Be Your Best! Reduce Your Stress

 The words “teen” and “stress” are synonyms. The tumultuous teenage years span a period of growth from young teens, stressed about fitting in; becoming more independent of their parents, to older teens, stressed about getting a job or  going to college and moving fully into lives of their own. From pimples to peer pressure, to academic competition, to popularity contests, to cliques, to clothes, to standardized tests—stress is built into the teenage years. And in the case of teens today, who are considered “digital natives” all of the social media activities — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram— the list goes on—where you’re on display 24/7/365. How can teens deal with all of this? What’s a way to get through rather than breaking down? One path that is gaining worldwide popularity is “mindfulness,” which is all about how to stay in the present moment and be observant about one’s thoughts and feelings rather than get embroiled in them.  One great description of mindfulness is by Jon Kabat-Zinn, a leader in the mindfulness movement, who said, “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” What is mindfulness all about and how can it help teens with all the stresses that they have as they transition from middle school to high school and from high school to a job or college?   Our guest on this episode — Dr. Dzung Vo — tackles these questions.  Dr. Vo is the author of the recently published book, The Mindful Teen: Powerful Skills to Help You Handle Stress One Moment at a Time.  Dr. Vo is a pediatrician who specializes in adolescent medicine in Vancouver, British Columbia. On  staff at Columbia Children’s Hospital, he is also an assistant professor on the Faculty of Medicine at the the University of British Columbia.  Dr Vo created his own website, which is a treasure chest of supportive material, including downloadable sound files of meditations, worksheets, and other helpful information. Whether your a teen, a parent of one, or a teacher or someone who works with teens, this episode will gives tools and theory to support the journey called “the teenage years.”  Stress definitely affects a teen’s performance— academically, socially, athletically, on stage and in every area of his or her life. For more about stress and performance you can explore Dr. B’s website and his training model for reducing stress to be your best.  

We’re all looking for ways to reduce our stress. We try going to the gym, we take classes, go for walks, listen to music and play sports. These may be helpful in reducing stress, but may not get at the root causes. Often stress is caused by physical issues (stomach pain, headaches, high blood pressure). People try going to their primary care physician, but sometimes they may not get the relief they need and they seek alternative or complementary treatments. There are naturopaths, chiropractors, massage therapists, homeopaths…the list goes on. One particular treatment that has steadily gained attention over the last thirty years is acupuncture. People seek acupuncture for many different issues, from back pain to depression. There’s a lot of research about the effectiveness of acupuncture, but there is also evidence that there may be a placebo effect going on: people feel better because they’re going to a professional, and it doesn’t matter where the needles are placed. How does acupuncture work? Is it right for you? What should you expect from acupuncture treatment? These are some of the questions we discuss with Dr. Jay Sordean, who heads The Redwood Clinic, in Berkeley, California. Join the conversation. For more information about Dr. B, visit his web site.      

When you think about going to the dentist does your jaw clench? Does your stomach churn? Or do you avoid thinking about it all together? You are not alone. The fear of going to the dentist is pervasive: fear of pain, fear of needles, fear of costs, fear of being lectured at, fear of being out of control. The list goes on. There are websites devoted to dental fears (check them out!). Going to the dentist is essential, not only for your oral health, but for the health of your entire body. If you’re afraid of going to the dentist listen in. In this episode Dr. B talks with Dr. Todd Beck, DDS, who practices general dentistry in Portland, Oregon. He was appointed by the Governor to be a member of the Oregon Board, and is a part-time faculty member at the Dental School at the Oregon Health and Sciences University. Dr. Beck’s answers to Dr. B’s challenging questions will give you the guidance and tips you need to make the appointment with your dentist and take charge of your health. If you’ve avoided the dentist now is the time to learn how to reduce your stress and take action about this important part of your health—not just in your mouth but in your whole body! Join Dr. B as he talks with Dr. Beck about the stresses of being a dental patient and what you should look for—and expect—in a good dentist.        

