Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess-Part 1

On today's episode, I sit down with Michael Moore and Dr. Stephen Givens and discuss productive (positive) and counter-productive (negative) coping strategies in dealing with stress.  Michael Moore, MED, LPCC has served as a minister in the Church of Christ for the past 25 years.  He has been a Licensed Professional Counselor for the past 14 years.  Dr. Stephen Givens is a Nationally Certified Addictions Counselor and has a passion on for Christian Counseling. Dr. Givens and Mr. Moore are co-owners of the Counseling and Wellness Center Ohio.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Sewing in Health and Wellness is brought to you by Mountaineer Chiropractic, your soft tissue specialist, located at 2108 Camden Avenue, Suite D, Parkersburg, West Virginia. For more information, go online to MountaineerCairo.com. If you would like to be a sponsor or help support Searing in Health and Wellness Podcast, please go online to Eaglesways Ministries.org and select Patron page in the top menu bar. Hello, and thank you for listening to Searing in Health and Wellness with Dr. Steve Wells. Dr. Wells is a chiropractic physician with a passion to help individuals reach new levels in health and wellness. He has been involved in the health and wellness field for over 30 years. Dr. Wells received his Bachelor of Science degree from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with an emphasis in health and exercise science. He received his second Bachelor of Science degree in general sciences, along with his Doctor of Chiropractic degree with others from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. Soaring in Health and Wellness is a tool to help educate individuals reach new levels in health and wellness and a passion to live with a sense of purpose and vitality. Dr. Wells and his guests, ranging from doctors from all areas of healthcare to educators, nurses, personal trainers, counselors, and pastors, will discuss and inform you on how to improve all dimensions of wellness from a biblical worldview perspective with one goal in mind: seeing you soar towards optimal health and wellness. If you're ready, let's get started with today's program with your host, Dr. Steve Wells.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Welcome to another edition of Soaring Health and Wellness. Today's guest is Michael Moore and Dr. Stephen Gibbons. And I'm going to go ahead and introduce them and let them tell about themselves. Today's topic is managing stress. So, Michael?

SPEAKER_02 1:34

Yes, my name is Michael Moore, and I'm the co-CEO and a counselor at Counseling and Wellness Centers in Parkersburg. We also have one an operation in Belfry, Ohio, and one in Taze Valley, West Virginia. Okay, Steven?

SPEAKER_04 1:51

Oh, I'm Dr. Stephen Gibbons, and I'm the other co-CEO of the Counseling Wellness Center. And as Mike said, we have three locations readily available for anyone.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Oh, wow. I tell you, if you were all in our office today and looking at we we got face mask on, we're six foot social distancing, and so we're bringing the podcast to you. Actually, Mike, if you could scoot over a little bit more, thank you. The room's only what 10 by 12. But anyway, I thought it'd be a great time to actually talk about the subject as far as managing stress. Uh, before I get started, uh my sources come from Connect Core Concepts and Help by Paul Ensell, Walter Roth, Claire Ensell, Health to Basics by Rebecca Donatelli, Total Fitness Wellness by Scott Powers, Stephen Dott, and Erica Jackson. If you know, if you've been listening to our podcasts in the past, we've been dealing with the areas of stress. Our last guests were Caleb and Dominique, and we were talking about pretty much the transition of going into the college situation. If for some reason you all hear breathing, sighing, it's because we got masks on, and it's really difficult to take a deep breath without bringing in your in your in your mask. But I wanted to start as far as one follow up on our last podcast, and college is a time when you will learn to adapt to new and challenging situations and gain knowledge and skills that will last a lifetime. It is also a time when many people will develop counterproductive and unhealthy habits in response to stress. We know that college students strive under a certain amount of stress, but too much stress can leave them overwhelmed. Studies have indicated that first-year students report not only more problems with stress, but also more emotional reactivity in the form of anger, hostility, frustration, and a greater sense of being out of control. And this is from Parent, the American Freshman, National Norms Falls 2009. He continues to note that sophomores and juniors reported fewer problems with these issues, and seniors reported the fewest problems. In continuation, this may indicate students' progressive emotional growth to experience maturity, increased awareness of supportive services, and more social connections. Students generally report using health-enhancing methods to combat stress, but research has found that students sometimes resort to health-compromising activities to escape the stress and anxiety of college. Again, this is from Pridgern and Wilson to coping styles changed during the first semester of college, Journal of Social Psychology. Numerous researchers have found stress among college students to be correlated to unhealthy behaviors such as substance abuse, lack of physical activity, poor psychological and physical health, and lack of social problem solving and infrequent use of social support networks. By Bovier, Chamot, and Pernadger. Perceived stress, internal resources, and social support, determinants, mental health among young adults. Donatelli explains that being on your own in college may pose challenges, but it also lets you take control of and responsibility for your life. Although we can't eliminate all life stressors, we can train ourselves to recognize the events that cause stress and to anticipate our reactions to them. Coping is the act of managing events or conditions to lessen physical or psychological effects of excess stress. Don Tele notes one of the most effective ways to combat stressors is to build coping strategies and skills known as collective stress management techniques. So, Mike, did you want to comment on anything as far as what we talked about earlier as far as developing those strategies in college, whether it be good or bad? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

One of the things about college is that I think it's so difficult for people is because there is a social norming that happens in a lot of college campuses. There's a cultural expectation that the way that we're going to cope with the stress of college is by drinking or drug use. And I think a lot of students that may not have that as a part of their coping strategy when they go to college are at an increased risk of falling into that simply because they might have roommates or friends that are employing those coping strategies. So it is a time that not only is it the time of life, but it's the cultural and social expectations that are on many campuses.

