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Hardiness Helps People Turn Stressful Circumstances into Opportunities
Research shows hardiness is the key to the resiliency for not only surviving, but also thriving, under stress. Hardiness enhances performance, leadership, conduct, stamina, mood and both physical and mental health.
Findings
Why do some people suffer physical and mental breakdowns when faced with overwhelming stress while others seem to thrive? A landmark 12-year longitudinal study by psychologist Salvatore R. Maddi, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of Chicago involving one of the biggest deregulation and divestiture cases in American history provides some answers.
In 1981 Illinois Bell Telephone (IBT) downsized from 26,000 employees to just over half that many in one year. The remaining employees faced changing job descriptions, company goals and supervisors. One manager reported having 10 different supervisors in one year. Dr. Maddi and his research team were already studying more than 400 supervisors, managers and executives at IBT before the downsizing occurred and they were able to continue following the original study group on a yearly basis until 1987. Results shows that about two-thirds of the employees in the study suffered significant performance, leadership and health declines as the result of the extreme stress from the deregulation and divestiture, including heart attacks, strokes, obesity, depression, substance abuse and poor performance reviews. However, the other one-third actually thrived during the upheaval despite experiencing the same amount of disruption and stressful events as their co-workers. These employees maintained their health, happiness and performance and felt renewed enthusiasm.
What made the two groups so different? Dr. Maddi found that those who thrived maintained three key beliefs that helped them turn adversity into an advantage: commitment, control and challenge attitudes. The Commitment attitude led them to strive to be involved in ongoing events, rather than feeling isolated. The Control attitude led them to struggle and try to influence outcomes, rather than lapse into passivity and powerlessness. The Challenge attitude led them to view stress changes, whether positive or negative, as opportunities for new learning.
There is no more extreme example of workplace stress than the battlefield. Research by psychologist Paul T. Bartone, Ph.D., of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point found that hardiness protected Army reserve personnel mobilized for the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990’s. In this study, the higher the hardiness level, the greater the ability of soldiers to experience life- and combat-related stress without apparent negative health consequences, such as post traumatic stress disorder or depression. So, hardiness at least partially explains why some soldiers remain healthy under war related stress.
Dread colds? Then be a Little Miss Sunshine.
That’s the word from researchers who tested the emotional outlook and immune-system capabilities of a group of adults. Cold viruses had a harder time taking hold in the people who had mostly positive things to say.
Apparently, emotions play a role in immunity. Positive thoughts not only help you steer clear of colds but also might make your colds milder if you do get sick. Good reasons to look on the bright side and to get help if you habitually feel negative, anxious, or depressed.
Of course, thinking warm, fuzzy thoughts doesn’t replace good ol’ cold-killing facts. So follow these sniffle-stopping tips as well:
- Wash your hands frequently, especially if you spend time with someone who is sick. And keep hand towels separate to minimize the spread of germs.
- Avoid spending time with people who are newly sick; they are most infectious during the first few days of illness.
- Eat foods high in vitamin C — oranges, strawberries, and red peppers are good choices. Better yet, get a big boost of vitamin C with a supplement.
- Avoid touching your nose, mouth, or eyes.
- Get plenty of rest.
Of course, you can help other people stay healthy, too, by washing your hands after you blow your nose and covering your mouth with a tissue or the inner crook of your elbow when you sneeze. Because let’s face it, what goes around comes around — sooner or later.
By having a quick look at your tongue every morning before you clean your teeth, you will be able to see how your digestion is doing.
If you also get into a daily habit of scraping your tongue, you will be sending a message to your gastric juices to wake up. As soon as the millions of taste buds on your tongue are stimulated, they send a message to the digestive system to get ready and your food will be broken down more efficiently.
If there is a thick, white coating on the tongue, it means there is a lot of toxicity in the system, perhaps from a heavy meal or food eaten too late the night before. It could be that you are still digesting last evening’s food, in which case a very light breakfast or juice would be the best thing to give your digestion a rest.
Use a tongue scraper (sold in health shops or by mail order) or a small spoon. Gently scrape from the back of the tongue forward until you have covered the whole surface. The whole process only takes 20 seconds and will get rid of that unpleasant coating, clear bacteria out of your mouth and make your breath smell sweeter.
“Every February, across the country, chocolates, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday?
The history of Valentine’s Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance.
St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?
Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.
One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first ‘valentine’ greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor’s daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed ‘From your Valentine,’ an expression that is still in use today.
Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It’s no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France“.
Special thanks to History.com
To find out if you’re compatible with your significant other, go to www.fungamesonline.net and try their ‘online love tester’
Write down all the things that you think that you should do:
I should ……………………………………………………………………………..
Now, take each ‘I should’ from your list, read it out loud and
then ask yourself, ‘Why should I?’
Rewrite your list, replacing ’should’ with ‘could’ and start each statement
with, ‘If I really wanted to’.
Rewrite your list in this way and you might find that there are some things
that you don’t even want to change!
Don’t be a ’should’ victim, trapped by guilt. Allow yourself the possibility of
‘could’ and you will become free to allow positive changes into your life.
In the article entitled ‘The Winter Blues’ (January blog), I mentioned that drinking more milk helped, as a lack of calcium is supposed to be linked to low moods. However, the following facts on milk were pointed out to me by a doctor friend of mine, and they make very interesting reading.
1. “The ph of milk is 6.5 to 6.8 (all approx figures)
This makes it acidic (water is 7.0 -neutral, coffee 5
- acid, lemon 2.3-acid, vaginal fluid 4.0-acid whereas
blood is 7.4-alkaline, semen 7.2-alkaline, eggs
7.6-alkaline, milk-of-magnesia 10.0- very alkaline to
pick out a few at random. So milk is acidic.
