Transcript Handling Stress on the High Seas

Handling
Stress on
the High
Seas
Kim C. McCall MS RD LDN
What we are going to do
today
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We are going to learn about stress and
scientific evidence documented on the
effects of Acute Stress & Chronic Stress.
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Discover Stress Signals and Coping
Mechanisms
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Learn 6 tips/techniques to manage stress
What is Stress?
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Sudden change in the environment causes
a stress response
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Example of a Flight or Fight Response –
animal like
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Muscle Tension
Higher Blood Pressure
Faster Heart Rate
Anger
Fear
Confusion
Sweating
What about stress in today’s
world?
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Examples of challenges that cause these
same symptoms
When stress subsides
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The body relaxes
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Heart Rate decreases
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Blood pressure returns to normal
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Muscles relax
Acute vs Chronic Stress
Good vs. Bad Stress
Short term stress can be good for us, but long term
chronic stress may not be.
Good Stress -
Stimulates norepinephrine production
Creates new memories, improves mood, problems feel
like challenges, encourages creative thinking, and new
connection in brain are formed.
Bad Stress Chronic over-secretion of stress hormones adversely
affects brain function, especially memory. Too much
cortisol can prevent the brain from laying down a new
memory, or from accessing already existing memories.
Bad Stress •
Females at Higher Risk from Noise StressStudy (Texas A&M and Cornell University)
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Stress Compromises the Blood-Brain Barrier
(Gulf War – Israeli soldiers)
Are you chronically stressed?
Possible signs of stress
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Anxiety
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Back pain
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Constipation or diarrhea
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Depression
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Fatigue
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Headaches
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Stiff neck or jaw
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Upset stomach
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Weight gain or loss
• High blood pressure
• Trouble sleeping or
insomnia
• Problems with
relationships
• Shortness of breath
Ok – yeah I’m stressed out, like I
thought…what can I really do
about it?
Coping with Stress
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Before we talk about coping mechanisms,
let’s try to understand ourselves first.
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Identify how stress affects you can help you
pick an appropriate coping strategy
Stress Signals
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Stress affects each of us in different ways,
and it is important to be aware of your
unique stress "signals". Stress signals fall into
four categories. When you are under stress,
you may experience any number of the
following:
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Feelings
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Thoughts
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Behaviors
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Physical
Stress Signals
Feelings
Thoughts
Behaviors
Physical
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Feelings – anxiety, fear, irritability,
moodiness, embarrassment
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Thoughts - self-criticism, difficulty
concentrating or making decisions,
forgetfulness, preoccupation with the
future, repetitive thoughts, fear of failure.
Stress Signals
Feelings
Thoughts
Behaviors
Physical
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Behaviors - crying, increased or decreased
appetite, "snapping" at friends, acting
impulsively, alcohol or other drug use
(including smoking), nervous laughter,
teeth grinding or jaw clenching, stuttering
or other speech difficulties, being more
accident-prone.
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Physical - sleep disturbances, tight muscles,
headaches, fatigue, cold or sweaty hands,
back or neck problems, stomach distress,
more colds and infections, rapid breathing,
pounding heart, trembling, dry mouth.
Worksheet
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Two Worksheets per person
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Write down a stressful situation that you
would be comfortable sharing with your
group on TWO WORKSHEETS
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Hand 1 Worksheet to the person on your
left
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Fill out your worksheet completely (FRONT
PAGE ONLY)
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Then, fill out your neighbor’s worksheet with
their stressful situation (what would you
do?)