SPEAKER_04 6:13

Steve? I like what Mike's saying. This is also another point of time for people that they're moving from being dependent to completely independent for themselves. This is the time where the bird actually leaves the nest and has to figure out the world for themselves, which automatically creates a lot of stress in trying to figure those things out. And this is a part in their development where they're really trying to figure out what their puzzle piece is and where it fits in.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

All right. Before we get started on the healthy coping strategies, I want to go a little bit as far as the counterproductive coping strategies. And those are basically as far as first one we look at as far as tobacco use. Cigarettes and other tobacco products contain nicotine, which is a chemical that enhances the actions of neurotransmitters. The effects of nicotine can help you feel relaxed as well as increasing your ability to concentrate, but is highly addictive. Insul, rot, and insul note that nicotine dependence itself is considered a psychological order. As we have mentioned in our earlier podcast with our guest, we know that cigarette smoke also contains substances that can cause heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and emphysema. They continue to explain that these negative consequences far outweigh any beneficial effect, and tobacco should be avoided. And the easiest way to avoid the habit is to start is not to start. Michael Stephen, the psychological order as far as nicotine dependence. Do you see that a lot in your practice as far as people trying to deal with stress or other issues in life? Well, certainly, yes.

SPEAKER_04 7:41

A lot of people it's it's almost become, in a sense, for a lot of people, normalized, if you will, in comparison. You know, it's not a a controlled substance, something like, you know, opiates or heroin or something. Everybody's okay with the fact that I can just go smoke a cigarette with those. And it's to people, it's a lot of stress relief for them because it's an activity they have created to be able to relieve that stress. But the one of the problems that people don't actually recognize is that you know, nicotine is a high stimulant and it actually creates more anxiety. It's very provoking. And long-term use, not only are you having physical symptoms with those, but psychologically, you're developing a lot more anxiety building up when where it's going to come out and manifest itself in different areas.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

One of the things that is is happening right now is that among younger people, cigarette smoking is not as as favored. More of them are leaning towards vaping. That seems to be a the new phenomenon and it's catching on, and and they don't realize that there's the misnomer that it's a safer alternative because it's not tobacco. But there I think there's more and more studies that are revealing that vaping has its own health problems that are associated with it, especially the highest risk are those who are vaping cannabis oils because of the impact that it can have on lungs and the absorption of oxygen. One of the things I think that is very interesting is that a lot of people believe it's the act of smoking or the substances that they're smoking that is making them feel relaxed. But as we're gonna see in just a little bit, it is actually they're getting a huge impact from the process of inhaling large breaths, because that's what smokers and those who vape do is they inhale and they take a large deep breath. And as we're gonna see in maybe just talking about it in in a few moments, about the impact that has on relaxation just all by itself.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Okay. All right. Another way, as far as counterproductive strategy that they're looking to is the use of alcohol and other drugs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in 2015 know that 37.7% of college-age Americans binge drink. Enso Roth and Encel explained that alcohol is addictive, and many alcoholics find it difficult to relax without having a drink. Having a few drinks might make you feel temporarily at ease, and drinking until you're intoxicated may help you forget your current stressors. However, using alcohol to deal with stress places you at risk for all the short and long-term problems associated with alcohol abuse. It also does nothing to address the causes of stress in your life. Some of these other drugs that they're using as far as stimulants, such as amphetamines, can activate the stress response. They also act to affect the same areas of the brain that are involved in regulating the stress response. Marijuana causes a brief period of euphoria, decreased short-term memory and attentional abilities. Physiological effects clearly show that marijuana use doesn't cause relaxation. In fact, some of the neurochemicals in marijuana act to enhance the stress response, and getting high on a regular basis can elicit panic attacks. To compound this, withdrawal from marijuana may also be associated with an increase in circulating stress hormones, explain insulin insul. Another one is opioids, and we're having Steve talked about that, such as morphine and heroin can mimic the effects of our body's natural painkillers and act to reduce anxiety. However, tolerance to opioids develops quickly, and many ewes become dependent. Then there's tranquilizers such as volume and Xanax, which mimics some of the functions of your body's parasympathetic nervous system, such as with opioids, tolerance develops quickly, causing increased dependency and toxicity. So, Steve, can you talk a little bit about the opioid? And we had mentioned a little bit before in our I think the uh uh last one we did with you all was walking through the valley. Sure.

SPEAKER_04 11:50

I think that definitely with the opioid pandemic as well that's uh going on. Opioids the hard thing about opioids is that there's an instant gratification. When you take that, it automatically tricks the brain to be able to get that euphoria feeling. And that's that's the incentive or that's the thing that really captures people with those. But it it it quickly becomes diverts people to these unhealthy ways of being able to deal with stress. And the problem is with any of these substances, whether it's stimulants or marijuana or any of those, one of the problems that people have is that they go and use it, and now I've got two problems. I had the problem I had before, and now I've got a dependency problem on these things too. So it doesn't take away anything, it just can help detour them a little bit more and add to their stressors in the long run.

unknown 12:41

Good.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

All right. Another way, as far as can be a counterproductive coping charge, is unhealthy eating habits. We all know that the nutrients that we obtain and the food we eat provide energy and substances needed to maintain our body. Enzo Roth and Enzo explained that eating is also psychological rewarding. The feelings of sedation and sedation that follow eating produces a relaxed state. However, regular use of eating as a means of coping with stress may lead to unhealthy eating habits. They continue to note a survey by the American Psychological Association revealed that about 25% of Americans use ooze as a means of coping with stress or anxiety. These comfort eaters are twice as likely to be obese as average Americans. Ensel Roth and Ansel note that many dietary supplements are marketed for stress reduction, but supplements are not required to meet the same standards as medications in terms of safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing. So do you deal a lot in your practice with people who are obese that are comfort eaters?