2. The acidity of milk (or other food/drink) can be
changed or increased once consumed by the body. In the
gut, milk/dairy encounters hydrochloric acid, lacto
bacteria , pepsin etc that alter its acidity. In many
people, these and other biochemicals can make it very
acidic. Some lacto bacteria produce acids. In a gut
with altered ph (acid or alkaline) different processes
happen. This includes absorption, digestion,
assimilation of nutrients including essential minerals
(i.e. calcium). So, acidic milk can interfere with
calcium absorption leading to osteoporosis. Lesson
here is DONT TRUST THE MARKETERS!
3. Osteoporosis is hugely influenced by nutrition.
Unless a persons diet is particularly poor, it is
difficult to be deficient in calcium. To illustrate
this, soya milk has greater calcium levels than milk,
tap water in South of England contains approx 66 parts
per million of calcium compared to 1 or 2 parts found
in good bottled water- a few cups of tea with this tap
water and that’s all the calcium you need.
As some practitioners generally don’t deal with
nutrition, it is quite likely they are contributing to
the increase in osteoporosis by advising dairy for
calcium. GP’s can do the same when prescribing calcium
supplements. Although there are hormonal & other
causes for osteoporosis, often the issue is not a lack
of available calcium but whether it is absorbed.
Calcium requires other minerals (zinc/magnesium etc)
to be absorbed.
4. Estimates vary depending on which research you read
but it looks likely that approx 90% of the UK
population cannot digest milk/dairy properly. This is
because humans lose the enzymes to digest dairy once
they are weaned from the mother at 2 or so yrs old.
Past this point the body (most people anyway) cannot
digest dairy. With the above in mind it is a scandal
that probiotic yogurts are now heavily marketed
promising to aid gut health. Again, don’t trust the
marketers.
5. Commercial dairy contains lots of unwelcome stuff.
Along with puss (from chronic mastitis) it contains
estrogens which are forced into the female cow to keep
it milking. These estrogens are almost certainly
implicated in cancers, particularly the female variety
and other health conditions.
I could go on but you get the picture. These are not
exaggerations but freely available facts/info“.
As a great advocate of yoga, I cannot recommend it enough. Anyone can do yoga, as size and fitness levels do not matter, because there are modifications for every yoga pose.
Yoga creates a toned, flexible body, it improves your posture, it helps you look and feel younger, it helps you relax, it helps you handle stressful situations more easily, it helps to regulate weight, and it reduces cellulite! What could be better than that?!
Here are 10 simple exercises you can do at the office that hardly take much time but help you stay fit:
1. Upper Body Stretches: Sit firmly on the edge of your chair, gripping its back. Straighten your arms then, keeping your back straight, let your upper body pull you forward to stretch your shoulders, upper back and chest. Repeat a few times.
2. Shoulders and Back Stretch: Sit erect with your hands clasped behind your head. Now, gently pull your elbows as far back as you can, then hold them firmly in position. Repeat a few times.
3. Leg Stretches: Sit and grip the seat of your chair and raise one leg while you flex your foot. Slowly move the leg outward and then back toward the centre and down. As you stretch, straighten your shoulders and relax your neck and hands. Hold each stretch for 15 seconds to a minute then repeat with the other leg. Start with five repetitions and then raise the number of repetitions as you are ready.
4. Spinal Stretches: Sit on your chair with your spine erect and both feet flat on the floor. Pretend there is a cord attached to the crown of your head gently tugging you up. Direct your gaze in front of your nose then bring your hand to your chin. Inhale deeply, resting your hand on your chin and exhale slowly. Now gently press your chin in to your neck. Do 4 or more sets.
5. Ear to shoulder exercises: Sit on your chair with your spine erect and both feet flat on the floor. Now, inhale deeply. As you exhale, slowly roll your left ear towards your left shoulder. Again, inhale and exhale slowly, rolling your chin back to your chest. Once more inhale and exhale slowly, rolling your right ear to your right shoulder. Now, inhale deeply and exhale slowly, rolling your chin back to your chest. Do 4 or more sets of this.
6. Deep breathing exercises: Sit on your chair with your spine erect and both feet flat on the floor. Inhale deeply filling your belly, lower lungs, mid lungs, upper lungs and chest. Slowly expel the breath from your upper lungs, mid lungs, lower lungs then belly. Repeat 4 more times with your eyes closed.
7. Chair relaxation: Sit on your chair with your spine straight and both feet flat on the floor. Grasp your kneecaps and hold them firmly. Relaxed your shoulders and arms. Now, inhaling slowly, press and lift your chest forward and up. Then exhale slowly rounding your back, pulling your navel in to your spine and curling your shoulders forward. Repeat 4 to 5 more times until your body feels loose and relaxed.
8. Back Massage: Carry a tennis ball to the office. Sitting tall in your chair, place the tennis ball on the painful area and lean the back rest into it. While pushing against the ball, take long, deep breaths. Take 5 to 10 or more breaths as you find necessary.
9. Temple Rub: Keep your elbows on your desk and place your hands on your temples. With small circular motions, gently rub your temples first clockwise and then anti-clockwise. Do this for a duration of 10 to 15 long, deep breaths.
10. Meditation: Sit on your chair with your spine straight and both feet flat on the floor. Start taking long, deeply breaths and then gently slip your chin down to your chest. Resting your hands on your thighs or down by your side, relax your shoulders down and back. Close your eyes and take your gaze to a point between your eyebrows. Take 5 to 10 long deep breaths, shut eyes focused between your brows.
Keep tuned for more yoga tips coming soon.
Love Jane
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