Peace of Mind: How chronic stress affects overall wellbeing
Peace of Mind: How chronic stress affects overall wellbeing
WEEK, IT'S GOING TO GET A LITTLE BIT COOLER JENNIFER: THIS MORNING WE'RE LEARNING MORE ABOUT HOW TO MANAGE YOUR ANXIETY. IT'S PART OF WBAL'S PEACE OF MIND CAMPAIGN, FOCUSING ON MENTAL HEALTH. OUR GUEST, DR. NET TA GOULD AT THE BAYVIEW ANXIETIES DISORDERS CLINIC AND DIRECTOR OF THE MINDFULNESS PROGRAM. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. UH-OH. I CAN'T HEAR YOU. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. JENNIFER: YOU'RE VERY WELCOME. WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU. ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS HOW YOU CAN DEAL WITH THE TOLL THAT THE CHRONIC STRESS HAS ON THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL BEING. >> SURE. YOU KNOW, I THINK MINDFULNESS MEDITATION IS A TOOL I FOUND VERY HELPFUL. IT'S BASICALLY PRACTICING BRINGING ATTENTION TO THE PRESENT MOMENT. AND ONE THING THAT CONTRIBUTES TO STRESS IS THOUGHTS THAT TAKE US AWAY FROM THE PRESENT. DURING PERIODS OF THAT, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE, WORRYING. MINDFULNESS IS A TOOL TO PRACTICE GROUNDING YOURSELF IN THE PRESENT. >> THAT CAN SOUND A LITTLE WOO WOO TO SOME PEOPLE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? >> YES. IT CAN. BUT REALLY, IT'S SIMPLE. I MEAN, THE CONCEPT IS SIMPLE. THE PRACTICE ISN'T NECESSARILY EASY TO DO BECAUSE WE TEND TO NOT BE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT A LOT OF THE TIME. BUT IT'S REALLY NOTING WHEN OUR MIND IS GOING DOWN A PATH OF WORRYING, NOTING WHEN WE ARE GOING FOR A WALK AND WE'RE THINKING ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO PLAN FOR DINNER, BEGINNING TO NOTICE MOMENTS WHEN OUR THOUGHTS AREN'T ALIGNED WITH OUR BEHAVIORS OR ACTIVITIES AND JUST COMING BACK TO OUR SENSES, NOTICING WHAT WE'RE HEARING AND SEEING AND SMELLING AND REALLY TRYING TO BE PRESENT FOR THOSE MOM MOMENTS. JENNIFER: WHAT ARE TOOLS TO HELP US STAY IN THE MOMENT? >> THERE ARE FORMAL WAYS TO SIT AND MEDITATE. YOU CAN USE APPS. YOU CAN USE GUIDED MEDITATION. SIMPLE TOOLS I WOULD RECOMMEND PAUSING, TAKING A FEW DEEP BREATH AS FEW TIMES A DAY. WE TEND NOT TO EVEN DO THAT. NOTICE AS I MENTIONED YOUR SENSES. WHAT ARE YOU HEARING OR SEEING? OUR SENSES ARE ALWAYS IN THE PRESENT TO GROUND US BACK INTO THE PRESENT. ALSO, AS I MENTIONED, BEGIN TO CATCH THOSE MOMENTS WHEN YOUR THOUGHTS ARE GOING DOWN THAT RABBIT HOLE, WHEN YOU'RE WORRYING AND JUST COME BACK TO SOMETHING THAT'S RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. >> DESCRIBE THE BENEFITS OF WORRYING AND SOME OF THE WAYS YOU'RE WASTING YOUR TIME BY WORRYING. THERE ARE CERTAIN SITUATIONS YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT. >> YES, THAT'S SO TRUE. SO WERERYING DOES HAVE A ROLE IN OUR LIVES, ABSOLUTELY. IT HELPS US PLAN, HELPS US BE PREPARED FOR DANGER. BUT SOMETIMES IT GOES AWRY. WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME WORRYING ABOUT A SITUATION YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT. THOSE MOMENTS, WE BEGIN TO ASK OURSELVES IS THERE SOMETHING I CAN DO? IF SO, WHAT ARE THE STEPS I NEED TO TAKE? IF NOT, LET ME NOTE THAT WORRY, LABEL IT, AND COME BACK TO SOMETHING IN THIS MOMENT. JENNIFER: THERE IS ACTUAL RESEARCH THAT SUPPORTS THE BENEFITS OF PRACTICING MINDFULNESS ON YOUR MENTAL AND YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH. >> ABSOLUTELY. AND I THINK THAT THAT IS FOR PEOPLE WHO THINK, OH, WHAT IS THIS THING THAT I'M HEARING SO MUCH ABOUT. THERE'S SO MUCH SCIENCE. THERE'S DECADES OF SCIENCE THAT SUPPORT ITS USEFULNESS FOR REDUCING STRESS, FOR DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, FOR PAIN AND A LOT OF OTHER AREAS WE'RE BEGINNING TO LEARN HOW BENEFICIAL THIS CAN BE. JENNIFER: FOR PEOPLE WHO FIND IT DIFFICULT TO SORT OF STAND STILL AND BE IN THE MOMENT, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUICK SUGGESTIONS TO GET STARTED, LIKE MAYBE IF YOU CAN DO IT FOR 30 SECONDS OR MAYBE A MINUTE AT A TIME >> SHULT ABSOLUTELY. I STARTED WITH A MIN A DAY AND WENT FROM THERE. TAKE A SECOND. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS GOING ON. THE CICADAS, LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS, NOTICE THE SIGHTS. BEGIN WITH A MINUTE A DAY, MAYBE THE NEXT WEEK GO TO A COUPLE OF MINUTES. AND THE OTHER THING IS IF YOU DO HAVE TROUBLE SITTING STILL, YOU CAN WALK MINDFULLY. PUT YOUR CELL PHONE AWAY AND GO FOR A WALK. NOTICE YOUR FEET COMING INTO CONTACT WITH THE GROUND. IT'S NOT EASY. THIS IS A MUSCLE WE HAVE TO BUILD, SO TO SPEAK. SO DON'T GET FRUSTRATED WITH YOURSELF IF ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU'RE NOT VERY AWARE AND MINDFUL. IT'S A LIFE-LONG PROCESS. JENNIFER: IT TAKES TIME. DR. GOULD, THANK YOU
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Peace of Mind: How chronic stress affects overall wellbeing
Dr. Neda Gould, director of the Johns Hopkins Mindfulness Program, explains how chronic stress affects our mental and physical well-being.MORE:Mindfulness MeditationReducing stress through deep breathingFree guided meditationsNeed Stress Relief? Try Mindfulness Meditation
BALTIMORE —
Dr. Neda Gould, director of the Johns Hopkins Mindfulness Program, explains how chronic stress affects our mental and physical well-being.
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