SPEAKER_04 13:54

Yeah, a lot of people actually don't even know it, but um you hear about Alcohol's Anonymous, there's actually an overeater's anonymous for people that actually help out support groups in this area. The thing that it comes to with people in eating is that we either are overeaters or undereaters, you know, when it comes to stress and how we take on. One of the reasons of why for people who tend to overeat is that when you take a bite of that burger, you bite into what are called bromites. And those bromites, they send to the pleasure part of your brain to where you get that ah feeling with it. But it's it's like a flicker of a flame, it doesn't stay and it's very, very quick. And what happens is when it gets that pleasure, it's not enough. So I feel like I got to take another bite to get that same pleasure. And so what happens is my stomach works faster than my brain because I'm trying to fill myself up and get those pleasure, but my stomach's saying, Woo, too much here. I can't do enough here with that. And because my my stomach goes quicker with those, I get myself into what we like to call the carbcoma, that it really just uh takes us out and we're not able to. And the ovarine obviously causes overweight and we gain to the obesity with those. And then you have the other side where this underweight that my our our stomach has a lot of nerves in it to where we were very sensitive to things around some people who are extra sensitive in that, they don't want to eat anything because if this tries to sit on their stomach, it's just gonna come right back out in any way that they can. And that's where a lot of these eating disorders can come into it. And that's one of the most fatal disorders in the mental health facility. I think it was you might correct me, Mike, if it is. I think it's up to 25% fatality on that. Yeah, it's very, it's very high mortality rate for those diagnosed with an eating disorder. Yeah. And so we see the range on both sides of the you know fence here from eating disorders to that obesity. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

Alrighty. Are there any other counterproductive strategies that you know of that I haven't mentioned?

SPEAKER_02 15:55

Th those definitely are are the are the biggest. One of the ones that I think that people don't think of very often is that just trying to fill this this void that they have in their life with something. And so I this is where it's important that I think that people realize is that too much of anything or even a good thing is too much. So sometimes people are missing something in their life, they're feeling stressed out, and so they've been told, hey, you need to exercise. Okay. And exercise is a great thing. But what we find is that some people will obsess over things and they will exercise to extremes and they will take it too far. And they're doing it not necessarily to be healthy, but because they're in a s they're trying to uh to escape from the stress that they feel. And they do not have a good coping mechanism toolbox. So they're overdependent on any one strategy, and that becomes an obsession.

SPEAKER_04 17:08

And just to piggyback on that, I think Mike's saying I've always found too much or too little of anything is not a good thing. You know, really what we really try to help people with is trying to be able to find balance. Yes, boy, that's a big thing. If we can be able to balance ourselves, then we've got ourselves regulated where we need to be. Because just as he's talking about trying to overdo it, then people go to the opposite. I don't want exercise. I'm I'm sleeping on my couch too long, not you know, not doing anything. And I get myself um into results on both sides of this fence that are unhealthy.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Well, I tell you, those are the counterproductive. I want to go ahead and discuss about some of the productive coping strategies or stress-ranger techniques. As we mentioned earlier in the program, we're going through a time as a world going through a pandemic. And and we had talked earlier before we started the podcast, as far as some of the things as far as that people are actually the first week, first couple of days, staying home, you know, that's fine. But now we're into our fourth week, I believe, here in West Virginia anyway, and probably around the country, as far as stay home, you know. And so there's a lot of people as far as going through financial stress, mental stress, you know, kids are going off the walls as far as, you know, wanting to get out and visit their friends. This the weather is breaking, it's becoming very nice weather type deal to get out. So I think it's just a great idea as far as to kind of go some of these productive strategies to help people in that situation, not only if you college, but also to what we're going through right now. And so Roth and Encel explain that you and I can control the stress in our life by taking the following steps. One is to shore up our support system, two is to improve our communication skills, three is to develop healthy exercise and eating habits, four is learn to identify and moderate individual stressors, five is to learn mindful skills, and six is getting adequate sleep. They know that the effort required for stress management is well worth the time. People who manage stress effectively not only are healthier, but also have more time to enjoy life and accomplish goals. So we're gonna start with social support. And this is where you said as far as connectivity is pretty important as far as the social support.

SPEAKER_04 19:20

Yes, absolutely. I'm gonna to maybe set this up here with this, and I want to ask everybody if if everybody's ever had jet lag. If you ever traveled or have gone anywhere, you may be gone across some time zones. I remember it well. My wife and I, here we go on our honeymoon over there to Paris, France. Never in the wild life have I ever been out of this country, and here I am going to Paris, France, you know, ooh la la on it here with this. And I was so excited because little did I know at this point, I guess, that uh Paris, France is there's a six-hour time difference. Well, when you get on a plane to go fly over to Paris, you leave at eight o'clock at night. And we left and we got over there, and we we get there at two o'clock in the morning. Well, if you go forward six hours more, it's eight o'clock in the morning there at Paris with those. And what they always tell you that if you're gonna travel, one of the tips they give you is that you should go to bed the same time that you normally do at the same time over there. Well, there was no way that I was gonna make it until about nine at night for me with those eight o'clock in the morning. It's two o'clock my time. I'm just exhausted with those. And I conk out. And I wish, Steve, I wish I didn't, because I had the hardest times for the next few days. I was eating two o'clock in the morning, I was sleeping three in the afternoon. It was hard for me to have to learn to keep my eyes open and get myself in that pattern where I really needed to be. And about the time that I got myself regulated, and here I am jumping across the big pond, coming on back here and do it all over again with those. When we're in jet lag, our equilibriums are all over the place and we are not regulated. And that's what's happening when we get ourselves, you know, in this COVID-19, what's going on here is that we're isolated. And the the worst form of human torture that any of us can go through is isolation. That's really hard. And people now that they've have been uh you know forced to be able to stay in their homes and being able to get, you know, the cabin fever and getting stir crazy with those. Now they're trying to figure out, you know, now the weather's getting nice, and you know, thing there's just usually the time that we go and do things, their equilibriums are all over the place, and they're wondering, what in the world can I do now? And so oftentimes I'll I'll tell clients is you got to get yourself back in the routine. And there's four main things when it comes to that routine. One is eating, two is sleeping, three is exercise, and four, right here, which was is one of the most important ones, is connection. We need connection. It's literally in our DNA that we need connections with human beings. They actually found. They did a social experiment that they actually found that connection happiness comes from the connection that we get with others. This is better than any fortune that you could ever get, better than any fame that you can get. And it helps to prevent anything like depression or anxiety is when we regulate ourselves by connecting with other human beings. So it's really, really that important with those. But the problem is that now we've been forced to be able to stay at home. How in the world do I connect? Well, I'll tell you, right now, people have become more creative. Technology is a really great thing. It's been a wonderful thing for people because now we can utilize that to help ourselves make connections with others. I know for us at the counseling center, we've had to open up our kind of different modalities to make sure that people are getting that the ability to connect with a counselor, especially during this time. It's it's one of the primary things that you really can to help direct you where to go with those. We are still offering you know face-to-face contact if people are not having shown any symptoms and you know being able to take those precautionaries. The other way that we're doing is telephone sessions to be able to connect with them, and we're also doing video conferences for people. So whenever they're calling in and they're connecting with us, we're being able to help them on one, giving them connection that they need here, because the therapeutic connection is one of the closest connections that one human can have with another. And two, we're also helping them to figure out ways to be able to have connections with other people, whether that's you know, doing FaceTime or Skyping with somebody, whether that's you know, getting on the Facebook and I aming somebody here with those people have really come up. I had one person have some people, they would actually do board games over their phones and stuff there, and actually have one person kind of be the host and moving things for everybody. And and it's really, really a neat thing that people are coming up. People are, I know on our street we've been doing some walks. People have come up with scavenger hunts where they've actually put teddy bears in their cars and on their windows that they can actually take their kids around and look for teddy bears all over the place there. So it's really is it's really a neat thing that we we come up with these ideas that there are things, and if you go on there now, I'm sure that people on Snapchat, Twitter, all those things. I mean, people are just constantly putting things out for activities for people to do, and it's just a matter of just plugging in and getting connected with those things too.

