Bridget H. Melnyk MSW, LCSW

STRESSED DESSERTS

Master’s in Social Work from Rutgers University

Licensed Clinical Social Worker At least 2 years post-graduate clinical experience

Passed two licensing examsExperience working with children,

adolescents and adultsWorked in schools, summer camps, and

hospitalsCurrently have a private practice

ABOUT ME…

Tell me a little about yourself…

What interested you in today’s discussion?

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

stress/strɛs / noun 1 . importance at tached to a th ing: to lay s t ress upon good manners . Synonyms:

s ign ifi cance, meaning, emphas is , consequence; we ight, va lue, wor th . 2. Phonet ics . emphas is in the fo rm o f prominent re la t ive loudness o f a sy l lab le or a

word as a resu l t o f spec ia l eff or t in ut terance. 3. Prosody . accent or emphas is on sy l lab les  in a metr ica l pat tern ; beat. 4. emphas is in melody, rhythm, etc . ; beat . 5. the phys ica l pressure , pu l l , o r o ther fo rce exer ted on one th ing by another ; s t ra in . 6. Mechan ics .

a. the action on a body of any system of balanced forces whereby strain or deformation results. b. the amount of stress, usually measured in pounds per square inch or in pascals. c. a load, force, or system of forces producing a strain. d. the internal resistance or reaction of an elastic body to the external forces applied to it. e. the ratio of force to area. See also strain1 (  def 23 ) , shear (  def 19 ) , torsion (  def 3 ) .

7. Phys io logy . a spec ifi c response by the body to a s t imulus , as fear o r pa in , that d is turbs or in ter feres w i th the normal phys io log ica l equ i l ib r ium of an organ ism.

8. phys ica l , menta l , o r emot iona l s t ra in or tens ion: Worry over h is job and h is w i fe 's hea l th put h im under a great s t ress . Synonyms: anx iety , burden, pressure , oppress ion ; eff or t , exer t ion , s t rugg le , s t ra in .

9. a s i tuat ion , occurrence, or factor caus ing th is : The s t ress o f be ing t rapped in the e levator gave h im a pounding headache.

10. Archa ic . s t rong or s t ra in ing exer t ion .

WHAT IS STRESS?

How can stress be bad for us? Stress can cause a number of medical problems Stress can lead to anxiety and/or depressive disorders Stress can result in panic attacks

How can stress be good for us? Stress can motivate you Stress can keep you safe Stress can make you more productive Stress can help you problem solve Stress actually helps us survive in times of trauma

GOOD VS. BAD STRESS

BAD STRESS

Take a “serenity break”… Take time to tune out from whatever it is you’re doing…listen to

music, look at family photos, take some deep breaths, whatever it is that will help you feel peaceful

Laughter is the best medicine… Finding something to laugh at is a simple way to release some stress

Try and remember and relive the last time you had a full hearted belly laugh

Watch a clip from a movie that’s made you laugh in the past Watch a clip from a favorite comedian Look up some jokes online Practice laughter therapy

The Archer The Group Swing “Oh, no you didn’t!” Lion King Lottery Winner Choo Choo!

5 MINUTE STRESS BUSTERS

Make a connection… As humans one of the things we value the most is our

connection with others… Call a friend Reply to an email or text message you’ve been meaning to but

haven’t

Workout… Leave some weights under your desk and do some light

lifting Engage in these exercises at your desk/chair/etc.:

The Hot Air Balloon The Angry Cat Dancing at Your Desk

Write it down and try journaling! It helps to get your emotions out and to clear your thoughts

5 MINUTE STRESS BUSTERS

Sleep on it… (My personal favorite!) Take a nap Recent research has found that napping may reduce your

risk of death from heart attack and increase productivity, alertness, and concentration…

Play! Take a moment to play a game on your phone Play a round of solitaire Do a crossword puzzle or suduko

Tea Time… Tea (not coffee) continues to have much researched medical

benefits including warding off cancer and increasing your metabolism

5 MINUTE STRESS BUSTERS

Boxed breathing

Positive Affi rmationsGuided ImageryYogaMeditation Progressive muscle relaxation

MORE COPING STRATEGIES

Loosen your clothing, take off your shoes, and get comfortable. Take a few minutes to relax, breathing in and out in slow, deep

breaths. When you’re relaxed and ready to start, shift your attention to your

right foot. Take a moment to focus on the way it feels. Slowly tense the muscles in your right foot, squeezing as tightly as

you can. Hold for a count of 10. Relax your right foot. Focus on the tension fl owing away and the way

your foot feels as it becomes l imp and loose. Stay in this relaxed state for a moment, breathing deeply and slowly. When you’re ready, shift your attention to your left foot. Fol low the

same sequence of muscle tension and release. Move slowly up through your body, contracting and relaxing the

muscle groups as you go. I t may take some practice at fi rst, but try not to tense muscles other

than those intended. Right Foot – Left Foot – Right Calf – Left Calf – Right Thigh – Left Thigh – Hips/Buttocks – Stomach – Chest – Back – Right Arm/Hand – Left Arm/Hand – Neck/Shoulders – Face

PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION

What if we looked at stress in a non-judgmental way?

What if we did not see stress as good or bad – but just accepted it for what it is?Accept the feeling of stressAccept the physical symptoms

Heart racing PerspirationRapid breathing

STRESS IS JUST STRESS…

On June 10, 2011, Wallenda hung from a helicopter 250 feet (76 m) off the ground using only his teeth to hold on

On June 15, 2012, he was the fi rst person to walk a tightrope stretched directly over Niagara Falls on June 15, 2012

On June 23, 2013, he became the fi rst person to high-wire walk across a Grand Canyon area gorge

But how does he do it? He shared how he is able to perform stunts like this: by

seeing the physical manifestations of stress as positives. Yes, the body will start to shake on the tightrope. But this is not a sign of weakness; it is instead a natural response that is preparing him for what is to come. In moderate amounts — and perhaps this comes with decades of training — stress can be helpful in willing strength and focus when it is needed most.

