Stress Education Center - Dstress.com Newsletter

February, 2001 Volume V

"Dedicated to serving by providing information, products, and services to create awareness and then offer control of stress and the process of change."

In this issue:

1. Introduction and Welcome

2. Contests and give-aways

3. Article: Goal Setting for Stress Management

4. Reference/Link:Temperature Training Biofeedback

5. FAQ - Question of the Month (Enhanced Performance)

6. Product of the Month: 10 Minute Stress Management

7. Stress Management Tip of the Month

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1. Introduction of the Stress Education Center's - Dstress.com Newsletter

Welcome to the February, 2001 issue of this monthly e-zine. The purpose in providing this newsletter is to offer information about stress and possible solutions to managing stress and change. Your input is encouraged. This will be a forum for answering questions/concerns, offering suggestions, motivating you and your clients to develop and practice a strategy of self-care that includes regular stress management.

The goal is to enhance your quality of life, increase your productivity, and offer tested fun strategies that will give you more time and energy.

Please read the newsletter and provide feedback. This feedback will help to shape the form and content for future editions. Thank you in advance for your assistance in the development process.

L. John Mason, Ph.D.

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2. Contests and Give-aways:

A.) The best suggestion for employee retention, will win an audio stress management tape. A list of retention strategies will be published in a future newsletter.

B.) I would also like your assistance. I would like to interview some CEO's, Presidents, or Executive Leaders of your companies regarding information for future newsletters. (Continued from the last newsletter.)

I would like to ask them about their strategies for:

• hiring and training winners
• retaining key personnel (retention strategies)
• managing change
• management development programs
• health care cost containment strategies
• the keys to leadership that they regularly use
  

As a ROI (Return On Investment) for the time used for this interview, all executives will be offered either a free: online stress management course or executive assessments package (Advanced DISC and PIA&V). (Valued at $200-$350)

If you can introduce me to these people with their names, titles, email, and telephone, I would appreciate your introduction. Thank you in advance.

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3. Article: Goal Setting for Stress Management

Many people feel the stress of life as if they were "painted into a corner." They feel trapped or stuck in a life, job, relationship, or situation that is overwhelming and has a "stranglehold" on their health and happiness. In fact, everyone I know has experienced this at some point in their lives. Being a victim to this situation is not ideal for a higher quality of life. There are positive alternatives and you can set your sights on moving in a more positive direction.

Big challenges should not be taken lightly, but alternatives, if not solutions, can be found. For example, you may feel trapped in a job or a career that does not satisfy you. VERY COMMON! You can discover positive career alternatives through skill assessments, interest surveys, or through work with a career coach to help you find a more ideal path. The next thing is big! You must set a goal and then carefully work backward from this goal to your present life to determine the specific steps to follow on your path to your new career. Then you must set a reasonable time table for moving down this path and reaching your goal. Set the GOAL! Then take one step at time until you move along the path to accomplish it.

If you do not know how to do this yourself or you can not stay on your path without support, get an accountability partner to coach you.

Setting goals, following the steps along the path, and then realizing your goal can help to manage the major stressors that may challenge you. This will work for:

• your relationships
• your career
• your education (Continuous Lifelong Learning)
• your job
• your finances

Important!!!
Do not forget to create a balanced life by also goal setting:

• your health
• year emotional growth
• your creative or aesthetic needs (art or possibly a walk out in a natural setting)
• your spiritual development
  

Along the way, do not forget to take good care of yourself!
Good Health!
L. John Mason, Ph.D.

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4. Reference/Link: Temperature Training Biofeedback

Temperature training biofeedback is a relatively simple but powerful form of biofeedback. It can help you to reverse the effects of stress especially if you are holding this stress in your cardio-vascular system. A variety of physical and emotional symptoms can be reduced and often eliminated by mastering the relaxation that accompanies success in temperature training. I have worked with clients suffering from:

High Blood Pressure
Poor Circulation (i.e. Raynaud Syndrome)
Panic/Anxiety
Digestive Problems (i.e. ulcers, colitis, constipation, diarrhea)
Sexual Dysfunction (including: impotence, reduced fertility, dysmenorrhea, etc.)

