Don't shoot the messenger.

What do you think about this?  It makes for a great debate at dinner tonight. 

Stress vs. Anxiety

Are you stressed or anxious?  Often these two words are used interchangeably when they can  actually be  very different from one another. Stress occurs when we we become overwhelmed, frustrated, angry, worried, or nervous.  When we are stressed,  adrenaline and cortisol are released in our bodies to help us cope better with the stressful situation.  When these hormones flush into our bodies, we are able to concentrate better, become more alert, have a sharper memory, and all of our senses are heightened to help us survive through stressful events. Also, our breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure increase which moves more oxygen-rich blood faster to our brain, heart and muscles to help us fight or flee!  Our bodies are protecting us from threats. However, sometimes we don't need all of our physical defense mechanisms in place to deal with everyday stresses such as work, household chores, taking care of children, or marriage...but our bodies still act as if we are in major threat.  Too much stress can cause stress on our bodies which can account for a number of various psychological and physical problems. 

This is where anxiety may occur.  Anxiety can be caused by severe stress and is closely related to fear of something. Our fight or flight hormones kick in here as well. When we are anxious, we are afraid to face something, we fear we will not be able to handle it.  Many times the underlying fear of an anxious person is unknown to them until they attempt to uncover the root of their anxiety. Sometimes, if a person was  in a high stressful situation and their physical defense mechanisms (sympathietic nervous system) kicked in, overwhelmed their body, and they became fearful of their response and/or the situation, they may have experienced a panic attack. After a first panic attack, many people begin to become extremely fearful that they will have another panic attack in a public place or while driving.  Thus, anxiety is created about having anxiety.  This is just one example where anxiety and panic attacks may stem from.  Anxiety can stem from a number of fears and can sometimes turn into specific phobias.  Fears can stem from our thoughts and ideas or actual past experiences that have traumatized us or just scared us.  Millions of Americans struggle with anxiety everyday.  It is a very common human emotion that functions to protect us from dangerous situations, however, the emotion also arises in perceived danger that can, in fact, be completely harmless. 

If you are struggling with anxiety and feel that it is effecting any part of your life, you may want to seek help.  Don't let anxiety control your life. A therapist can help you uncover your fears, reprogram your thoughts and responses (yes, even the physical ones!) , and teach you helpful coping skills to take control of your anxiety and lead a happier life. 

When we experience the physical responses our bodies put in place to protect us, it is important to be aware whether we are stressed or anxious.  In order to help ourselves, we must find the root of the problem to solve the problem. 

Can you differentiate your stress and anxiety? Does your body react the same to both or do you have unique symptoms for each?

Knock, Knock

Did you know research has found that smiling and laughing increases endorphins and can keep you living longer? You probably did, because it makes sense. BUT, did you know you can fake it and it can still have the same effect!? Strack, Martin, & Stepper (1988) found that when participants in their study held a pencil lengthwise between their teeth, the same facial muscles when smiling are engaged. Thus, a message is sent to the brain saying..."I'mmmmmm HAPPY!! Send me happy wonderful chemicals NOW!" The participants' mood actually changed and they were in a better mood per self-report.

What exactly are endorphins? The word endorphins means "endogenous morphine". Endogenous means growing from within. This means we actually have the ability to create our own pain relievers....as in morphine(?!?!)...just by smiling and laughing!? Woah, ok. Ok. The next time you stub your toe on the side on the coffee table, remember to laugh as hard as humanly possible. Or when anything hurts. See if it works!

Better yet, why don't you just try smiling right now. ESPECIALLY if you are having a bad day and you are giving the "kiss of death" eye roll while you are reading this. Come on....crack a little one just for 5 seconds. How does that feel? Are you more relaxed, less stressed, or in a slightly better mood? Smiling and laughing also decrease stress levels. Actually, smiling and laughing have a lot of other effects on the body that some of you may be surprised by:

• An increase in the number and activity level of natural killer cells that attack viral infected cells and some types of cancer and tumor cells.


• An increase in activated T cells (T lymphocytes). There are many T cells that await activation. Laughter appears to tell the immune system to "turn it up a notch."


• An increase in the antibody IgA (immunoglobulin A), which fights upper respiratory tract insults and infections.


• An increase in gamma interferon, which tells various components of the immune system to "turn on."


• An increase in IgB, the immunoglobulin produced in the greatest quantity in body, as well as an increase in Complement 3, which helps antibodies to pierce dysfunctional or infected cells.

*list found here.

As you can see from the above list, laughter and humor can be incredibly beneficial for someone fighting any sort of disease or illness. More importantly, we may be even able to prevent illness by laughter and humor! Cancer Treatment Centers of America has written an informative and helpful article on Laughter Therapy and Cancer that you can find here.

Still haven't made yourself smile yet? Just TRY it. Or use that pencil trick. Don't be the kitty on the left, just do it.

Ok, so how do you feel?

Dream On.

We all wonder what our dreams mean and if they even mean anything at all. They must mean something because we are creating all  of our dreams with our thoughts and emotions.  Our dreams are our own personal movies and we are the directors.   We choose the people, the words that we speak and that others speak, our surroundings,  and all the emotions and behaviors taking place.  There are several theories with regard to the purpose of dreaming.  Sigmund Freud believed that our dreams were a "disguised fulfillment of a repressed wish", while Carl Jung believed our dreams to be our unconscious guiding us to solve problems in our waking life and compensating for underdeveloped parts in our waking life.

