#Mental Health LDS IDEAS ON STRESS MANAGEMENT and RELAXATION & MEDITATION

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stephen D. ZoBell, PhD

 Decrease harmful stressors: 

less worry

avoid trying to control others

discard harmful habits

reduce anger and fear

avoid harsh judgements, fault finding and criticism towards self and others

grieve past losses, heal former trauma, resolve past inconsistencies

home and clothing clean, safe and orderly

stay off harmful paths

avoid self pity

Strengthen resistance to stressors: 

involvement in sincere prayers and scriptures

take responsibility for self care, focus on best self, develop talents: make specific written goals

good nutrition

appropriate rest and sleep

appropriate hygiene

understand the purpose of sacrifices that are being made

positive self-talk

avoid an entitlement and indulgent mind set

regular aerobic exercise

Increase adaptability to stressors: 

consult with others:  you are never alone, develop a sense of belonging, get ideas from others

less negative response to imperfection

see the big picture (pre mortal life/earth life/next life)

appropriate humor

good cheer regardless of circumstances

charity for all

think of others and their perspective, serve and uplift them

allow others to help

forgive self and others

relaxation of body and mind

reframe negative experiences

ask what? and how? more often than why?

Keep a journal of positive and spiritual experiences

Service to others and sacrifice for a cause

RELAXATION AND MEDITATION

Stephen ZoBell, PhD

Breathing

In a relaxed position, close your eyes.

Breathe out all the way without straining.

Hold out to the count of 3—then breathe in refreshing relaxation.

Breathe out anxiety.

Breathe in relaxation.

Become aware of blinking response, breathing, shallow reaction, heart beat.

Muscle Relaxation

Mildly tighten and then deeply relax each muscle in the body.

Work in a sequential wave that goes from the feet, systematically up the body, to the head, imagining a white light as the wave.

When muscles are deeply relaxed, run another wave of white light from the feet to the head, this time focusing on nerves, bones, tendons, blood vessels, cells, tissues, and body organs.  Imagine them as being as relaxed as Jell-o.

Mind—Relaxed

Visual   Audio   Feeling   Taste   Smell

Focus on mental representations that are personally relaxing and pleasant.  Use imagery to see yourself relaxed.  See, hear, feel, taste and smell in the imagination, those things that bring a sense of well-being and relaxation.

Mind—Future Focus

Determine what you want (positive, realistic, in line with personal values, character rather than material-oriented).

Use mental representations (visual, audio, feeling, taste, smell) to imagine yourself in the process of getting what you want.

Use mental representations to image the end result.  Practice holding these images as long as possible.

Daily relaxation and meditation tends to bring integrity and balance in spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, relational and environmental factors.  This allows more resistance to stress and better skills at adapting.

#Mental Health LDS SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER (SAD)

Some approaches to offset the challenges of Seasonal Affective Disorder

SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER (SAD)

                                                                                      Stephen D ZoBell, PhD

SOME SYMPTOMS

Lack of energy                 Weakness          Lethargic               Mild depressive mood

Slow to respond              Diminished interest                      Increased negativity and critical attitude

Compromised immune system                 Excessive worry           Irritability       Sluggish

SLUGGISH causes	ACTIVE/MOTIVATED potential treatment
Start by understanding that Satan promotes darkness and despair	Build on a spiritual foundation of finding light and life through the Savior
Limited vitamin D	Vitamin D supplements--regular
Not exercising	Regular aerobic exercise program
Weakened immune system, insufficient warm/dry clothing	Strengthen immune system:  vitamin C, proper rest, resist anger, stay warm/dry, proper rest
Excessive sugar and junk food dehydration--cold weather puts demands on the physical body to stay warm, hence water loss	Avoid excessive sugar and junk food drink lots of water even though thirst may not seem like an issue in the cold weather
Hanging around	Get up and doing
Limited goals	Specific doable goals in process of being accomplished
Poor sleep, lying in bed ruminating	Beds are for sleeping, if you can’t sleep get up and do something constructive:  set goals, read scriptures, clean the apartment
Negative thinking, excessive worry, mismanaging anger	Positive thinking, constructive thinking that gets tasks and duties completed, manage anger and fear
Diminished  ability to concentrate	Underline and take notes while studying, look and listen while with people, attend to the here and now, focus, stay alert
Negative self-talk	Positive self-talk
Weight gain	Take steps to be accountable for weight, resist temptation to overeat, resist using food as ‘medication’
Minimal regular routine	Regular routine with check lists and reporting
Not busy enough	Keep hands busy and feet moving in concrete reality, be productive
Too much colored light and inappropriate music:  movies, tv, computer games, internet, devices etc	Avoid colored light, keep music boundaries in line with appropriate standards and be involved in concrete doing
Diminished sunlight	Special designed therapy lamps to deal with SAD
Abrupt jolt from dark to light in turning lights on	Lights that fade in and out or even a night light
Indulging in self-pity	Use imagination and dream power for gospel aspects, self-development and get heavily involved in showing and interest in and blessing the lives of others
Interpersonal strains, short-tempered	Plan to be of good cheer, non-judgmental, caring and sensitive to the circumstances of others, offer service even though it may be inconvenient and require sacrifice
Sense of despair and hopelessness	Hay esperanza!   THERE IS HOPE!

2011