All Stress Begins with our Thoughts

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  By Michael Olpin | August 19, 2011 - 6:05 PM | stress prevention
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All stress begins with a thought. It isn’t what’s happening “out there” that initiates the stress response. It’s how we interpret what’s happening “out there” that causes us to become stressed or not. We call this a perception of a threat. If we think this situation will lead to some kind of pain (emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical), we turn on the stress response automatically to prepare for the potential pain. The potential pain is what we call a “threat.” Prevention of stress, then, is best done by focusing on our thoughts, by changing how we think about those things we think are threatening.

This first Blog looks directly at our thoughts and some things we can ask ourselves to help us prevent stress:

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Parable of the Stacked Stones

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  By Michael Olpin | August 24, 2011 - 11:18 PM | stress prevention
29 Comments

stacked stones on lots of small rocksI love to bike, hike, and run in the hills and mountains of northern and southern Utah. I love the workout of going up. I love the thrill and speed of coming down. Best of all, I love the views I get when I reach the tops of the trails. (more…)

Breathing Techniques Reduce Test Anxiety and Increase Performance

  By Shanyn Olpin | September 27, 2011 - 1:06 PM | College Stress, Student Stress
35 Comments
35 - Get Ready, Get Set, Write

Image by Holtsman via Flickr

Have you ever been disappointed with a test score because you knew you could have done better but were just so nervous you didn’t do your best? How about on a job interview, or when giving an important presentation? It turns out just by breathing a certain way, you can increase your performance, here’s how. (more…)

Managing the Waves and Leaks in Time

  By Michael Olpin | September 21, 2011 - 2:28 PM | College Stress
11 Comments
Bodysurfing in La Jolla California.

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When I was fourteen years old, I went to California with a group of kids my age. We went to Santa Monica Beach to see the ocean. None of us had been there before so this was a real treat for us. When we got there, we decided to try bodysurfing. We saw others doing it and it looked fun and much less difficult than regular surfing. Soon we learned how it was done and found ourselves out in the water preparing for the waves to come our way.

When a large wave approached, I started swimming as hard as I could hoping to time it perfectly. I found myself riding the wave in toward the shore. Suddenly, the wave pulled me down, headfirst into the sand under the water. I hit with a strong force, but I was okay. I gathered myself and came up for air only to have another wave pound me again. Down I went to the ocean floor. I lost all control. The only thought that came to my mind was that I needed to get above the water to get some air. I struggled and finally made it to the surface. Gasping for air, another wave knocked me off my feet and sent me quickly back down to the sandy sea floor.

This struggle with the sea lasted two more waves. At that point, my energy was spent. Fortunately, the waves had pulled me close enough to the shore where my friends, who saw what was happening, quickly dragged me to safety. I rested for quite some time until I regained sufficient strength to go back out into the ocean.

When people tell me about their days and about how they spend their time, it sounds a lot like my experience that day in the ocean. Wave after wave of stressful events knock them off their feet. They are barely able to come up for air when another “wave” hits them. Soon, they (more…)

Do I Have Insomnia?

  By Shanyn Olpin | September 21, 2011 - 2:14 PM | Uncategorized
19 Comments
A child sleeping.

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Insomnia is generally taking longer than 20-25 minutes to fall asleep which occurs more than three times a week.1 According to Sleep Expert Michael J. Breus, PhD., at any given time, one third of the population will have trouble falling asleep, and ten percent of those have chronic insomnia.

This means a myriad of extra health problems for many chronic non-sleepers, not to mention the frustration of not being able to fall asleep when you know you need it. (See Sleep – Frequently Asked Questions for more help and information on health problems associated with not getting a good night’s rest).

There are many things that may affect your ability to fall asleep including the amount of (more…)

How Do Books and Downloads Relieve My Stress?

  By Michael Olpin | September 3, 2011 - 1:32 AM | Uncategorized
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When you are under stress, your autonomic nervous system thinks you are being threatened and turns on the stress response. This is the mechanism that helps you get out of dangerous situations. Some people refer to it as being in “fight or flight” mode.

Hormones like adrenaline and cortisol rush through the body. The heart beat, breathing rate, and blood pressure increases. Blood and energy is diverted away from things like digestion and the immune system to places like muscles which may need extra energy to escape danger. This response is designed to be short-lived, only on for a few minutes at a time.

The problem is that most of the time we are stressed, our bodies are not in physical (more…)

The Science Behind the Power Nap

  By Shanyn Olpin | August 30, 2011 - 11:12 AM | Uncategorized
37 Comments

Want to take a nap, but don’t feel like you have the time? You are probably like a lot of Americans who find they are lagging in the late afternoon – tired, lethargic, irritable, brain turned to mush – sound familiar?

Before you turn to the vending machines or a nasty energy drink that just postpones the crash, try a short nap instead. These naps are not only free, but quick and extremely effective, even more effective in fact, than (more…)

Relax with this Easy Breathing Technique

  By Michael Olpin | August 30, 2011 - 11:02 AM | Uncategorized
5 Comments

Have you ever asked yourself today, “How’s my breathing?” It seems like an odd question, but breathing is the foundational component of most relaxation exercises. (more…)

The Best Relationship Medicine

  By Shanyn Olpin | August 30, 2011 - 10:21 AM | mindfulness, stress prevention
32 Comments

One night a few years ago, I was in a deep sleep when I began to feel the presence of someone else very close to my face. I opened my eyes to find my 6 year old daughter staring at me from about three inches away. Startled and a bit freaked out, I jumped up to find she had apparently been there for a while, wondering if she should wake me.

“Mommy, I had a bad dream.” I took a deep breath and asked her what it was about. “There was a monster in my closet.”

From here, I did exactly the wrong thing as you will soon see. I said, (more…)

Sleep – Frequently Asked Questions

  By Shanyn Olpin | August 30, 2011 - 9:46 AM | Sleep
9 Comments

Sleep, or lack of it, affects us in many ways. Our health, immune system, mental acuity, emotional state, relationships, physical growth, performance, and even our waistline is affected by our quality of sleep. For many of us, this good quality sleep is getting harder to come by. Here are some answers on how to get the best sleep possible. (more…)

Overcome Stress with Creativity

  By Shanyn Olpin | August 30, 2011 - 9:32 AM | mindfulness, stress prevention
6 Comments

One of the least used, but best ways to overcome stress is through creativity. Think about

A wheat farm

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it, what could be worse than being overwhelmed and thinking there is no way out?

Creativity means thinking outside of the box, coming up with other options however crazy they may be, and trying new ideas. Creativity means freedom and it can really help your stress levels too. (more…)

Natural Anxiety Relief

  By Michael Olpin | August 30, 2011 - 8:43 AM | Eating Well, stress prevention, Student Stress
10 Comments

Want to help overcome stress in a natural way? How about by eating food? Sounds good, but you must eat a certain way to make eating an effective anxiety remedy. (more…)