SPEAKER_02 24:28

And one of the things about connection is that it happens in two ways is that you're connecting with a person through communication and interaction. But there's also another connection that is so important to us, and that is the connection that we make when we feel that we're doing something that benefits another human being. And you don't even have to see that human being or talk to them to feel a connection to them. And this is a time when acts of service are not only needed in the world around us, but we need to be doing them because when we are sending out a card to someone, or we just take an encouraging note and and drop it in your paper box of your neighbor, or or go out and use sidewalk chalk and put an encouraging message on the sidewalk so that when people come by and see it, you feel connected to the world around you in a way that it literally releases dopamine into the brain and you feel better. And I think that's you know, the what Jesus said, it's recorded in the scriptures, that it is more blessed to give than to receive, is based on simple biology. It truly is the way that we're made.

SPEAKER_01 25:47

I tell you, as far as to add to your all's conversation there, as far as when it comes to having support from friends and family, it contributes to the well-being of body, mind, and I would include spirit as well. I kind of looked on Facebook and I saw where a church in Tulsa, Oklahoma got permission from the governor, the city officials, you know, and so forth, to actually have a drive-in church. And this was right across from Old Roberts University where I graduated, but it's Victory Church. And anyway, there's a thousand cars each parked. They were in their cars in the drive parking lot, so forth. The minister was actually up on a hoist, you know, where he was actually preaching. And the praise and worship team was actually on the building, the roof of the building, the main season's like that as far as in their cars. Well I thought we were gonna get away with that video. Hey, listen, if you're gonna take your mask off the breathing, get some options that break person. I thought that was a I thought was pretty neat. But as far as research has shown and support the value of affiliation and connectedness, a study of college students living in overcrowded apartments revealed that those with a strong social support system were less distressed by their cramped quarters than were the loaners who navigated life's challenges on their own. They also found that young adults who have strong relationships with their parents tend to cope with stress better than peers with poor parental uh relationships. And many studies show that married people live longer than single people and have lower death rates from practically all causes. As we mentioned before, that family and friends can be a steady base of support and the pressures of life seem overwhelming. Donatelli notes that people who are positive help us to see the realities of our situation, and other constructive suggestions can help us get through the even the toughest times as we face today. Avoid those who are Cas Catastrophizers, catastrophizers. Catastrophizers, thank you, Mike. Or who continually drain you with their own issues or negative outlooks on life. She notes if supportive family and friends are unavailable, look to your pastor, teachers, or counselors. She explains that we need to invest in our loved ones. As our lives get busy and obligations become overwhelming, we often don't make time for the people who are most important to us, our friends, family, and other loved ones. In order to have a healthy social support network, we have to invest time and energy. Cultivate and nurture the relationships that matter, those built on trust, mutual acceptance, and understanding, honesty and genuine caring. She can just treat others empathetically, provides that with a measure of emotional security and reduces their anxiety. And if you want others to be there for you to help you cope with life's stressors, you need to be there for them. So that pretty much ties that up. Anyone want to add anything? As my glasses fog up. Next one is volunteering. And um, I've seen my my kids actually volunteer for the American Red Cross as far as helping basically hand out food, take the food to the elderly, and so forth. So Steve, I'm gonna have you go ahead and start with that one as far as the the importance of volunteering.

SPEAKER_04 29:06

So volunteering is a it's one of those things about giving back. People love, like Mike's talking about, whenever we're doing those acts of service and giving back to the community, it's a way of being able to connect with people. It makes us it it's a form of altruism that we don't expect things back, but just solely being able to give can make us feel like we are just helping humanity and being able to make it. So, you know, a lot of times, especially right now specifically, you know, we we have to be very careful about uh how to connect and who to connect with with those because we want to make sure that it is helpful and that it is uh on target with people. And we also want to be able to watch during these times, you know. I I actually just got a I got a text they had done a warning in the bigger cities with those, is that they actually had people going around uh with masks door to door saying that this was you know from the government and people were putting these masks on and they had chemicals to knock them out and they were stealing from them. Oh my god, there too. So we have to be very uh careful about making sure that we're selecting people who are certified, that you know, you get the background, don't don't uh just knee jerk, go and try to help and just because we don't want to put ourselves in a place of desperation to do something, and that's really an easy place for people to be right now. They want something really bad, they're getting stir crazy with those, and that's why you know, places like you know, counseling centers that we're we're developing is you're getting with professionals to help direct you to people who are gonna be able to get you to the places where you can get be good help and be safe. Wow, and that's really important.

SPEAKER_02 30:50

Absolutely. It's uh and whenever you're wanting to volunteer, rather than just going out and trying to maybe do something on your own, because people are gonna be on guard and skeptical, find those places that are already established, that are well known, such as the Red Cross and and food banks and and things that are already set up and and and work through them. That's the I think it's the safest way. They already have a protocol, the needs are already the people know where to go and get those needs met. So that's a good place to start.