Here’s a startling statistic: did you know that every year in the United States over 1.2 million students drop out of high school? That’s one student every 26 seconds – or 7,000 a day. Maybe you don’t have a child in high school, or your kids have graduated, but this statistic has meaning for all of us. It means we’re losing the potential that lies in each one of those students—many of whom could go on to make a significant contribution to our national community. In other words, this statistic is not just a number, it’s a national tragedy: These are the next generation of Americans—who could become leaders in any number of fields—teachers, doctors, lawyers, administrators, fathers, engineers, who can make contributions in their own ways to the country and the world. But mostly fall off the map because they didn’t complete their high school education. A lot of what’s behind this statistic is test stress. Students, particularly those less advantaged, can’t make cut on tests. Tests are simply too stressful. American education has been a history of reform—most recently, No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and now the Common Core standards. But the foundation of very reform has been test scores—teachers salaries rise and fall, school budgets swell or get cut, all because of test scores. Everyone is looking at test scores. Very carefully. The pressure is really great There have been court cases of teachers and administrators faking test results, and last April a principal in NY committed suicide after she admitted forging answers on her 3rd graders English tests. After 40 years as a teacher I can tell you definitively that test stress is hurting everyone—our students, teachers, parents and our nation. And that high drop out statistic is, in my view, in large part because those students are not passing tests. It’s not because they don’t have the smarts, it’s not because they don’t have the potential, it’s because our educational system is not offering them the platform they need to to succeed. Joining the conversation today is Steve Hope, who is the principal of Penn High School in Mishawaga, Indiana. Steve attended a workshop I gave in San Franis at the Learning and the Brain Conference – the workshop was on “Educating for Creative Minds.” Steve liked the workshop and the next thing I know my book, “A Teen’s Guide to Success” was chosen as a key text for the Early College Academy at Penn High School. Listen to how they reverse the national statistic and keep students in school. For more information on me— Dr. B– please visit my website.

Life is one change after another. There are the small daily ones — a change in your calendar, you get an unexpected call, you have to take the bus to work rather than drive.  But it’s the big changes that really test your mettle with all the stressors they create:  leaving home and going off to college and suddenly you’re surrounded by people you don’t know and on a schedule you didn’t create;  starting a new job with all kinds of rules and regulations that you need to learn right away; meeting someone and getting married; having kids. One big change that turns out to be unexpectedly stressful for many is the transition into retirement. The halo of “having time to smell the roses” quickly fades when you find that you miss the daily routine of going to a job and now don’t know what to do with yourself. Worse, you don’t know what to do with your partner. Of course this doesn’t apply to all couples, but significantly the divorce rate for couples over 50 has doubled since 1990 and more than doubled for couples over 65.  What’s going on with the steadily rising rate of “gray divorce”? Joining this episode of BE YOUR BEST! REDUCE YOUR STRESS is Dr. Sara Yogev, a clinical psychologist in Chicago who works with individuals and couples.  Dr. Yogev’s comprehensive book, A Couple’s Guide to Happy Retirement, covers the sometimes rocky terrain a couple faces when one or both retire.  She has a lot to say to those in retirement about everyday issues of housework, money, and family and how these stressors can be channeled into productive, mutually satisfying decisions and plans that can actually bring a couple closer together rather than split them apart. You can find Dr. Yogev on the web.   For more information about Dr. B, explore his website.

Parenting can be joyous, wonderful, wondrous, downright difficult, chaotic and… stressful. As a parent, you never know what’s coming next:  your son falls off his bike and fractures his wrist; the baby is screaming and you can’t figure out why; your teenager is off to…where? doing what?; your partner is all huffed up about something you said—or didn’t say— and you’re just plain exhausted. How do you keep it all going? How do you reduce your stress to perform at your best? That’s the subject of this episode. We’re in conversation with Michelle H. Packard, author of Family Ever After and Stressed Out! for Parents (which she co-wrote with Dr. B). Michelle is also the mother of five children—from 3 months to 11 years, and has a degree in Home and Family Science. (She sure puts that to good use!)  Join us for this lively, informative conversation. To find out more about Dr. B visit his website.  

