Word-Of-the-Week #734: Well-being
August 30, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #734: Well-being
Well-being – a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous.
How often do you feel a sense of contentment? How much time do you devote to yourself? How often do you get a good night’s sleep?
This week features the 2nd half of “Ways to reduce anxiety, improve well-being,” by Melanie Curtin, Inc.
To Recap 1. Meditate 2. Go forest bathing 3. Chew gum
- Journal
According to psychologist L. Kevin Chapman, PhD, “When we experience stress and the negative emotions associated with it, we typically stay in our own heads and do little to address our thinking.”
Instead of hanging out with toxic thoughts, he suggests reducing anxiety with “objective recording.” Here’s how you do it: Draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper. Mark the left column, “Negative things I’m saying to myself.” Mark the right, “Alternatives.” Fill out both.
“When we simply acknowledge what we’re saying to ourselves out of stress, we often realize how silly we are being,” says Chapman.
Multiple studies back up the idea that writing out your thoughts and feelings helps you process emotions in a healthy way, significantly reducing anxiety. One study showed that people who journaled about upsetting events for just 20 minutes a day for three days healed from physical wounds over 75 percent faster than the control group.
Another showed that college students who engaged in expressive writing experienced less depression, anxiety, and stress after two months than control students.
- Get enough sleep
If you take nothing else away from this, hear this: If you’re prone to anxiety, it’s critical that you get enough sleep.
According to neuroscientists out of UC Berkeley, when you don’t get enough sleep, your brain’s amygdala and insular cortex both light up in a pattern similar to the abnormal neural activity of people with anxiety disorders.
Senior study author Matthew Walker says, “These findings help us realize that those people who are anxious by nature are 
the same people who will suffer the greatest harm from sleep deprivation.”
In other words, if you’re anxious, you’re far more likely to develop a full-on anxiety disorder if you don’t get enough sleep regularly. It’s vital that your brain gets the rest you need.
- Laugh
Laughter is an easy, cheap, and surprisingly effective way of reducing anxiety and boosting mood. The Mayo Clinic says laughing stimulates your heart and lungs, bringing in lots of oxygen-rich air. It also ups your endorphins, the brain’s feel-good neurotransmitter, and improves your immune functioning.
Multiple studies show that while laughter initially triggers your stress response (causing your heart rate and blood pressure to spike), when it subsides it calms your nervous system down to a point where you feel not just relaxed, but relaxed and happy.
My favorite way to get in a quick laugh is to watch news bloopers.
- Check your email less
Researchers out of University of British Columbia took 124 study participants and had one group limit how often they checked their email (to three times a day only). The other group could check as often as they wanted.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, researchers found that people were less stressed when they checked their email less frequently.
The key here is to limit how often you’re doing it. It’s not about neglecting your duties, but about not jumping every time you see an email notification pop up on your phone.
Consider taking all that time you’re saving by not checking your email to meditate, journal, take a forest bath, and/or watch a funny video.
This week’s focus is on well-being. How often do you journal your feelings? When was the last time you had a really good belly laugh? How easy is it to turn off your devices? This last one just keeps showing up in article after article. That should be reason enough to give it a rest. Try it… you just might like it!
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FUN-photos: Sturgis Bike Rally Road Trip
August 25, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Sturgis Bike Rally Road Trip
78th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally…
…& the hills are alive…
…with the sound of motorcycles!
…& Harley’s were clearly the “Rulers of the Roads.”
- We started in Denver seeing our grandson Brayden & his fiance Haley, then on to Boulder to see our niece Cindy, Dave, Sam & April with a stop in Estes Park, CO before arriving in the Black Hills of South Dakota for 6 days.
- We drove all the Top 10 Scenic Hwys with Needles being the most spectacular & scenic – 14 miles of impressive tall granite peaks & spires, sharp turns & low tunnels.
Highlights included Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, Badlands National Park, Hot Springs Mammoth Site, Historic Deadwood where Wild Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane are buried, & Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming.
