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REFRESH YOUR LIFE
A seminar about health, happiness and resilience
Shane Martin Reg.Psychol.Ps.,S.I.
TODAY
10.30 am – 1.00 pmMANAGING STRESS
12.30 pm – 1.30 pm BREAK
1.30 pm – 3.30 pmHAPPINESS AND RESILIENCE
•Open-mindedness
•Space
•Time-out
•Hearing ourselves
•Respecting each other’s privacy
•No need for personal sharing
•Support
What matters most?
•HEALTH
•HAPPINESS
•MONEY?
•RESILIENCE
(c) moodwatchers
Three realities
•We are all vulnerable
•We will all face challenges, crises
•We underestimate our own potential to cope during the challenging times
What as psychology researched?
•Illness
•What is wrong with people
•Why people fall down
(c) moodwatchers
What does psychology provide?
• Interventions for people when they have symptoms
•Assessment and reports about what is wrong and what is causing it
•Theories for failure rather than success
•Tests to see how weak you are, how low your mood is, how anxious or stressed you are?
(c) moodwatchers
•Science is as good as it gets
•Science can be applied to help us understand what makes us healthier and happier
•Authentic happiness
•What keeps us strong during the challenging times?
•What is right about us?
•Harnessing inner-strengths
•- 8 to 0 but also 2+ to 8+
MANAGING STRESS
• A degree of stress is helpful
• We all bark and bite!!
• Stressful events merit stress.
• Prolonged stress is bad for us
• Unhealthy stress eats away at our health and happiness
The Role of Thinking within Stress
•At the heart of stress is stressful thinking
•How we make sense of things
•How we see ourselves in the world
•Conclusions we make about ourselves, others and the world
The Role of Thinking within Stress•Bias thinking
•Irrational thinking
•Private thinking
•Powerful thinking
The Power of Thinking•Affects our physiology
•Prolonged stress impacts on our general physical health
•Prolonged stress is often an inroad to mental illness
STRESS
Impact on the Physical
• Appetite• Cold hands/feet• Constipation• Diarrhoea• Dry mouth• Sweating
• Facial twitches or tics
• Need to loo• Indigestion• Tiredness• Irregular breathing• Headache
Impact on the Physical• Chest pain• Palpitations• Rashes• Stomach ache• Sleep problems• Weight loss/gain
• Frequent colds/flu• Muscle tension• Choking voice• Tired eyes• Nausea
Impact on the Emotional
• Feeling tense/nervous
• Apprehensive/anxious• Suspiciousness• Gloominess• Fussiness• Low enthusiasm
• Cynicism• Alienation• Less confident• De-motivated• Feeling ‘under
attack’
Impact on the Behavioural
• Less social• Claiming to be ‘too busy’
to relax• Eating fast• Low productivity• Managing time poorly• Driving badly
• Smoking/drinking more
• Taking work home/ thinking of work at home
• Withdrawal from supportive relationships
Impact on the Behavioural
• Being ‘ratty’• Obsessed with punishing
the enemy• Less friendly to others• Not smiling• No humour
moodwatching•We are thinkers
•We do a lot of thinking
•A lot of our thinking is automatic (learned)
•We do not stop and reflect on how we think
MOODWATCHERS
moodwatching•Our thinking affects our physiology
•We are not aware of the link between our thinking and our mood.
•How we think affects how we feel and in turn influences our behaviour.
MOODWATCHERS
moodwatching
• How we think influences our approach to life
• The sense we make of our own circumstances is crucial
• The meaning we attach to things
MOODWATCHERS
INTERNAL DIALOGUEAUTOMATIC SELF-TALK
MOODWATCHERS
INTERNAL DIALOGUEAUTOMATIC SELF-TALK
Our private world ofthoughts, our interpretation of past and
present, our predictions for the future are very powerful influences on mood
THE WAY WE THINK INFLUENCES OUR BEHAVIOUR
THOUGHTS
FEELINGS
BEHAVIOUR
MOODWATCHERS
THE SENSE WE MAKE OF OUR WORLD IS CRUCIAL
HOW WE SEE OURSELVES, OTHERS
AND THE WORLD WHEN CHALLENGED
Examples of irrational thinking:
MOODWATCHERS
I’ve had it for years. I’ll always have it.
