Eleven Steps: HOW TO FEEL BETTER MORE OF THE TIME AND REDUCE YOUR CHANCES OF A MAJOR ILLNESS

The Daily Apple™© Volume 2, Number 7

Friday, June 28, 2013

PGY #40  Day #363

Take The Best Care™© of Yourself

From Dr. Mike and Infinity Health Solutions

HOW TO FEEL BETTER MORE OF THE TIME AND REDUCE YOUR CHANCES OF A MAJOR ILLNESS 

From The Stress Management Workbook: An action plan for taking control of your life and health

Pages 156 and 157

The last blog post made reference to these pages, so here they are.  These 11 rules will help you get healthy and stay healthy.

Dr. Mike

HOW TO FEEL BETTER MORE OF THE

TIME AND REDUCE YOUR CHANCES

OF A MAJOR ILLNESS

The following list of rules gives you a general summary of what we

think is reasonable health behavior. Review them and keep the list

for future reference.

1.  Awareness of Behaviors You Can Change:

You have control over many factors that may significantly affect your health. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn how your own behavior

affects your health. Strive to change your behavior in such a way

as to promote your health. Learn to differentiate between those

things you can change and those you must accept.

2.  Preparation for Conditioning:

Establish a relationship with a physician whom you can trust. Make sure .you are able to communicatewith your personal physician. Visit your physician annually in order to continually assess your health status. Do not

start an exercise program without a health evaluation and advice

from your physician.

3.  Immunizations:

Be sure you are fully immunized. Diphtheria/tetanus

should be received at least every 10 years. Other immunizations

may be necessary under certain circumstances.

4.  Exposure:

Avoid physical, chemical, and biological hazards in the

environment. This is the essence of risk reduction. Some things

are obviously more hazardous than others depending on your age.

The major health hazards for the 30- to 40-year-old individual

are the automobile, alcohol, smoking, and weapons. There are

other significant factors such as drugs, air and water pollution,

and food additives that have adverse health effects, although they

may be difficult to quantify.

5. Diet:

Learn what you are eating and what you should not be

eating. Food additives, such as flavor enhancers, artificial flavors,

artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives, as well

as hormones and antibiotics, are chemicals. Some are known to

be hazardous and others are suspect. These should be avoided. In

addition, excess sweets, starches, and fats should be avoided.

Your diet should contain fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats,

fish, and low-fat dairy products. Excess salt can be a problem.

Obesity or overweight is a major health hazard.

6. Drugs:

Avoid the use of drugs unless absolutely necessary. All

drugs are potentially hazardous. Their benefit must be carefully

weighed against their danger. Discuss this with your physician.

7.  Exercise:

Develop a regular exercise program and go through

your daily activities in a way that promotes fitness. Exercise, if

done regularly and under supervision, reduces the risk of hypertension

and heart disease.

8.  Recreation and Relaxation:

These two are critical to your sense of well-being. They probably also prolong your life.

9.  Sleep:

When you are tired, go to sleep. Distractions such as television

that keep you awake during your period of greatest evening

fatigue are the single greatest cause of insomnia.

10. Goals and Expectations:

Examine your personal expectations and

the expectations which you have of others very carefully. Make

sure that they are reasonable. If unreasonable, they should be

changed. If you are unable to examine or change them on your

own, seek help.

11.  When and How To Seek Aid:

A serious, or persistent problem deserves prompt evaluation by your personal physician, or, if necessary, the physician who is on call.

The Daily Apple™©: Take The Best Care™© of Yourself

The Daily Apple™© Volume 2, Number 6

Friday, June 28, 2013

PGY #40  Day #363

Take The Best Care™© of Yourself

From Dr. Mike and Infinity Health Solutions

 

For our final blast of PGY 40 I take you back to The Stress Management Workbook.  In fact, I take you to the end of the book, page 162, which I have reproduced here.  There is ONE critical point to make with regard to altering your life and lifestyle to promote optimal health and well being.  It takes time to do it right.  

