Stress Education Center - Dstress.com Newsletter

"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. Article: Stress and Longevity.... Boomers and Aging! (10 Tips!)

3. Products of the Month: New product survey

4. Stress Management Tip of the Month: What we can control

5. NEW: Technology Section

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

Welcome to the March - April, 2002 issue of this monthly e-zine.

With Spring upon us, we look to lengthening, warmer days. A time of re-birth, commitment to health, and positive reflections on growth and development. Use this blossoming of light and energy to bask in health promoting positive lifestyle choices.

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.

A new training and certification study group is forming which focuses on offering massage therapists targeted information to serve their clients and to enhance their ability to offer their community paid presentations in stress management. Contact the Stress Education Center if interested in reserving a spot.

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2. Article: Stress and Longevity Boomers are Feeling Their Age

10 Tips List

Do you want to live forever? Maybe this isn't possible, but you probably do want to live your life with grace, with health and happiness.

Most people are aware that daily life can be stressful and that this stress can affect your health or, at least, your quality of life. Everyone has different sets of stressors and everyone has their own unique way of responding to these stressors. Though we are all different, it is very important to realize that being a "victim" to our stressors is virtually universal and with awareness can be kept to a minimum. Stress will and does affect our body's natural response to aging.

Stress can cause, or exacerbate, symptoms like: headaches, neck aches, back pain, high blood pressure, stomach symptoms (including pain, poor absorption, diarrhea, and constipation), heart rate, circulation, sexual dysfunction (and satisfaction), levels of panic/anxiety, depression, some forms of arthritis, and, most commonly, sleep disturbance problems. Stress can also play a role in general health, or concerns regarding: your energy levels, your skin, your weight, and your levels of performance. The aging process can be accelerated in negative ways by uncontrolled stress.

There are subtle ways that stress can affect your quality of life. Even in mid-life we notice that our energy level seems lower. Or we find that we can not focus on tasks as well as we would like. These can be less severe than painful major symptoms, but can be stress' way of robbing our enjoyment and reducing our productivity! We do not have to be victims to stress.

Awareness and proper self-care which minimizes the impact of stress can assist you in reducing, if not, eliminating the negative affects of life's stresses. People live longer, healthier, happier lives when stress is lessened. Productivity, creativity, increased energy levels, and enhanced ability to communicate more clearly are all possible positive side-effects from wellness and appropriate stress management.

Even though bad habits can begin in childhood, it is never too late to learn and develop positive coping skills which will enhance your quality of life.

Understand the issues:
How many of us are stressed out because our children are growing up and the stress they can cause increases with their independence (and our lack of control over their choices?) How many of us are struggling with aging parents, siblings, spouses in ways that increases our levels of daily stress? This is due to our care and concern and with our lack of control over the issues with these family members.

As we "mature," we lose some of our strength and flexibility. The things that we used to "handle" now seem to get to us. We are not as balanced as we respond to current issues as well as we would like. Things like: the economy, the war on terrorism, the media's influence over our kids, the state of our neighborhoods, all seem to be able to get to us more now than ever before. Levels of change which we once craved and embraced, seem more intimidating as we get older. Fears and anxieties may have a growing negative impact on us for we do not have the energy, strength, or flexibility to adapt as easily as we did when we are younger.

Here are Ten Tips for controlling the stress which affect our longevity.

1. Stress Management
   Daily meditation including moments of appreciation and gratitude. Breathing techniques. Deep relaxations to create awareness and control physical and emotional symptoms of stress. If you begin a practice of daily deep relaxation, to control stress, remember that it may take 4-6 weeks of regular use to begin to see results. It may require 8-12 weeks of regular daily use to begin to get the maximum benefits of this program. It takes time to change life-long habits, but empowers you in ways that you may not have dreamed possible.
   
   
2. Exercise
   At least 5 times per week of 30 minutes + to reduce muscle tensions, improve energy levels, and exercise your heart. (Consider: walking, yoga, jogging, rowing, cross-country skiing, stair climbing, hiking, swimming, etc.)
   
