From Maesk Group Counseling in Fort Lauderdale - Are You Driving Yourself Crazy?

Here I present a great article by D. Harrison, PhD.  It's a formula for driving yourself crazy.  Sadly, many of you reading this will undoubtedly be doing some of these very things.

Now, life in Fort Lauderdale and South Florida can be very hectic and stressful, and provide some - well, shall we say - less than healthy distractions.  And even if you've thought about mental health counseling, you may just as quickly have talked (or thought) yourself out of it.

So sit back, relax, and see if the following doesn't ring true with you.  Then, give a call and we'll talk about how to move in a good, orderly, not-crazy-making direction!

How to Drive Yourself Crazy

1. Save your major worries until about midnight, then start heavy thinking. Suggested topics include your age, losing your job, the mistake you made at work last week that they haven’t discovered yet, that suspicious wart you’ve had for five years, or radon in your basement. You can work up a good panic by 1 AM.

2. Keep an inventory of your faults. Ignore strengths. Focus only on your bad points. Try to select friends who will remind you of how awful you are. If you don’t have friends like this, you probably have some relative who can be counted on to point out your weaknesses.

3. Set unreasonable goals. No matter how much money you earn, remember there are others doing better. Try to name three of them, preferably younger and better looking than you. Think how others could do a better job.

4. When your children make mistakes, don’t accept it as part of growing up. View each situation as the first sign of impending moral decay, delinquency and a wasted life.

5. Put off everything until the last minute. In this way, you can create a sense of frenzy and chronic stress no matter how much time you had in the first place.

6. Aid and abet the creation of stress. Sleep as little as possible. Eat junk. Drink a lot of coffee. Never exercise if you can help it.

7. Never let others know how you feel or what you want. You shouldn’t have to tell them: they should be able to read your mind. If you assume this, you stand a good chance of feeling deprived.

8. Never trust anyone, particularly a counselor. Struggle with problems alone. If you feel the urge to confide in someone who seems to care, remind yourself that people are basically no good and are out only for themselves. Convince yourself that asking for help is a sign of weakness and that you can tough it out alone.

9. Never take a vacation. It’s a luxury you can’t afford, especially if you’re working up to a really good state of exhaustion.

If you follow this program, you have a good chance of feeling really rotten in no time at all!

Twelve Practical Ways to Stop Stress - From Maesk Counseling in Fort Lauderdale

From our friends at fact hacker.com, here are some outstanding (and simple) ways to cope with stress.  Especially timely during the Holidays.

Have you ever heard of the word karoshi? Working for long periods under extreme stressful work conditions can lead to sudden death and the Japanese call this phenomenon karoshi. It literally means death from overwork mainly from heart attack and stroke due to stress.

We all know that stress kills and it needs to be managed and controlled. Left unaddressed it will bring you down, can cause depression, anxiety, disease and even karoshi, death. It is essential that we get a grip on our stress.  Below are 12 practical ways to stop stress:

1. Express Your Happiness - Laugh hard and loud. If you don’t have a sense of humor, find someone else who does. Laughter releases endorphins (happy chemicals) from the body, and it helps boost your immune system.

2. Take Control Over Your Time and Schedule - You will be much more able to deal with stress if you have a good handle on your schedules as they pertain to your job, relationships, and other activities. Much of this entails simplifying. And when you are mostly in control of your time, you are more inclined to stay focused and calm. Plan your time wisely.  Remember to leave room for unexpected events, both negative and positive. Be adaptable in rearranging your agenda. Get up 15 minutes early in the morning. Allow an extra 15 minutes to get to all appointments. Just building in a little extra time can do wonders for relieving the stress of rushing from one thing to the next.  Avoid procrastinating on important or urgent tasks. Whatever needs doing, do it immediately. Do the unpleasant tasks early, so that you won’t have to worry about them for the rest of the day. Also, keep a digital schedule. Don’t just rely on your memory.  Lastly, do your tasks one thing at a time at a time. Focus your attention on the present moment, whether it is the person talking to you or the job at hand. This helps you to avoid making errors – which lead to more tension and anxiety. Be patient in waiting. Anxiety caused by impatience can rise up your blood pressure. Say no to requests that you cannot accomplish. Delegate trivial tasks. You must remember that you don’t have to do it all yourself. Crack a job into separate tasks and assign them to people with the suitable skills.

3. Work Out - Strive and get some habitual exercise such as brisk walking or interval training or whatever appeals to you. Regardless of what you do, exercise considerably reduces the stress factor. Work out also improves sleep and gives you time to think and focus on other things. It also promotes the release of natural soothing chemicals in your body. Just be sure to avoid excessive exercise, however, as this may have an adverse effect and might cause more stress.