Positive Coping
Examples
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Listening to music
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Playing with a pet
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Laughing or crying
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Going out with a friend
(shopping, movie, dining)
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Taking a bath or shower
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Negative Coping
Examples
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Criticizing yourself (negative selftalk)
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Driving fast in a car
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Chewing your fingernails
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Becoming aggressive or violent
(hitting someone, throwing or
kicking something)
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Writing, painting, or other
creative activity
Eating too much or too little or
drinking a lot of coffee
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Smoking or chewing tobacco
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Praying or going to church
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Drinking alcohol
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Exercising or getting
outdoors to enjoy nature
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Yelling at your spouse, children,
or friends
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Discussing situations with a
spouse or close friend
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Taking a recreational drug to
calm yourself
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Gardening or making
home repairs
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Avoiding social contact
Coping Mechanisms
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If you are doing any Negative Coping –
STOP
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If you are doing Positive Coping – continue,
but know it may not always work, but will
not be harmful
Set yourself up to handle stress
with these Tips/Techniques
CHALLENGE •
Adopt at least 1 of these over the next year
and see if it makes a difference
Tip #1
Sleep Well
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Sleep 7-8 hours a night or what your body
needs
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If you are rested, you will be able to handle
stressful situations when they arise
Tip #2
Eat Well
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Eat Every 4-6 hours
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Get all the nutrients you need
It’s snack time…
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Take a Break if you need one
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Then take about 10 minutes to check out
the Apps on the IPAD and the laptop
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Breathe2Relax App
Stress Check
I Compliment
Apps for Journaling
Live Journal
Fun Apps to De-Stress
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http://t2health.org/apps/breathe2relax
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https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stresscheck/id330049595?mt=8
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https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/icomplim
ent-free/id327769277?mt=8
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http://mac.appstorm.net/roundups/10-apps-tostore-your-thoughts/
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www.livejournal.com/
Tip #3
Let Go
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Don’t worry about things you cannot
control
Tip #4
Prepare
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Prepare ahead for events that you know
will be stressful
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And apply what you learned from previous
experiences
Tip #5
Diaphragmatic Breathing
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Many of us have heard about taking a
deep breath when we are stressed to calm
down
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Expansion of the abdomen, not the chest
Hypothesized that voluntary slow deep
breathing resets the autonomic nervous system
through stretch-induced inhibitory signals and
sends nerve signals to the heart, lungs, limbic
system, and cortex
Activates the parasympathetic nervous system.
Slow stuff down.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7ySG
gAFAAo
Tip #6
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
(PMR)
Developed by Edmund Jacobson (physician) in
1920s
• Since muscle tension accommodates anxiety, one
can reduce anxiety by learning how to relax the
muscle tension.
• Combining a mental and physical component of
stress
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Physical component– tensing and relaxing the
muscle groups over the entire body (legs, abdomen,
chest, arms, face), with eyes closed.
Tense the muscle group for 10 seconds and then
release it for 20 seconds.
Mental component – individual must focus on the
feelings of the tension and the relaxation. Must stay
present.
Relaxation technique that can be done in 10
minutes
Tip #6
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
(PMR)
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Research shows
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Reduction in salivary cortisol levels and
generalized anxiety
Decrease Blood Pressure
Decreased Heart Rate
Decreased Headaches
Better management of cardiac rehabilitation
Improvement in quality of life of patients after
bypass surgery
Improvement of quality of life of patients with
multiple sclerosis
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
(PMR)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX5JYe
YE8FI
Back to your worksheets
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Review the stressful situation that you
previously wrote down
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Flip over the paper
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What would you do differently in the
future?
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Consider the tips and techniques that we
just went through
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Remember a similar situation could happen
again – how would you handle it now?
Thank you
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Email me with questions, comments, or for
a copy of the presentation.
[email protected]
References
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http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/stress.html
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Stress Management Techniques: evidence-based procedures
that reduce stress and promote health - Liza Varvogli1,
Christina Darviri HEALTH SCIENCE JOURNAL ® VOLUME 5,
ISSUE 2 (2011)
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http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/managingstress
/htm/_no_50_no_0.htm
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http://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/stress.html
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http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/factsheet-on-stress.shtml
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http://www.hsj.gr/volume5/issue2/521.pdf
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http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/relaxationtechnique/sr00007
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http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey
=47281
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Science of Slumber: How Sleep Affects Your Memory J Med
Invest. 2004 Aug;51(3-4):139-45