Tag: #stress

Living with Autoimmune Disease: Part 2

Posted on by Dr. Elaine

Living Your Best Life: Reducing Stress – Relieving Symptoms

photo of woman holding her head
Photo by Marcus Aurelius on Pexels.com

Having been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, or any other chronic disease, if you are like me, the next step is to figure out how to live your best life.  Our quality of life is rarely thought about until something changes that quality.  For me, the substantial change was not having the energy to do all I wanted and to find a way to deal with the relentless, generalized pain (feeling like I am coming down with the flu). 

You can take one of the numerous routes available to help you live the life you want, feel better, and be happy despite autoimmune disease(s), or other chronic illnesses.  There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to our health and achieving our goals.  In this article I am touching on one possibility: HeartMath (TM).

HeartMath (TM)

I don’t remember how I discovered HeartMath (TM), but I am grateful I did. I have been practicing HeartMath (TM)  for several years and have found it beneficial to my physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

Being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease was not the reason I started practicing HeartMath techniques.  I became a Certified HeartMath Mentor and Coach to help myself and others enhance their health and relieve stress.  I have gotten valuable information and recently decided that sharing this information with those who have autoimmune diseases is long overdue.  HeartMath helps us manage stress. Remember, stress can worsen the symptoms of autoimmune diseases.

What is Stress?

We all have stress; it is something we experience every day.  We have big stressors i.e. illness, death, debt, and divorce that lead to negative emotions.  But happy, positive events can also be stressful i.e. weddings, birthday parties, graduation, a new job, or other celebrations.   The body doesn’t differentiate between big stress or little stress, or between happy stress, or troublesome stress.  We experience stress many times during the day, and it all begins with a flow of 1400 biochemical events in our body.  We don’t notice most of these because we get used to them e.g. traffic on the way to work, that one annoying person in the office, or the kids being kids.  For me, technology problems often start me on a path of frustration (an indicator of stress), which often leads to anger (another indicator of stress).  Stress takes a toll on your immune system, so take time to learn how to manage your stress – at least most of the time.  Even if you don’t think you have much stress in your life, chances are you can decrease the negative effects on your body by practicing some simple techniques to put you in control.  Unchecked stress will age you prematurely, your cognitive function will become impaired, your energy will be drained (I don’t need anything that drains my energy), and you will become less effective, and your clarity of thought will be impaired (https://www.heartmath.com/blog/health-and-wellness/how-stress-affects-the-body/

Effects of Unchecked Stress

premature aging

impaired cognitive function

decrease energy

impaired thought processes

Ideally, we will manage stress in the moment.  There are techniques available to help with this.  One that I especially like is Heart-Focused-Breathing and The Quick Coherence Technique(R).  This is a simple technique that can be done anywhere, anytime. I recommend doing this twice a day, but initially do it more often so that it becomes an automatic response to stressful situations. Sometimes, I didn’t think this was doing much good, then I would miss a day and that was when I would notice the difference.

Identifying our stressors can be difficult because we have learned to just live with them. If you need additional work to uncover your stressors check out HeartMath’s Depletion to Renewal Grid(R) which is a good way to determine where your stress level is at any given time.  For starters, I suggest you plot your stress one or more times a day for about a week – but longer if you would like.  The goal is to be as close to centre as possible. However, remember that our lives are constantly changing and we want to embrace all the changes and ups and downs. We want to know that we can handle the tough parts as well as the up times.

If you are someone who meditates keep it up.  The HeartMath(TM) experience is a bit different and you might want to do both. You don’t need to be on your own or in a quiet place to do Heart-Focused-Breathing(R). Take time to find ways to relax and restore your energy.

Self-Care

a woman with peebles on her back lying on white bed
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

Self-care is not selfish; it is a must for health and well-being.  If you are like me, you ignored self-care for many years by working hard, taking on more, and helping others, because you thought that was what you were supposed to do, or maybe a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out).  But by not taking care of yourself you eventually wear out and are forced to slow down.  That is something our autoimmune diseases have done to us – forced us to slow down. I was stubborn and didn’t slow down enough, or take the best care of myself until I developed cancer. By the time cancer set in I didn’t have a choice, I couldn’t do much, let alone too much.

Self-care involves nutrition, activity, sleep, managing your stress, having a support system, and embracing your spirituality.  Self-care means looking after all of you.  We cannot separate our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health – what happens to one affects all the others.  This might sound overwhelming.  You do not have to make big changes all at once.  Start slow, with small changes, and keep going.  You want to do what you need and be successful.  With each success, you can celebrate and take the next step.  Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed.  Overwhelm can come on unexpectedly as we try to make changes to improve our health. 

Make a point of taking some time for you every day.  A few minutes of breathwork with the Quick Coherence Technique and Heart-Focused-Breathing can be good place to start. But if that doesn’t work for you find something that does work for you.

