Spring wellness activity preview

Our spring 2010 wellness activities will start at the end of March and run through April. We will be focusing on occupational and spiritual wellness.

Here are some things to think about before we start our wellness activities:

Occupational wellness

• Do you enjoy going to work most days?
• Do you have a manageable workload at work?
• Do I feel as though I can talk to my boss or co-workers when a problem arises?

Spiritual wellness

• Do I make time for relaxation during the day?
• Do I make time for meditation and/or prayer?
• Do my values guide my decisions and actions?

Stay tuned for more information in March!

Sitting too long?

Have you been sitting too long? Does your hands/wrists/arms hurt from typing and using the computer for too long?

Here are some easy stretches you can do to get the blood pumping and give you a little energy boost and some much needed stretching.

Hold each stretch for 10 - 30 seconds and repeat each stretch a few times if necessary.

Neck stretch

1. Slowly look to your right shoulder until you feel a good stretch in the neck. Hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds.

2. Slowly turn your head to look over your left shoulder until you feel a good stretch in the neck. Hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds.

3. Repeat as necessary.

Shoulder stretch

1. Stand against a wall if you wish.

2. Bend elbows, point fingers toward ceiling until you feel a stretch (or touching the wall if you are against it). Hold for 10 to 30 seconds.

3. Let the arms slowly fall, keep elbows bent, point fingers toward floor until you feel a stretch (touch wall if you are against it). Hold for 10 to 30 seconds.

4. Repeat as necessary.

Back

1. Sit in a study chair, scooted forward in the chair.

2. Lean forward, keeping neck and back comfortable, relax the neck and shoulders.

3. Continue to lean forward, hands on lower legs, until you feel a stretch. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds.

4. Repeat as necessary.

Upper back/shoulders/wrists

1. Sit in a chair or stand, hold arms in front of you at shoulder height. Face palms outward.

2. Reach forward until you feel a stretch. Keep shoulders relaxed. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds.

3. Curl and make a fist with hands, then straighten fingers. Repeat 2-4 times. Wriggle fingers. Repeat 2-4 times.

Pictures are from Exercise & Physical Activity: Your Everyday Guide from the National Institute on Aging. http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/ExerciseGuide/

Work and Life Balance

The presentation from yesterday's Work and Life Balance lunch and learn session is posted at
S: SCRegion/Camden/Melissa/Lunch and Learn Presentations

Recap:

Keeping a healthy balance involves 3 aspects:

Self-care (personal health and wellness)
Others-care (family, friends, relationships)
Meaningful work (contributing to society, challenging, stimulating work)

Most of us don't ignore one of those things, but we try to do too much. This causes us distress, rather than peace.

It's a challenge to find a healthy balance, but we need to see our limits to do this properly. We cannot always think of just ourselves, or always say yes to others.

Circle Balance Activity

Draw a circle and divide into 3 segments, one for each of the healthy balance aspects. Draw each segment based on how much time and energy you put into the following: self-care, others-care, meaningful work. Next, divide the self-care section into how much time and energy you put into physical, mental, relational, and spiritual with a dotted line. Divide the others-care into family, friends, and reaching out. Divide the meaningful work into job and service to other causes.

This will help you see how you are balancing yourself between those 3 things.

Finding a healthy balance is an ongoing process and you must decide on it, no one else can decide for you.

We all have limits and must recognize those limits in order to keep a healthy balance. We should accept our limits, set priorities, make clear commitments to keep ourselves healthy.

Planning Guide - To Keep a Healthy Balance

Step 1: Clarify your values
◦What is your purpose in life, what are your goals?

Step 2: Set healthy balance goals
◦Use the circle exercise again to define ideal balance, your goals

Step 3: Rebalance regularly
◦Keep testing until you find what works well for you, adjust and revise until you find a style for you

Regarding rebalancing:
The goal is balance, every small change you make will help lead to a healthy balance. Perfect adjustment is never possible. Imbalance will not ruin you, as long as it doesn’t remain out of line for too long. Balance is an activity we engage in over and over again, as we make corrections throughout life.


That will be the last lunch and learn presentation for fall 2009. Look for more information coming out for the spring wellness activities!