This is true for many reasons, not the least of which is this: we are programmed to behave in a certain way.  Not completely hard wired, humans have the capacity to change and to change themselves, but the biology of change involves reprogramming the brain and nervous system and that does take about two years.  This is about a mix of genetics and biology that amounts to "plasticity" of the nervous system.  If you eat well, sleep well, and get proper exercise, your body will enable the necessary changes in the nervous system that facilitate your ongoing path to health. I will not dwell on the science of this phenomenon now, but ask if you have questions about it.

The point is this: You can change.  Don't give up.  Take the time necessary to make the change stick.  If you screw up, fall down, make a mistake, go out of line, fall off the track ... get back on track ASAP.  The more time you spend on track, the easier it will be to stay there.  Do not give up ... do not surrender.

Below is the relevant page from The Stress Management Workbook.

Enjoy!

Dr. Mike

162 THE STRESS MANAGEMENT WORKBOOK

PITFALLS ON THE PATH TO HEALTH,

OR WHY CHANGE IS DIFFICULT

Change is not always easy to implement. There are several reasons

for this. You have been practicing your present style of thinking and

behaving for many years. Much of your behavior and attitude has

become habit. You will have trouble realizing you have engaged in

the habit until after the fact. 

Do not make your goal the immediate

and total elimination of the old behavior or the addition of new ones:

You will set yourself up for failure and add to your stress. A realistic

goal would be to reduce the frequency of the behavior(s) or increase

the frequency ofnew behaviors over time so that one or two years from

this date you can recognize substantial change. 

You can change habits

faster by  

(1) asking friends to tell you when you are engaged in the

old behavior; 

(2) deliberately engaging in the habit in an exaggerated

manner several times a day so that you become supersensitized to it;

and 

(3) keeping a log with you and writing down each time you or a

friend notice the habit-reward yourself for specified reductions in the

frequency of the behavior.

Often people will not change even if the present situation is not

satisfactory because the discomfort of the known is not as great as

their fear of the. consequences of unknown behavior. If you become

more assertive, for example, you will have to deal with the reactions

ofthose around you, some ofwhom may prefer that you stay meek and

docile. If you discover that you seem reluctant to change even though

intellectually you believe you would be better off altering your lifestyle,

then list all the consequences you can think of that would occur

if you did make the specified changes. Which of these would present

new problems for you? How can you decrease your fear of being different?

If this problem seems to have you stymied, seek professional

counseling or medical care.

Refer back to your Action Plan for Change (page 158). Ifthe number

of changes you believe you have to make is substantial, where to start

and how to achieve so much may seem overwhelming. This may give

you the excuse you need to avoid beginning. Do not be upset if you

have found yourself with a long list of changes to make as a result of

reading this workbook. Look at it as a long-range plan. Make a list of

the priorities and work away at it over the next couple of years, rewarding

yourself at each step. Gradual change is better for you than

sudden major shifts in thought, behavior, job situations, etc.

Do not give up. You may review the material and revise your plans

repeatedly without harm. Take your time and remember to enjoy yourself

along the way to your goals.

The Daily Apple™© Volume 2, Number 5: Signs and Symptoms of Stress (Continued)

The Daily Apple™© Volume 2, Number 5

Thursday, March 28, 2013 PGY 40 Day #249


The Stress Management Workbook (Continued)

In February, we posted the first section on Signs and Symptoms of Stress.  Today, we will complete that chapter. 

Signs and

Symptoms of

Stress

 In our last Stress Management Workbook post (February 13, 2013), we shared scales to help you quantify SYMPTOMS OF STRESS.  Today, we will share the pages that cover SIGNS OF STRESS.