I found this “Self-Care Menu”. Give a few of these things a try during the week or the weekend. The suggestions are good for anyone, any time.

What’s Next

Watch for more blogs about other things you can try to live a better life, despite autoimmune disease.  One step at a time, one day at a time.  You deserve to be well and to have a beautiful life.   Check out some of the Resources on my website for more information and options for improving your health.

You are in control!

woman surrounded by sunflowers
Photo by Andre Furtado on Pexels.com

Our Brain and Leadership: Where Does Neuroplasticity Fit?

Posted on by Dr. Elaine

Leaders need to always be learning. As I continue to delve into information on leadership, neuroplasticity, and synchronicity I am learning unbelievably interesting material. Of course, I will be sharing at least some of what I read with you.

As leaders, we are influencing others all the time and a good leader is cognizant of their attitudes, actions, and words. Leaders also have a large influence on their work environment. With the influence on the work environment leaders also influence the brain development of employees. Self-directed neuroplasticity, according to Bosch (2021), “is the process of the brain adapting to the work we do and how we do it.” As such, leaders want to endeavour to create a positive workplace recognizing peoples’ needs for such things as “autonomy, relatedness, and fairness” (Bosch, 2021). A few steps Bosch (2021) suggests to create a positive work environment include:

  1. Positive feedback in a timely manner
  2. Learning opportunities
  3. Communication – all forms, by everyone
  4. Participation in ideas  
  5. Limited distractions thus allowing people to focus and develop new neural pathways
  6. Necessary breaks encouraging reflection and new thinking – did you know some studies suggest longer hours make people less effective

Knowing that we can continue to develop neural pathways throughout our life we must consider what those pathways will be and how we will develop them. How we use our brain determines what we develop. Just as you train for physical competition, or for a chess game, or a spot on Jeopardy, we exercise and plan. The same must be done to develop the brain. Practice what you want to learn, expose yourself to new ideas, new people, new experiences. Challenge your brain and your memory. Your neurotransmitters need to be kept in balance.

Our brains play a vital role in emotions and memory. Our brain is also involved in our reaction or response to stressors. As I have written about in the past, the heart is also involved. Stress results in both physiological and biological responses with the fight or flight response: increased heart and breathing rate, increased blood sugar, the release of adrenaline and cortisol, our pupils dilate, and we are not able to digest food as easily as blood is redirected to essential areas for survival. When cortisol (the stress hormone) is released this, in turn, releases stored glucose for energy, and over time our immune system is suppressed.

There are ways to adapt our response to stress. I encourage the use of HeartMath and any other techniques that you find work for you. Bosch (2021) identifies the following as ways to help reduce your stress level:

  1. Make your goals realistic
  2. Learn your triggers and how to decrease your response to them, or avoid those triggers
  3. Take time during the day to refresh yourself through calm moments that could include conscious breathing, HeartMath techniques, meditation, go for a walk or other physical activity
  4. Connect with people – friends or family – did you know loneliness increases your vulnerability to stress
  5. Physical activity also reduces levels of adrenaline and cortisol, so make it a regular part of your daily routine

We can do a myriad of things to improve our well-being and as leaders demonstrate to others healthy habits. Include healthy habits with additional activities to build a safe, positive, desired workplace.

I can guide you to learn specific techniques and systems that relate to you and your situation, personally or professionally. We all deserve to live a beautiful life.

Reference:

Bosch, H. 2021. Why We Do What We Do. EBSCO Information Services – www.ebscohost.com

Has Your Work Increased Over Time?

Posted on by Dr. Elaine

When you started your job, you probably had a fairly good idea of your job description and what your work would involve. You knew that as you became more competent at the various /tasks you would have more responsibilities added till you were proficient in your role.

You are starting to find this a bit too much for you to manage. You are becoming tired, less enthusiastic about your job, and the stress is starting to get to you. You are asking yourself, “how did I get into this situation”?Have you heard about boiling a frog?

You have become proficient and taken on the additional tasks and projects given to you. You have done well and are proud of yourself. Now the additional jobs and projects are becoming more frequent and many are now expected of you and added to your responsibilities.

Recipe for Boiling a Live Frog

Ingredients

  1. One live frog
  2. One pot large enough to cover the frog with water
  3. Enough water to cover the frog

Fill the pot with water. While waiting for the water to boil, catch your live frog. Once the water is boiling, drop the frog in the water. Boil till done.

Comment:

My frog jumped out of the water; I don’t think your recipe works.

Response:

My goodness, everyone knows you can’t boil the water first. You must put the frog in the pot of room temperature water, then bring the water to a boil.

Why Have I Given You This Information? What Does This Have to do With the Changes to Your Work Responsibilities?

