The effects of stress on relationships

It's a pretty simple (but powerful) calculus offered up by David Code today in his piece, "The Real Reason Couples Divorce:" Badly-managed stress can cause us to scapegoat each other, giving us the false impression that a spouse is making us unhappy.

Sounds and pictures to relax to!

I just stumbled across a great resource for relaxation mini-breaks: YouTube videos! Many people seem to have uploaded videos from 6 to 30 minutes long (with links to longer versions, in many cases) specifically made for relaxing.

I love that there is a wide variety of videos, some with music and some without to suit all types. A favorite of mine: the Pacific ocean at dusk.

Super Table-Flip: Fun, but not really stress relief

Wired recently ran a story about an arcade game in Japan that seeks to help pressurized people relieve everyday stress. Super Table-Flip lets the game player pound on a table replica input device to get the attention of his virtual family or co-workers, and as they become more annoying make the ultimate decision to flip the table altogether, sending everything and everyone flying.

Hmmm. Very funny, but stress relief? Science knows effective stress relief to be much more about consciously controlling the body's built-in stress response than it is about fantasy "venting."

WebMD has a good overview article on stress that includes the following sound information:

What Are the Warning Signs of Stress?
Chronic stress can wear down the body's natural defenses, leading to a variety of physical symptoms, including:

• Dizziness or a general feeling of "being out of it"
• General aches and pains
• Grinding teeth, clenched jaw
• Headaches
• Indigestion or acid reflux symptoms
• Increase in or loss of appetite
• Muscle tension in neck, face or shoulders
• Problems sleeping
• Racing heart
• Cold and sweaty palms
• Tiredness, exhaustion
• Trembling/shaking
• Weight gain or loss
• Upset stomach, diarrhea
• Sexual difficulties

Tips for Reducing Stress
People can learn to manage stress and lead happier, healthier lives. Here are some tips to help you keep stress at bay.

10 habits that will help keep even the busiest people healthy and sane

Habit #1

Take 40 deep, slow breaths, from your diaphragm, one or two at a time, spread throughout your day. Don't try to make up for ones you didn't do earlier; if you do too many at one time, you can hyperventilate. Rather, associate it with a regular occurrence, such as the telephone ringing, traffic noise, or a glance at the clock. See for yourself how effective this practice can be.

Habit #2

Set aside fifteen- or twenty-minute relaxation periods away from your phone and from any other kind of interruption. You can use breaks at work for this. A tape or CD can assist in developing relaxation skills. Rather than trying to maximize your efficiency by using every available minute to get things accomplished, you'll find that you actually get more (and better) work done by taking time out to release internalized stress. You'll see results in about four to six weeks.

Habit #3

Regular aerobic exercise — walking, jogging, swimming, biking, etc. — for just twenty minutes three times a week improves your ability to handle stress. Even more than that is better still, but be careful against injuries!

Habit #4

Remember: all things in moderation. Consider what you eat and drink, and choose sensibly. Don't use caffeine, alcohol or other drugs to cope with stress. They undermine your body's ability to defend against (and recover from) the effects of stress.

More biofeedback in the news

An new online treatment system will provide real-time care by combining patient-provider communication with physiological biofeedback to assist patients suffering with panic disorder and anxiety problems.

The Taiwan-based team has coupled a wireless-enabled finger-ring device that measures skin temperature with a web-enabled system. The system provides a convenient channel for communication between patients and health care workers as well as allowing hospital staff to allow patients to ask questions and download pertinent information.

The increasing pace of life, the industrialization of society, and the advent of digital technology are all thought to underlie the growing prevalence of mental illness. Disorders, such as anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression are now diagnosed more frequently than ever before.

Panic disorders are not easily diagnosed but do represent chronic illness for countless patients and lead to hospitalization with increasing frequency.

Patients are taught muscle and mental relaxation exercises and how to observe the effects of these on their skin temperature, thus providing a biofeedback mechanism.

Once the patients learned the cues for relaxation and the method to obtain rapid relaxation, they were able to apply the methods and cues to relieve the symptoms of panic disorder.

Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons From the Biology of Consciousness

The title of this post is the title of a new book by Alva Noë, an exciting and controversial exploration of the difference between our brains and our minds. From the SF Gate review:

"Consciousness is not something the brain achieves on its own," Noë writes. "Consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body and world. ... It is an achievement of the whole animal in its environmental context."

Noë sells this audacious idea with a series of effective metaphors. For instance, he begins the book by comparing consciousness to a dollar bill. He notes that it would be silly to search for the physical correlates of "monetary value." After all, the meaning of money isn't in the paper, or the green ink, or the picture of George Washington. Instead, it exists in the institutions and practices that give the paper meaning. Similarly, our awareness of reality doesn't depend entirely on what's happening inside the brain, but is a side effect of how we, as individuals, interact with the wider world.

From biofeedback games to dog days, colleges work hard to defuse student stress during exams

According to US News and World Report, Colleges are pulling out all the stops to help students beat stress during high-pressure exam weeks. And biofeedback has a place at the table!

This is great news, since intense work and school pressure often make our minds cloudy and disorganized right when we need to perform best — and biofeedback training is a proven way to conquer our stress and move confidently through challenges. By physically, consciously calming our body, we calm our mind as well.

Other great ideas for strss-busting at colleges have been "dog days," during which faculty and staff bring their dogs to campus to play with stressed-out students, prayer events, contra dancing, and midnight breakfasts to raise money for charity.

A lot of the events at colleges stem from open communication between students and school administrators. At Bentley, students asked that special fitness classes, such as fitness and pilates, be offered during finals week. They got them. "We try to listen to what students are telling us in our efforts to help them with stress," says Andrew Shepardson, the school's dean of students.

Brain-fitness games can sharpen mental muscles for all ages

Tampa Bay Online had a great and detailed look at brain fitness games across all age groups today.

The nice thing about the article is that it talks about what is "marketing hooey" as well as what has been proven to work; we at Somatic Vision are very committed to the success of our games, and the article very much reflected our point of view. Some important excerpts:

• "It's similar to going to a health club and deciding you want to work on your biceps or your abdomen," says Alvaro Fernandez, a neuroscientist and co-founder of SharpBrains, an independent science-based clearinghouse that evaluates brain fitness games.

• "It's similar to going to a health club and deciding you want to work on your biceps or your abdomen," says Alvaro Fernandez, a neuroscientist and co-founder of SharpBrains, an independent science-based clearinghouse that evaluates brain fitness games.

• Brain fitness requires more than memory games and mental stimulation. It also involves nutrition, physical fitness and stress management, Fernandez says. Studies also have shown that socialization is important.

  more »
  
  Tags:

  • biofeedback games
  • brain fitness
  • brain fitness games
  • stress management
  Links:

  • Abigail Hamilton's blog

Insecurity, Pain and Depression

A new study from Canada again finds a link between anxiety and physical pain/illness, the link that biofeedback products like Alive and Dual Drive seek to address:

Canadian researchers believe teenage anxiety can lead to physical and mental health issues.

Researchers from the Université de Montréal, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center and McGill University found that insecure adolescents experience more intense pain in the form of frequent headaches, abdominal pain and joint pain.

Moreover, these teens were more likely to be depressed than peers with secure attachments.

Comments from Dr. John Grohol over at Psych Central:

We often try and highlight the connections between one’s mental health and their physical health complaints, to demonstrate that the two are inseparable. Yet another study has been published to show how our insecurity can even impact something as physical as the feeling of pain.

Benefits of the Introductory Version of Alive

We've been working very hard on bringing Alive through development and into beta, pre-release, and now...the Introductory Version we are now offering at a great price.

What are the benefits of being an early purchaser of Alive?

Getting to start using it now! Without risk. We are working to incorporate auto-update features into Alive, and you will benefit from ongoing enhancements and improvements as we continue to bring this powerful software forward — at no extra cost.

In the works are new environments as well as a host of new Audio Workshops that make it easy to learn to relax in a traditional workshop sense...Close your eyes and follow the step-by-step instructions delivered by your own therapeutic session leader. You'll learn to breathe, use progressive muscle relaxation, and other techniques to build your ability to consciously relax and control your physical response to stressors.

The benefits of getting started with Alive before these features are fully incorporated are many, and you'll be the first to get the free updates as they become available.