Balancedliving summer2014 web

BalancedLIVING Summer 2014

Secrets to Building Confidence at Work pp. 10-11

Balance: Key to a Successful Fitness Program pp. 12 - 13

reer sing a Ca U d n a g Buildin Action Plan ent matic Ev u ra T a h it Coping w ess Mindfuln : e y E S E NEW! MIN

BalancedLiving Summer 2014

MINES & Associates 10367 West Centennial Road Littleton, Colorado 80127 800.873.7138 www.MINESandAssociates.com

A word from your Employee Assistance Program...

Welcome to 2014’s Summer issue of Balanced Living!

In the wake of recent natural disasters and violence in current events, we felt it was important to talk about trauma and how to cope when something happens to you or a loved one. It’s not all doom and gloom, however, as we help you bounce back into summer mode with techniques to make your household, your workout routine, and your career that much more efficient.

And as always if you need a little extra help getting that spring in your step, please don’t hesitate to call your Employee Assistance Program at 1-800-873-7138.

To your health!

– The MINES Team

. . . . . . . . C r e d its . . . . . . .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ©2014 Coping with a Traumatic Event pp. 4-5 Krames Staywell How Routines Can Help Your Household Run More Smoothly pg. 6 Wellness Library Health Ink and Vitality Communications ©2014 Everyday Ways to Activate Your Life pg. 7 Secrets to Building Your Confidence at Work pp. 10-11 Balance: Key to a Successful Fitness Program pp. 12-13 Life Advantages - Author Delvina Mirtemadi ©2014 Building and Using a Career Action Plan pp. 8-9 The MINES Team MINES Eye pg. 14 www.LiveStrong.com Recipe: Energizing & Spicy Broccoli Dal pg. 15

Our theme for 2014, Total Wellbeing, has been designed to help bridge the gap between our potential and optimal wellbeing.

We will supply the knowledge necessary to support healthy lifestyles in order to be well in both body and mind. With this idea of mind-body relationship at the forefront, our topics will focus on the 8 dimensions of wellness: Physical, Occupational, Intellectual, Environmental, Financial, Social, Spiritual, and Emotional Wellness. Each month we will explore how different aspects of wellbeing are connected to each other and more importantly how they apply to you so you can achieve balance and promote your own Total Wellbeing.

Total Wellbeing

The Year of Integration

Physical Spiritual Intellectual Social

Total

Emotional Financial Occupational Environmental

Keep an eye out on MINES & Associates in 2014 as we explore the mental health landscape. From financial planning to social influence, physical wellness to emotional health, all aspects of your life are connected and can affect your wellbeing. Let us help you stay on top of this constantly shifting world and make your wellbeing easier to focus on than ever before.

MINESBlog

A Fresh Perspective This year we will be talking about all kinds of innovative and useful topics centered around wellbeing and how it relates to you and the world you live in. So we invite you to get in on the conversation today. Read great articles, ask questions, and keep on top of what MINES is up to. See something you like? Rate it on our blog or tell us about it. Want to see something specific? Let us know what interests you and how MINES can help.

Just go to www.minesblog.wordpress.com

Webinar Series

Useful Resources for the Mindful Professional

Wellbeing

Join our partner, Brown Richards, for any of their monthly webinars. This year they will cover a huge array of topics from paying for college, single parent survival tips, optimizing brain power, and much more!

Visit our website to learn more, or register for upcoming events at www.minesandassociates.com/webinar.

Is there a topic you’d like to see us explore? We’d love to hear from you.

Shoot us an e-mail at communications@minesandassociates.com and let us know what you’d like to see.

www.MINESandAssociates.com | 800.873.7138

Coping With a Traumatic Event What Is a Traumatic Event?

Most everyone has been through a stressful event in his or her life. When the event, or series of events, causes a lot of stress, it is called a traumatic event. Traumatic events are marked by a sense of horror, helplessness, serious injury, or the threat of serious injury or death. Traumatic events affect survivors, rescue workers, and the friends and relatives of victims who have been involved. They may also have an impact on people who have seen the event either firsthand or on television.