SPEAKER_04 31:25

And a lot of times with like community mental health centers, with those like case managers or counselors, they're already connected with these places and they already have people like contact names directly of saying, Yep, you need to talk to Sharon or you need to talk to Greg about uh this and let me give you their phone. Or so that's why when you're directed there, you got a more safer route to go. And Mike's right on it. These bigger agencies that you have, and especially in your local community, I would uh definitely recommend our listeners to get a hold of their community mental health because they have the best resources on how to plug you in there.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

All right. Another way to help as far as stress is communication. And I don't have very much information on this, so whatever you all can do to help if you know uh something as far as communication, but again, Ensel Roth and Ensel note that communication is an assertive way that respects the rights of others while protecting your own rights, can prevent stressful situations from getting out of control. Better communication skills can help everyone form and maintain healthy relationships.

SPEAKER_02 32:25

Well, I think especially right now, communication is challenging. And as Stephen was mentioned earlier, getting with the people that you normally talk to, maybe co-workers or friends and family members that you're not able to go and visit and and get them connected with some of the media outlets that offer things like Zoom and some of those others that are out there and just say, hey, you know, this is the format we're gonna use to get together. And I think that that rather than sitting around and and wishing that we would be able to see them and talk to them, I would encourage people to just be proactive. Be the be the person who makes that initial call and says, hey guys, let's let's all get together on Zoom. Let's download that app and and and meet up.

SPEAKER_04 33:16

And here's another thing about communication that's really going to be uh really important. It is easy for us, and it's naturally for us as humans that we always tend to focus on the negative. And so what we try to do is in a crisis like this, everybody wants to talk about what's going on and boy, all the bad in the world with those. Try, I really want to encourage our listeners to be that beacon to help people to see more positive things that are going on in the world, you know, the the scavenger hunts for the teddy bears, or you know, the board games and stuff. Whenever we give ideas and to solutions with those, we are bringing a serenity and we bring that calmness that is needed during this time. One of the biggest problems with communication is that we tend to listen to respond and not listen to understand. And it's really important for us in this time. When someone's, you know, freaking out or they're just upset about what's going on with those, we want to be able to help to understand what they're feeling with those, bring that in. And then we want to help to bring that silver lining and helping them to be able to say, Well, yeah, that might be true. But let me show you, you can always finish your sentence with but at least. If you can do that, it always helps finish that sentence. It helps to bring that water line back up to par if you can. Doesn't always fix the situation, but it can really help.

SPEAKER_01 34:36

Wow. All righty. I tell you, as far as we're gonna go over one more before we take a break, as far as looking at exercise or taking basically physical action. As far as exercise helps maintain a healthy body and mind, and even stimulates the birth of new brain cells, regular physical activity can also reduce many of the negative effects of stress. The human stress response is intended to end in physical activity, and yet in today's world, we usually aren't able to flight or flee. However, exercise can burn off stress hormones by directing them toward their intended metabolic function. And this is by Gerdano, Dusek, and Everly, controlling stress and tension, the eighth edition. Exercise can also help combat stress by raising levels of endorphins, mood elevating, painkilling hormones in the bloodstream, increasing as far as the energy reducing hostility and improving mental alertness. The American Psychological Association 2014 found that 53% of adults say they feel good about themselves after exercising. 35% say it puts them in good mood, and 30% say they feel less stress. And I suggest to consider the following examples. Take a long walk and decrease anxiety and blood pressure. A brisk 10-minute walk can leave you feeling more relaxed and energetic for up to two hours. People who exercise regularly react with milder physical stress response before, during, and after exposure to stressors. And then one study, people who took three brisk 45-minute walks each week for three months reported fewer daily hassles and an increased sense of wellness.

SPEAKER_04 36:08

So with exercise, the when you have a lot of pinned up energy, you need to get it out. And that's really important to be able to do, especially in these times that we have a lot of energy that needs to just release. There is not a good thing. So finding balance, the other another word that's really important for us as humans is release. We need release. And exercise is a really great way of being able to get that. But you know, like my personal trainer, Phyllis Brown, I'll I'll do a shout out. You know, she's awesome with those there. You know, fitness with Phyllis, she does a fantastic job. And right now, I know what she's doing is she's on the Facebook and she's actually doing group sessions on like a Zoom or a Facebook thing. She'll do live streams where people can actually go and you can work out right in your own home, being able to do that. So, you know, and I know a lot of other personal trainers and other gyms are probably doing the exact same thing. So there's a lot of opportunities that you can be able to do in the comfort of your own home. And you know, you don't even have to be able to leave and stay safe there as well.

SPEAKER_01 37:23

Right. So exercise is definitely important during these times.

SPEAKER_02 37:26

Uh, there's you can look out on the internet and see that they're how creative people are getting with their workouts because they can't go to the gym. They're using things like soup cans for smaller childweights, yeah, small children. Yeah, exactly. You know, climbing stairs, using everyday household objects in their home as creative ways in which to exercise. And so not only are you getting the exercise, but you're also exercising your creativity in the process.

SPEAKER_04 37:56

And not only just, and again, you know, these are workouts that we're talking about, and yes, they're important with us, but even if you can't go and do that, like you said, going for a walk, you know, even you know, in your neighborhood, as long as you're you know practicing good social distancing, I see a lot of people in my neighborhood walking their dogs or you know, or their kids and stuff, right? You know, riding some bikes just to be able to get out a little bit. You know, we've had some really great weather recently. It's really important for us to be able to get out and walk around. Now, we can't go collect at you know playgrounds or things like that, but we can still go down our street and still, you know, keep that respective distance and be able to get out and move around.

SPEAKER_01 38:34

All right. Well, I tell you what, we're gonna go ahead and take a break, and when we get back, we're continuing our discussion on managing stress.