The "secret" is to learn to "let go." Do not try too hard! Easier said than done, but over time, and with practice, this works very well.

Use the following link to get information about how to use temperature training biofeedback:
http://www.dstress.com/articles/temperature_biofeedback.html

Temperature training biofeedback is best when combined with stress management strategies such as Autogenic Training phrases, visualizations, breathing techniques, or other forms of deep relaxation. Each individual experiences the increase in hand (and foot) temperature slightly differently. Some people feel their hands "glowing with warmth" while other people may feel a pulse or even a "tingling" sensation in their hands and feet to indicate increased blood supply to these extremities.

I hope that this article will be of service to you or your clients.

Please e-mail your suggestions for references and links available on the www.

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5. FAQ - Question of the Month

Enhanced Performance

I received a query this month that I will paraphrase. Does stress and tension reduce performance?

When we get stressed our primitive survival mechanisms respond by preparing our bodies to Flee or to Fight. Muscles tighten, breathing changes, even our brains change from problem solving to a more reactive response that would speed up reactions for survival. Athletes know that if they "tighten up" they might not be able to have the speed or fluid movement required to perform at a high level. Stress management and mental preparation becomes critical in their training for high level competition. That is what sports psychologists offer their clients.

Performance that requires thinking (problem solving) and communication can be greatly enhanced by learning to manage stress. This is not just for athletes or musicians, it is for almost everyone from: teachers, doctors, policemen, sales people, executives, parents, to even engineers. There are many studies that show the reduction of performance levels due to stress and even a few that show that stress management (when effective) can reverse the negative impact of stress on performance.

I have been allowed to work with many clients who wanted to make better presentations by using the sports psychology model for enhancing performance. It works! Golfers, tennis players, baseballers, even actors have used similar programs and made measurable progress.

I will be writing more about this in future newsletters.

If you want more information regarding assistance in improving performance that may have been negatively effected by stress, consider getting some support through Executive Coaching: http://www.dstress.com/executive_coaching_pd.html

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6. Product of the Month:

Ten Minute Stress Management # 301

When Work Won't Allow 20 Minutes:
10 Minutes can Calm You Down!

Ideally, you will make more time to relax. But when you can not, 10 minutes of guided relaxation will help to keep you from going over the edge.

If you know someone who could benefit from a brief period of relaxation, consider referring them to the audio tape; Ten Minute Stress Management #301.

This guided relaxation has been very beneficial to many people.

Please view the audio programs page for more information.

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7. Stress Management Tip of the Month:

Last month we discussed reducing Caffeine if you are going through a stressful time. Working to reduce stress preventively is a better solution and is strongly recommended. Taking 15 - 20 minutes per day to relax will not only feel good but will wind up saving you time and enhancing your quality of life.

Making time to RELAX! It is the most difficult obstacle I encounter as I coach busy people. Some research studies that were conducted for meditators found that 20 minutes of deep relaxation can take the place of up to 2 hours of sleep at night (and the sleep that you get will be deeper and more restful.) When I was training for this profession, I was skeptical of this concept. After self practice for 3 months, I discovered that I did not require 8 and a half hours of sleep anymore and could do great with only 7 hours per night.

One of my Executive Coaching clients was very resistant to taking 20 minutes to relax, but after convincing him to try using my audio taped relaxations he found that at work he got his 8 hours of work done in 6 and a half hours and was able to get on to other projects. He was thrilled to get more work done in his normal day. The increase in work effectiveness that saved him time was related to being able to focus better, fewer mistakes due to stress and distractions, and more concise communications.

Not everyone responds to the same style of relaxation. You may need to try several types of deep relaxation, until you find the ideal relaxation technique for your lifestyle. Regular use of these techniques will yield results within 4-6 weeks. Maximum benefits usually require 8-12 weeks of regular daily use (more if you are going through a stressful period.)

Tapes are great because you can listen without having to think about what comes next. With repetition you will learn the relaxation exercise without any effort.

Try this. It can really work well for you.