Moving From Surviving to Thriving CHRISTY SECOR RN, DNP, CDWF

Transcription

1 Moving From Surviving to Thriving CHRISTY SECOR RN, DNP, CDWF Presenter Disclosure Information In compliance with the accrediting board policies, the American Diabetes Association requires the following disclosure to the participants: Christy Secor RN, DNP, CDWF Disclosed no conflict of interest Objectives Explain three tools found in positive psychology that can improve personal and organizational resilience. Evaluate the benefits of social connections with others. Describe strategies that can change the way we respond to stress. Define the steps to strengthen a mindset for self-compassion.

2 How Do You Define Resilience? Resilience is a reflection of our ability to cope and the availability of resources we have related to our health / well being. 4 Explain three tools found in positive psychology that can improve personal and organizational resilience. OBJECTIVE ONE Doing an act of kindness produces the single most reliable momentary increase in well-being of any exercise that has been tested. Dr. Martin Seligman University of Pennsylvania

3 Three Good Things Best time is right before sleep onset For 14 days, reflect on the positive. Write down three good things that happened to you that day. Results: Better sleep quality Positive interactions Start looking for positive patterns The positive benefits lasts for about 6 months and has been shown to be as effective as anti-depressants (Seligman, Steen, Park & Petersen, 2005) Three Good Things (Seligman, Steen, Park & Petersen, 2005) Chasing Happiness

4 Being Grateful Makes Us Happy Chasing Happiness We all want it, right? How do we get it? Having Quality Relationships Being Grateful Being Content Stop saying I will be happy when and start saying I am happy now because Gratitude Letter Effectiveness (Seligman, Steen, Park & Petersen, 2005)

5 Gratitude Is A Gift You Give Yourself Decreased depressive symptoms and increased feelings of well being Improved psychological well-being Improved working memory Improved sleep Improved immune system function Improved relationships Improved coping with emotional upheavals (Emmons, 2010) Evaluate the benefits of social connections with others. OBJECTIVE TWO Harvard Study of Adult Development Good Relationships Keep us Happier and Healthier

6 Social Connections Are Really Good For Us! Loneliness Kills Increases premature death by 14% (Winch, 2014) 40% of Americans are lonely at any one time (Khullar, 2016) 4 a.m. friends (Seligman, 2011) Why is talking about loneliness taboo Facebook makes it worse Describe strategies that can change the way we respond to stress. OBJECTIVE THREE How Do We React To Stress?

7 Can Stress Kill? About 30,000 adults were followed over nine years by researchers from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. A 43% increased risk of dying was found IF you experienced: Increased amounts of stress in the past year AND Stress was believed to be bad for you. (Keller et al., 2012) Can Stress Kill? Researchers estimated 182,000 individuals died prematurely over this study period 20,231 deaths per year 14 th leading cause of death in 2014 More than skin cancer, Parkinson s disease, cervical cancer, suicide, homicide, or HIV (Keller et al., 2012; World Life Expectancy, 2016)

8 Housekeeper s Study Housekeeper burns 300 calories / hour 2/3 of the housekeepers stated they weren t exercising regularly; 1/3 shared they did not exercise at all Education was provided showing calories burned for each activity housekeepers do each day at work Ex. a 140-lb. woman would burn 60 calories cleaning a bathroom for 15 minutes (Crum & Langer, 2007; McGonigal, 2015) Housekeeper s Study Four weeks later the group of housekeepers who had received the education that housekeeping is exercise showed: Loss of weight / loss of body fat Decreased blood pressure Increased job satisfaction (Crum & Langer, 2007; McGonigal, 2015)

9 Milkshake Tasting Study Monitored blood levels of ghrelin (hunger hormone) Increases in ghrelin leads us to eat. Our ghrelin levels decrease when we are full. Results? Sensible milkshake? Ghrelin levels stayed the same. Decadent milkshake? Ghrelin levels dropped. (Crum, Corbin, Brownell, & Salovey, 2011; McGonigal, 2015) Milkshake Tasting Study The labels on the milkshakes were false. Both milkshakes were the same. Both milkshakes were 380 calories. (Crum, Corbin, Brownell, & Salovey, 2011; McGonigal, 2015) How Do We Begin To Change Our Mindset? First acknowledge the stress you are feeling. How is the situation affecting your body? (McGonigal, 2015)

10 How Do We Begin To Change Our Mindset? Second welcome the stress by recognizing it s a response to something you care about. What is the positive motivation behind the stress? What is at stake? Why does this matter? (McGonigal, 2015) When you embrace stress, you can transform fear into courage, isolation into connection, and suffering into meaning. Dr. Kelly McGonigal Stanford University How Do We Begin To Change Our Mindset? Third make use of the energy your stress is giving you rather than trying to manage your stress. What can you do that reflects your goals and values? Your true north? (McGonigal, 2015)

11 Making Choices in the Face of Fear People who thrive in difficult times do two things face reality and remain hopeful. Viktor Frankl Face Reality Corrosive Cynicism AND Irrelevant Idealism Remain Hopeful Define the steps to strengthen a mindset for self-compassion. OBJECTIVE FOUR The Components of Self-Compassion Self-kindness vs self-judgment Common humanity vs isolation Mindfulness vs over-identification