Interpreting our own dreams can be a very insightful avenue to gain greater self-awareness and to become more connected to our genuine emotions.  Sometimes it is hard for us to connect with the way we are feeling about a specific problem or situation,  and we may be trying to connect with these emotions in our dreams.  We become caught up with many stressful things throughout the day and as we sleep our brain is finally able to process and catch up to what we have experienced.  Think about dreaming as therapy.  Next time you remember a dream, don't just brush it off, attempt to interpret it and give it meaning because you might be trying to work through something in your real life that you aren't aware of.  Here are a few things you can think about or write down about your next dream:

1. What happened?
2. What were all the feelings you had throughout the dream?
3. What thoughts did you have?
4. Who was there?
5. What was the overall mood of the dream?
6. What is going on in your real life right now? 
7. Why do you think you created this dream?

This site is an online dream interpretation and you can search for your specific dream to help you understand your dreams better.  Keep in mind that the interpretations on this site will not necessarily be correct, you decide your own interpretation that is unique to you (remember, you are the director!). Just use this site as a tool to assist you in your own personal interpretation.

If you are dreaming a lot and remembering your dreams, write them down when you wake up, answer these questions, and journal about what it means for you.  This can be very therapeutic and help you make decisions and deal with problems you may be having.  

Can't always remember your dreams?  Right when you wake up in the morning, try not to start stressing about your day and thinking about everything you have to do.  When you wake up, stay still and take a few moments to think about your dreams.  This should help you to remember your dreams in more detail. 

What is a dream you have recently had and how do you interpret it?

How are you?

 

 Many of us struggle with various issues from time to time.  Sometimes we wonder if our problems are interfering with our lives to the point that we need help. It can be hard to gauge whether our issues are to the point that we are unable to help ourselves.  Emotional and behavioral problems can seem small in the beginning and before you know it they have escalated into major problems that can seem uncontrollable.  Therapy can be a great way to help prevent an issue from taking over your life or help you to find control and happiness in your life.   

How do you know if you need therapy though?  If you are even thinking that you need help, now is a good time.  When we avoid issues and push them down, they can explode and effect you in a number of ways later in life.  If we avoid, avoid, avoid...we can find ourselves with a serious psychological problem one day.  Some believe that mental disorders can be genetic.  How do you know if you have a psychological problem or if you are well on your way to severely struggling with one?  Well, PsychologyToday.com has recently developed an informative assessment to help you figure that out! You can find it here.  The test will let you know if you fall into any of the mental health diagnosis categories.  If you do, it is important to seek help and have a therapist explain your results from your test.  Chances are, you are struggling with an issue and seeing a therapist could help you tremendously.   PsychologyToday.com is also a helpful site to search through profiles of psychotherapists in your area and find the right match for your specific needs!

Is there a problem you are dealing with  that has already effected you in several areas of your life? 

P.S. The above assessment will also tell you if you have a few symptoms of a mental disorder.  Do not let this scare you into thinking you have a disorder.  We can all have of a symptom here and there of  various diagnoses.   This does not mean we actually have that disorder.  You have to have a certain number of the symptoms to fall under the diagnosis.  And REMEMBER these are just labels that man created by forming words and grouping symptoms together.  You are not controlled by these labels, you are able to seek help and be a happier and healthier individual. 

Her stroke of insight.

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like if you had a stroke? Or do you ever wonder what someone else is going through who has had a stroke? Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a brain researcher gives us a good idea in her book, My Stroke of Insight. Not only is she an expert in the field of neuroanatomy, she also experienced a severe hemorrhagic stroke. In her book, she recounts the events leading up to her stroke, detailed memories as the stroke occurred, and the eight years of recovery afterward. Before she had the stroke she had done extensive brain research for a number of years. As a result, the way she perceived and described her experience is unique to most. Below is a famous video of Dr. Taylor telling part of her incredible story:

Interested in meeting her in person? Dr. Taylor may be speaking in a city near you.

Are you more right-brained or left-brained? Could you try to consciously use the other side for an entire day?

Death Anxiety

A great psychiatrist known as Yalom developed a model of psychotherapy based on Existentialism.  Yalom believes that we all have death anxiety, whether we realize it or not, we are constantly dealing with this in our subconscious.  We are all striving to have a meaningful life before we die. Thus, all of our anxiety and negative emotions come from our pressure to live a fulfilled life.  Our defense mechanisms we have to protect ourselves emotionally stem from death anxiety.  At some point in one's life, the thought of his/her own death will cause great anxiety.  It can be incredibly scary to think about your own death even for a few moments. Yalom also believes that it is not until we process what death is and accept it, that we are able to actually live happy, meaningful lives. The more we deny and ignore the thought of death, the more death anxiety we have, and the more we lead meaningless isolated lives.   Death is an inevitable part of our existence that if we refuse to accept and face during our time on Earth, we may have wasted much of our life being unhappy and failing to allow ourselves to find true meaning in life.  A good way to process death is to become more self-aware through journaling, reading, and/or therapy.

Mitch Albom wrote a great non-fiction novel, Tuesdays with Morrie.  Many of you are probably familiar with the book.  This true story is about a reporter, Mitch Albom, meeting and talking with his former professor, Morrie Schwartz, every Tuesday in the last part of Morrie's life.  Morrie had ALS (also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease) , a terminal disease that progressively degenerates all the neurons in the body until death.

 Morrie had accepted death and was living an incredibly meaningful and happy life. He discusses how he was able to reach such content and meaning and teaches valuable life-lessons throughout the book.

Below is an extraordinary interview with Morrie.  Fast forward to 4:25 to hear Morrie talk about important life lessons.

You can watch the entire interview here.

What's something you do in your life to have meaning?

P.S.  I changed the settings and you can now leave a comment anonymously! I encourage you to answer my end of post questions!