FUN-travel: Black Hills, SD – Spearfish Canyon & Devils Tower, WY
August 23, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Black Hills, SD – Spearfish Canyon & Devils Tower, WY
…52 miles from Belle Fourche…
…this massive rock monolith…
…stands 867 feet high…
& escalates to 1,267 feet…
…above the Belle Fourche River…
- Hwy 34 offers more open…
…& rolling landscape…
…than the Black Hills…
…and a whole lot prettier scenic drive…
…than Hwy 44 to the Badlands!
- Return via I-90 took us to…
…Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway…
…a stunning 19-mile cruise…
…through towering limestone walls…
…& dense deciduous forest…
…flowing next to Spearfish Creek with multiple waterfalls.
FUN-fact – President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower National Monument, the first national monument in 1906.
Word-Of-the-Week #733: Anxiety
August 23, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #733: Anxiety
Anxiety – a state of uneasiness and apprehension.
How would you rate your stress level on a scale of 1 to 10? How often do you feel a sense of apprehension or uneasiness? How much time do you spend dwelling on future uncertainties?
This week features Melanie Curtin, Inc.on “Ways to reduce anxiety, improve well-being.”
“Stress and anxiety isn’t just uncomfortable–it can be debilitating. Around 40 million adults in the U.S. alone suffer from anxiety disorders, which are the most common mental illnesses in the country.
Fortunately, anxiety is very treatable. Here are some proven ways to calm down and lighten up:
- Meditate
Dr. Elizabeth Hoge, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, says mindfulness meditation is perfect for reducing anxiety both short- and long-term:
“People with anxiety have a problem dealing with distracting thoughts that have too much power … You might think ‘I’m late, I might lose my job if I don’t get there on time, and it will be a disaster!’ Mindfulness teaches you to recognize, ‘Oh, there’s that thought again. I’ve been here before. But it’s just that–a thought, and not a part of my core self.'”
Research shows you only need 10-15 minutes of meditation per day to get the health benefits, which includes reducing stress hormone levels, increasing serotonin, and strengthening your ability to let go of thoughts that don’t serve you. Download a meditation app like Calm or Headspace to get started.
- Go forest bathing
From 2004 to 2012, Japanese officials spent $4 million studying the physiological impact of “forest bathing”, which just means spending time around trees. They found that it reduces anxiety, boosts your immune system, and amplifies feelings of well-being.
You don’t need to go to a heavily forested area, either. People in cities get the same benefits in a park. Like meditation, you don’t need a lot of exposure to get the health effects–you just need regular contact.
Scientists say part of the reason for the reduction of anxiety has to with the essential oils trees emit, aka phytoncide. Breathing in tree air doesn’t just feel fresher–it actually is; it boosts your intake of phytoncide, which improves your overall health.
- Chew gum
Multitasking is generally bad for anxiety, but if you’re going to do it, get yourself some Juicy Fruit.
A study out of Swinburne University found that people who chew gum while multitasking under stress had lower cortisol levels, reduced levels of stress and anxiety, and increased levels of alertness and performance.
Another found that chewing gum can improve a negative mood, and increase levels of peace and calm. Scientists don’t know precisely why, but believe it’s because chewing gum tends to improve blood flow in the brain.
This week’s focus is about reducing anxiety. How would it feel to turn a negative thought into a positive one? When was the last time you went forest bathing? How often do you chew gum?
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FUN-travel: Black Hills, SD – Deadwood
August 18, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Black Hills, SD – Deadwood
- Just 13 miles west of Sturgis…
…makes it a great place to stay…
…as the entire city is a National Historic Landmark District…
…for its well-preserved Gold Rush-era architecture.
…sitting high atop a plateau…
…overlooking Deadwood Gulch…
…featuring grave sites of…
…Wild Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane.
FUN-fact – It was named after the dead trees found in its gulch.