SPEAKER_00 38:40

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SPEAKER_01 39:00

Hey, welcome back to Soaring Health and Wellness. Today's guest is Michael Moore and Dr. Stephen Gibbons. We are talking about managing stress. And we're going to pick up where we left off and we're going to start uh talk a little bit about start, talk a little bit about nutrition. Uh Donatella explains that high potency supplements that are supposed to boost resistance against stress-related ailments are nothing more than gimmicks. However, it is clear that eating a balanced, healthy diet will help provide the stamina you need to get through problems and will stress-proof you in ways that are not fully understood. It is also known that under eating, overeating, and eating the wrong kinds of foods can create distress in the body. Insul Roth and Insul Explain for managing stress, limit or avoid caffeine. Although one or two cups of coffee a day probably won't hurt you, caffeine is a mildly addictive stimulant that leaves some people jittery, irritable, and unable to sleep. And consuming caffeine during stressful situations can raise blood pressure and increase levels of cortisol.

SPEAKER_04 39:59

Steve Mike, you want to touch on that a little bit or so when it comes to eating and nutrition, it I'd always think about I guess with with what Donatelli is talking here about is if I took my my car and I go fill it up with gas, you know, I know that by filling up with gas, it's going to get me down the road to a certain amount of miles with those. And I can have different choices on what I fill up my my car with, you know, unleaded, what do they call those?

SPEAKER_02 40:30

Uh premium premium.

SPEAKER_04 40:33

Yeah, yeah. Those super boost, high octane or rocket fuel. I don't know. You know, I can I can choose the different levels because there are different types of food that's going to be better for me. You know, I can have those, and there are things there that's probably not the best, but it it it's going to get me where I need to go. But I wouldn't go and try to put diesel fuel into my car because it only takes unleaded. That's the only can if I'm putting something in there that's not supposed to be, I'm not going to get far. And so, you know, this is natural fuel for us that actually helps us to get from one place to the other. If we're not eating right and we're not getting enough, if I only put a little bit in my tank, I'm only going to get so far down the road.

unknown 41:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

He's got great semanalogies, doesn't he? Oh, he does. He really does. Just blows me away.

unknown 41:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:22

You know, the nutrition, whenever you're considering about what you're going to eat, one of the biggest problems is mindless eating. And that's where we just go. And the only question we ask ourselves is, oh, what's going to taste good? And if that's the only question you ask yourself, then you're probably going, your body is going to guide you to those high fat, sugary sweet, those things that lots of carbs. But if you stop long enough, instead of just asking yourself, you know, what's going to taste good, if just taking a moment to pause and saying, okay, so what is it that I really need? What does my body need? That is the better question rather than what do I want. And I think that just asking yourself that question helps with that accountability.

SPEAKER_01 42:14

Right. That's good. The next phase we're going to go is managing your time. And as we talked earlier before we get started, again, my biggest issue is I like to I procrastinate. I've always has and just drives my wife nuts. But we all procrastinate or voluntary delay during doing some tasks despite expecting to be worse off for the delay. These delays can result in academic difficulties, financial problems, relationship problems, and a multitude of stress-related ailments. How can we avoid the procrastination bug? According to psychologist Peter Goldwitzer and colleagues, a key is setting clear implementation intentions. A series of goals to be accomplished toward a specific end. And before we move on, do you are you all familiar with the implementation intentions by the psychologist? Mike, can you go ahead and explain a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_02 43:13

Well, as far as, you know, I don't I don't know if it's this thing because I haven't read this particular work, but I know that implementation of intentions many times refers to this idea of looking at a looking at a a project or a goal that you're wanting to achieve, and then looking at what all it's going to take to pull that off, breaking that into smaller pieces, and then putting that onto a time schedule and being able to say, I'm going to do this much of it by this time. So you set basically many goals. Imagine yourself crossing a stream and you're going to set rocks across that stream in which you will jump from rock to rock, and eventually you're going to cross the whole stream. But you've got to have your rocks in the right place in order to do it. If you set one too far away, you're not going to be able to reach. Reach it. If you set them too close, then you're just carrying a bunch of rocks. So the idea of making manageable goals.

SPEAKER_01 44:07

Wow, good. Some of the strategies for improving our time management skills. We'll go through there's quite a few, but like to go through these because our things are very important. Number one is set priorities. And they talk they talk about divide your task into three groups essential, important, and trivial. Focus on the first two and ignore the ignor ignore the third. Schedule tasks for peak efficiency. You probably notice you're most productive at certain times of the day or night. Schedule as many of our tasks for those hours as you can and stick to your schedule. Set realistic goals and write them down. Attainable goals, spur you on. Impossible goals by definition cause frustration and failure. Fully commit yourself to achieving your goals by putting them in writing. Steve, you'll go on?

SPEAKER_04 44:51

Oh, yeah, sure. Thanks. Do you want me to go along with this list here? Well, you can go on that along that list or however you want to go. So I think we're right on target with, you know, when it comes to time management. Yeah, I got an analogy too, Mike. You're not the only one here with analogies. I love the rocks and stuff there. One of the ones I always like to talk about is Mount Everest. You know, Mount Everest is five and a half miles long, high. And if anybody was to look at Mount Everest, automatically they're going to get overwhelmed. Nobody climbs Mount Everest in a day. It just doesn't happen with those. And anybody, any seasoned climber who climbs Mount Everest, they know they have to strategize on how to be able to make it to the summit. And when they do that, they set up literal camps along the way to make sure that they know exactly how to get to the next camp and how to, and even when they're about to go to that summit, there are only certain times that a climber can actually climb up to the summit and get back down because if they stay there too long, it's going to kill them because they have oxygen. The oxygen levels are too low for them to be able to survive up there. They literally have to have oxygen takes to get up there. And so when we're going from camp to camp, it's really, really important for us to be able to map out which camp I'm going to. And you're not focusing on the summit. You're just focusing on what's the next camp that I have to be able to get to. And being able to manage the time with that, being able to make sure that the goals are measurable and that they're obtainable is really, really important for us to get to.

SPEAKER_02 46:21

One of the biggest problems with procrastination and time management that we run into is motivation. I know what I need to do. I know that it needs to be done, but I don't I'm just having trouble motivating myself to do it. So what you can do is you can build motivators in for yourself. Think of things that you enjoy, think of things that you like to do, that you look forward to and and say, okay, I'm gonna do is just put that on the other side of this next task. So and don't don't let yourself off the hook. Don't don't allow yourself to go watch that television program or that Netflix uh series until you've achieved that particular task. And what you'll find is it's easier to do that task because you're looking forward to something. The one of the easiest things to do is to say, oh, well, I'll just do that later and go ahead and do that preferred activity first. So always build those breaks and those enjoyable activities at the end uh of a task. Okay, so here's my activity.

