Balancing Physical, Mental, and Emotional Well-being

Restoring and Maintaining Physical, Mental and Emotional Balance Bob Van Oosterhout, MA, LLP, LMSW Lansing Community College 2014 TRENDS Conference Traverse City, MI October, 16, 2014 1

Causes of Imbalance Lack of sleep (less than 7-8 hours on regular basis) Overwork, lack of effective support Exhaustion, insufficient recovery time Stress Conceptual and Structural Emotion Pushing, driving, trying too hard Limited variety and contrast in activities (social/alone, active/quiet, work/recreation, etc.) 2

How it Works: Interaction of Body, Mind/Perception and Emotion Body Autonomic Nervous system balance is key Tension builds if not released Increasing physical tension activates crisis mode affecting mind, perception, and emotion Mind Experience forms neural pathways --road analogy Worry & recycling negative thought build tension 3

How it Works: (cont.) Understanding Perception Frame Conceptual habits, beliefs, attitude Filter Emotional state Focus What we pay attention to Understanding another s Frame, Filter, and Focus requires balance and is key to healthy relationships and effective problem solving. Perceptual restrictions/habits create a view of reality that make it easy to slip into crisis mode 4

How it Works: (cont.) Understanding Emotion The function of emotion is to provide a quick assessment of the current situation, to help us connect with other people, and to get us moving. All humans (and many animals) share the capacity to experience the same emotions Emotions are physical experiences. The full experience of emotion is blocked by tensing and breath holding 5

Understanding Emotion (cont.) There are four kinds of emotion Momentary emotion response to immediate perception Conceptual emotion response to thought Structural emotion response to habit of resisting emotion and/or trauma Attitude/Motivation develops in response to beliefs/values and emotional habits Conceptual and structural emotion stimulate the build-up of mental and physical tension when they don t fit the current situation 6

Effects of Being Out of Balance: Shift to Fight or Flight / Crisis Mode Escalating Physical, Mental/Perceptual, Emotional tension Narrow vision, limited receptivity and learning Pressure, hurry, Increased reactivity More errors, less efficiency, no creativity Short-term focus, easily distracted, procrastination Return to old methods, Increased rigidity More self-centered, less empathic, need control Diminished capacity for recovery 7

Effects of Crisis Mode -Each area of tension feeds the other creating a self-escalating process between body/mind/emotion --Increasing tension diminishes awareness of the effects of being out of balance Body -Feel exhausted and/or driven -Health maintenance/recovery suppressed -Overstimulation of sympathetic nervous system creates autonomic nervous system imbalance, stress hormone release and suppresses parasympathetic nervous system 8

Effects of Crisis Mode (cont.) Mind/Perception Build-up of tension draws mind to ask and focus on What s wrong? Negative thinking/recycling builds more tension Focus increasingly narrow, scattered, negative Thinking is pressured/hurried, short-term Reduced receptivity, learning and memory Emotion Full experience of emotion is blocked by muscle tension and breath holding Reactive ( sunburn response ) and/or numb Decreasing sensitivity and empathy 9

Restoring and Maintaining Physical Balance Restore long-term balance to autonomic nervous system through regular practice (6-10 x daily for 2-6 weeks) of Natural Rhythmic Breathing, which activates parasympathetic nervous system Become aware of and resolve patterns of tension through regular practice of Grounding ( 2-5 X daily), which counters patterns of muscle tension Three Videos: Diaphragmatic Breathing, Resolving Problems with Natural Rhythmic Breathing, Grounding http://bobvanoosterhout.com/id113.html 10

Restoring and Maintaining Mental Balance Develop capacity to redirect thought by creating established mental pathway through regular repetition (1000 x daily) of a Rhythm Phrase. Develop the capacity to be aware of and the ability to redirect thought through regular meditation Develop a habit of clarifying the direction and appropriateness of current thinking Videos: Clearing your Mind, Meditation, How to Stop Worrying http://bobvanoosterhout.com/id113.html 11

Restoring and Maintaining Emotional Balance Shift perceptions and redirect thinking when emotions may interfere with the task at hand Avoid tensing and breath holding during emotional times to allow the full, momentary experience of emotion Separate thought from emotion to prevent emotional recycling when responding to structural emotion or memories from the past Four Videos Understanding Emotion, PTSD, Depression, Dealing with Loss http://bobvanoosterhout.com/id113.html 12

Restoring and Maintaining Perceptual Balance Be aware of how our own frames, filters and focus limit perception, understanding, and empathy Develop perceptual flexibility and understanding by developing the ability and inclination to view situations through the frames, filters, focus of others. Incorporate Components of Clear Perception into perspective 13

Components of Clear Perception Compassion Personal Responsibility Hope Humility 14

Compassion recognizes the dignity and potential of each person. It involves looking at life from another person s perspective without judgment while understanding how circumstances contributed to forming his or her behavior, attitude, and outlook. True Compassion requires the capacity to briefly experience the emotions and perspective of another. Compassion connects, includes, and opens. It allows other people to be fully themselves in our presence. Compassion is not a concept; it is something we experienced together. We are touched by compassion and it allows us to touch and be in touch with others. 15

Personal Responsibility recognizes that each person (including ourself) has unique gifts and potential along with the ability to respond and contribute. Personal Responsibility involves finding balance between the needs of a situation and the capabilities and limitations of participants. Personal Responsibility rejects the authoritarian term should and avoids blame, guilt, and resentment. It simply looks at what each participant (particularly oneself) can realistically do to improve work, relationships, organizations, and communities. 16

Hope realizes that there is an effective way to handle each situation and that every experience presents a learning opportunity. Hope believes that each one of us has an inborn capacity to improve our lives and world. Hope resides in our hearts and in our souls. Humility involves recognizing our inter- dependence and inter-connectedness along with the effects of our actions on others. Humility allows us to see ourselves as part of a greater whole, to realize that we have a significant, but limited role, and to explore how and where we best fit in contributing to and improving our world. 17

Everything* is easier to the extent you are in Balance and more difficult to the extent you are out of balance. *Except anxiety, anger, mistakes, misunderstanding, panic attacks, heart attacks, depression, conflict, psychosis, procrastination, etc. (Procrastination is a guilt-ridden attempt to restore Balance) 18

Components of Balance Physical Emotional Autonomic nervous system balance Parasympathetic activated when not physically active Not building muscle tension Adequate capacity for recovery Able to allow full experience of emotion without tension or breath-holding Able to separate emotion from thought to avoid emotional recycling Able to briefly experience other s emotions 19

Components of Balance (cont.) Mental Thought Recognize direction and likely effects of thought Able to redirect and clarify thinking when not helpful or productive Perception Flexible frame Clear, receptive filter Adaptable Focus Components of Clear Perception Compassion Personal Responsibility Hope Humility 20

Balance involves Seeing clearly with an open heart (We cannot see clearly by ourselves) 21

Balance Is A Choice When you make balance your highest priority, you can more effectively prioritize and manage other demands 22

Long-Term Effects of Maintaining Balance True Nature vs Adaptive Nature 23

Additional Information Videos on Balance Techniques and topics related to this presentation can be viewed at: http://bobvanoosterhout.com/id113.html Additional articles, information and presentation handouts can be viewed at www.bobvanoosterhout.com Book: Van Oosterhout, Slow Down and Lighten Up: Letting Go of Stress and Tension, 2001. Available through Amazon.com Email Bob: Bob@bobvanoosterhout.com 24