Thursday, April 12, 2007

Just Relax: How to release stress in minutes

From Parade Magazine, September 24th, 2006 (The bolded statements are mine)
Stress is your body's normal response to a threat of any kind and the "danger" does not have to be huge. It can be running late for a meeting or having an argument with a friend or colleague.
Even if the danger is small, our bodies release chemicals that have a galvanizing effect on every cell. Many Americans today -facing long hours at work, financial pressure, and problems with spouses and children-constantly are under stress. Even childhood is not as simple as it once was, and adolescents have a full vocabulary of stress.
But it doesn't have to be this way. You can learn simple techniques to keep a clear head, reduce your stress, and put less strain on your body.
1. TAKE A DEEP BREATH OR TWO (AND USE THE MANDALA CARDS!)
The most direct way to de-stress is to take two or three slow, deep breaths whenever you notice that you are anxious or under strain. This is not as easy as it sounds, because when you experience a threat, the center of your breathing moves from your belly to your chest, and your breathing becomes quicker and shallower. Your body then sets in motion the sympathetic branch of your nervous system, which releases the stress hormones and suppresses the parasympathetic branch, which triggers the flow of chemicals that have a calming effect.
The good news is that, by paying attention to your breathing (and using the Stop and Breathe mandala card), you can switch off the stressed parts of your nervous system and return to a state of calm. As you inhale, imagine that your belly is a balloon and you are slowly filling it with air. As you exhale, make sure your belly stays relaxed as it lets the air out.
2. THINK THE GOOD STUFF (AND USE THE MANDALA CARDS)
Since stress is the body's way of dealing with threats, a simple way to de-stress is to use your body's response to good things to your advantage. A few moments spent thinking how lucky you are to be alive or how in awe you are of nature's beauty all send a chemical that life is good throughout your body. Though we react to threat in a 10th of a second, it takes longer for the "all clear" to sound. We have to spend 6 to 10 seconds appreciating our good fortune (or meditating on the mandalas picture in the cards) for our body to relax. But if you can produce a genuine smile, then your body cannot feel stressed at all.
3. SLOW DOWN
When you multi-task, -by talking on the phone while driving, for example-, your body and mind require more energy. When you slow down, you relax your body and reduce the demands on your mind. So when feeling stressed, do a common activity slowly, carefully, and with focused attention. Even getting up from your desk slowly gives your nervous system a break. (Use either "Consider the consequences" or "What is the kindest choice?" cards to remind you how stress affects your body and how you could slow down.)
4. CHANGE THE TAPE
Sometimes, all we need to do to de-stress is to change the tape that runs in our heads. Most of us have a habit of making problems worse by saying things to ourselves like, "This is terrible", or "I have really screwed up". Instead, say supportive and positive things to yourself, such as "I can deal with this", or "I deserve success and good fortune."
5. LET IT GO
There are occasions in life when you need to recognize that you cannot change the situation. In those cases, you can make a conscious decision not to stress yourself out over something that you can't make different or better. (Use "It's just a passing thought" card to remind you that thoughts come and go if you just give them time and don't hold on to them.)
As I say over and over again, the more you use the mandala cards, the more you and your body heals. So go ahead and place them everywhere around your home. You WILL change your life!

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Do NOT Diet: It's Bad for your Health!

This is the message a group of researchers is sending, saying that not only does dieting not work in the long term, but it is also potentially dangerous for your health. The study is published in the April edition of American Psychologist, the journal of the American Psychological Association and details the work of researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, who reviewed 31 long-term studies lasting between 2 to 5 years. UCLA associate professor of psychology and lead author of the study, Traci Mann said: “You can initially lose 5 to 10 percent of your weight on any number of diets, but then the weight comes back. We found that the majority of people regained all the weight, plus more,” she added. “Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people,” said Dr Mann, shattering an age-long belief that restraining from food for a period of time will help a person lose weight – and keep it that way. The study suggests that whatever benefits there are to be obtained through dieting, in the long run, negative side effects outweigh advantages. Dr Mann and her team analyzed every study they could find that followed people on diets for 2 to 5 years. Studies that take less than 2 years are “too short to show whether dieters have regained the weight they lost,” they said. They found that it would have been better for most of them if they had not gone on a diet at all. “Their weight would be pretty much the same, and their bodies would not suffer the wear and tear from losing weight and gaining it all back,” explained Dr Mann. Repeatedly losing and gaining weight has been linked, in previous studies, to cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and altered immune function. While people on diets lose an average of 5 to 10 per cent of their weight in the first 6 months, 33 to 66 per cent of these persons regain more than what they lose within 4 to 5 years. And this is not a complete picture either. The figures do not reflect reality because participants phone or mail their results in themselves, without an impartial assessor. Also, many studies have a below 50 per cent follow up rate; and the people who put on a lot of weight are less likely to stay in touch. UCLA graduate student of psychology and co-author of the study, Janet Tomiyama said that “Several studies indicate that dieting is actually a consistent predictor of future weight gain.” She referred to a study that studied links between lifestyle and weight in 19,000 healthy older men over four years. This study found that, “One of the best predictors of weight gain over the four years was having lost weight on a diet at some point during the years before the study started,” she said. Dr Mann said: “Exercise may well be the key factor leading to sustained weight loss. Studies consistently find that people who reported the most exercise also had the most weight loss.” The study did not name any diets in particular, but looked at a broad spectrum of approaches. Professor Mann said in her opinion eating in moderation was a good idea for everybody as was regular exercise.

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