SPEAKER_04 47:27

Here it is. Yes. Mike and I have this thing that anytime we have an idea that comes up, because it's it's it's fleeting and he interrupts me a lot. I do. I saw a little finger grow up. I think I put one finger up because I gotta remember it. If it doesn't stay there, it's gone. It's gone. Yes. So I had to be able to get it. So here's an activity to go right along with what Mike is saying with those. Go get yourself a fishbowl. Okay. Get this fishbowl. And on this fishbowl, I want you to mark three lines, you know, one about a quarter, one about halfway up, and I want about three quarters of the way up. And then go get you some post-it notes, sticky notes. I love this. Whoever made sticky notes, I'm gonna shake their hand. I might even kiss them. If it wasn't COVID, I you know, anyway, I might give them a corona bump, is what we call it. The elbow thing. Yeah. But anyway, but what you do is write down three things that you really want to be able to accomplish. Okay. And just for you know, the next hour, whatever the next camp or the next rock that we're talking about here with this. And then you can cross them off. When you get that done, crumble up your paper and throw it in the fishbowl. When you get up to that line, reward yourself with something. That's the thing that you can really look forward to. When you get up to the next line, here's another one. And then when you get to the final line here that you're up to, make it something really big that you really want to look for. Know what those things are that you're really going uh up towards. Maybe it's watching on Netflix, maybe it's getting some, you know, dining out or something here. You know, find those things. And also when you're done and you get that big reward, dump all these things out and start reading all the things that you just accomplished. And boy, oh boy, what a pool of dopamines you can get to see the accomplishment. Because nobody wants to climb Mount Everest if they didn't want to see the site. Nobody wants to get up there if they didn't see want to see the view. And you don't want to miss out on that. You want to be able to see, hey, here's the things that I have accomplished here, because it motivates me to want to go climb the next mountain. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 49:24

All righty. So they basically give some other examples as far as things that can we can abide by. Budget enough time and for each project you undertake, calculate how long it will take you to complete, then tack on another 10 to 15% or even 25% as a buffer. Again, this may be back to uh what you talked about, Mike, as far as the implementation intentions, as far as breaking up long-term goals into short-term ones. Instead of waiting for large blocks of time, do short amounts of time to start a project or keep it moving. Visualize the achievement of your goals by mentally rehearsing your performance of a task, you'll be able to reach your goal more smoothly. And I think Steve, that kind of goes on with not Everest. Yeah. Seeing you kind of reach the top.

SPEAKER_05 50:06

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 50:07

Keep track of the tasks you put off. Analyze while you procrastinate. If the task is difficult or unpleasant, look for ways to make it easier or more fun. And Mike, I think you talked about that. Okay. Uh consider doing your least favorite tasks first. Again, Mike, you mentioned that. Uh once you have the most unpleasant ones out of the way, you can work on the tasks you enjoy more. Oh, can I add to something?

SPEAKER_04 50:29

You go right ahead. Well, thank you. Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. This isn't me interrupting you. This is me requesting. Anyway, all right. So uh yeah, uh just going along with that uh tasks that are just not, you know, not the funnest tasks or the hardest tasks with those. You know, even on that little post-it note with those, you don't want to compile all the hardest things that you absolutely, you know, have to do, unless you're just a go-getter and you know, ambitious person, and you know, you want smooth sail in there with those. But a lot of times I'll even uh recommend is you know, do one hard test, do two smaller tasks, you know, one big one, two small ones there. And that makes it a little bit easier for us to kind of uh take on those those tasks so that you're not doing three big tasks and I'm gonna be able to get. And when you're measuring, it's really important for us to use that numeric system. Don't just say, hey, I'm gonna clean, I'm gonna do a laundry. Well, that that can be a pretty ambiguous thing there. You know, I'm gonna get two loads in here. That's uh, you know, that's what I want. Now that's a number that you can measure. That's something that's really important. Because sometimes people say they have a goal and they'll say those goals, but when they leave it open-ended, that it's so big, then again, you're just looking at another Mount Everest and you don't want to get yourself back to that view.

SPEAKER_01 51:41

All right, good. All right. Consolidate tasks when possible. For example, try to walk into stores that you run your errands and exercise in the same block of time. Identify quick transitional tasks, keep at least five to ten minute tasks you can do while waiting or between other tasks. I tell you what, this next one is my brother-in-law's favorite. He's got this down pat. Delegate responsibility. I don't think I ever see him do anything. He's always delegating. And I think his son is also picked up in his footsteps, you know? Hey, can you do this for me? You get that. I was thinking, okay. So he says delegate responsibility, but I think he also misses the point here. As for help when you have too much to do, just don't delegate the jobs you know you should do yourself. Say no when necessary. A lot of times a lot of us have difficulty saying no. All right. I'm getting better at it. Give yourself a break. A lot of time for play, free instructor time when you can ignore the clock. And again, Mike V talked about this earlier. It's funny, Mike. It's not really funny, but it's it's something how you can actually tie five of these into one description. And as I'm going through this list here, it's like that. I said, Mike talked about that. Mike talked. So this is another one he talked about. Mike's really good at this. I'd tell you what he was like. He just got these right before he came in. I'd say we he doesn't beat around the bush. He just gets right to it. To the point. Could you imagine him doing a podcast? It'd be like 15-minute long, and it'd be done. Consolidated A minute with Mike.

SPEAKER_04 53:16

That's what we call it.

SPEAKER_01 53:18

There you go. Oh my. You got something to say? No, I just said it. That was it. Real quick. All right. And you mentioned before, avoid your personal time sinks and identify your own time sinks, which are activities that consistently use up more time than you anticipate and put you behind schedule, like watching television, surfing the internet, or talking on the phone. For particularly busy days, avoid these problematic activities altogether. And the biggest thing is, I believe, is stop thinking or talking about what you are going to do and just do it.