More than once I have ended up in such a situation. One time when I moved on two people were hired to replace me. Has this happened to you? As in the opening description, I took on one more thing, then one more thing, and it continued – after all, how much time can just one more thing take? One little task, no problem.

More tasks are given to you and you are managing them quite well, but you are getting tired. You are no longer sure if this is the job you want. Your family is complaining that you spend too much time working and that you are too tired to do things with them when you get home.

What has happened here? Just like the frog, the heat was slowly turned up, you didn’t even notice until it was too much and you were done – just like the frog.

What can you do about this type of situation?

You might have been in the job for years and you are satisfied. You are working in a field of your choosing. When you first started you were excited to go to work every day. Some of that initial enthusiasm has worn off now as your workload has increased and no longer aligns with your values or the direction of your goals. It is not too late. You can start now to set your boundaries. Of course, it is difficult to backtrack, but it is possible. A carefully thought-out plan is needed, and this plan begins with an open mind, courage, and a clear understanding of your values and goals. What is important to you? What are your priorities? This can be a hefty task and you might want to get a bit of help.

Know your boundaries (ideally from your first day of work, but it is never too late). I suggest you go back to look at your values. Is the job in alignment with your values? As you determine your boundaries are they in alignment with your values and goals?

Guidance at such a time might be valuable. This is where a coach or mentor can come in handy. Give me a shout and let’s figure out what you want to do and how you will go about getting what you want.

drelaine@drelaineleadership.com

Are Your Decisions Based on Fear?

Posted on by Dr. Elaine

When that bear is after me, I hope I can run faster than you can. I also hope that my fear has kicked in enough that I can actually run. I used to love running, but as with many of us old folk – the knees are gone.

If some dude or dudette breaks into my house while I am home, I hope I have enough fear to either hide or run. Fear can be good. The adrenalin gets you going, hopefully, to someplace safe. Fear today is different from the fear in the caveman days (I think there were cavewomen too, but we don’t seem to talk about them). We don’t have to run from the lion, tiger, bear, or any of those aggressive animals who look on us as prey. Today our fear comes from the political climate, the pandemic, racial issues and inequality, women’s inequality, the environment, and what we are doing about it – or not doing. Some still fear not being able to feed or house their families – wow – how long has this been going on??

Every day we are apt to experience fear when we drive, when we are walking, when someone we do not know approaches us, or if someone is not wearing a mask. How do you react to these fears? In most cases, you know your heart and respiratory rates increase. The increased heart and respiratory rate can also happen when we talk about politics and pandemics (starting to be hard to separate the two).

We are facing numerous fears with the ongoing pandemic. Mask versus non-mask, vaccine versus anti-vaccer, conspiracy versus non-conspiracy, and there might be other divides of which I am not aware. Why are these divides present – fear.  Fear is often the doing of politicians and the media.

There are numerous other things occurring causing us fear. No income, no school or only home-school, and you can’t work from home, not enough money to feed the family, pay the bills, and keep a roof over your head have become too common.

Our mental health is being stretched like it has not been in the lives of many of us. The Polio scare in the mid-50s, The Bay of Pigs, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early to mid-’60s when I was still fairly young, definitely scared us. By the time the Missile Crisis came along, I was old enough to read the paper and be frightened along with the adults. I didn’t understand everything, but I knew there was a possibility that we might be gone and I might not be with my mom when it happened. I was scared, really scared.

I am not scared now. I am fortunate and old enough to be able to live on my retirement pension. I will continue to look after my health, wear my mask (heck my immune system has been crap since long before the pandemic), and I have my two jabs. I wasn’t going out before the pandemic hit because I was undergoing chemo – I just haven’t changed what I was doing then.

That only gives us a bit of understanding of the effects of fear. When the pandemic has run its course there will be other fears. What else causes us to be fearful and how does fear influence our decisions?

We have been subjected to fear-causing news reports, health reports, and general pandemic discussions for a bit over 18-months. What an incredible amount of stress we have been put through, and that stress affects our decisions. Why? Because the fear creates stress which then influences our decisions. The decisions we make when stressed are often not the best decisions.

Some of the nastiest leaders in the world gain, and have gained, power because of the fear they instill. Is that what our leaders are doing now, or are they also being fed fear every day? I am not a conspiracy theorist. On the other hand, I do believe if you tell yourself something over and over again you begin to believe. After all, isn’t that what we are being taught to do to become more self-confident, to build self-esteem, and to make the most of ourselves? Darn right it is! And guess what – it works. So let’s use the same strategy to eliminate or reduce our fear now. You can stay in fear, or you can choose to live a beautiful life without ongoing fear.

It is a big ask for anyone who is afraid. Believe me, I have been there in the past. I am not there now and do not intend to be. I am in control of me, and I can help you be in control of you. Change is never easy, but small steps repeated over time accumulate and can make a huge difference. What is amazing is how the practices that can help get you out of a fearful state can be used every day, in a pandemic, or non-pandemic times.

