Stress Management
that Works
Be Well Solutions
Building Healthy Companies…One Employee at a Time
About Be Well Solutions
• Physician owned and operated.
• Staffed by professionals experienced in
patient care, behavioral change and
education; concerned about helping you get
and stay healthy.
• Fully HIPAA compliant.
• Mission: to positively impact your emotional
and physical healthy through a variety of
wellness initiatives.
Objectives
1. What is Stress and How Does it
Cause Damage?
2. Baseline: How Stressed are You?
3. Humans are Animals: The
Physiology of Stress
4. Taking Control: Power Over Stress
5. FUEL – Fill Up Energy Level
What Is Stress?
What is Stress?
Different Definitions – Different meanings
for different people
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Some stress is good, some bad and some can
be traumatic
Defining Stress
• A state of mental or emotional strain
resulting from adverse or very demanding
circumstances
• A physical factor, such as injury , or mental
state, such as anxiety, that disturbs the
body’s normal state of functioning. Stress
may contribute to the development of some
illnesses, including heart disease and cancer
• Seyle (1936) – The non-specific response of
the body to any demand for change
Stress, Eustress, Distress
• Stress – Physical, mental or emotional factor
that causes bodily or mental tension
• Eustress – A positive form of stress having a
beneficial effect on health, motivation,
performance and emotional well-being
• Distress – Suffering or pain, or the state of
being in trouble.
What is Stress?
Stress and Your Health
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Studies have found a
relationship between
stress and:
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Diabetes
Heart Disease
Hypertension
Obesity
Elevated LDL
Tooth and Gum
Disease
Plus…
Ulcers, IBS, Allergies
Insomnia, Recurrent
Colds, Colitis, Infertility
Optimizing Energy
There are things in life that provide you
fuel. There are things in life that use fuel.
Many do both.
• Work
• Raising kids
• Exercise
• Problem solving
What is Distress?
Distress is when you are using more
fuel than you are taking in on a day
to day basis.
Here is the point where we begin
experiencing symptoms of stress.
Can be specific or global.
What is Distress?
Symptoms of Distress
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Headaches
Stomach problems
Anger
Depression
Guilt
Despair
Overeating
Alcohol abuse
Exhaustion
Sleeplessness
Impatience
Smoking
Drug use
Baseline: How Stressed are You?
Baseline: How Stressed are You?
Change and Transition
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Change causes stress!
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Takes away our comfort zone
Change can be good or bad
Lowers our resistance
The Stress Response Cycle
Human Beings are…
Humans are Animals: The
Physiology of Stress
Humans are Animals: The
Physiology of Stress
Fight or Flight Response
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When faced with a threat, animals with either:
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Fight
Flight (Run Away)
This instinct is a reaction, not a well thought out plan.
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Adrenaline and Cortisol are released
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Digestion slows
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Blood pressure increases
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Heart rate increases
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Burst of energy and strength
Humans are Animals: The
Physiology of Stress
Fight or Flight Response
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The fight or flight response is now activated in
everyday life events, such as:
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Traffic
Work
Dealing with kids
Paying bills
Managing life
Stress Response
• Once the stress passes, the heightened state
subsides and the body starts to recuperate
• But…What happens if you have a lot of things
causing you stress in your everyday life?
– Your body’s defense system can be constantly
activated and you may not have a chance to relax,
rest and recover
Humans are Animals: The
Physiology of Stress
Fight or Flight Response
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Respond VS React
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While reactions are important for survival, humans
need reasoning in most situations.
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Respond
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What’s in my best interest?
How do I want things to turn out?
Is this…
Deliberate
Aware
Solution-based resolution
React
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Impulsive
Non-thinking
No control
Taking Control: Power Over Stress
From Using Stress to Your Advantage, Dr. Joel Gecht
Thinking about Stress
• In my control
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Help from others
• Out of my control
Taking Control: Power Over Stress
Exercise
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Write down the three main stressors in your life
Next to that stressor, put an:
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I: This is in my control
H: I need help from others to control
O: This is out of my control
Taking Control: Power Over Stress
Wake Up Call
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I: This is a good place for your fuel
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H: This is a good place for your fuel
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Build an action plan. Move forward
Contact those people. Meet with them
O: We all have stressors that are out of our
control
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Don’t throw away your fuel
Action Plan
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What am I going to do?