 The words “teen” and “stress” are synonyms. The tumultuous teenage years span a period of growth from young teens, stressed about fitting in; becoming more independent of their parents, to older teens, stressed about getting a job or  going to college and moving fully into lives of their own. From pimples to peer pressure, to academic competition, to popularity contests, to cliques, to clothes, to standardized tests—stress is built into the teenage years. And in the case of teens today, who are considered “digital natives” all of the social media activities — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram— the list goes on—where you’re on display 24/7/365. How can teens deal with all of this? What’s a way to get through rather than breaking down? One path that is gaining worldwide popularity is “mindfulness,” which is all about how to stay in the present moment and be observant about one’s thoughts and feelings rather than get embroiled in them.  One great description of mindfulness is by Jon Kabat-Zinn, a leader in the mindfulness movement, who said, “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” What is mindfulness all about and how can it help teens with all the stresses that they have as they transition from middle school to high school and from high school to a job or college?   Our guest on this episode — Dr. Dzung Vo — tackles these questions.  Dr. Vo is the author of the recently published book, The Mindful Teen: Powerful Skills to Help You Handle Stress One Moment at a Time.  Dr. Vo is a pediatrician who specializes in adolescent medicine in Vancouver, British Columbia. On  staff at Columbia Children’s Hospital, he is also an assistant professor on the Faculty of Medicine at the the University of British Columbia.  Dr Vo created his own website, which is a treasure chest of supportive material, including downloadable sound files of meditations, worksheets, and other helpful information. Whether your a teen, a parent of one, or a teacher or someone who works with teens, this episode will gives tools and theory to support the journey called “the teenage years.”  Stress definitely affects a teen’s performance— academically, socially, athletically, on stage and in every area of his or her life. For more about stress and performance you can explore Dr. B’s website and his training model for reducing stress to be your best.

When you think about sports, the word “stress” immediately jumps to mind. Whether you’re playing on the football field, the basketball court, in the swimming pool, at the track, or on the baseball diamond  you’re going to experience stress. The pressure to perform well, the desire to be your best, the need to win, having all those eyes looking at you, judging you, cheering or booing you — it all amounts to a lot of stress.  Whether your playing little league baseball or are on the Olympic soccer team, stress is an integral part of your picture. How do athletes experience stress and how do they reduce it?  These are the questions in this episode for our guest, Dr. Alison Rhodius, a sport psychology specialist and  Chair of the Department of Sport Psychology at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasanton, California. She trains elite — Olympic — athletes all over the world. including working at the Olympic Games themselves. Her online presence is a novel podcast called “Wee Chats with Brilliant People,” where she talks with successful people across a whole range of disciplines and work situations about how they achieve their success. Join us in this episode to learn about how stress affects athletes —from the little leagues to the major leagues—and gain insight and tips that they use that can be helpful for you to reduce the stress in your life. As a performance coach who works with athletes Dr. Ben Bernstein, the host, knows that the way athletes do their best is by knowing how to reduce their stress. Visit Dr. B’s website for more information.  

Stress can totally derail us. While just the right amount of stress can be helpful in giving you the “juice” you need to perform, you may often become stressed out— at home, at work, or at school. This brings on “the stress response”— turning on the “fight or flight” response. The stress hormones—adrenaline and cortisol— start pumping through your system and you become flooded by emotions, especially anxiety and depression.   You either try to beat the stress down (“I shouldn’t be feeling this way!”), or you want to  bolt — to run away from it, hide under the covers, wishing it would all go away. All of this debilitates you: you feel exhausted, your work suffers, you loose interest in what you’re doing, or you don’t do it well. This has an adverse effect on your work, your quality of life,  and your relationships on the job and at home. On this episode we’re in conversation with Christy Matta, MA, author of The Stress Response: How Dialectical Behavior Therapy Can Free You from Needless Anxiety, Worry, Anger & Other Symptoms of Stress.  Christy has worked in mental health for over twenty years as a clinician, trainer and administrator specializing in the treatment of emotion deregulation and behavioral problems. Do check out her informative, helpful website. We’re talking about what the stress response is — how can you recognize it in yourself?  And we’re offering specific tools:  how can you reduce your stress and improve your performance in whatever you’re doing?  As we know, stress impacts performance in every area of life, whether you’re an executive, a caretaker, an athlete, a parent,  or a student. You can explore Dr. B’s website for more information.