At any time, each of us can benefit from someone who is a sounding board, or from a coach. Now, more than ever, someone to talk to is of the utmost importance. Many are experiencing feelings and fears they have never had to deal with before, and the people in their social support system are experiencing the same concerns. Find someone to talk to individually or as a group. I offer these kinds of services and I am sure there are others also offering individual and group coaching, mentoring, or training. As humans, we need each other. We are not meant to be alone. Seek what and who you need. You were not meant to live in fear.

Learn how to overcome anxiety, decrease your stress, and frustration. Book an appointment to chat at

Would You Like to Decrease Your Stress?

Posted on by Dr. Elaine

What a silly question. Doesn’t everyone want to decrease their stress? Of course, we all do. The hard thing for many of us is to figure out how. This past year, 2020, has only added stress for most people. Telling people to “not worry” doesn’t help one little bit.

I realized the other day that despite not having any reason to be feeling stressed – I was. Today I decided to take a day off. For me, that meant staying in bed for longer than usual, reading, playing a few games, fixing up some of my computer ‘stuff’, & at long last writing this blog. I had been putting it off because my blog site had disappeared – I made a mistake when I thought I was updating things. The other activities, or non-activities, of the day, have included a wee bit of tv, nothing that stretched my brain.

I know I need to practice what I preach. I also realized that a few months ago when I decided to make a few changes to my life I tried to do too much too quickly. I know better than that. But, I needed a reminder from my coach. I need to tackle one thing at a time. Right now I am taking a course – I need to focus on the course – it is short term & will be over in a few weeks. I have made a point of meditating every day. I have meditated for many years, but sometimes go for rather long stretches when I don’t (maybe a month). But, I am back at it – I feel so much better when I meditate at least once a day; why would I not do that every day?

https://unsplash.com/@keaneyefoto

The photo above appears to be a very stressed or sad person. I’ve been feeling like that the last few days – I want to curl up in a ball & ignore everyone & everything around me. Let’s make sure you don’t get to that stage. Regardless of the way I have been feeling I still want to help others. That might actually be a bit selfish – I feel better when I can help others. I don’t need to control, be in charge, or dominate. I want to help by listening, & sharing the strategies I have collected over the years (it’s been a lot of years), & guiding you to do what is best for you. Only you know what you are ready for & can do at this time.

How can I help? You might want to start with a Stress Check-List to see how much stress you are experiencing. I have included the Stress Check-List (from HeartMath) at the end of the blog. There are a plethora of ways to decrease stress. But, stress & decreasing stress aren’t one-size-fits-all. Some things are basics for everyone, but though we are all one, we are also unique & need what works for us as an individual. A few things to think about include: – sleep, healthy nutrition, exercise, meditation, yoga, a soak in a nice warm bath with Epsom salts & essential oils. Some of these are quick fixes, some are part of longer stress reduction & self-care strategies.

All of the above will help decrease stress, but you need to do them daily or frequently. I can help. As a coach/mentor I have many tools in my toolbox & I am sure we can find a few that will work for you.

Recently, I have successfully made it through cancer & chemo-therapy, coping with autoimmune disorders, retiring, & just getting old (yes, even aging can be a stressor).

Do you have too much stress?

Everyone responds to stress differently. Use this checklist to assess the impact stress is having
on your life and if it’s time to do something about it.

Low stress levels
 feel well
 I am able to relax
 Physical recreation brings me pleasure
 Increasing pressure enhances my performance
 My thinking is clear and I learn easily
 I am able to say “No”
 Others see me as adaptable and approachable

Moderate stress levels
 I feel driven, hyperactive, and restless
 I tend to make snap decisions but with errors
 I feel over-burdened but can still say “No”
 I often feel tired but am taking steps to recover
 I often try to squeeze a few extra drops out of my performance
 Discipline, fitness, social pressure and stimulants play a greater role in my ability to perform
 My sleep is just about adequate
 Others see me as tired yet successful


High stress levels
 I don’t think as clearly as I used to
 I feel irritable and “on edge”
 I complain and grumble regularly
 I work longer hours but get less done
 I have repeated minor ailments, aches and pains
 I am exhausted, have poor endurance and my work/life balance is suffering
 I am unable to distinguish the essential from non-essential
 I have sleep problems
 I feel like I’m l operating in survival mode
 I accept excessive burdens and see them as inevitable
 Others see me as energized and successful

Contact your HeartMath® Certified Coach for more information.

Elaine Rose

  • phone/text: 403-561-0185
  • email: fromtheheartwithdr.elaine@gmail.com
  • book an appointment: https://calendly.com/fromtheheartwithdr-elaine

© 2015 HeartMath LLC. HeartMath is a registered trademark of the Institute of HeartMath.