stress that almost always accompanies change.

The physical symptoms of change can be unsettling, to say the least. Change can cause all sorts of stress-related symptoms and disorders, such as:

  • Headaches
  • Insomnia
  • Digestive problems
  • Muscle tension and backaches
  • High blood pressure and cardiac problems
  • Impaired immune response
  • Depression or anxiety
  • Irritability
  • Eating too much or too little
  • Alcohol or drug abuse

If you can, schedule planned changes so that not too many occur at once. For example, if you’re getting married, buying a new house and coping with an ailing parent, it’s probably a good idea to hold off on looking for a new job until you’ve had time to adjust to these other changes.

When you find yourself faced with an unexpected change, take a moment to evaluate your emotional response. Ask yourself how you’re feeling. Are you happy, sad, scared, angry, threatened, resentful, excited, indifferent? After you’ve determined what you’re feeling, it can help to ask yourself some or all of the following questions:

  • Is my reaction justified?
  • Is the intensity of my reaction justified by the facts?
  • Am I overreacting, or misinterpreting?
  • Is there another way to look at this? Is there an opportunity here?
  • Are there aspects of this situation that I can control?
  • Would more information help me cope better with this change?

Learn a relaxation exercise. Relaxation is one of the most effective tools for managing stress and the anxiety or tension that can go along with it. Relaxation helps your body undo the negative effects of stress and can keep you functioning better physically and mentally.

Don’t forget humor goes a long way toward easing stress. Try to find the humor in situations, and in yourself, whenever possible.

Don’t expect to have to weather every change alone. Look for support from family or friends. Humor helps here, too.

  

Bouncing Back: The Art of Resiliency

At one time or another, most of us will encounter circumstances that seem insurmountable: job loss, relationship break-up, economic struggles, loss of a loved one, physical trauma - the list goes on. They are defining moments in life that can either knock us down or make us stronger. While we can’t always control our circumstances (life’s curve balls are usually out of our control), we can control our responses. Resiliency, or how well you bounce back, is a skill that can be learned and refined. Here’s how you can get started:

Have Reasonable Expectations. The road of life is paved with a few potholes, dead ends, and wrong turns. If you accept that at some point you’ll hit bumpy territory, then you’re better prepared to negotiate it. But, if you expect to live a life without setbacks, then the first bump you hit is perceived as a failure. Those who are best able to recover from adversity accept that it’s part of living a full life.

Change Your Question. Most people focus on how they ended up in their challenging situation. Obsessing about the details of your circumstances will keep you stuck in the same place, unable to move forward. Resiliency means shifting the focus from what happened to what to do next. The best question you can ask yourself is: What can I do for myself right now that will move me forward? Then you can apply what you learned to future situations.

What’s Within Your Control? Another thought pattern that delays rebounding from negative events is focusing on things you can’t control. Doing so will make you feel incapable, helpless, victimized, and stressed. Instead, focus only on what you can control. Sometimes, the only thing you have control over is how you choose to respond - and that’s big.

Growth Opportunity. While positive events reinforce what we’re doing right in life, our biggest life lessons tend to come in the wake of negative events. Do bad things need to happen in order for us to learn? Of course not, but negative events seem to have a lasting impact that cause us to alter our lives in more significant ways. What can you learn from your setback? How can you use it to improve your life (or the lives of others) in the future?

Assess Your Strengths. No matter what happens in life, there are certain things you’ll always own: character strengths. Each of us has certain traits that make us unique. They can’t be taken away (although sometimes we choose to give them away). Take a personal inventory of what makes you special. Think of personality traits that have been consistent throughout your life and have helped you in previous situations. Are you naturally curious? Are you compassionate? Are you humorous or creative? Highlighting and engaging your strengths gives you energy to rebound.

  

Burnout Prevention Tips

Bypassing Burnout

Want to prevent your job from taking over your life? Here are some proven ways to help you avoid putting too much stress, anxiety and energy into work.

