Shifts Happen: Creative Strategies for Stress-Resilience and Burn-Out Prevention

Shifts Happen: Creative Thinking ForStress-Resilience & Burn-Out Prevention Association for Medical Research and Education in Substance Abuse Annual Conference

Albert Einstein: the greatest paradigm-shifter• “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”• “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

STRESS-RESILIENCE TRAINING• A mind and skill set• The psychological strength to self-regulate one’s response to negative circumstances and effect change wherever possible;• The creative capacity to recognize and make cognitive shifts that enhance adaptability, inventiveness and resourcefulness;

Stress-resilience grows through self-care"Its more important than ever to learn as many anti-stress techniques as possible, as young as possible. If you wait until youre feeling stressed before you employ some technique for managing stress, its already too late. You need to have a bag of tricks that you can deploy proactively. Turning to them throughout the day changes your threshold of stress tolerance.” Robert Epstein, PhD, director of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies and researcher in the Psychology Today article “Stress: Its Worse Than You Think.”

Burn-Out:When energy demands exceed energy resources“ . . . a state of physical, emotional, and mentalexhaustion caused by long term involvement inemotionally demanding situations.”Pines, A., & Aronson, E. Career burnout: Causes and cures (New York: The FreePress, 1988): 9

Empathy & Emotional Energy Drive Successful Care-Giving RelationshipsEmpathic Ability – Empathic Response -aptitude for noticing and achieved by projectingresponding to the pain of one’s self into theothers. perspective of the other.Empathic Concern – Charles Figley, “Compassion Fatigue: Psychotherapists Chronic Lack of Self-Care”motivation to respond to JCLP/In Session: Psychotherapy in Practice, Vol. 58(11), 1433–1441 (2002)people in need.

The Costs of EmpathyExposure response: Compassion Stress - theenergy expended through residue of emotionalprocessing direct exposure energy from on-goingto others’ suffering empathic response and demand for action to relieve suffering Charles Figley, “Compassion Fatigue: Psychotherapists Chronic Lack of Self-Care” JCLP/In Session: Psychotherapy in Practice, Vol. 58(11), 1433–1441 (2002)

Threats to our safety produce a cocktail of adrenaline & cortisol The Survival Response: What goes up: Adrenaline: a burst of the hormone that quickens response time • heart rate • muscle tone/tension • breath intake Cortisol: a burst of the biochemical that increases energy • muscle strength • short-term memory function • reduced sensitivity to pain• Split-second reaction triggered by What goes down: the perception of a threat • Activity in the pre-frontal cortex, or• Fight, Flight or Freeze “thinking brain” • Cognitive/reasoning functions

When the threat passes, the body can relax The biochemical surge of the survival response is necessary for survival. Relief from the biochemical surge is necessary for health.When the physical threat passes the body can compensate.Psychological threats are not so clearly drawn.

Psychological stress triggers the Stress Response• Random, upsetting events in the environment;• Persistent negativity in our social environment• Persistent negativity in our own thinking• Persistent negativity expressed by the people around us.• Too much change at a pace faster than we can adapt• Perfectionism• Procrastination

Pre-frontal cortex activities associated with the stress-response: Worry, self- criticism, and other internal, thought-driven pressures Limbic brain functions associated with the stress response: When empathy and emotional energy (e.g., expended through care-giving roles) exhaust emotionalresources, the stress response can be cued up constantly or randomly with no relief.

Symptoms of Burn-Out• Physical Symptoms - physical exhaustion, Sleeping difficulties, Somatic problems• Emotional Symptoms - irritability, anxiety, depression, guilt, and a sense of helplessness• Behavioral Symptoms - Aggression, Callousness, Pessimism, Defensiveness, Cynicism, Avoidance. Substance abuse• Work-Related Symptoms - Poor work performance, Boundary problems, Absenteeism, Tardiness, Risk-taking• Interpersonal Symptoms - Perfunctory communication, Difficulty focusing, Social withdrawal, Lack of a sense of humor, Dehumanization

Research confirms the effects of thoughts & emotions on physical well-being• 74% of doctor visits are for stress-related health issues*• Data shows that emotions can have an impact on headaches, insomnia, weight gain or loss, cardiovascular disease, asthma and even the effectiveness of cancer treatment;**• Research shows a direct link between the stresses of modern life and increased incidence of heart disease, cancer, & auto-immune illnesses;**• * Health and Behavior: The Interplay of Biological, Behavioral, and Societal Influences,” National Institutes of Health, 2001. **“Mindful Medicine: New Images Of An Old Idea” American Medical News, October 16, 2006

Factors that prevent compassion stressSense of Achievement - Disengagement -demands a conscious, demands a conscious,rational effort to recognize rational effort to “let go”where the clinician’s of the thoughts, feelings,responsibilities end and and sensations associatedthe client’s responsibilities with clients in order to livebegin. one’s own life.Charles Figley, “Compassion Fatigue:Psychotherapists Chronic Lack of Self-Care”JCLP/In Session: Psychotherapy in Practice, Vol.58(11), 1433–1441 (2002)

Creative Experiences Counter Compassion FatigueSense of Achievement: Disengagement:Training in the arts or engaging in Creative experiences involve:creative experiences fosters asymphony of heightened functioning.These skills and habits of mind • Full engagement within a clearstrengthen the capacity to: set of rules or boundaries;• cope with uncertainty, • Full attention & focus to the• deal with situations that have no present moment single correct solution • Freedom of expression• explore a range of perspectives • Letting go of outcomes to find a way through Elliott Eisner, The Arts and the Creation of Mind (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002): 71.