   
3. Diet/Nutrition
   Reduce caffeine. Do not depend on alcohol or drugs for stress management. Use good supplementation for important trace minerals (like chromium, calcium, iron, etc.) and anti-oxidants.
   
   
4. Planning
   Know your goals and work toward them. Do not forget to make plans for your mental development, your creative and aesthetic needs, your finances, career, social interactions with family and friends, and your spiritual needs. Never stop learning or trying new things.
   
   
5. Communication
   Learn to really listen! Develop the best skills for finding clarity of your thoughts and feelings and then discover the best ways to appropriately communicate these thoughts. If you focus on what your partner is saying, and not on your response, you will be better able to answer concerns or objections in a more relaxed and convincing way.
   
   
6. Support
   No man is an island. We need a community of people both family and friends, if possible, to support us. Give as much as you get. And remember to let others give to you. (This is difficult, but the greatest gift you can offer!)
   
   
7. Spiritual well being
   Know how to connect with your spirit and then make time to do it. Know what brings you joy and happiness, and pursue these activities. Your quest may take you to a beautiful spot outdoors or a quiet period of reflection in a garden or to an art museum or to the park to watch children play...
   
   
8. Positive Mental Attitude/ Avoid Negativity
   Avoid negative people and dwelling in negative thoughts. Take good care of yourself and find the positive in every experience. Learn from mistakes and laugh at these lessons, especially when these get tough.
   
   
9. Acceptance
   Break from fear and find acceptance for what we all must face. Easier said than done, but when your life includes regular self-care you will find the internal strength and self-love to develop acceptance from deep within. It is amazing what regular stress management can do to assist you in your search for peace and acceptance.
   
   
10. Humor
    Laugh out loud daily. Create situations where you can find the happiness and humor to smile and laugh. Make a special quest for fun!
    

Along the way, do not forget to take good care of yourself!

Good Health!
L. John Mason, Ph.D.

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3. Products of the Month: Special Newsletter Reader Survey

Help Prioritize the Development of New CD Products:
Which Title would you like to see developed first?

1. Stress Management for Panic/Anxiety Control
2. Stress Management for Digestive Disorders
3. Stress Management for Headache Control
4. Enhancing Performance with Stress Management

or make a suggestion....

Please e-mail us your ranking of these titles or suggest a new one.
Thank you in advance.
More information and a list of specific techniques and tools to be covered are outlined at the Stress Education Center's website, www.dstress.com. If you are interested in this certification process, please contact Dr. John Mason through return e-mail or by telephone at (707) 795-2228.

Please view the tapes page for more information regarding tapes and CD's at http://www.dstress.com

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4. Stress Management Tip of the Month: Control and Stress

The worst stress usually is associated with situations that you care the most about, BUT..... have the least ability to control! Just think of your response as a parent, or as a manager, or as a boss, or as a member of a family/relationship. You can not control time, the way other people respond, or even the economy.

The thing that you can control is the way you respond. This awareness is half the battle. The other half is how you can control your thoughts, emotions, and physical responses.

First, look at the stressful situation and determine whether the situation is Life Threatening! If it is..... then hit your survival button and move!

If the situation is not life threatening, but our mind and body are responding like it is.... then put things in perspective. ASK yourself: "Is this situation so important that I will remember it and be affected by it one year from now?" Be honest. If the answer is "Yes" then it is important and you should make it a high priority and get in handled. If the answer is probably "No" then back off a bit on you response. Follow the following instructions:

Remember to breathe!
This will help to keep you in your body in a positive way and in present time! Distractions will surface, but gently return your mind's focus to the process of slowly breathing.... inhale then exhale. You may even want to feel for cool air as you inhale and warm air in the breath you exhale. It requires practice and some discipline, but this will work for you. Try it!

Do not let the smaller stresses carry you off into dysfunction or despair. It takes practice, but you will learn to not get sucked in to unnecessary anxiety.

Try this. It can really work well for you.