Get a life. Make sure you maintain mental and physical activities that you enjoy. The pleasure you get from visiting with friends, spending time with family, competing athletically, learning, pursuing a hobby or volunteering helps create a balanced life. 

Don’t be afraid of mistakes. Perfection in work or life is impossible. Don’t lose years of your life trying to achieve it. If you make a mistake, the world will survive and so will you.

Manage your stress. Whenever you encounter something that causes you job stress, jot it down. Later, in a quiet place, reflect for 5 to 15 minutes on your accumulated job stresses for that day. The goal is to confine job stress to limited periods of time in which you can give it your full attention. Over time, the process can help you reduce overall stress levels.

Take control. Don’t let your problems control you. If you cannot effectively deal with your job stress or challenges, seek help from a supervisor, counselor or medical professional.

Get Enough Sleep

If you are sleep-deprived, you may not be aware of what is causing the problem. There are habits that can actually make you more prone to losing sleep. The following steps can help you achieve uninterrupted sleep:

  • Sleep naturally - Do not use sleep aids or sedatives: they can be addictive.
  • Don’t ingest alcohol, drugs, caffeine or chocolate before bedtime.
  • Eat your last meal at least two hours before bedtime to allow adequate digestion time.
  • Exercise early in the day to help you sleep better that night.
  • Read inspirational, soothing material before going to sleep. 
  • Keep a notebook at your bedside. If something is on your mind, write it down and then forget about it until morning.
  • Keep your attitude positive and mentally prepare to sleep well.
  • Use relaxation tools and better breathing techniques.
  • Monitor your thoughts at bedtime. Keep them positive.

Ward Off Illness

Staying healthy is crucial for all-around well being. In addition to a good diet and regular exercise, here are a few tips to help keep you healthy:

Examinations & regular check-ups

Regular dental exams, internal check-ups and gender-specific exams are extremely important.  From heart disease to cancer to genetic disorders, there are warning signs, tests and other precautions you can take advantage of to prevent, detect or deter an illness at its root. Consider getting an annual flu shot.

Alternative/holistic medicine

With consumer demand increasing, more and more holistic health practices are gaining national acceptance and going mainstream, including acupuncture, vitamin therapies and herbal supplements. The focus of such practices is on the mind and body through nutrition and lifestyle changes. There is a wealth of resources on the Internet on alternative health fields.

Take time for yourself - de-stress

Resources

WebMD: webmd_today/home/default

Wellness.com: http://www.wellness.com/

Stress isn’t preventable, but it is controllable

Too much stress can be paralyzing. It can make you afraid to take chances, sap energy and creativity, damage relationships and even make you physically sick.

Stress can make even simple requests feel like unmanageable demands. The turmoil in today’s corporate world is not letting up. As stress levels rise, tolerance often goes down. It seems as though we’re always rushing at home, too. We rarely seem to have time for our own needs. We’re caught up in a “hurry pattern.”

Stress is unavoidable. The important question is: How much do you allow stress to affect your quality of life? Stress can be good, if it motivates you to change, improve or achieve. If you think of stress as energy that can be directed toward positive, creative endeavors, you may be better able to control it.

15 ways to manage stress

  • Organize yourself
  • Talk to someone you trust
  • Work off stress
  • Get enough sleep to recharge your batteries
  • Take time out to play
  • Do something for others
  • Relax & take one thing at a time
  • Agree with somebody
  • Plan ahead
  • Develop a hobby
  • Eat sensibly & exercise
  • Don’t put off relaxing
  • Don’t be afraid to say “no” 
  • Delegate responsibility
  • Set realistic expectations

Exercise Advice

Aside from weight control, regular exercise has many benefits: improved mental health, improved health of your muscles and bones, and reduced risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and premature death.

If you don’t include any physical activity in your daily life, dig deep within yourself to discover the barriers that are inhibiting you. Maybe you continually make excuses for yourself. But you’re never too old to find time for physical activity.