Nothing has worked. Nothing will ever work.
I need medication. I am a ‘lost cause’.
It’s in the family. I’m ‘stuck with it’!
Exploring the thought:
MOODWATCHERS
•Is it helpful?
•Is it fair?
•Is it absolutely true?
It is not events per se which determine our feelings but the meaning that we attach to these events.
MOODWATCHERS
When stressed our thinking becomes more rigid and distorted
MOODWATCHERS
•When emotionally upset incoming information is distorted with a negative bias in thinking
•No openmindness
MOODWATCHERS
•Is what I am thinking helping me?•Is what I’m thinking fair?•Is what I’m thinking true?•Am I right to be as annoyed as I am?•Does it really matter?•How long do I want to be annoyed for?•Have I got good advice or am I making
conclusions on my own?•Am I my own best or worst coach?
And what about you?•Do you really believe in your own
potential to bring about wonderful change for yourself?
•What are you doing to enhance your mental health?
•A degree of stress is helpful
•Prolonged stress is bad for us
•Unhealthy stress eats away at our health and happiness
•Thinking colours mood
•Rational thinking is key
•Knowing how we feel
•Knowing how others feel
•Consulting / Practical advice and solutions
•Watch out for KNOW-ALL-ISM
•The power of questions
•Not to be governed by panic
•Self-blame
•Over analysing
•Exclusive rights to stress
•You're not on your own!
• You share imperfection with your fellow beings
• We all make mistakes
• Worse things have happened others
• You need to ‘mind’ yourself not ‘hammer’ yourself
•The clinical benefits of kind acts
•Putting our worries into context
•Physiological rewards
•Seeing the world
•1986 National Institute on Aging undertook a long-term research project
•3,617 participants
•Two groups – one group did volunteer work and one didn’t
•Surveys at 1986, 1989, 1994, 2006
•Better mental and physical health for first group
• Failures are temporary setbacks!
• Never underestimate your own potential
• Doing different things, doing things differently
• Change (even forced change) can produce opportunities
•Being social – staying social•The greatest friend of depression is
solitude•Getting away from it all•Joining clubs and organisations•Volunteering•Starting new things – courses etc.•Quality time with you•Quality time with family
•Psychologists have shown that social ties and increased contact with family and friends are associated with a lower risk of illness
•What’s more, a 2010 meta-analysis of 148 studies showed that social connection doesn’t just help us survive health problems but the lack of it causes them
•(Williams, 2011)
•The anterior cingulate cortex—the same structure involved in the emotional component of physical pain light up when we are lonely or detached
•Physiological effects of exclusion
•Counting our blessings•Looking at what is right about our lives•Celebrating all the things that we have
rather than always talking about the things we don’t have
•Digging deep•Savouring golden moments or days
• Grateful individuals report higher positive mood, optimism, life satisfaction, vitality, and less depression and envy than less grateful individuals (McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002).
• Grateful people tend to be more helpful, supportive, forgiving, empathic, and agreeable (McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002)
• The practice of gratitude (counting blessings) is linked to fewer physical symptoms, more optimistic life appraisals, more time exercising, improved well-being and optimal functioning (Emmons & McCullough, 2003)
• Respecting the past but not being governed by it
• Not letting the past hold you back
• Over anxious about the future
• Today is a gift
• Make today count!
•Doing the things we love best•Doing the things we are best at•Starting new things•Switching the channel•Being ‘stretched’
•Sense of purpose•It’s not all about me!•Life as a journey•The benefits of prayer•Investing in our spirituality:•MINDFULNESS
9. Mind your bodyEXERCISE, DIET,
SLEEP
• Web: www.moodwatchers.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Moodwatchers is on Facebook
• Moodwatchers blog
