Time to De-Stress
“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” – Sydney J. Harris Welcome to the February 2021 edition of TotalWellbeing, your guide to the 8 dimensions of wellbeing. This month it’s time to take a deep breath and de-stress. No matter how resilient you are, stress and anxiety can have an impact on your life in some way or another. It is important to be able to recognize the signs of stress and take steps to manage it on a day-to-day basis. This can be tricky as often we don’t feel as if we have time to take time for ourselves, but it is critical that we do so to avoid stress, burnout, and the symptoms that come with those including tension headaches, anxiety, insomnia, and other wellbeing issues. See below for some tips on managing stress with exercise as well as an infographic with more stress-related tips to help you unwind. Please remember that your EAP is here for you to provide a variety of resources to manage stress. You have access to free and confidential counseling, wellness coaching, work/life balance tools, and more! Plus, an online resource library full of proactive self-help tools. Visit PersonalAdvantage for helpful articles, tips, health assessments, stress tests, and more! To your total wellbeing, The MINES Team Managing Stress with Exercise Stress can make you feel drained, anxious, and even depressed. While there are several ways to manage runaway stress, none is as enjoyable and effective as a regular exercise routine. We all deal with stress in our lives—due to both minor and major events. Try utilizing some new coping strategies to help you deal with difficult times more effectively. “Numerous studies have shown exercise provides excellent stress-relieving benefits,” says Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. “And let’s face it, we all could do with less stress in our lives.” How It Works Exercise causes the brain to release endorphins, opium-like substances that ease pain and produce a sense of comfort and euphoria. It also encourages the nerve cells in the brain to secrete other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which improve mood. Read more… Remember, your Employee Assistance Program is here to help if you maintain your wellbeing and manage stress and anxiety. This includes counseling, self-help tools, wellness coaching, and more. If you need additional information, or to access services, please call MINES and Associates at 1-800-873-7138 today. Also, PersonalAdvantage has a ton of great resources and FREE webinars.
Stress/Health Infographic Click here to view and download the stress infographic from this month’s communication.
Question of the Month What is one way that you may be able to add a daily habit to manage stress? This could be a quick breathing exercise, a short meditation session, engaging with your favorite stress-relieving hobby, or anything else you use to keep your stress levels in check. What’s stopping you?
If you or a member of your household needs assistance or guidance on any of these wellbeing topics, please call MINES & Associates, your EAP, today for free, confidential, 24/7 assistance at 800.873.7138.
This Month’s Focus Free Webinar: Calm Down: Meditation and Relaxation Guide MINESblog: New to TW? Check out our past Blogs! Pandemic Fatigue The Art of Resolutions Important Links COVID19 Resource Page Visit our BLOG MINES and Associates Current Training Catalog Balanced Living Magazine LinkedIn MINES Archives Contact Us Email MINES
		MINES does not warrant the materials (Audio, Video, Text, Applications, or any other form of media or links) included in this communication have any connection to MINES & Associates, nor does MINES seek to endorse any entity by including these materials in this communication.  MINES accepts no liability for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided herein, nor any additional content that may be made available through any third-party site. We found them helpful, and hope you do too!

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The month of April is National Stress Awareness Month and this April, there are so many reasons to share stress management strategies. The outbreak of the Coronavirus has brought a mental health crisis next to the medical crisis.  In a recent Gallup Study published on April 14, 2020, life ratings plummeted to a 12-year low. The cause of the decline is due to “current satisfaction” and not looking forward to the future. The respondents’ daily stress levels have reached an “unprecedented magnitude.”

Here are some tips that can help manage stress and anxiety during this time:

1. Consider past coping strategies – You may not have been here before, but you have likely experienced difficult situations before where you had little to no control. What were some ways that you coped? It is good to think through which strategies worked well before and try to engage in some version of those strategies now. As you think through the strategies that worked well before, you may recall some that did not work well or were not healthy, make note of those too and try to avoid them.
2. Engage in a gratitude practice – Consider starting a gratitude log. Write down at least one thing that you are grateful for each day. After you have written down what you are grateful for, say it out loud and allow yourself to feel yourself cultivating gratitude. Noted benefits associated with gratitude include (Wellness Society, 2020):

• Positive mood
• Better sleep
• A stronger immune system
• Reduction in anxiety and stress

3. Limit media/social media – You can check updates on the virus from credible resources such as the CDC.gov and WHO.int. There are less than informed and polarizing perspectives throughout the media as well as our social media which can leave us feeling sad, frustrated, and powerless.
4. Practice centered breathing – Take a deep, slow breath filling up your abdomen.  Allow the breath to inflate your abdominal area.  As you exhale out all your air, hollow out the abdomen.  Become mindful of your breath and how it transforms your mind, body, and emotions.