Starting your routine

When starting any exercise regimen, determine how often you plan to exercise and what time of day will work best for you. Are you are interested in an individual sport or joining a team?

Lack of motivation could mean you are not selecting physical activity that interests you. Consider some new activities: aerobics, cycling, dancing, hiking, gardening, golf, racquetball, swimming, stair climbing, walking, yoga or even kickboxing.

Small changes

Here are some easy ways to include more physical activity in your daily life:

  • Ban the remote control-get up to switch the channel. 
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator at work, your apartment, the airport or the mall. 
  • At home, view going up and down the stairs as a chance to be active rather than as an annoyance. 
  • Choose a parking spot that forces you to walk, rather than driving around until you find a spot closer to your destination.

Kick the smoking habit

With the overwhelming amount of information available today concerning the negative health consequences of smoking; it’s time to kick the habit. As with any addiction, the toughest part is admitting you’ve got a problem.

Make a plan

Consider the following questions:

  • When you tried to quit in the past, what helped? What didn’t? 
  • What situations will be the hardest on you after you stop?
  • Will your friends who smoke put pressure on you? How will you handle them? 
  • Who can help to get you through the tough time? Friends? Family? Ex-smokers? Support groups?

Tips to help you quit

  • Don’t focus on possible weight gain. Weight gain varies from person to person. Some people don’t gain weight at all. But if you do gain weight, you can deal with it later. The benefits of quitting smoking far outweigh the disadvantage of nominal weight gain.
  • If you finally do quit, relapses typically occur within the first three months. Therefore, know what triggers you to smoke, and make a list of those things:  alcohol, other smokers, mood swings, or withdrawal symptoms such as dry mouth, edginess or a cough. These are temporary side effects, which just indicate that your body is adjusting to the change.

Resources

Coping with an Alcohol Problem

Nearly 14 million Americans have an alcohol problem. Alcoholism is the third-largest killer in the United States, and alcohol contributes to 100,000 deaths annually, ranking it as the third leading cause of preventable mortality in America. Despite these staggering statistics, there are highly successful treatment options available to help if you or a loved one has an alcohol problem.

Alcohol’s Effect on the Body

Ethyl alcohol is created by the fermentation of sugars from grains and fruits. Alcohol is absorbed in the small intestine and metabolized in the liver to produce energy and heat. A normal liver can process about 50 alcohol calories an hour (one ounce of 40 percent alcohol). Your rate of intoxication depends on your body size (it takes more alcohol to intoxicate a large person), body fat, food present in your body, and the concentration of alcohol over time. Most states define legal intoxication as a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or less.

Modest amounts of alcohol (up to two drinks a day for men [e.g., two 12-ounce bottles of beer] and one for women) are not considered harmful. When consumed, alcohol first acts as a tranquilizer or sedative to depress the central nervous system, causing relaxation and reduced blood pressure (although blood pressure increases the more you drink). In moderate to higher doses, it can cause impairment of thoughts, judgment, emotions, muscle coordination and speech. In extreme doses, alcohol can lead to brain damage, coma and possibly death.

Drinking alcohol can increase your risk of:

  • Malnutrition, liver damage, heart disease and ulcers
  • Cancer (liver, throat, pancreatic and other organs);
  • Accidents (vehicular, on-the-job and recreational)
  • Depression and suicide
  • Broken relationships with family, friends and coworkers
  • Brain damage, blackouts and memory loss
  • Severe withdrawal symptoms, which may include confusion, memory loss, delirium, hallucinations, tremors and seizures
  • Violent behavior and homicide
  • Fetal damage (for pregnant mothers)

Experts regard alcoholism as a chronic disease that may be genetically linked and influenced by psychosocial and environmental factors. An alcoholic continues to abuse alcohol even after negative consequences happen, such as the onset of health problems, drunk-driving arrests and breakups in relationships.