4. Take Slow Deep Breaths - Take time throughout your ay to calm down your muscles and breathe deeply and slowly. Do it several times. Follow your breath as it flows in and out. Do not try to have power over it. This is a good way to relax in the midst of any activity. This practice allows you to find a breathing pattern that is natural and relaxing to you. You can even make a sighing sound as you exhale, and feel tension dissolve.

5. Food Makes All the Difference - Try not to skip meals and be sure you are eating the most nutrient-dense and healthy foods possible. Avoid packaged foods, caffeine, alcohol, sugar and grains. These types of foods cause major stress on the body without providing nourishment. Getting proper nutrition through your food is essential. For example, researchers have found that even small deficiencies of thiamin, a B-complex vitamin, can cause anxiety symptoms. Pantothenic acid, another B-complex vitamin, is critical during times of stress.

6. Live Optimistically - Count your blessings, particularly when everything seems to go wrong. Try not to exaggerate the complexity of your problems. Every problem has a solution. All you need to do is deal with it. Learning to be happy and to enjoy life is a blessing. Live one day at a time.

7. Put Off Problems Earlier Than They Occur - This takes some preparation. If you are going to another city for an valuable meeting, carry your presentation materials and dress suit on board the plane. Acquire gas for the car before the tank is unfilled. Get usual oil changes and checkups. Keep food ready anytime at your house so you can fix a fast meal without going to the store. Keep food, supplements, and toiletries on hand so you never have to feel tensed when they run out.

8. Allow Yourself to Enjoy Life - Grant yourself some physical pleasure and enjoyment to help your stress slip away. Indulge yourself to a professional massage, or trade massages with a loved one. Be sure to give yourself consent every now and then to enjoy a movie, watch a concert or sports event, listen to music, sit quietly or read a book. Take pleasure in a soothing cup of chamomile herb tea. (Chamomile has long been used to relieve nervous tension.)

9. Create Goals - If you don’t know where you’re going any road will take you there. It is important to set goals for yourself. Research shows that people are more likely to make progress and get ahead when they lay out specific goals.  Time management experts highlight the importance of writing down your important goals. Break big projects down into a series of small steps that you can work on every day. Want to change jobs? Contact one prospective employer today. Is writing a book your dream? Commit to writing one page a day. Inch by inch, slowly but surely, you will get to your ultimate destination.  Knowing that you are striving toward your dreams relieves frustrations that mount when you feel stuck in a situation that seem to have no direction.  Likewise, be flexible with your goals and adjust them as life changes.

10. Recharge Your Spirit Daily - Schedule private time alone every day for at least 15 minutes. You deserve it and you need it. Turn off the telephone and enjoy a quiet time. A shower or bath is great. So is sitting and meditating. You may want to spend a few minutes writing your feelings out in a journal. It can help you find a new viewpoint in life and relieve internal conflicts.

11. Get Sufficient Sleep - Settle on how much sleep you require for best possible performance. Lack of sleep worsens the body’s responses to stress and lowers the immune system. We simply cannot function properly without adequate sleep. It is key to physical and emotional health. Aim for at least 7 – 9 hours per night.

12. You Don’t Have to Do It All - Always remember that you don’t have to attain all the money, fame, and success in the world. Today’s society has too much of a focus to build up as many accomplishments as we can. It leaves it impossible for us to balance our personal life, family life and work life. There is only a certain amount of time each day and a limited amount of what you can get done. You don’t have to do it all. Choose what you need and want to do and be done with the rest.

From Maesk Counseling in Fort Lauderdale - Ten Signs You May Need Professional Therapy

We all go through challenging times in our lives, but some experiences are worse than others. There is NO problem that can’t be eased—a little or a lot—by seeking professional counseling .

Some problems are like a sore throat—we go to the doctor, get a short round of treatment, and feel better. But others, such as death of a loved one, relationship issues, parenting problems, moving to a new city, living with the after effects of abuse from childhood, dealing with an elderly parent, health or weight issues—are more like a cancer. The problem only grows without professional intervention.

So what are you experiencing?

