Keeping Stress in Check Karla Halvangis Assistant Principal Churchill High School g Keeping Stress in Check Caring for our most precious resource STRESS What causes you to feel stress? Text KARLAHALVANG140 to Go to PollEv.com/karlahalvang140 OR Health Burnout Empathy Burnout Reasons to Keep Stress in Check People who reported workplace behaviors such as taking time to listen to coworkers problems and worries and helping others who have heavy workloads felt less capable of connecting with their families. They felt emotionally drained and burdened by work- related demands. - The Limits of Empathy Health Burnout Empathy Burnout MULTI-TASKING Researchers have found that multitasking leads to lower overall productivity. Students and workers who constantly and rapidly switch between tasks have less ability to filter out irrelevant information, and they make more mistakes. - The Art of Being Mindful Time, February 3, 2014 But IM really good at it! The research is almost unanimous, which is very rare in social science, and it says that people who chronically multitask show an enormous range of deficits. Theyre basically terrible at all sorts of cognitive tasks, including multitasking. - NPR The Myth of Multitasking A Little Too Close to Home Keeping Stress in Check Exercise Scientists have found that regular participation in aerobic exercise has been shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate and stabilize mood, improve sleep, and improve self-esteem. Even five minutes of aerobic exercise can stimulate anti- anxiety effects. - Anxiety and Depression Association of America Keeping Stress in Check Exercise Counseling General stress is one of the issues for which Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is most effective. focuses on changing an individuals thoughts in order to change his or her behavior and emotional state. Keeping Stress in Check Exercise Counseling Journaling "Emotional awareness is my accurately perceiving emotions in my body, knowing where they come from, and understanding how they affect my behavior. Accurate self- assessment, in contrast, goes beyond the emotions I feel and includes knowledge into myself as a human being. - Search Inside Yourself The people who wrote to themselves for five consecutive days for twenty minutes each day.... found new jobs at a much higher rate than the people in the non- writing control group. Not just a slightly higher rate, mind you, a MUCH higher rate. After eight months, 68.4 percent of them found jobs versus 27.3 percent from the control group. - Search Inside Yourself What is really staying with me about that stressful situation? Keeping Stress in Check Exercise Counseling Journaling Mindfulness MINDFULNESS is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience. So what can Mindfulness DO? - Help control pain Subjects reported a 40% reduction in pain intensity and 57% reduction in the unpleasantness of their pain. Morphine typically reduces pain ratings by about 25%. - Journal of Neuroscience - Help keep depression under control After 18 months, relapse rates for the MBCT and antidepressant groups were in the 30% range, compared to a 70% for those on placebos. - Archives of General Psychiatry So what can Mindfulness DO? - Help prevent dementia Meditators brains showed a range of brain areas with stronger neural connections and less atrophy than the control group. - NeuroImage - Help prevent educator burnout The results of this pilot study suggest that a mindfulness intervention adapted for educators boosts aspects of teachers mindfulness and self-compassion, reduces psychological symptoms and burnout, increases effective teaching behavior, and reduces attentional biases. - International Mind, Brain, and Education Society MINDFULNESS help with stress? How can Stress can damage the brain. The hormones it releases can change the way nerves fire, and send circuits into a dangerous feedback loop, leaving us vulnerable to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. - Los Angeles Times Clinical trials and laboratory studies alike suggest that the mechanisms of mindfulness involve not only relaxation, but important shifts in cognition, emotion, biology, and behavior that may work synergistically to improve health. There is also emerging evidence that mindfulness training is associated with greater meaning and peace in ones life (spirituality), as well as enhanced relationships with others. - National Center for Biotechnology Information Lets give it a try. Reactions? Mini-Mindfulness Take a few minutes in the morning to meditate. Look out the window; walk slowly to your car and notice the sounds and smells around you. While stopped at a red light, pay attention to your breathing and notice signs of tension in your body. Decide not to turn on the radio on your drive to and from work. Take a few slow, thoughtful breaths before a parent meeting. When in the shower, check to see if you are in the shower. Say, Hello to each member of your family; look each one in the eye. Eat a meal without the television on, enjoying each flavor. Make a point to mindfully drink your coffee at least half a cup. MIND Mindfulness Keeping Stress in Check Journaling Exercise Counseling Mindfulness Spread the word! Sources Flatow, Ira. "The Myth Of Multitasking." NPR. NPR, 10 May Web. 23 Jan Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam, Print. Greeson, Jeffrey M. "Mindfulness Research Update: 2008." Complementary Health Practice Review. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Web. 23 Jan Hofmann, Stefan G., Anu Asnaani, Imke J.J. Vonk, Alice T. Sawyer, and Angela Fang. "The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review of Meta-analyses." Cognitive Therapy and Research. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 31 July Web. 23 Jan Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment--and Your Life. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, Print. "60 Minutes Special on Mindfulness - Anderson Cooper." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 23 Jan . Sources "Physical Activity Reduces Stress | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA." Physical Activity Reduces Stress | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. Anxiety and Depression Association of America, n.d. Web. 23 Jan . Patterson, Kerry, and Joseph Grenny. Crucial Conversations.: McGraw-Hill, Print. Pickert, Kate. The Art of Being Mindful. Time Magazine. 3 Feb Tan, Chade-Meng. Search inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace). New York: HarperOne, Print. Waytz, Adam. "The Limits of Empathy." Harvard Business Review. N.p., 01 Jan Web. 23 Jan Mohan, Jeffrey. "Stress Matters to Brain's White Matter." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb Web. 23 Jan . Keeping Stress in Check Karla Halvangis Assistant Principal Churchill High School g Questions? Have a great day!