Symptoms of alcoholism include:

  • Frequent and excessive drinking of alcohol
  • Strong craving for alcohol
  • Increased tolerance (you need to increase the amounts of alcohol to achieve the same “high” feeling)
  • Physical dependency (withdrawal symptoms, including high blood pressure and body temperature, shakiness, diarrhea, nausea, insomnia, sweating and anxiety)
  • Denial of a problem and making excuses for drinking

Treatment Options

Alcoholism is a treatable disease. The first step in treatment is to admit you have a problem. The second step is to get help by talking to your doctor or contacting a professional who can refer you to a treatment program. Typical treatment methods include:

  • Detoxification: You can withdraw safely and with proper medical supervision at a special clinic or hospital-based detoxification unit. This process may take up to five days.
  • Medications: Your doctor may prescribe certain drugs to treat your withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
  • Counseling and education: Individual therapy, group counseling and participation in support groups.
  • Complete abstinence from alcohol: The majority of experts agree that an alcoholic can never drink safely or moderately over time.

Support Resources

Maintain Good Eating Habits

What you eat and how you eat, your eating style, is important. Eating styles can lead to weight gain or loss over time, so evaluate yours carefully. Here are some problem behaviors that need to be controlled to help maintain ideal weight:

  • Eating when you’re sad, lonely or depressed.
  • Eating when you feel guilty.
  • Eating in response to a food commercial or print ad.
  • Eating more than three meals and two snacks each day.
  • Eating very quickly.
  • Eating on the run.

If you are overweight, remember:

  • Weight loss is a long-term process. Rapid loss may result in health risks. 
  • You don’t have to “go it alone” in your weight-loss challenge. There are weight-management centers, counselors, nutritionists, books and magazines available - take advantage of them.

Tips for a healthful dietary lifestyle

  • Eat smaller portions. Rather than deny yourself a food, enjoy a taste occasionally to satisfy your psychological hunger. 
  • Eat more fruits and vegetables.
  • Check your daily fat intake.
  • Be aware of what you eat. Jot down everything that you eat and drink as well as the portion size.
  • Soft drinks, juice drinks, flavored and sweetened coffees and teas have calories and they add up quickly. 
  • When eating out, save part of your entree for leftovers. Order appetizers as entrees, or ask the kitchen to split an entree for two diners. 
  • “Reduced-fat” products don’t mean you can eat all you want. Check the label for total calories.

Eating disorders

If you have bulimia and anorexia nervosa, denying the problem is very common. Carefully consider your eating habits. If you have an eating disorder or have begun a cycle of obsessive behavior, ask others to help you get treatment - it could save your life.

More information

Overeaters Anonymous http://www.oa.org/

Weight Watchers http://www.weightwatchers.com/

  

Parenting

Caring for your family is an essential part of life. It is quite rewarding, but can also cause stress. Check out these tips that can help.

Online Resources

Parent Soup Newsletter
http://www.parentsoup.com/
Parenting tips offered from toddlers to teens.

National Parenting News
http://www.parentinginfo.org/
Newsletters geared to parents of children at various ages.

Parents - The Anti-Drug
http://www.theantidrug.com/
Information about parenting adolescents.

Finances

Money. You gotta’ have it. You work hard to get it. Why does there seem to be never enough?

To many people, financial management is an ambiguous term that only applies to the wealthy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Regardless of your income, managing your finances is crucial for making sure you have enough money for your needs today and your lifestyle in the future.

With a little know-how and proper planning, you can manage your money effectively, while eliminating debt and planning for retirement. Its all part of a smart financial management plan.

Get Debt Under Control

Carrying a lot of debt can plague your financial status and affect your work/life balance. Not only does it reduce the amount of disposable income you have, but it also impacts your credit history - which follows you for many years and tells potential lenders whether or not you’ve ever defaulted on a loan or declared bankruptcy. These tools can help you get debt under control.

Resources

Credit Counselors
http://www.credit-counselors.cc/?referrer=google&consumer&credit&counseling
Non-profit credit counseling service

Springboard
http://www.credit.org/
Non-profit consumer credit management association