Resiliency & Stress

How well do you take care of yourself amidst the stressors of today's fast-paced world? Are you aware of how strongly your stress levels affect your health?

As a former counselor, I worked with these issues daily. I even taught Stress Management classes to police officers at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. But sometimes knowledge isn't enough, as I learned first-hand.

My heart attack came seven years ago, and it shook my world. For two years, I lived with the fear that I was a walking time bomb. I had to look in the mirror and make some serious changes in my life. And I did!

Today, I'm sharing what I've learned with other heart event survivors. Once a week, I go to CHAMPS, the University of Iowa's Cardiac Rehab Phase II clinic. They call me their Stress Management Educator volunteer, where I share information and activities, teach classes, and talk one-on-one with other "heart warriors."

But we can all do more! We need to educate ourselves about the risks of stress and the value of resiliency. We need to support one another as we face health issues. And we ABSOLUTELY need to take better care of our bodies, our minds, and our souls. So join me in the critical fight and be a RESILIENT WARRIOR!

Emotional Eating Strategies

Like many of us, I’ve struggled with emotional eating my entire life. It wasn’t until the last few years that I began to see the effects of this behavior. It’s certainly not healthy for our hearts, our health, our longevity, and even our emotional health suffers. But I also began realizing that for many of us, we’ve told ourselves repeatedly that eating sugar or over-eating was a type of reward or comfort, when, in fact, it is a lie. But if you’ve been telling yourself this lie for decades, it’s challenging to relearn a healthier perspective.

I need to remind myself what the truth is and begin re-educating myself about a healthier lifestyle. I’ve been journaling about my thoughts for about a year now, meditating about it, collecting quotes, processing ideas, and paying attention to what I really do think, feel, and how I behave. I’ve realized so much about myself, and now I’ve come to a new juncture where I need to reinforce my new thoughts and feelings into new behaviors. Here is my new strategy: I’ve created a set of healthy eating quotes and inspirations that resonated with me. I printed and assembled them into 3x3” cards and painted them into colorful reminders. I’ll display a few each day on my photo holder and then journal and think about them each day.

I’ve copied the images below, to give you a sense of how this will work for me. Feel free to copy these if you’d like. Also, does anyone want to share any quotes or other tips? I’d love to hear from you.

STRESS MANAGEMENT VIDEO LINKS

Here are some videos I’ve selected that can help with stress management. They address what stress is, improving sleep, and meditation techniques. I share these with the Cardiac Rehab Phase II clients I serve.