Uncertainty and change getting through by getting better

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Uncertainty and Change: Getting Through By Getting Better Lifestage, Inc www.lifestage.org

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Resilience and emotional intelligence are internal sources of personal power that research shows reduces the negative effects of stress on mind and body - and fuels the creative energy we need to solve problems during tough times. This power point was developed for workshops offered to people suffering long-term losses after Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey.

Transcript of Uncertainty and change getting through by getting better

  • 1. Uncertainty and Change:Getting Through By Getting BetterLifestage, Incwww.lifestage.org

2. The Uses of AdversitySweet are the uses ofadversity,Which, like the toad, uglyand venomous,Wears yet a precious jewel inhis head;And this our life, exemptfrom public haunt,Finds tongues in trees,books in the running brooks,Sermons in stones, and goodin everything.Duke Senior, As You Like It, Act II, Scene 1The struggle to bounce back andrecover from setbacks can lead todeveloping strengths and abilitiesthat you didnt know werepossible. Dr. Alan Siebert, The Five Levels ofResilience www.resiliencycenter.com 3. Life is full of change and uncertainty. We knowthis. We experience it on a daily basis. Carre OtisYour mind andhabits willcreate eitherbarriers orbridges to abetter future.Dr. Alan Siebert, The Five Levels ofResilience www.resiliencycenter.com 4. Uncertainty triggers a sense of threatin the brain and bodyThreats to safety producea cocktail of chemicals andhormones that aredesigned for survival:The fight, flightor freezeresponse 5. The Survival Response is a rapidrelease of adrenaline & cortisolWhat goes up: Adrenaline heart rate muscle tone/tension breath intake Sensory awarenessCortisol: energy muscle strengthWhat goes down: Activity in the pre-frontal cortex, orthinking brain Cognitive/reasoningfunctions Sensitivity to pain 6. When the threat passes, the body canrelax and restore itselfThe biochemical surge ofthe survival response isnecessary for survival.Relief from thebiochemical surge isnecessary for health. 7. Prolonged uncertainty can take apsychological and a physical tollDuring times of great uncertainty the stressresponse can easily be triggered over and overagain, with no clear sign from the environmentthat the threat has passed. This kind ofpsychological threat is emotionally draining andmore damaging to the body than clear physicaldangers. 8. The science ofresilience offers help forthe stress ofuncertainty 9. What is emotional resilience? Having the ability to endure and come toterms with adversity; The capacity to experience and process theemotions arising from difficult life experiences; The psychological strength to rebuild ones lifeafter loss, tragedy or unexpected change; The capacity to problem-solve in the face ofhigh-stress circumstances;Diane Coutu, How Resilience Works Harvard Business Review, May 2002 10. Resilient people: Report greater lifesatisfaction than peoplewho score lower in thecapacity for emotionalresilience; Believe they are able tomanage their emotions; Believe they areresponsible for and ableto control their state ofmind;Resilient People More Satisfied With Life BehavioralPsychology, Vol.20, N1, 2012, pp.183-196 11. Although the world is full of suffering, it is alsofull of the overcoming of it. Helen KellerResilience is not a traitthat people either have ordo not have. It involvesbehaviors, thoughts, andactions that can belearned and developed inanyone.The Road To Resilience American Psychological Association,http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx#The characteristics ofbeing resilient can beworked on and improved,such as self-esteem andbeing able to regulateones emotions. Dr Joaqun TLimonero, UAB Research Group on Stress and Health inResilient People More Satisfied With Life BehavioralPsychology, Vol.20, N1, 2012, pp.183-196 12. Developing Resilience:evidence-based practices Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Affirming Ones Values Practicing the techniques of improvisation Telling and re-telling your story in ways thatreframe obstacles and problems Engagement with social networks that offersupport and elevate the conversation 13. Essential traits for resiliency Adaptability thecapacity to adjust inresponse to shifts andchanges; Purpose & passion acompelling sense ofmission or goals for oneslife; Strong, loving emotionalbondsAlan Siebert, The Resiliency Advantage. Master Change,Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back from Setbacks.CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2005) Empathy studies showthat the people mostlikely to survive disasterstend of think immediatelyabout and respond to theneeds of others; Improvisational thinking the ability to makecreative use of whateverwe have to work with; 14. More traits for resiliency High tolerance forambiguity; Playfulness and sense ofhumor; Invested in the searchfor meaning in lifeexperiences; Ability to recognize thegrowth, expansion andstrengths developedthrough enduringthrough adversity; Willingness to face anddeal with darkemotions;Alan Siebert, The Resiliency Advantage. MasterChange, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Backfrom Setbacks. CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2005) 15. Resilient people havean uncanny ability to improvise. Staunch acceptance ofreality; Deep belief, oftenbuttressed by strongly heldvalues, that life ismeaningful;Diane Coutu, How Resilience Works Harvard Business Review,May 2002 16. Resilient people have very sober anddown-to-earth views of those parts ofreality that matter for survival.Diane Coutu, How Resilience Works Harvard Business Review, May 2002Admiral Jim Stockdale believes thathe survived 8 years as a POW in partbecause he accepted he could beheld for a long time. Those whodidnt make it out of the camps keptoptimistically assuming when theywould released: Ill be out byChristmas or Ill see my wife bythe 4th of July.I think they all died of brokenhearts, Stockdale said.Resilient people have parts of reality thatmatter for survival.Magellan Health Services, Inc.