MORE IDEAS FOR GETTING STARTED ON THE RESILIENCE RX

 Continuing on ways to fulfill your prescription for resilience. Our third action (actions one and two were discussed yesterday) is to Laugh it off!

Who doesn't love a good laugh? There is a reason a good laugh makes us feel better. Humor is a hit of pleasure that spikes dopamine and other feel-good brain chemicals. It increases positive emotions, broadening our thinking. With a more open mind, it's easier to engage in the reappraisal and perspective-shifting that help us deal with tough stuff. Humor has been linked to the lowering of both anxiety and catastrophizing thought patterns. It also helps you feel closer to others, which shores up your support network, another big factor in resilience. Science suggests that memes or jokes that take direct aim at pain points can be especially effective because they manage to combine the positive (laughing, humor) with the negative (struggle).

Humor...

• increases postive emotions
• broadens our thinking
• makes it easier to shift perspective

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IDEAS TO HELP GET STARTED ON THE RX PRESCRIPTION

Continuing on the topic of resilience. Yesterday's post gave a prescription for working on resilience. Today we will start talking about some of the ways to implement that prescription. 

Action number one: Reframe what's lame

Reframing or reinterpreting negative thoughts plays a vital role in resilience. Reframing helps prevent negative thoughts and feelings from acting like gremlins, because those negative emotions can multiply, intensify, and overwhelm one if they are left unchecked. Below are 3 tips to help reframe.

1. Swap "have to" for "get to"
2. Go from "why me?" to "why not me?"
3. Turn "to-don'ts" into to-do's"

Action number two: Find a role model

Nearly every one of the highly resilient people Dr. Charney and Dr. Southwick studied named at least one person they looked to for cues on how to behave in the face of, think about, and approach extreme stress. The person you choose could be anyone - a friend, a family member, a famous person, a child, etc. It can be someone who suffered similar hardships or someone who fought a totally different fight. Here is the important thing; when facing adversity, they embody the resilience you want to have, inspiring you and showing you a way forward.

In our next post we will continue with more helps.

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GETTING STARTED ON YOUR RX PRESCRIPTION

• If you have read the last two post on resilience, and you want to get started building your resilience, below are the three As of getting started.
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• Acceptance: Be okay with not being okay. Give yourself time and opportunity to feel your feelings.
• Acknowledgment: You need to own the fact that life itself isn't fair. Often there is no rhyme or reason for who suffers the most and why.
• Action: Taking action is a requirement. What is one tiny thing you can do to create momentum?

          Let's Go!

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A RESILIENCE RX

I am certainly no doctor, so I rely on those who are for my posts.  The following advice is from a couple of leading resilience researchers Dennis S. Charney, M.D., and Steven Southwick, M.D. Below is their 10-point Prescription for Resilience.

1. Optimism, or maintaining a positive attitude
2. Reframing negative or stressful thoughts
3. Developing a moral compass
4. Finding a resilient role model
5. Facing your fears
6. Developing active coping skills
7. Establishing and nurturing a supportive social network
8. Prioritizing your physical health and well-being
9. Training your brain
10. Playing to your strengths

Remember this: We're not competing in the Hardship Olympics. Your feelings are valid regardless of who "has it worse" than you.

RESILIENCE

Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or other significant sources of stress.

Resilience is linked to greater happiness, well-being, life satisfaction, success, and inner peace.

Physically, resilience keeps you healthier! Those who are highly resilient tend to have the ability to effectively manage or buffer extreme stress. They are also more likely to be able to neutralize or deal with it before it overwhelms them and damages their mental and physical health. 

Resilience also helps one recover more easily from illness or injury. Resilience helps one heal faster. I am proof of that. I have battled physical problems my entire life starting with severe allergies. I learned early on that one can give in or push on. I built up my resilience even in childhood when I didn't even understand it. One of my best examples to share is the story of my broken hip. I lost my husband and four months later I fell and broke my hip. Everyone, including my therapy staff, was amazed how quickly I bounced back. I was anxious to get back to my life and be home when my first great-grandchild was born. Guess what? I made it!

I once had a great doctor who told me, after a major diagnosis, "You can go home, lay down and die in a few months. Or you can go on with your life and live fairly normally." That was when I had three children in school. Resilience played a big part. I am now the grandmother of seven and great-grandmother to four.

Do you need to build up your resistance?  Tomorrow we will discuss ways to do just that.

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CAN HOW WELL YOU SLEEP AFFECT YOUR HEART?

Yes, sleeping well plays an important role in heart health. Sleeping poorly increases inflammation and can negatively affect blood pressure, diabetes and weight. Below are some ways to set yourself up for good sleep. If good sleep is a problem for you, check out the helpful hints below.

• Keep to a regular sleep-wake schedule seven days a week.
• The following things can mess with your sleep so avoid them; caffeine, a large meal, and alcohol.
• Stay away from your digital devices for at least an hour before your bedtime.
• Find some non-stimulating wind-down activities that relax you and tell your brain it's time to settle down.

If sound sleep seems to continue to be a problem for you, you may need to see your health care provider for further help.

Here's to a good sleep!

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SMOKING AND VAPING INCREASE HEART ATTACK RISK

I think most people now know that smoking is not good for your health and that includes your heart. Be aware that smoking includes vaping or e-cigarettes. Vaping causes an increase in blood pressure and heart rate and is associated with a greater risk of stroke or heart attack. If you are not able to stop smoking or vaping on your own, talk to your doctor. He/she knows of programs and/or medications to help you break the smoking habit.

 

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INFLAMMATION AND HEART RISK=A BAD COMBINATION

Another reason to treat inflammation in the body is that inflammation and heart risk go hand in hand. There is the fleeting inflammation our bodies use to fight off injury but that is not what we are talking about. There is also chronic inflammation or inflammation that becomes constant, and it can have a negative impact on the heart. Untreated chronic inflammation does play a role in cardiovascular changes that may up one's heart disease risk. Your doctor may do blood work to check the inflammation in your body. What can you do? Exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables are good anti-inflammatory habits to establish.

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IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE SIGNS OF A HEART ATTACK

It is important to know the signs of a heart attack; it could save your life. If not your life, possibly the life of a friend or loved one. One you have probably heard several times, but it is still applicable, is the "elephant on the chest" one. Never ignore that sign which applies to both men and women. But women beware that women often have no chest pain. When I had a heart attack many years ago, I became very lightheaded and nauseous. The stomach flu was going around at work, so I assumed I had caught it. Thankfully, my late husband was watching me and caught me as I started to fall. I never had chest pain.

In addition to the elephant on the chest feeling, below are more signs of a heart attack you should be aware of:

• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort
• A cold sweat, lightheadedness, or fainting
• Pain in the back, the neck, the jaw, the stomach, or one or both arms
• Nausea or vomiting

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WOMEN AND HEART DISEASE

Women are you aware you have what some cardiologist call "bonus" heart disease risk factors? In additions to the risk factors, you share with men. such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, etc women have a few more. Nieca Goldberg M.D., a NYC cardiologist says doctors don't talk enough about the sometimes pregnancy-related complications such as preeclampsia, preterm birth, and gestational diabetes that can affect health years later. If you ever suffered any of those complications after giving birth, you should mention them even years later if talking to your cardiologist or any doctor discussing your heart health.

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