What Are Some Common Responses?

A person’s response to a traumatic event may vary. Responses include feelings of fear, grief, and depression. Physical and behavioral responses include nausea, dizziness, changes in appetite and sleep pattern, and withdrawal from daily activities. Responses to trauma can last for weeks to months before people start to feel normal again.

Most people report feeling better within three months after a traumatic event. If the problems become worse or last longer than one month after the event, the person may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

What Is PTSD? Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an intense physical and emotional response to thoughts and reminders of the event that last for many weeks or months after the traumatic event. The symptoms of PTSD fall into three broad types: re-living, avoidance, and increased arousal.

• Symptoms of re-living include flashbacks, nightmares, and extreme emotional and physical reactions to reminders of the event. Emotional reactions can include feeling guilty, extreme fear of harm, and numbing of emotions. Physical reactions can include uncontrollable shaking, chills or heart palpitations, and tension headaches.

• Symptoms of avoidance include staying away from activities, places, thoughts, or feelings related to the trauma, or feeling detached or estranged from others.

• Symptoms of increased arousal include being overly alert or easily startled, difficulty sleeping, irritability or outbursts of anger, and lack of concentration.

Other symptoms linked with PTSD include: panic attacks, depression, suicidal thoughts and feelings, drug abuse, feelings of being estranged and isolated, and not being able to complete daily tasks.

Responses to trauma can last for weeks to months before people start to feel normal again .

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What Can You Do for Yourself?

There are many things you can do to cope with traumatic events: • • • • • •

Understand that your symptoms may be normal, especially right after the trauma.

Keep to your usual routine.

Take the time to resolve day-to-day conflicts, so they do not add to your stress.

Do not shy away from situations, people, and places that remind you of the trauma.

Find ways to relax and be kind to yourself.

Turn to family, friends, and clergy for support and talk about your experiences and feelings with them.

• Participate in leisure and recreational activities.

• Recognize that you cannot control everything.

• Recognize the need for trained help, and call a local mental health center.

What Can You Do for Your Child?

Recognize that you cannot control everything.

Keep to your usual routine .

Children may struggle with a traumatic event in ways very similar to adults. Knowing what you can do to help a child recover is important when helping him/her rediscover a sense of normalcy. Try these steps: • Let your child know that it is okay to feel upset when something bad or scary happens.

• Encourage your child to express feelings and thoughts without making judgments.

• Return to daily routines.

When Should You Contact Your Doctor or Mental Health Professional?

About half of those with PTSD recover within three months without treatment. Sometimes symptoms do not go away on their own or they last for more than three months. This may happen because of the severity of the event, direct exposure to the traumatic event, seriousness of the threat to life, the number of times an event happened, a history of past trauma, and psychological problems before the event.

You may need to consider seeking professional help if your symptoms affect your relationship with your family and friends, or affect your job. If you suspect that you or someone you know has PTSD, talk with a health care provider or call your local mental health clinic. M Summer 2014 Balanced Living 5

How Routines Can Help Your Household Run More Smoothly Routines are an important part of family life. Not only can they provide quality family time, but they can also help accomplish more than one thing at time. For example, when routines involve activities like chores done as a group, you can spend time with your family and get a household task accomplished.

They also don’t have to be mundane; they can be fun events that the whole family looks forward to. When you and your family establish fun routines, you give the family something to look forward to. It doesn’t have to be a major event; it can be something as simple as walking the dog together after dinner, or seeing a movie together every Friday night.

Routines that Help Children Develop

Routines help children learn responsibility, self-confidence, and independence. They also give children stability, which is something all children need. For instance, younger children learn to count on a bedtime story every night as a routine, while older children learn selfcare routines, like brushing teeth or flossing before bed. Consider letting older children take on routines that help the entire family, like taking out the garbage or washing the dishes.

These types of routines help children create a sense of responsibility and show them the value in helping the whole family.