| 16 17. During tough times it is natural to questionwhy. Dr. Viktor Frankl-who survived 5years in German concentration camps andlost his entire family in the Holocaust,has an answerIt did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what lifeexpected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, andinstead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by lifedaily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but inright action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking theresponsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the taskswhich it constantly sets for each individual.Dr. Viktor Frankl, Mans Search For Meaning (Pocket Books, 1946) 18. your anger and damage and griefare the way to the truth..Even if you believe thatGod is everywhere and weare all where weresupposed to be and morewill be revealed one day,you cant get to any of thesetruths by sitting in a fieldsmiling beatifically, avoidingyour anger and damage andgrief.Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird, Some Instructions on Writingand Life (New York: Doubleday, 1994): 201bleday, 1994):201. 19. Dark feelings come.With help, they passWRITING FOR YOUR LIFEOne study found that writers whofocused on thoughts and emotions aboutstressful events developed a greaterawareness of the positive benefits of thestressful event than the control groups.This effect was apparently mediated bygreater cognitive processing duringwriting.Journaling about stressful events: Effects of cognitive processingand emotional expression Philip M Ullrich & Susan Lutgendorf,Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Vol. 24 No. 3 244-250 20. There islight anddark inall of usResilient peoplehave learned tointegrate thoseopposite qualitiesand draw on themfor strength whenneeded. 21. Resilience evolves through the choices we makehandling daily stresses and inconveniencesA study funded by theNational Institutes ofHealth showed that theway people experiencedaily negative emotionalreactions and respond tothe negative events intheir lives is important tofuture well-being. S. T. Charles, J. R. Piazza, J. Mogle, M. J. Sliwinski, D. M.Almeida. The Wear and Tear of Daily Stressors onMental Health. Psychological Science, 2013; 22. Creative experiencesstrengthen resilienceWhen youre doing somethingthats creative, youre engaging allaspects of your brain. Duringimprovisation, the prefrontalcortex of the brain undergoes aninteresting shift in activity, inwhich a broad area called thelateral prefrontal region shutsdown, essentially so you have asignificant inhibition of yourprefrontal cortex.Improvising and The Brain Douglas Eby,http://blogs.psychcentral.com/creative-mind/2011/05/improvising-and-the-brain/#more-628 23. The story we tell about an experiencedetermines its meaningLongitudinal researchwith the chronically illfound that participantsrealized enhancedresilience through tellingand re-telling their story inways that reconciled newrealities brought on byillness, reconstructed theiridentity, and connectedwith others.Kralik, Debbie, et al Resilience in the chronic illnessexperience Educational Action Research Vol. 14 (2)2006 24. It helps to focus on what mattersSeveral studies show that affirmation of ones values through storytelling, writing, or other forms of self-expression - improves self-control by promoting higherlevels of mental self-understanding and the capacity tocontrol emotional reactiveness.A study done at the University of Chicago found that avalues-affirmation exercise allowed subjects to objectivelyevaluate information that would otherwise evoke adefensive reaction.J. David Creswell, et al Affirmation of Personal Values Buffers Neuroendocrine and Psychological Stress Responses Psychological Science, 2005 25. Writing about important values hasdirect positive psychological benefitsUsing self-affirmation asan intervention tacticproduces measurableneurophysiologicaleffects. Even a simplereminder of ones corevalues reducesdefensiveness againstthreateninginformation.threateninginformation.A study published inPsychological Sciencemeasured the effects ofidentifying and writingabout important values.People who had affirmedtheir values were morereceptive to negativefeedback, recognizingmistakes and taking stepsto correct them. Legault, L et al"Preserving Integrity in the Face of PerformanceThreat: Self-Affirmation Enhances NeurophysiologicalResponsiveness to Errors" Psychological Science, 2012Dec;23(12):1455-60. 26. Improv situations with creativeproblem-solvingAccept situations andpeople for what they are. Inimprov, what is beyond ourcontrol is called the offer.Accept all offers. There maybe hidden gifts in a difficultor highly stressful situationwhich can only bediscovered through enteringinto it.Build on the offer. Simpleand strategic can be just aspowerful as big and bold.Just try things.See what happens.Take another step.Connection is key. Connectideas, concepts, things orpeople. 27. Neuroplasticity:we can change our response to lifethrough cultivating new mental habitsAn 8-week program ofMindfulness Based StressReduction results instructural changes in theparts of the brain thatcontrol emotional arousal.Britta K. Holzel et al Mindfulness practice leadsto increases in regional brain gray matter densityPsychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 191 (2011)3643 28. In Boston, we fight like we train.About the extraordinary responseof medical teams after the BostonMarathon bombing:In these extraordinarycircumstances, successful carecame from colleagues workingalongside familiar teammates,performing familiar tasks. Whenchallenged, each team performedas if the situation were routine.Eric Goralnick, MD & Jonathan Gates, MD We Fight LikeWe Train New England Journal of Medicine, May 1, 2013 29. The best outcomes result fromtraining for the worstOver the past 8 years, Brigham and WomensHospital (BWH) has activated the emergencyresponse team on 78 occasions. We have activatedit for both real-world events and drills based on awide array of scenarios chemical attacks, oilspills, train crashes, blizzards, and buildingevacuations. These drills have been departmental,hospital-wide, citywide, and statewide. They taughtus familiarity, comfort, trust, and routines. On April15, these routines saved lives. Eric Goralnick, MD & Jonathan Gates, MDWe Fight Like We Train New England Journal of Medicine, May 1, 2013 30. Other factors that contribute toresilience Close relationships with family and friends A positive view of yourself and confidence in your strengthsand abilities The ability to manage strong feelings and impulses Good problem-solving and communication skills Seeking help and resources Helping others Finding positive meaning in the difficult or traumatic events This Emotional Life, http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/topic/resilience/what-resilience 31. Contact Jude Treder-Wolff to discussan onsite experiential version of thistraining for your staff, organization orconferenceLifestage, Inc496 Smithtown BypassSuite 202Smithtown, NY 11787www.lifestage.org