12 Self-kindness vs Self-judgment Being warm and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, rather than ignoring our pain or punishing ourselves with self-criticism. Making mistakes is a part of life. I can respond with anger or with gentleness. I can t always be what other people want me to be or what I expect for myself. My ideal self sets me up to fail. (Neff, 2017a; Neff & Germer, 2017) Common Humanity vs Isolation Recognizing suffering and personal inadequacy is part of the shared human experience something we all go through rather than being something that happens to me alone. (Neff, 2017a; Neff & Germer, 2017) Mindfulness vs Over-identification Mindfulness is a non-judgmental, receptive mind state in which one observes thoughts and feelings as they are, without trying to suppress or deny them. We cannot ignore our pain and feel compassion for it at the same time. At the same time, mindfulness requires we not be overidentified with thoughts and feelings, so that we are caught up and swept away by negative reactivity. (Neff, 2017a; Neff & Germer, 2017)

13 Benefits of Self-Compassion Improved sleep and overall resilience. Protective factor for posttraumatic stress. Decreased levels of body dissatisfaction, concerns about weight, and eating disorders. Improved interpersonal relationships and emotional connections. Successful goal pursuit and resilience when goals are not met; decreases in procrastination and academic stress. Lower levels of depression and anxiety; improved positive state of mind. Less fear of failure; increased likelihood to try again when we do fail. (Kemper, Mo, & Khayat, 2015; Neff & Knox, 2017; Warren, Smeets, & Neff, 2016) What Does It Mean To Be Me? I accept myself as I am. I am enough. I am worthy of compassion. I forgive myself and allow myself to feel inner peace. I allow myself to make mistakes and to learn from those mistakes. (Fabrega, n.d.) What Does It Mean To Be Me? I let go of the old and make room for the new. Today I will treat myself with kindness. Like any human being, I have strengths and weaknesses, and that s okay. I m healing through self-compassion. I give myself the gift of unconditional love. (Fabrega, n.d.)

14 Practical Ways to Implement Self-Compassion Personal letters of compassion Write a letter of compassion to yourself once a day for a week about the events you are experiencing. Significant reductions in depression for up to 3 months Significant increases in happiness for up to 6 months Taking care of the care-giver Self-compassion break (handout) Reframing our inner dialogue Guided meditations (Neff, 2017b; Warren, Smeets, & Neff, 2016) Homework: Kristen Neff s Self Compassion Test: Questions? CHRISTY.SECOR@ALLINA.COM

15 References Crum, A. J., Corbin, W. R., Brownell, K. D., & Salovey, P. (2011). Mind over milkshakes: Mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response. Health Psychology, 30(4), doi: /a Crum, A. J., & Langer, E. J. (2007). Mind-set matters: Exercise and the placebo effect. Psychological Science, 18(2), doi: /j x Fabrega, M. (n.d.). Daring to live fully: Archives. Retrieved from References Keller, A., Litzelman, K., Wisk, L. E., Maddox, T., Cheng, E. R., Cheng, E. R.,... Witt, W. P. (2012). Does the perception that stress affects health matter? The association with health and mortality. Health Psychology, 31(5), doi: Kemper, K. J., Mo, X., & Khayat, R. (2015). Are mindfulness and selfcompassion associated with sleep and resilience in health professionals? The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 21(8), doi: /acm References Khuller, D. (2016). How social isolation is killing us. The New York Times. Retrieved from Lyubomirsky, S., & Della Porta, M. D. (2010). Boosting happiness, buttressing resilience: Results from cognitive and behavioral interventions. In J. W. Reich, A. J. Zautra, & J. S. Hall (Eds.), Handbook of adult resilience (pp ). New York: Guilford Press. McGonigal, K. (2015). The upside of stress. New York, NY: Penguin Random House.

16 References Neff, K. D. (2017a). The three elements of self-compassion. Retrieved from Neff, K. D. (2017b). Self-compassion guided meditations and exercises. Retrieved from Neff, K. D., & Germer, C. (2017). Self-compassion and psychological wellbeing. In J. Doty (Ed.) Oxford handbook of compassion science, Chapter 27. Oxford University Press. References Neff, K. D., & Knox, M.C. (2017). Self-compassion. In V. Zeigler-Hill & Shackelford (Eds.) Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences. Springer International Publishing. doi: / _ Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5), doi: / X Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York, NY: Free Press. References Random Act of Kindness Foundation. (2018). Did you know? There are scientifically proven benefits of being kind. Retrieved from Waldinger, R. (2015). What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness [TED Talk]. Retrieved from life_les sons_from_the_lon gest_study_on_happiness?language=en Warren, R., Smeets, E., & Neff, K. D. (2016). Risk and resilience: Being compassionate to oneself is associated with emotional resilience and psychological well-being. Current Psychiatry, 15(12),

17 References Winch, G. (2014). Loneliness increases chances of early death by 14%. Retrieved from World Life Expectancy. (2016). USA causes of death by age and gender. Retrieved from