1) I have low energy, “blahs”

2) someone in my life puts me down or threatens me

3) I can’t relax

4) I have the same fights over and over

5) people keep disappointing me

6) My sleep is disturbed

7) I can’t keep a job and/or a relationship

8) My temper gets out of hand

9) I wouldn’t mind if I weren’t here anymore

10)  I feel guilty all the time

I have extensively studied how to help these and many other issues common to all people. Let’s get started making your life better! We will gently examine the things that are troubling you and I will guide you toward new ways of thinking and dealing with people to lead you toward freedom. Homework is an essential part of this process, as you take the suggestions I give you and try them out between sessions. Are YOU ready to change?  If so, Maesk Group Counseling is here to help!

From Maesk Group Counseling in Fort Lauderdale - Sleep and Yawning

Ever wonder why you yawn not only when you're tired, but when you're nervous or excited?  And why do others tend to yawn when you do?  This article, from The Wall Street Journal, discusses this.  And remember, if you're not getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night (for most adults), Maesk Group Counseling can help with your "sleep hygiene."  Just call or email and you'll be on your way to a better night's sleep!

The real reason we yawn

Yawning can be a problem at the office for Lindsay Eierman.

"I've explained, 'I'm sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night,' " says Ms. Eierman, a 26-year-old social worker from Durham, N.C.

But a lack of sleep may not be the problem.

Researchers are starting to unravel the mystery surrounding the yawn, one of the most common and often embarrassing behaviors. Yawning, they have discovered, is much more complicated than previously thought. Although all yawns look the same, they appear to have many different causes and to serve a variety of functions.

Yawning is believed to be a means to keep our brains alert in times of stress. Contagious yawning appears to have evolved in many animal species as a way to protect family and friends, by keeping everyone in the group vigilant. Changes in brain chemistry trigger yawns, which typically last about six seconds and often occur in clusters.

"What this tells us is it's a very complicated system, and there are probably many different roles for yawning," says Gregory Collins, a researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio who has identified some of the chemical processes at work in the brain.

There are many misconceptions about yawning, which was long believed to be the body's way of correcting for a dearth of oxygen. Our tendency to yawn when other people yawn has long been incorrectly explained as primarily an expression of a person's empathy.

To unravel the mystery of yawning, scientists built upon early, observed clues. Yawning tends to occur more in summer. Most people yawn upon seeing someone else do it, but infants and people with autism or schizophrenia aren't so affected by this contagion effect. And certain people yawn at surprising times, like parachutists who are about to jump out of a plane or Olympic athletes getting ready to compete.

"There was probably some yawning soccer players in Brazil" before World Cup games, says Robert R. Provine, a neuroscientist at the University of Maryland, in Baltimore County.

From Maesk Group Counseling in Fort Lauderdale - Untreated Depression

Untreated Depression is a Threat to your Mental and Physical Health

Depression creates chaos in the entire body by throwing the stress response system out of alignment. The risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes and cancer are all raised as normal immune function is disturbed by anxiety, stress and /or depression. Difficult relationships, parenting and work issues all contribute to this situation. 

This post contains my“prescription” for becoming (and staying) healthy.  Here’s what we should all be doing for a healthy, happy lifestyle:

• Get a yearly physical exam.  Depression and anxiety can be related to thyroid and other issues;

• Exercise: it relieves stress, raises endorphin levels. It’s even better if you get outside in natural light to exercise;

• Journaling: research shows it increases hopefulness, releases stress, and calms the brain;

• Regular Sleep: essential to mood stability and a healthy immune system;

• A good social or family support system increases longevity and raises immune system function; and

• Professional Therapy: coming for a session BEFORE symptoms are out of hand and regular follow-ups. 

Now maybe you are thinking, well, if I could MAKE myself do all of these things, I’d be fine! What you may not realize is that a mental health provider is trained, licensed and qualified to be a resource to help you do these things. A therapist can be your encourager, your supporter, and your guide in prioritizing and planning your best, healthiest life. 

Therapy helps uncover the roadblocks to your success that exist outside of your awareness. These roadblocks include childhood messages, both told to you and modeled by your parents, and negative experiences that impact your habits to this day. Together we can gently uncover and examine these self-defeating beliefs without shame or judgment. When “the truth sets you free,” you are then able to move forward and achieve new levels of well being.

Maesk Group Counseling is here to help.  Call 954-353-4680 to take that first step.

From Maesk Group Counseling in Fort Lauderdale - Sleep More!

Think you can get by on five or six hours of sleep per night?  Or think because you don't sleep much during the week you can "catch up" on the weekend?  Guess again.  We now know that sleep is crucial to your physical and mental health.

Following is a great article from CNN which references the suggested hours of sleep per night for each age group.  And if you need help, Maesk Group Counseling can work with you on sleep hygiene, and help you get more and better quality sleep.  

Check out the article here.