SPEAKER_04 53:54

Yeah, like Nike.

SPEAKER_01 53:55

Just do it. Just do it. Wow, I tell you. But anyway, did you all want to add any of that? Or is that is that pretty good? That's good.

SPEAKER_04 54:04

Yeah, I really like I'm gonna add there just to your idea about the no. You know, no is one of those words that just gets the bad rep, you know, because we always see that no is just this negative thing. But if I was, if I stood up here and I and I talked to you nose to nose, how comfortable would you probably feel? I would feel very comfortable. Even more so, yes, which just proves our point there. But it would, it wouldn't be until you kind of backed up or you kind of pushed me away and say, hey, buddy, you're too close, or tell me no, that's not right for me to get the idea that that I I just crossed your personal bubble here, right? Because no tells me what's appropriate and it draws those lines really well for us to keep those healthy boundaries because the space that we have between us now feels comfortable. And I wouldn't know that if I didn't have no in the way. And no is really, really important. And it gets the bad rep, but it's a really important feature for us because if we don't have no, then we don't know. K-N-O-W. Oh, that's do you like that? Did you like that?

SPEAKER_01 55:06

Yeah, that was that was really good. I'd say do you have a patent on that? It's coming out, 10 years.

SPEAKER_05 55:13

It's just it's coming.

SPEAKER_01 55:16

All righty. All right. What we like to do is we'd like to go ahead and have Dr. Evans and Mike give some closing thoughts. But we before they give their closing thoughts, I'd like to go ahead and have them give you some information on how you can reach Dr. Stephen Gibbons or Michael Moore.

SPEAKER_04 55:31

Yes, so you guys, anybody can uh reach us at our Parkersburg office and uh you can give us a call toll-free at 304-422-7300. Again, that's 304-422-7300. Our staff are ready and available to be able to connect with you and get you connected with all the modalities that we're offering at this time.

SPEAKER_02 55:54

If you are in Ohio, you can reach us at the Belprey Ohio office at 740-401-3088. And they can get you set up with an appointment on that side of the river.

SPEAKER_04 56:08

We also have down in our Charleston area, we have a our office down there is the Taze Valley office, and you can be able to reach us at 304-759-0443. Again, 304-759-0443. And feel free to reach us on the web. You can also go to our website at www.counseling and wellness center, all one word dot com. Again, www.counseling and wellness center dot com. And we'll have all kinds of resources and bios that you can really meet our professionals and get connected for both therapeutic and medical services.

SPEAKER_01 56:47

Okay. Well, I'll tell you what, that was great. So all right.

SPEAKER_04 56:52

Steve, you want to go ahead and any closing remarks on today's program? You know, I I know we're talking about stress management, and it's easy. It is easy in this world, especially right now with you know the COVID-19 pandemic that's going on, and that is easy for us to get caught up in the stress and to be washed away with these waves. And I'll just encourage everybody that we take the time to really get to see the good in the world. I saw, I don't know if anybody if many people have seen the Office uh series. Uh the guy who plays Jim, John Krasstanski, I think his name is. Yeah, that guy. Anyway, he had a really neat thing that he actually put on. I saw on the Facebook, it was called SGN, some good news. And it was really, really cool because he was being able to see, he's doing like a little kind of a video cast that he was doing and really just reporting good stuff. And it is easy to get um taken away, I know, with the news and everything that's going on, just to see a lot of the stuff that's gonna really up our stress and up our anxiety. Find the good of what's happening there, and that will help to bring more serenity, more calmness. And boy, that I'll tell you, it is it's contagious. If you can really people want to be around someone, that beacon who can really shine the way to give clarity and direction of where we need to go.

SPEAKER_05 58:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 58:12

We've talked about several things today, nutrition and time and and uh communication and socialization. And we mentioned it earlier, but I really would like to kind of end up with this concept is uh that of balance. If you'll take those areas and you visualize visualize those areas in your life and ask yourself each day of have I balanced that area of my life? And even if you want to write them down, write those areas down and then look at what have I done today to address that area of my life. Because when your life gets out of balance, you're going to feel out of balance. Our bodies, our psychological well-being, it all is looking for a state called homeostasis. And homeostasis really just means balance. So if you're eating more balanced, if you're spending your time more balanced, if you're talking to people uh in in a balanced amount of time, those are the things that are going to make you feel more put together, calmer, and a greater sense of well-being.

SPEAKER_01 59:26

All righty. Well, I tell you what, I just want to say thanks to uh Dr. Givens and Michael Moore uh for taking the time out of their day, their busy day, to show some insight on what we can do to help manage stress. As you know, there's a lot of information out there how to manage stress, and we kind of basically were able to go through half of it. So on our next podcast, we'll have Michael and Steven uh with us again, and we'll be basically talking about cultivating, uh cultivating your spiritual wellness as well as some cognitive techniques, as well as relaxation techniques for stress management. Before I close, I I'd like to ask you all a favor to please leave us a review on Apple iTunes or the Google Play Store. I'd love to hear your feedback on our show so far and your reviews helps our podcasts reach as many listeners as possible. So if you haven't already, head on over to our Facebook page, which is Sorian Health and Wellness. To learn more about our show, on the Facebook page, you can send requests or subjects to have us discuss on one of our episodes, connect with our listeners, and even ask Dr. myself questions directly. All right, until next time, keep advancing.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:33

Thank you for listening to Sorian Health and Wellness with Dr. Steve Wells and his guests. We would like to thank our sponsor, Mountaineer Chiropractic. For more information, go online to MountaineerCairo.com. If you'd like to be a sponsor or help support Soaring Health and Wellness Podcast, please go to the web at Eaglesway Ministries.org and select the patron page in the top menu bar. If you or your business or church would like Dr. Steve Wells to speak at your church, special event or conference, please go online to Eaglesways Ministries.org and select contact on the menu bar. Or send an email to Eagleswave Ministries at gmail.com or call 304-485-6589. Until next time, think of the same chapter 40, verses 29 through 31. They give strength to the weary and increases in the power of the weary. Even if screw tired and weary at young men stumble and follow.