Make Mornings Easier with Routines

By establishing routines at night that prepare everyone for the next day, you can ensure that morning time is not a stressful time. For instance, by making lunch boxes or packing briefcases at night, you’ll save time and stress in the morning. Encourage children to have nighttime routines that help them get ready for the next day, like packing their backpacks or picking out what they will wear to school the following morning. Also go over the next day’s events, activities, car pools, etc. In the hectic morning schedule it is often difficult for children to retain all the important scheduling information. If you go over it at night and then remind them in the morning they are more likely to know and understand the events of that day.

Make Dinners Easier with Routines

You can take some of the stress away from preparing and serving a meal if you have family routines in place. Children can help set the table, clear the table, and wash the dishes, if age appropriate. Also, invite older children to take part in planning the meal: have them choose a recipe and help you make it once a week. As you eat, be sure to turn off the TV and put away any other entertainment materials; make it a routine to catch up on your daily events and share stories. If this is difficult to do everyday night, plan at least once or twice a week where everyone in the family must be around for a family dinner.

Make Family Meetings Fun

Some meetings can be boring, but family meetings don’t have to be. Use the time to order pizza or takeout, and talk about important family topics, like upcoming events, chores, goals, or problems. You can also use this time to plan exciting future events, like vacations or special activities. You may want to couple this night with family game night. Once everyone has shared and the meeting has been wrapped up, whip out a game and start playing. This can also be a helpful tool for diffusing tension or conflict that was brought up during the meeting. M

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Everyday Ways to Activate Your Life Moderately intense activities (activities during which you feel some exertion but can carry on a conversation comfortably during the activity), such as walking briskly from your parked car to the mall entrance and taking your dog for a quick jog after dinner, won’t help you train for a sport. But they can help you achieve and maintain a healthful weight and improve your overall fitness level.

They can also help reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, put you in a better mood, and improve your balance, coordination, and agility.

You have dozens of opportunities each day to increase your activity. Here are 13 ways to help get you started.

Ways to get moving 1. Pace when you’re talking on the phone instead of staying put. Though this won’t burn a lot of calories, getting out of your chair throughout the day can help improve your circulation.

2. Deliver memos in person instead of having your assistant do it, sending them via interoffice mail, or faxing them. Consider these excursions exercise breaks.

3. Go window shopping or browsing in your spare time. Shopping is the ultimate easy walking workout. Wear athletic socks and walking shoes.

4. Paint your house. You’ll burn an average of 300 calories an hour and get a good upper-body workout.

5. Clean your house vigorously. You can burn about 420 calories an hour cleaning floors, vacuuming carpets, washing windows, and scrubbing tile.

6. Do your own yard work and gardening. Hoeing burns about 360 calories an hour, the same as playing badminton. Cutting your lawn with a push mower burns about 420 calories an hour, on par with playing tennis. Trimming trees burns about 500 calories an hour, equivalent to swimming the crawl.

7. Turn lunchtime into an exercise adventure. Don’t eat at the company cafeteria or the same old place. Instead, discover new restaurants within walking distance from your workplace.

8. Carry a basket instead of pushing a cart if you’re getting just a few things at the supermarket.

Consider it a free weight that keeps getting heavier. But switch the basket from hand to hand periodically to balance the effect on your upper-arm and shoulder muscles.

9. Park your car in the garage and leave it there if you’re going anywhere less than a mile away.

Taking the hilliest route possible when you’re walking will burn extra calories.

10. Sign up for a corporate fitness challenge. Whether you walk or run, you’ll have fun and feel a sense of accomplishment that can spur you to stay in shape long after the race is over.

11. Limit sedentary activities during your leisure time. For example, turn off the television several nights a week. Without TV programs to distract you, you’ll move around more than you would otherwise .

12. Make exercise a hobby. There’s nothing like getting involved in an activity to take the chore out of exercise. Whether it’s salsa lessons or learning to play golf, you’ll be working out without even knowing it. Dancing can burn as many calories as walking, swimming, or riding a bike.