Creative thinking is a whole-brain activity -“When you’re doing something that’s creative,you’re engaging all aspects of your brain. Duringimprovisation, the prefrontal cortex of the brainundergoes an interesting shift in activity, inwhich a broad area called the lateral prefrontalregion shuts down, essentially so you have asignificant inhibition of your prefrontal cortex.” “Improvising and The Brain “ Douglas Eby, http://blogs.psychcentral.com/creative-mind/2011/05/improvising-and-the-brain/#more-628

Higher and more prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream leads to physical & psychological burn-outIn the short term, the stress response improves our ability to size things up and make snap decisions that can save our life.In the long term, this biochemical cocktail produces anxiety and shuts down the cognitive processes that we need to sort out what is and is not a threat. Heightened anxiety leads to resentments and reactive emotional states that reduce the sense of control over our own lives.

Cognitive Shifts Can Reverse The Process of Burn-OutOur perception of an obstacle shapes ourresponse to it

3 Brain Regions involved with stress- related triggers and cravings• BLUE: the thalamus, the brain region critical to ones ability to calm down when stressed.• RED: the striatum, a region implicated in the pleasure system of the brain.• GREEN: the anterior cingulate cortex, a region vital to self- control and concentration. Credit: Image courtesy of Duke University Medical Center

Creative pursuits activate the brain chemistry of reward and achievement“We feel rewarded when we create new objects or actions, and since creativity isbased on the decisions made by the creator, the reward system kicks in when we arein control and inventing things that we have thought of ourselves.Freedom and ownership are part and parcel of the neurochemistry of the arts.”James Zull, “Arts, Neuroscience and Learning,” New Horizons for Learning (March 2005): para. 10. 20 Nov. 2005<www.newhorizons.org

Creative experiences can reduce the negative effects of stress through stimulating new growth in the brainCreative, artistic, and spiritual “excitement” areessentially similar to the psychobiologicalarousal evoked by novelty, environmentalenrichment, and physical exercise.Ernest Rossi, “Einstein’s Eternal Mystery of Epistemology Explained: The Four-Stage Creative Process in Art, Science,Myth, and Psychotherapy,” Annals of the American Psychological Association (Spring 2005): 6 .

Writing For Your LifeOne study found that writers who focused oncognitions and emotions about stressful eventsdeveloped a greater awareness of the positivebenefits of the stressful event than the controlgroups. This effect was apparently mediated bygreater cognitive processing during writing.“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

Structures that support effective expressive writingA “holding space” in which we are sufficiently free andsufficiently safe to let go enough to experience bodily,“felt” shifts through the writing process. The “holdingspace” may be:• The private journal and journaling time;• A supportive group in which some writing might be shared or the process discussed;• A consistent practice of writing;“Beyond Expressive Writing: Evolving Models of Developmental Creative Writing” Sophie Nichols, Journal ofHealth Psychology, Vol. 14 No. 2 (March 2009): 174

Guidelines for expressive writing that can produce cognitive shifts• Use writing to describe bodily awareness of emotions in relationship to events;• Free-writing based on a line from a poem or quote;• Shift between 1st and 3rd person• Use different color ink to express different perspectives or different states of mind that emerge when exploring an issue;

Longer-term benefits of expressive writing: health outcomes• Fewer stress-related visits to the doctor• Improved immune system functioning• Reduced blood pressure• Improved lung function• Improved liver function• Fewer days in hospital• Improved mood/affect• Greater psychological well-being• Reduced depressive symptoms• Fewer post-traumatic symptoms“Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing” Karen Baikie & Kay Wilhelm,Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, Vol. 11 No. 5 (2005)

Long-term benefits of expressive writing: Social & behavioral outcomes• Reduced absenteeism from work• Quicker re-employment after job loss• Improved working memory• Improved sporting performance• Higher students’ grade point average• Altered social and linguistic behaviour“Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing” Karen Baikie & Kay Wilhelm, Advances inPsychiatric Treatment, Vol. 11 No. 5 (2005)

This is your brain on story-telling Listen to others’ storiesResearch shows that when a listener is engaged with a story-teller, their brain waves “synch up”Stephens, G et al, “Speaker–listener neural coupling underlies successful communication” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, July , 2010

More ideas for self-care

Take stock of roles and how they change over time Set clear boundaries

Our past impacts our perception of the present moment;Creative Thinking:Connect t he dot s bet w een seem ngl y unr el at ed event s or i i deasLook at t hi ngs f r om a r ange of di f f er ent per spect i ves;Jour nal i ng and expr essi vew i t i ng ar e cr eat i ve w r ays t o pr ocesspast exper i ences and expl or epossi bi l i t i es f or t he f ut ur e;

Self-knowledge is keyGrowth sometimes means we feel like a fish out of waterSelf-awareness leads to expansion

Social support strengthens stress-resilience - spend time with positive people“Neuroscience has discovered thatour brain’s very design makes itsocial, inexorably drawn into anintimate brain-to-brain linkupwhenever we engage with anotherperson. That neural bridge lets usaffect the brain – and the body – ofeveryone we interact with just asthey do us.”Fishbane, M “Wired To Connect: Neuroscience,Relationships and Therapy” Family Process, Vol 46,No. 3, 2007

496 Smithtown Bypass Suite 202 Smithtown NY 11787 631-366-4265 lifestage_2000@yahoo.com 631-366-4265 www.lifestage.orgLivesinprogressnewsletter.blogspot.com Jude Treder-Wolff, LCSW, RMT, CGP & Nicholas Wolff, LCSW, BCD, TEP

Shifts Happen: Creative Strategies for Stress-Resilience and Burn-Out Prevention

by Lifestage, Inc on Dec 01, 2011

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

1 Embed 5

Statistics

Shifts Happen: Creative Strategies for Stress-Resilience and Burn-Out Prevention Presentation Transcript