• • Being centered:
    • is a psycho-physiological state that is strengthened through practice
    • allows you to be more authentic, sensitive, and open
    • produces emotional and physical stability
    • has a positive effect on relationships and the surrounding environment
    • has a great impact on developing trust
    • enables you to appreciate the nature of conflict
    • brings you to a point of clarity, the point of power
    • is always your choice, at any time

5. Make certainty statements – In a time where so much feels uncertain, making clear certainty statements can be a way to reduce anxiety. Examples include, “I am certain that I am a mother of three beautiful children,” “I am certain that I am a runner,” “I feel certain that the weather is sunny today.”

6. Check-in with friends and family- Checking in and extending yourself to others through texts, over the phone, video connections, emails, etc. This will not only help you feel less isolated and better connected but no doubt will be impactful to those who you are connecting with. You will boost their mental health as well as your own.

7. COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING EXERCISE

Irrational Beliefs:  A – B – C – D – E

Based on the work of Albert Ellis, Ph.D., human beings cause themselves grief, worry, and heartache based on a series of irrational beliefs.

Activating event such as a statement or comment

Belief that becomes self-talk

Consequence- emotional response

Dispute- what is the evidence?

Effect

To Your wellbeing,

– The MINES Team

If you or a household member are experiencing any stress, anxiety, or hardships that you would like to talk to someone about, please remember that your employee assistance program is here for you. MINES counselors are experienced and available. We offer counseling with licensed mental health professionals via telephone, video, and online text/message-based platforms.
The EAP is available 24/7 at 800-873-7138 or visit www.minesandassociates.com
For more resources related to COVID-19 and remote working please click here.

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How much is enough? Ratey stated that walking is enough. Low-intensity exercise is at 55 to 65% of maximum heart rate, moderate is 65-75% and high intensity is 75-90%. “The process of getting fit is all about building up your aerobic base” (p.251). Ratey goes on to discuss the role of strength training and flexibility as important elements of optimizing your brain chemistry and hormone levels.

What does this have to do with optimizing your performance at work and in all areas of your life? Everything! Get started today and stick with it.

Have a day filled with optimal brain chemistry,

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.
CEO & Psychologist

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While this blog is not meant to pick sides or say who is right and who is wrong, it is simply meant to say that something has to be done sooner rather than later. I have friends and family on both sides of the debate and on both sides of the need.

The Parity Act went into effect this past January to help people with behavioral issues. It was designed to make sure that people received the same behavioral care insurance coverage as someone with a medical issue. MINES & Associates provides several different types of behavioral care programs through employee benefit plans. Our Managed Behavioral Care Program provides high quality service to employees and at typically reduced rates to the employer.

Behavioral health is a part of the health care reform bill.

Some statistics from AARP magazine note the following:
– 1% of our population accounts for 24% of medical costs
– 5% of our population accounts for 49% of medical costs
– 10% of our population accounts for 64% of medical costs
– 50% of our population accounts for 97% of medical costs
– The remaining 50% of the population,
is the healthiest group and accounts for just 3% of medical costs

In 2006, health care costs for the +/- 300 million people living in the US was a staggering $2.1 Trillion.

Many Americans are stressed and worried about healthcare and MINES & Associates can help. Through our EAP (Employee Assistance Program) available to employees by their employers we can help. Whether you feel depressed about a medical condition, are worried about loved ones with no insurances, feel anxiety about what changes may effect you, or need financial assistance our trained counselors and therapists can help. We encourage you to check with your HR department for the name and contacts information of your EAP provider. Whether it is MINES & Associates or someone else, just know there are people ready to help you.

MINES & Associates is a 30 year old national business psychology firm providing EAPS, Managed Behavioral Care, Prescription Drug cost reduction plans, and BizPsych consulting. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. Allan Benson 720-979-8046
Have a good day!

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