how to keep stress from running your life
TRANSCRIPT
Take-A-Ways
• Identify your major stressors
• Understand how chronic stress harms your body and brain
• Identify ways to reduce stress
• Commit to one SMART stress-reduction goal
#1 Your Focus is Work
• You think of how you can free up more time to work.
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Always
#2 Work Consumes Your Life
• You spend much more time working than originally intended.
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Always
#3 Work is Your Happy Place
• You work in order to reduce feelings of guilt, anxiety, helplessness and depression.
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Always
#4 You’ve Ignored Reprimands
• You’ve been told by others to cut down on work without listening to them.
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Always
#5 You Suffer From Work Withdrawal
• You become stressed if you are prohibited from working.
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Always
#6 You Do Nothing Other Than Work
• You deprioritize hobbies, leisure activities, and exercise because of your work.
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Always
#7 Your Health Suffers
• You work so much that it has negatively influenced your health.
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Always
Are You a Workaholic?
• Results:• If you answered “often” or “always” to 4 or more of the questions, you
are a workaholic.
How Much of Your Life is Work?
• Working at home and on vacation
• Most workers only use only 51% of their paid vacation time
• 61% of Americans work on vacation
Are You a Perfectionist?
• Results:• If you answered “yes” to 4 or more of the questions, you are a
perfectionist.
Secondhand Stress
• It’s contagious and easily transmitted
• Babies catch it from their mothers
• Students catch it from nervous speakers
The Effects of Chronic Stress
• Anxiety
•Depression
•Digestive problems
•Heart disease
•Sleep problems
•Weight gain
•Memory and concentration impairment
You Get Sick More Often
• 2012 study of 276 healthy adults
• Those with chronic stress were more likely to get sick
• Immune system cells were unable to properly respond
You Gain Weight
• 2014 study of 58 women
• Those with experienced a stressful event in the last 24 hours burned 104 fewer calories than after eating fast-food than those who were stress-free
• Adds up to 11 lbs. per year
• Stressed women had higher insulin levels,
contributing to fat storage
You Heal Slower
• 2012 study of older women caring for relatives with dementia
• Took 24% longer to heal from biopsy wound
• Slow healing most apparent in first two weeks, when infections happen
At Risk for Heart Disease
• 2014 study of stressed-out medical students
• They had an excessive number of white blood cells
• Previous study in mice found that cortisol changes white blood cells so they stick to artery walls
Stress Shortens Telomeres
• Finnish Health Study: work-related exhaustion
• Mothers caring for disabled children
• Boys who were raised in stressful home environment
• 4-8 years: Ohio State: caregivers for relatives with dementia
How it Happens
• Changes gene activity of immune cells before they enter the bloodstream
• Cells are permanently primed for fight or flight
• Leads to chronic inflammation
• Associated with heart disease, depression, cancer
What it Does to Your Brain
• Impairs communication among neurons
• Slows production of new neurons
• Creates elevated levels of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s
Examples: Set SMART Goals
• Too vague: I will spend more time with my family
• SMART: I will eat dinner with my family on Mon., Wed., and Friday
• Too vague: I will relax more
• SMART: I will download the Calm App and listen to Session #1 on Saturday at noon
Create Accountability
• Set one stress-reduction goal for this week
• Create a means of self-accountability
Get Real. Get Healthy.®
714-357-9946
www.LorieEberWellnessCoaching.com
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