Square dancers covered nearly five miles in one evening, one study found.

13. Use the stairs. Each flight of stairs you climb burns 10 calories. That doesn’t sound like much, but taking 10 flights a day for a year can result in a 10-pound weight loss. M

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Building and Using a Career Action Plan Today’s workplace is full of unpredictable ups and downs. The only thing that may seem constant is change. In order to protect yourself and your family from the fluctuations that occur in the business world, and also to help you live your professional dreams, consider developing a career action plan. It can act as a safety blanket, allowing you to achieve your goals no matter what unexpected events arise.

Start by asking yourself a few questions: • Do you know where your career is going?

• Do you know where you want your career to take you? How about in one year? How about in five years?

• Do you know how you will accomplish these short term goals? How about the long-term career goals?

Despite how many of these questions you can answer right now, a career action plan is a helpful and useful tool to have. Particularly if you had difficulty answering all of the questions above, this plan is an essential step in getting your career on a successful track. A plan like this takes into consideration how and where you want to spend your workday, so that you can properly prioritize what’s important to you and how you can accomplish it.

1. Write Down Career Goals Think about what’s most important for you to accomplish in your career. This could be: • Having a certain title • Being promoted • Having greater responsibility • Learning a new on-the-job skill • Earning a certain salary • Completing something in a specific length of time • Working with particular clients

2. Accomplish Career Goals through Leadership By taking on a leadership attitude, you can lead yourself to on-the-job success. Develop your leadership attitude by: • Discovering how you learn and using that information wisely • Developing new skills that make you more marketable • Talking with people who are learning new things • Challenging yourself to do things that may scare you, like trying something completely new or difficult • Learning to make good judgments based on the information you have • Being flexible and keeping calm, no matter what the situation is 8

Summer 2014 Balanced Living

3. Take Action Once you’ve mapped out what’s important for you to accomplish, find out how you can accomplish it. Write down what you need to do in order to accomplish your career goals. Set deadlines for each step, and start acting on your dreams.

4. Defining What’s Important to You If you need more help defining your career goals, try the exercise below: What skills do you like the most? Write down the 10 skills that you enjoy using the most in the workplace: 1.

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2.

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What do you value the most in the workplace? Some people value creativity, challenge, travel, security, honesty, or nature of the work being done, among other things. What do you consider most important?

1.

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2.

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As you develop your career action plan, it’s important to note where you are right now in your career. What is your current job status and what is your position like? Does it allow you to use your favorite skills and does it support what you value about a workplace? Does it allow for growth and could it lead you to your long-term career goals?

As you think about the present, also visualize the future. Assuming that what you’re doing now is a good fit, where do you want to be five years from now? Could you consider or explore other positions that can use your favorite skills or support your values? M

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Secrets to Building Your Confidence at Work Training and talent can help you do your job well and keep you moving forward in your career.

But your performance can take a nosedive when your self-confidence is on the skids.

The following suggestions can help you restore and increase your on-the-job self-confidence.

Do your homework Learn as much as you can about the subject at hand-whether you’re giving a speech, asking for a promotion or making a sales call. You can’t be over prepared when your performance is on the line.

Analyze your mistakes Knowing what went wrong and what you can do to keep from making the same mistake again can help you turn a negative situation into one that boosts your confidence in your problem-solving abilities.

Ask for added responsibility when given a choice between maintaining the status quo or doing something more.

Don’t take the easy way out One reward of taking risks is an increased potential for higher achievement. Ask for added responsibility when given a choice between maintaining the status quo or doing something more.

Always act confident Do your best to dismiss your fears if you’re worried a speech, meeting or sales presentation will bomb. Force yourself to smile and shake hands firmly. Walk with your head up and your shoulders back.

Walk with your head up and your shoulders back.

Prioritize your tasks each day Daily to-do lists are a must, but to really take control of your day, you should complete tasks in order of priority. Completing one highpriority assignment will boost your confidence more than doing four or five low-priority ones.