Week 5 wellness activity

Last week, we talked about our thinking processes being one component of mental health and wellness. This week's activity, our final one for fall 2009, is a thinking assessment.

Week 5 (Monday, Nov 30 to Sunday, Dec 6)
Thinking Assessment
(score yourself for each statement, 1 would indicate very low while 5 would indicate very high)
· How creative are you in seeing new options? 1 2 3 4 5
· How good is your memory? 1 2 3 4 5
· How curious are you? 1 2 3 4 5
· How active is your imagination and fantasy? 1 2 3 4 5
· How well do you concentrate? 1 2 3 4 5
· How humorous or clever are you? 1 2 3 4 5
· How well do you make judgments? 1 2 3 4 5


Learning is a lifelong process, so if you are interested in staying mentally healthy, here are some strategies to consider:
· Keep your thinking cap on. Nourish your mind. Read books. Explore and experiment.
· Accept and meet new challenges willingly. Be curious. Make change an adventure.
· Control your energy output. Say no sometimes. Save some energy for yourself.
· Cultivate creativity. Try something new. Use your imagination.


The Adobe Connect session for this week is on Work and Life Balance. Please join us Tuesday, Dec 1 at noon. You will receive the information via email on Tuesday morning.

Week 4 Adobe Connect session

The Healthy Relationships and Mental Health powerpoints are on the share drive at:

S:SCRegion/Camden/Melissa/Lunch and Learn Presentations

The others are on there as well.

Summary from today's session:

Healthy relationships are characterized by:

–Reciprocal responsibilities
–Mutual satisfaction
–Give and take
–Sharing
–Listening

Healthy relationships should include:

–Trust
–Support
–Honesty
–Communication
–Respect
–Shared responsibility
–Equality
–Safety

Communication is key. Friends and caring partners do the following:

–Share likes and dislikes
–Be empathetic, understand other’s point of view
–Actively listen – verbal/non-verbal
–Acknowledge other’s feelings
–Accept conflict may happen

10 Tips for Healthy Relationships:

•Be realistic
•Communicate effectively
•Be flexible
•Take care of yourself
•Be dependable
•Fight fair
•Show your warmth
•Keep your life balance
•It can be a process
•Be yourself


Mental health involves 3 things:

• Intellectual/thinking processes
• Emotional patterns/experiencing feelings
• Self-esteem/self-respect

No one has all the characteristics of mental health all of the time. Mental health does not mean. perfection. Instead, it reflects on the decision to live life openly and fully, acknowledging your limitations, and affirming your strengths.

Personal reflection on mental health:

What are your:

Intellectual patterns
Emotional patterns
Self-esteem patterns
—

Mental Health Wish List:

What would you like to be able to do?
To know?
To feel?
To learn?
Let your imagination run free, don’t limit yourself
I wish I could…..

Week 4 wellness activity

Week 4 (Monday, Nov 23 to Sunday, Nov 29)
Mental Health Inventory

· Do you feel in control of yourself?
· Can you laugh easily? Do you laugh each day?
· Can you cry easily? When was the last time?
· Give yourself a grade for common sense A B C D F
· Comment on your mental health level today.
· What are some strategies you could do to improve your mental health?


Mental health involves 3 things – our thinking processes, our capacity to experience feelings, and our sense of self-worth.
· The thinking part includes your problem-solving skills, sense of humor, creativity, curiosity, coping with problems, welcoming new experiences, decision-making, and accepting responsibility.
· The feeling part includes sensitivity, intuition, coping with emotions, motivations, and taking disappointments in stride.
· Our self-worth is all about your attitude, feeling comfortable with yourself and others, confidence, and taking life as it comes at you.

Mental health does not mean being perfect. It requires the ability to think clearly, the willingness to experience our feelings fully, and trust in ourselves.


On Wednesday, November 25, the Adobe Connect session will be on Healthy Relationships (from week 3) as well as Mental Health from this week.

Week 3 wellness activity

Week 3 (Monday, Nov 16 to Sunday, Nov 22)

Relationship Inventory

· How many people know you deeply and understand who you really are? Name at least one but five or six would be better.
· Look at your list of supporters and reflect on the different ways you have of letting each of these people know you.

Use this information to review your support network. A supportive network of family and friends enhances your potential for well-being by sharing, listening, understanding, and providing fellowship.