Jesse Hanson, Clinical Director Helix Healthcare Group
Today’s Components
Causes and Effects of Stress
Therapeutic Techniques
Methods for Stress Reduction
Stress-Reduction Exercises
Individual Well-Being
Under Pr essur e?
But what exactly is stress?
Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension caused by internal or external triggers
VS.
Cognitive
Emotional
•Negative impact on memory •Clouds and/or impairs judgment •Negative thoughts and self-perception •Difficulty concentrating and organizing
•Increased irritability •Anger and agitation •Overwhelmed and inability to relax •Short temper •Enhanced Anxiety •Relationship challenges at home and work •Ineffective communication
Physical
Behavioural
•Digestive and gastrointestinal symptoms •Increase in frequency and effects of colds •Rise in heartbeat, cardiac risks
•Poor eating habits •Decreased motivation for exercise •Sleep disturbance •Isolation •Self-destructive coping behaviours (smoking, drinking, drugs) •Nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)
“Neurons that fire together, wire together.�
Chronic stress can shrink the medial prefrontal cortex.
These brain alterations affect the way we interact, learn, remember, make decisions and accomplish goals.
Cortisol can kill, shrink, and stop the generation of new neurons in a portion of the brain called the hippocampus.
Stress can increase the size and activity of a portion of the brain called the amygdala.
SYMPATHETIC
PARASYMPATHETIC
High blood pressure
Low systolic blood pressure
Fast heart rate (pulse)
Slow heart rate (pulse)
Dilated pupils
Constricted pupils
Tend toward dry mouth
Tend toward increased saliva
Cold, clammy hands/feet
Warm, dry skin (hands/feet)
Quick reflexes
Normal or slow reflexes
Anxiousness
Relaxed
Excessive sweating
Calm, even disposition
High energy, low stamina
Low – normal energy, high stamina
Digestive problems
Can digest anything
Mind often races
May tend to laziness or depression
Excess muscle tension
Relaxed muscles
She is now free of her digestive issues and has not been hospitalized since
As she learns to heal early life stressors, she becomes better at handling current stressors
53 Year old woman diagnosed with Crohn's Disease
He examines her present day and early childhood stressors
Traditional medical world calls her condition "idiopathic"
Dr. Mate’s research shows that digestive issues are stressrelated and stresscreated
You have a choice
Harvard studied two groups: One was given the task of playing piano scales for 2 hours daily for 5 days. The other group was given the task of merely thinking about playing the exact same piano scales as group one. Scans showed that the same region of the brain had expanded in the volunteers who merely thought about playing.
VS
#1
•BREATH
#2
•POSTURE
#3
•BODY THERMOMETER
#4
•TENSION RELEASE
ď ˝
The instruments vibrate in a way that activates the right and left brain in a back and forth pattern called binaural frequency, which is essential for healing and theta brain states.
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