Jesse Hanson, Clinical Director

Helix Healthcare Group

Under Pressure?

Work Related Stressors Life Stressors

• Heavy workload or too much responsibility

• Working long hours• Unclear expectations of work, or

no say in the decision-making process

• Being insecure about your chance for advancement or risk of termination

• Presentations• Client demands and

expectations

• Managing family responsibilities• The death of a loved one• Divorce• Loss of a job• Increase in financial obligations• Getting married• Moving to a new home• Chronic illness or injury• Emotional problems • Taking care of a sick or elderly

family member• Traumatic event

Cognitive Emotional

•Negative impact on memory•Clouds and/or impairs judgment•Negative thoughts and self-perception•Difficulty concentrating and organizing

•Increased irritability•Anger and agitation•Overwhelmed and inability to relax•Short temper•Enhanced Anxiety•Relationship challenges at home and work•Ineffective communication

Physical Behavioural

•Digestive and gastrointestinal symptoms•Increase in frequency and effects of colds•Rise in heartbeat, cardiac risks

•Poor eating habits•Decreased motivation for exercise•Sleep disturbance•Isolation•Self-destructive coping behaviours (smoking, drinking, drugs) •Nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)

Cortisol can kill, shrink, and stop the generation of new neurons in a portion of the brain called the hippocampus.

Chronic stress can shrink the medial prefrontal cortex.

Stress can increase the size and activity of a portion of the brain called the amygdala.

These brain alterations affect the way we interact, learn, remember, make decisions and accomplish goals.

You have a choice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2SsXRVnNBY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2SsXRVnNBY Watch Online

100,000 neuronal phenotypes (different types of cells).

85,000,000,000 neurons - the number of connections between these neurons is 10 to 14th power.

One cubic millimeter of brain contains 20,000 to 30,000 neurons.

1 cubic millimeter contains 4 kilometers of nerve fibers and 10 to the 9th power synapses.

… In other words, there are a potentially unbounded number of mental states

VS

In 2007, Harvard studied two groups: One was given the task of playing piano scales for 2 hours daily for 5 days.

The other group was given the task of merely thinking about playing the exact same piano scales as group one. They were never to actually play the scales, just to think about playing them.

Scans showed that the same region of the brain had expanded in the volunteers who merely thought about playing in a disciplined way.

Positive: Negative:

Intoxication: imbalances in neurotransmitters

Concussion, stroke, tumour, Alzheimer’s

Cortisol-based shrinkage of hippocampus; less capacity

for contextual memory

Small amount of caffeine; more alertness

Thicker insulina: more self-awareness, empathy

More left prefrontal activation: greater

happiness

A study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that adults can be trained to be more compassionate.

Compassion training was compared to a control group that learned cognitive reappraisal (‘reframing thoughts’).

The study measured changes in brain responses using functional MRI before and only 2 weeks after training, at 30 minutes a day.

In the Compassion group activity was increased in the inferior parietal cortex, a region involved in empathy.

It also increased activity in the prefrontal cortex and brain regions involved in emotion regulation and positive emotions.

Alterations in brain function were observed after JUST 7 hours of total training.

Buddhist word for Loving-Kindness (Compassion)

A 2012 study from Harvard Medical School compared mindful meditation vs compassion meditation.

In both groups the right amygdala activity decreased in response to positive or neutral images. In the compassion meditation group the right amygdala activity increased in response to negative images.

This was also correlated with decreased depression scores, which suggests that having more compassion towards others may also be beneficial for oneself.

Brain scan shows impact of a mother’s love on a child’s brain

Biochemical changes – Improved hormonal balance and an increase in production of DHEA, our ‘anti-aging hormone’.

Increased positivity – It produces a greater level of positive feelings, according to researchers from the University of Miami, who studied this process in 157 individuals over 13 days.

Improved immune system – It increases the IgA antibody, which serves as the first line of defense against pathogens.

Emotional “compound interest” –Experiencing an emotion reinforces the neural pathways so it becomes easier to recreate with continued practice.

Image: Heartmath – Heart Rhythm Monitor

In 2000, researchers at the University of Tennessee studied the effect of having a forgiving personality on psychological and physical stress responses.

To no surprise, “high" forgivers had a lower resting blood pressure and smaller increases in blood pressure than "low" forgivers.

May I be happy

May I be free from

suffering

May I be forgiven

May I be at peace

Book a complimentary

consultation at 416.921.2273 (CARE)

www.helixhealthcaregroup.com