Make change a positive Welcoming instead of fearing change makes it easier to identify the advantages and opportunities presented by new responsibilities and directions.

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... to really take control of your day, you should complete tasks in order of priority.

Keep a list of accomplishments Refer to the list when your confidence needs a lift. Items to include: a major project you completed on time and under budget, a successful meeting you conducted, a reorganization of your filing system or mastery of a new computer program.

Post your goals where you can see them Keeping them in front of you increases your chances of internalizing and achieving them. Setting goals and meeting them creates a pattern of success you can build on.

Stay calm when speaking with others Rehearse difficult negotiations ahead of time. Excuse yourself if you are unable to control your emotions during a discussion.

Be responsible for your actions Making yourself accountable for your failures also makes you responsible for your successes. If you take responsibility for your actions, you will believe that your hard work and intelligence - not luck led to your achievements.

Avoid negative self-talk Pay attention to your inner dialogue and replace negative comments with positive ones. For example: When your inner voice says, “I’ve got so much to do, I’ll never get this assignment done on time,” replace that thought with “I’m capable of focusing my energy on the task at hand and completing it in a timely fashion.”

Don’t be afraid of nervous energy Butterflies in your stomach and a racing heart are your body’s way of preparing for a challenge; they’re confirmation that what you’re about to do matters.

Compete against yourself Assess your workplace performance for the past year. Then establish some specific goals for the year ahead.

For example: increasing sales by 10 percent, getting to work on time every day, returning all your phone calls within 24 hours or completing routine administrative tasks 20% faster.

Keep your life in perspective Maintaining a healthful balance between your personal and professional lives can help you weather a workplace crisis because you’re less likely to define your self-worth by how well you do your job. M

Butterflies in your stomach and a racing heart are your body’s way of preparing for a challenge; they’re confirmation that what you’re about to do matters.

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Balance: Key to a Successful Fitness Program Fitness experts are saying what nutritionists have been telling us for years: The key to better health is balance. Just as a balanced diet provides all the nutrients the body needs, a balanced fitness program keeps muscles and joints in top condition.

“We’re getting away from chemical rehabilitation, where we have a physical problem and find a pill or drug to solve it,” says Mark Madole, Strength and Conditioning Director at the North Dallas Athletic Club in Dallas. “Instead, we are looking more at exercise and diet as a means of maintaining good health.”

Mr. Madole suggests that inactivity is like waiting for the other shoe to drop. “That ‘shoe’,” he says, “may come in the form of a heart attack, back problems, stroke -- any number of conditions.”

A sensible start Get an accurate assessment of your physical condition before starting a fitness program. In a perfect world, you would go to a doctor for a thorough examination, then head to a gym or health club and train with a personal fitness coach. If you can’t do that, at least see a physician and ask for a personal fitness profile.

The profile will help you set goals for your fitness program; you may decide to lose weight or improve your muscle tone, endurance, or cardiovascular health. It will also identify pre-existing physical problems that a fitness program may exacerbate or need to be designed around. These problems can range from cardiovascular conditions to chronic joint or tendon ailments.

Don’t forget to have fun Boredom is the greatest deterrent to a fitness program. Running endless laps around a track can eventually turn off even the most dedicated amateur athlete.

The cure for athletic boredom is cross training -- combining several kinds of workouts that enhance or complement each other. For example, runners may pound the pavement on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and swim on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Devotees of stair machines or step classes could try weight training on alternate days.

“The way you’re going to make it over the long haul is to establish a fitness program as a way of life,” Mr. Madole says.

“Most important, you need to engage the entire body. If you’re just walking, but not doing calisthenics or stretching, you may think you’re getting a full workout, but you’re not.”

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The balanced program The body’s muscles are made up of slow-twitch (aerobic) and fast-twitch (strength) fibers. “The key to a balanced fitness program is to do something that will challenge both muscle groups,” Mr. Madole says.