NICK WALLENDA

The study: Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison asked almost 29,000 people to rate their level of stress over the past year as well as how much they believed this stress influenced their health — a little, a moderate amount or a lot. Over the next eight years, public death records were used to record the passing of any subjects.

The fi ndings: People who reported having high levels of stress and who believed stress had a large impact on their health had a whopping 43% increased risk of death. On the other hand, those that experienced a lot of stress but did not perceive its eff ects as negative were amongst the least likely to die as compared to all other participants in the study.

STRESS IS JUST STRESS…

The study: Lead author Michael J. Poulin of the University of Buff alo and his team interviewed almost 850 people, ages 34-93, living in Detroit, Michigan. Participants were asked to report stressful events they had encountered in the past year and how much, in the same time period, that they had assisted others.  Deaths that occurred within the group in the next five years were tracked using obituaries and public death records.

The fi ndings: Every major stress event increased an individual’s risk of death by 30%. But, overall, this increase was erased for those who reported high rates of helping others, even if they additionally dealt with a lot of stress. The evidence suggests that giving to others significantly reduces stress-induced mortality.

STRESS IS JUST STRESS…

The study : Employees at a fi nancial institution were asked to take a test on their stress mindset before and after watching three videos over the course of a week that either presented stress as enhancing or harmful. In a second study, students who had previously taken a survey on their stress mindset were told in class that fi ve of them would be randomly selected to give a speech that would also be videotaped. For each student, mouth swabs were taken to measure cortisol levels. Each was also asked to decide, if chosen to speak, whether or not they would receive feedback from their peers and business school experts who watched the footage.

The fi ndings : In the fi rst study, not only were many people infl uenced by the message of the videos. Those that viewed the video that approached stress as enhancing reported better work performance as well as less psychological complications. As for the students, those who naturally saw stress as helpful had a more moderate cortisol response upon hearing about the speech possibility — and they were more likely to request feedback.

STRESS IS JUST STRESS…

So maybe it’s not necessarily the stress that we have in our lives…

….But the way we look at the stress and perceive it as either positive or negative

STRESS IS JUST STRESS…

Have you ever noticed that when you are doing quite familiar and repetitive tasks, like driving your car, or vacuuming, that you mind is often miles away thinking about something else?

You may be fantasizing about going on a vacation, worrying about some upcoming event, or thinking about any number of other things.

In either case you are not focusing on your current experience, and you are not really in touch with the ‘here and now.’ This way of operating is often referred to as automatic pilot mode.

Mindfulness is the opposite of automatic pilot mode. It is about experiencing the world that is fi rmly in the ‘here and now.’ This mode is referred to as the being mode. It off ers a way of freeing oneself from automatic and unhelpful ways of thinking and responding.

MINDFULNESS

Benefits: By learning to be in mindful mode more often, it is possible

to develop a new habit that helps to weaken old, unhelpful and automatic thinking habits.

Mindfulness training does not aim to immediately control, remove, or fix an unpleasant experience. Rather, it aims to develop a skill to place you in a better position to break free of or not ‘buy into’ these unhelpful habits that are causing distress and preventing positive action.

MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness consists of observing, describing, participating fully and being non-judgmental… One minute of mindfulness Conscious observation Ten second count Mindfulness cues

You can also search online for free mindfulness exercises or free guided mindfulness exercises by a certified instructor

MINDFULNESS EXERCISES

Stabi l i ty of MindMindfulness benefi ts inc lude a much more balanced out look on l i fe , and a state of mind that is less l ikely to bounce around f rom one thought to the next .

Flexible AwarenessMindfulness wi l l help tra in you to take command of your awareness, so that you can shi ft your attent ion f rom depress ing or angry thoughts to more pos i t ive ones with greater ease.

Self AwarenessMindfulness tra ins you to become aware of what is going on ins ide you and how your inner wor ld of thoughts and feel ings is react ing to the events that are tak ing place in the wor ld around you. When you develop th is k ind of awareness, you wi l l be more aware of inner d isturbances i f they ar ise, and therefore more able to take steps to mainta in a posi t ive out look i f they do. Oftent imes, stress and anxiety bui ld up over a per iod of t ime because we are not paying attent ion to what is going on ins ide us.

Non ReactivityThrough mindfulness, and especia l ly through the pract ice of mindfulness meditat ion, you learn to observe your thoughts and feel ings and any environmental c i rcumstances with a more detached out look. You learn to stop label l ing the events in your l i fe as “bad” or “ i rr i tat ing” or “bor ing” and so on. Instead, you learn to s imply accept th ings as they are without react ing to them. Of course, th is does not mean that you stop work ing to change the th ings in your l i fe that problematic for you, but i t does mean that you wi l l not be so burdened by problems that you may once have deemed to be into lerable. Non react iv i ty is summed up nicely by the ever popular “sereni ty prayer ” :

Matthieu Ricard - born in France, a son of the philosopher Jean-François Revel, Ricard has a doctorate in cell genetics and serves as the French interpreter for the Dalai Lama.

Researchers decided to see if Ricard, with decades of meditation under his belt, would respond diff erently to being startled than those of us with decades of being generally anxious under our belts. They put him in a room and asked him to meditate. Then the researchers played a 115-decibel “burst of white noise,” equivalent in volume to a gunshot.

The results: Ricard’s response was so minimal it was almost impossible to see

BUDDHIST MONK