We now go back to The Stress Management Workbook: An Action Plan for Taking Control of Your Life and Health by Aronson and Mascia, Appelton - Century - Crofts / New York, Copyright MFM & SRA 1979 & 1981

Page 11 -  

If your score is high and you have not seen a physician for evaluation of your symptoms, you should do so in order to exclude the possibility of serious illness. If serious illness has been excluded by your physician, there are several other approaches to relieving stress-induced symptoms.  If you scored higher on numbers 1-7, 11, 12, 15, 18, 21, 22, and 25 (those marked “A”), you are more likely to benefit from some active form of relaxation, such as running, jogging, tennis, or some other form of exercise.  If you had a predominance of high scores on numbers 14, 16, 17, and 19 (those marked “P”), you may be more likely to benefit from some passive form of relaxation, such as meditation, yoga, deep-muscle relaxation, or self-hypnosis.  If you have a balance of the two types of symptoms, you may benefit more from a combination of the two forms of relaxation.  (You may have noticed that not all the numbers have been listed in this review.  The reason is that those particular symptoms are a mixed variety and do not tend to fall within either category.)  If the symptoms you are experiencing are debilitating, persistent, or severe, check with your doctor to exclude serious illness or at least the possibility of a need for treatment.

SIGNS OF PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS

Signs:Objective or observable external evidence of internal, physiological change.  Signs and symptoms sometimes go together to define a pathological condition or disease.  However, some signs are usually representative of psychosocial stress and rarely indicate disease.  A physician may have to make that determination.

LIST OF SIGNS
Increased alcohol use	Changes in posture
Increased drug use	Hyperventilation
Increased tobacco use	Lack of control
Weight gain	Increased spending of money
Weight loss	Reckless behavior
Increased activity	Poor judgment
Reduced activity	Increased sexual activity
Pacing the floor	Reduced sexual activity
Wringing hands	Loss of effectiveness at work
Worried look	Increased eating
Throwing objects	Reduced eating
Kicking objects	Other
Slamming objects

            The following scale is designed to help measure your signs of stress.  These signs are frequently seen with psychosocial stress and rarely represent disease.  Please fill out the following form.

 

 

12                                    THE STRESS MANAGEMENT WORKBOOK

SCALE 2-SIGNS OF STRESS

Please respond to the following statements.

            2                                                          1                                                    X

PAST TWO WEEKS	PAST STRESSFUL WEEKSTIMES
I have or those around me have noticed:
__________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________	__________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________	1. I have gained or lost weight. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 2. I have increased or reduced my physical activity. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 3. I pace the floor. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 4. I wring my hands. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 5. I have a worried look. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 6. I throw, kick, or slam objects. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 7. I have changed my posture (for example, hanging head down, shuffling my feet, drooped shoulders). Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 8. I hyperventilate (rapid breathing). Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 9. I lack control (for example, yelling, intolerance, lack of patience, etc.). Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________

       Yes                                          No                               Do Not Know

                                                                                                                                    continued         

 Page 13

__________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________________

__________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________

10. I have increased my drug use (e.g. alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, marijuana, etc.). Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 11. I have increased my spending of money. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 12. My behavior seems reckless. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 13.I have increased sexual desire. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 14. I have reduced sexual desire. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 15. I am less effective at work. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 16. I have increased or reduced appetite. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 17. I bite my fingernails. Comment: ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ 18.Other ______________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

       Yes                                          No                               Do Not Know

                                                                                                                      

Page 14

 

The higher your score in the first column, the more likely you are to be under excess stress now.  The higher your score in the second column, the more likely you were to have been reacting to excess stress at those particularly bad times you happen to remember.  The lower your scores, the less likely you are to be experiencing or to have experienced excess stress.  Remember, if your scores are high and you have not seen a doctor recently, you should check with your physician in order to exclude serious illness.  If your scores are high and you do not have a serious illness, then you are likely to benefit from one of the many relaxation methods described in Chapter 4 in combination with a reduction of the stress load you are experiencing.

            In any case, if the signs and symptoms are debilitating (exhausting), persistent, or severe, check with your doctor in order to exclude serious illness or the need for professional treatment.

and

Dr. Mike  

 

PLEASE CONTACT US THROUGH THIS BLOG, OR THROUGH MY EMAIL ADDRESS Dr.Mike@ihealsolutions.com for COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, OR SUGGESTIONS ...

 

"Have fun and be careful out there!"