Ingredients A total-body workout: “This is any form of exercise that combines resistance with cardiovascular movement,” Mr. Madole says. Weight training combined with running or walking is optimal, but exercising on a stationary bike that also works the arms is good, too.

Strength training: Using free weights or weight machines builds muscle mass, controls weight, builds energy and protects against injury. If weights aren’t available, try pull-ups, push-ups and other exercises that use the body’s weight to create resistance.

Aerobic exercise: Activities such as running, cycling and swimming burn excess body fat and promote cardiovascular health.

Flexibility exercise: Stretching before and after a workout prevents joint injury, relieves muscle soreness and maintains strength.

A balanced diet: An easy way to derail a balanced fitness program is to fuel the body with things it doesn’t need. Eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet high in carbohydrates and fiber. M

“The way you’re going to make it over the long haul is to establish a fitness program as a way of life,” Summer 2014 Balanced Living 13

MINES Eye

The importance of staying mindful.

With MINES Eye we will focus on meditation techniques, basic yoga poses, and mindfulness practices to help you stay in control of your thoughts and expand your mind as well as body.

Yoga Pose #1: The Mountain Pose We’re going to start the first edition of MINES Eye with a very simple yet very practicle yoga pose.

The montain pose is great for beginners as it requires very little flexibility but still offers a good stretch and a great opportunity to focus on your breathing and find your center.

The Mountain Pose Step 1: Start in a standing posisiton with your feet together.

Make sure to focus on keeping your breathing steady and regular. Focus your awareness on your posture, how your weight is distributed, and your breathing as you maintain your attention on the moment and feel tension begin to slip away.

The Mountain Pose Step 2: Close you eyes and rest your hands at your sides keeping your fingers together. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed on both feet and that your head, spine, shoulders, and hips are in line. Continue to focus on your breathing as you relax and hold this position.

The Mountain Pose Step 3: Continue to hold the pose while breathing deeply and regularly. You can keep your hands at your side or bring them up in a “prayer” position in front of your chest, or raising them above your head and reaching for the sky. No matter what you choose to do with your hands make sure to keep your body inline and breathing steady. Continue to focus your thoughts on the moment, letting distractions slip away. Hold this pose for at least one minute at a time and longer if you wish. M 14

Summer 2014 Balanced Living

SEASONAL RECIPE

Vegetable Spring Rolls with Rice Noodles • • • • • • • •

6 oz. Brown Rice Noodles 12 Pieces of Rice Paper Wraps 2 Sliced Red Bell Peppers 2 Chopped Cucumbers 3/4 Cup Shredded Carrots 2 Sliced Medium Avacados 2 tbsp. Chopped Cilantro 1/4 Cup Chopped Peanuts

1. Bring large pot of water to boil. Remove from heat. Add brown rice noodles, stirring to separate noodles. Cover and let stand 5 minutes or until noodles are tender but firm. Drain well. Place in large bowl with cold water. Separate noodles fully, set aside.

2. To assemble spring rolls, fill 9-inch pie plate with warm water.

For each spring roll, dip one rice paper wrapper in water to wet completely. Place on work surface. Blot dry with paper towel. Place 1/3 cup drained rice noodles in bottom third of rice paper. Layer with bell pepper strips, cucumber, carrots, avocado slices, cilantro, and peanuts. Fold in sides then gently roll in tightly to enclose filling.

Place spring roll on platter or tray. Repeat with remaining rice paper wrappers and filling ingredients to make 12 spring rolls.

3. Cover with damp paper towels and plastic wrap.

4. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Serve with dipping sauce. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Makes approximately 12 Servings/Rolls Nutritional analysis (per serving): 164 calories; 6.8 g fat ( 0.65 g sat ); 0 mg cholesterol; 23.7 g carbohydrates; 2 g from sugars; 2.09 g protein; 3.03 g fiber; 195.4 mg sodium.

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Helping you keep

your balance

Your Employee Assistance Program is here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week It’s confidential, FREE, and available to you and your family.

For information or confidential assistance call 1-800-873-7138