When am I going to do it?
Who is going to support me?
What roadblocks will get in my way?
How will I overcome these roadblocks?
How will I measure my success?
Taking Control: Power Over Stress
Personality Styles
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Perfectionist
Focus on faults vs. strengths
Competitor
Indecisive
Negative
Taking Control: Power Over Stress
Psych 101
Taking Control: Power Over Stress
What is the one symptom of stress you no
longer want as a part of your life?
Taking Control: Power Over Stress
•Arguing
•Anger
•Anxiety
•Apathy
•Boredom
•Depression
•Difficulty concentrating
•Fear
•Forgetfulness
•Grief
•Guilt
•Hostility
•Impatience
•Irritability
•Isolation
•Low self-esteem
•Sadness
•Excessive Worry
•Altered sex drive
•Chest pain
•Exhausted
•Stomach problems
•Headaches
•Back pain
•Alcohol, drug misuse
•Overeating
•Spending recklessly
FUEL – Fill Up Energy Level
FUEL – Fill Up Energy Level
Why Do We Suffer?
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As we go through our day, we use fuel
As we approach empty, we move from stress
to distress
Our weak link breaks
FUEL – Fill Up Energy Level
Fill Up Energy Level
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Stop – do whatever it takes to STOP
Breathe – cleansing breath
Think – what just happened that put me in
distress.
Do – Implement your plan.
Review, reward and reinforce
FUEL – Fill Up Energy Level
90 Days to Health
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Is this easy? No. We are animals
The more we do it, the easier it gets
It takes about 3 months, or 90 days for a new
behavior to become a habit
If you can do it for 90 days, you can do it for
the rest of your life
The Art of Relaxation
• Stress – Tension
• Relaxation – Release of Tension
• Autonomic Nervous System
– Sympathetic Nervous System – Speeds
things up
– Parasympathetic nervous system – slows
things down
Human Nervous System
Question
• What body part do we have some
control over in our autonomic nervous
system?
• The Lungs!
Breath Work
• The goal of relaxation training is to gain
control over our parasympathetic nervous
system to slow things down!
The Relaxation Response
• Herbert Benson, M.D.
– A quiet environment.
– A mental device – a sound, word, phrase or prayer
repeated silently or aloud, or a fixed gaze at an
object.
– A passive attitude – not worrying about how well
one is performing the technique and putting aside
distracting thoughts to allow focus.
– A comfortable position.
Bensonian Relaxation
Relaxing Breath
• 4-7-8 Breathing
– Tongue in yogic position
– Close/In/Hold/Out
– 4 breath cycles and increase to 8
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
• Developed in 1939, using the pendulum method
– Characterized by tension, followed by relaxation
– Make sure you are in a place that is quiet and
comfortable
– Concentrate only on muscle group
– Tense for 5-7 seconds
– Feel the buildup of tension
– Release the muscles abruptly
– Relax – enjoying the feeling of limpness for at least 10
seconds
– Allow all other muscle groups to remain relaxed, while
working on a particular muscle group
Mental Imagery
• Uses the power of your imagination to
induce the relaxation response.
• Focus on breathing, experiencing a
calm and relaxing scene.
Other Tools
• Stretching
• Touch
• Pets
• Sounds
• Aromas
• Music
Avoid Scams
Other Resources
• IMPACT EAP
– Stress
– Finances
– Day care
– Elder care
– Other emotional issues
• Support Systems like friends,
family, religious organizations
A Final Thought
• This is merely a class.
• You have to do the homework.
• Be Well Solutions (216)378-0888
Questions?
Be Well Solutions
Bill Frankel M.Ed.
Ronald Golovan MD.
Michael Schechter MD.
(216) 378-0888