MAX HEALTH

How To
Chase Away
BY LINDA HEPLER, BSN, RN

Nothing is truer than the lyrics

of the old Neil Diamond tune
Song Sung Blue: Me and you
are subject to the blues now and
then. We all feel blue now and
then, and we all have anxious
or negative feelings from time
to time. These human emotions
are a normal reaction to stressful
events in our busy lives, from
difculties on the job to sitting in
trafc or having an argument with
a friend or a family member.

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But people seem to be more or less able to let such

stressors slide off their backs without succumbing to a
long-lasting grumpy mood or panic, said Kenneth Yeager,
PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology and Director
of Behavioral Health at Ohio State University, Wexner
Medical Center. There are certain people who live their
lives as if its a constant crisis, he said, And others who
are able to let things go easier.
According to Hillary Goldsher, PsyD, a psychologist in
private practice in Beverly Hills, California, this is a result
both of genetics and environment; in other words, we
are born with an innate disposition that is then shaped by
the environment in which we were raised. If you were
born with a sunny disposition but experienced childhood
trauma or instability, you may be less resilient to stressors
than someone who is a born worrier but raised in a loving
and predictable environment, said Dr. Goldsher.
Unfortunately, according to a recent study out of Penn
State, people who harp on daily stressors to the point
of daily anxiety or depression run a much higher risk of
chronic health problems down the road. The good news?
Even though you cant change your temperament or how
you were raised, you can learn to manage your emotions
better so youre less likely to have that black cloud of
anxiety and depression rain on your parade. Here are
some tips from the experts:

Try to identify the source of your anxiety or blue

mood and then begin to take actions to resolve the
problem. For example, advised Dr. Yeager, if you are
grumpy because youre overwhelmed by everything you
have to do at work or at home, keep a prioritized task list
and then cross things off as you complete them. It helps,
he added, to assign a time frame for each task, such as
30 minutes for returning phone calls or emails. Even if
you dont get all of your correspondence completed, youll
have begun working on it, which generates a sense of
accomplishment.

If you dont understand, learn more. If your black

cloud has to do with issues you know little about, such
as a disease or illness yours or a loved ones read
everything you can about it, so that youre better able to
identify what you can do to cope more effectively, said
Dr. Yeager. You might learn about medications that can
be prescribed for your mothers early Alzheimers disease,
or fnd a support group for those who are facing similar
challenges as you are.

DID YOU
KNOW?

Research shows that

when youre down in the
dumps, your perception
of color changes,
making the whole world
seem a bit grayer.

If you cant fx the problem right away, learn

to compartmentalize. Compartmentalization, by
defnition, is a natural (and sometimes unhealthy) coping
mechanism, a way we have of not thinking about things
that cause us anxiety or negative feelings. But it can also
be used in a healthy way by isolating a particular problem
from the rest of your life challenges and focusing on it
selectively, said Dr. Goldsher. You can overthink and
overanalyze, even get obsessive about things you cant
change, she explained. But if you set aside a scheduled
time to think about a problem rather than ruminating
constantly about it, it takes away some of your ongoing
anxiety.
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What You Should Do

There are essential actions we all need to engage in every day to maintain
our emotional health and stability, said Susan Noonan, MD, MPH, author
of Managing Your Depression What You Can Do to Feel Better. When
you follow these steps regularly, you will decrease your vulnerability to
uctuations or changes in mood, she advised. The steps are:
1. Get good sleep. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep each night, keeping a
regular sleep routine.
2. Eat a healthy diet. Eat a balanced, healthy diet high in fruits, veggies,
nuts, legumes, fsh, whole grains and olive oil, and avoid alcohol, street
drugs or excessive caffeine.
3. Follow directions. If you take medications for physical or mental
issues, take them as directed.
4. Exercise. Include cardiovascular, stretching and strengthening activities
5. Stay connected. Maintain social contacts and connections with others.
6. Have a daily routine and schedule. Include pleasurable activities,
mastery activities (learning a new skill or challenge), and activities that
give you a sense of purpose.
If the problem is severe enough
that its invading your life, you might
consider therapy as your scheduled
time to focus on it, she added.

Train yourself to look at the

good. People are hard-wired for
survival, explained Dr. Yeager. That
is, we can easily identify what can go
wrong. But we have to work harder to
identify what could go right, to focus
on the positives in our lives.
A good way to train yourself in this
skill, he said, is by identifying three
things each day that have gone right
for you and thinking about what you
may have done or contributed to make
that happen. Professional sports
teams build on the positives in this way
by identifying what went right, why
it went right, and then problem solving
what can be done to make it go right
more often, said Dr. Yeager.

Ask for help. If you cant shake

away your blues or stave off your
anxiety, reach for assistance, whether
its a friend or a family member, a
leader at your place of worship, or a
mental health professional, advised
Dr. Yeager. Another person can often
help you identify what the issue is,
where you are going with it, and what
you might do to make it better. And
if possible, do it in person rather than
by telephone or email, he suggested.
Theres something about a face to
face connection that soothes and
grounds you. MS&F
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The Holiday Blues

The winter holiday season, with Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah, are
supposed to be a fun flled time of year, with many social gatherings and
celebrations. But for many, these holidays are a time fraught with anxiety
and sadness. People feel a lot of pressure to make things perfect, to make
the holidays special and feel a certain way about a manufactured occasion,
said Hillary Goldsher, PsyD, a psychologist in private practice in Beverly Hills,
California.
Holidays are the time that families get together, and you may feel sad about
a missing family member. Or you may fnd yourself replaying the sibling rivalry
you experienced in your childhood, or reliving your rebellion against your
parents. When families get together, all adults have the tendency to regress
a bit, explained Dr. Goldsher.
Holidays with parties and gift exchanges also bring fnancial stress, and
pressure to get things done by a certain time. Many people cope by taking
worse care of themselves, skipping exercise, eating poorly, and drinking too
much a sure recipe for disaster.
How can you make the holidays a truly joyful time? The best way, according
to Dr. Goldsher, is to have realistic expectations of yourself and of others
and to realize that things wont be perfect. Its not likely that your mega
competitive sis will be any less annoying during a holiday gathering, but try
to remember that youre an adult and that this is a brief time to try and get
along, she said.
Take care of yourself, too. Try not to take on more holiday responsibilities
than you can handle, set a prioritized and attainable schedule of things to do,
and stay within your budget. Get enough rest, try to exercise, and limit your
alcohol consumption.
If you just cant go with the status quo, try something new to celebrate the
holidays. Volunteer in a shelter or food pantry, contact a long lost friend or
relative and spend some time with them, or volunteer to watch a neighbors
children while they go shopping. The change in routine and the experience of
helping others can go a long way to lighten your spirits.

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