Category: Daily Dose

Dr. Jacqueline Kerr left a 20 year career in academia back in 2018 and has since dedicated herself to helping to prevent burnout in others. She is a burnout survivor. She recently spoke at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and presented on the 12 Stages of Burnout (below), how burnout happens, and how we can take a comprehensive approach to fixing it now and preventing it going forward.

Dr. Kerr’s behavior change approach considers the systems we are part of and empowers people to change themselves and to advocate for change in others. She is now applying her research to different settings; schools, senior centers, retirement communities, workplaces, neighborhoods, healthcare systems, and government agencies. She leverages her background as an implementation scientist to guide a collaborative approach to behavior change and to build quality improvement learning cycles into the process. Her approach now incorporates using mobile devices, software systems, mobile applications, and machine learning to maximize precision in solving complex personal and systematic problems.

Learn more about Dr. Kerr at https://www.drjacquelinekerr.com/

Science and business journalist Sara Harrison recently wrote a piece for Wired.com examining the recent increase in popularity of online happiness courses. The full article, “Online ‘Happiness’ Classes Might Work Better Than You Think“, can be read at https://www.wired.com/story/online-happiness-classes-might-work-better-than-you-think/. In a nutshell, she is told and settles into the conclusion that the concept of having unremitting happiness, while a good aspirational goal, is not sustainably achievable. More to the point, she quotes Science of Happiness professor Bruce Hood in concluding that to “register a positive emotion, you have to know what those less pleasant feelings are like you need to experience both sides of the coin.” They jointly suggest that improving our sense of well-being and satisfaction is possible and what will give us the greatest benefit.

You can consider taking a Science of Happiness course online, but for starters, consider taking a moment today to pick a target for well-being and satisfaction and set one small goal toward it.

Many of us avoid our dentists, and the mere thought of dental care can feel anxiety provoking for some – a perceived detriment to our mental health! All kidding aside, though, dentists can teach us a lot about how to manage mental health well, both proactively and reactively. David Kouba, attorney turned licensed clinical mental health counselor and active contributor to National Alliance on Mental Illness’s (NAMI) mental health blog, recently published an article outlining what dentistry can teach us about fostering healthy habits at an early age, preventative care throughout the lifespan, identifying and assisting at-risk individuals, modeling recovery, and decreasing stigma. You can read his article, entitled “What Mental Health Care Can Learn from Dental Health Care Strategies“, at https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/March-2022/What-Mental-Health-Care-Can-Learn-from-Dental-Health-Care-Strategies

Almost anywhere you turn these days you will find a reminder of how scary the world can be. This can be overwhelming for adults, a fact that predated the pandemic and that has certainly been underscored by it. But imagine how much more scary it is for the young people around us.

If you are noticing increased sadness or anxiety as the scary headlines pile up in the young people around you, or yourself for that matter, then have a look at the recent publication from Claire McCarthy, MD, pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital and Senior Faculty Editor at Harvard Health Publishing. In her article “Talking to children about tragedies and scary headlines in the news” she offers four simple things all adults can and should do to manage the distress of young people around us and ourselves. These are summarized below, and you can read her full article at https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/talking-to-children-about-tragedies-in-the-news-2017101012567

1. Tell them what happened, in simple terms. Be honest, but skip the gory details. Answer their questions just as simply and honestly. If you think — or know — that your child has already heard something, ask them what they’ve heard. That way you can correct any misinformation, and know not only what you need to explain but also what you may need to reassure them about.

2. Be mindful of the media that your child sees. The news can be very graphic, and because the media are as much in the business of gaining viewers as of delivering news, they tend to make things as dramatic as possible and play footage over and over again. When the planes flew into the Twin Towers on 9/11, my husband and I were glued to the television, not realizing that one of our daughters, who was 3 years old at the time, thought that planes were literally flying into buildings again and again. It wasn’t until she said, “Are those planes going to come here too?” that we shut off the TV and didn’t turn it back on again until all the children were in bed.

3. Make sure your child knows that you and others are always doing everything you can to keep them safe. Talk about some of the ways you keep them safe, ways that are relevant to the tragedy you are talking about. Make a safety plan as a family for things like extreme weather or getting separated. Help them think about what they might do if they are ever in a scary situation, and who they could turn to for help. Which leads me to the most important thing to do…

4. Look for the helpers. The wonderful Fred Rogers often talked about how when he saw scary things on the news, his mother would tell him to look for the helpers, because there are always people who are helping. That may be the best thing we can do as parents: help our children look for the helpers. In all of the recent tragedies, as in all tragedies, there were so many helpers and heroes. When we concentrate on those people, not only do we give our children hope, but we may empower them to one day be helpers too.

150 years before the publication of Tim Scanlon‘s “What We Owe to Each Other,” which outlines the basic tenants of the philosophical school of Contractualism, the term Ubuntu, long established in the oral traditions in the Nguni Bantu language, began to emerge in African writing. The term Ubuntu can be roughly translated as “humanity,” and philosophically emphasizes the significance of our community and shared humanity and teaches us that ‘A person is a person through others.’ While individualism appears to be running rampant globally, Ubuntu offers a counterpoint, and is the focus of the following BBC short film. Have a watch, and consider how you can step outside of yourself today.

Prioritizing wellness pre-COVID was hard. With ever changing schedules and the persistence of virtual alternatives to things we once did in person superimposed on top of the baseline chaos it is a wonder anyone has the chance to exercise. If you are thinking you want to ramp up your physical wellness, it may be best to start small with something like daily stretching routines.

Daily stretching can loosen up tight muscles, increase flexibility and range of motion, improve posture, reduce pain, lower your risk of injury, boost your circulation, relieve stress, and ease headaches.

Ready to jump in? Check out these 10 stretches to do every day!

Ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) is the Japanese concept that translate roughly to “a reason for being.” It’s made from two Japanese words: iki, meaning “life” and kai, meaning “effect, result, worth or benefit.” Combined: “a reason for living.” It’s the idea of seeking a purpose in everything you do in life. Hobbies, friendships, community and travel all add to your ikigai. This is relevant now more than ever and can help us be more intentionally in how we conduct ourselves in every aspect of our lives.

For the last few years, many of us have been putting one fire out after another. It is no wonder anxiety has become as prevalent as it has, at every turn there is something else threatening our health and wellness and so we have become keyed up to react automatically rather than respond intentionally. Ikigai can help us to address this.

Interested in learning more? Have a look at the brief roadmap to Ikigai below, then visit Elaine Mead’s article at https://darlingmagazine.org entitled “How the Japanese Concept of ‘Ikigai’ Can Help You Live More Intentionally.”

Annie Sneed at the New York Times recently published a piece exploring the findings and opinions of addictions psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke regarding our at times addictive relationships with our phones. Whether smartphone overuse constitutes a true addiction is still up for debate and, as with many things, when we feel the relationship is no longer healthy here are always ways to scale down. First we have to appreciate what drives the maladaptive relationship which, according to Lembke is Control (the behavior in questions s considered out of control or more present than it should be) Compulsion (being intensely mentally preoccupied with the behavior / performing it automatically); and Consequences (continued use in spite of negative social, physical and mental consequences). So what do we do with this?

• Take a ‘screen fast’: try  completely avoiding using all screens, not just phones, for anywhere from a few hours, to a do, to a month, whatever your life will allow. This is an especially helpful approach when going on vacation. Take note of which changes you observe in yourself during the fast, even if it lasts only an hour. If you like it, keep going!
  
  
• Set boundaries: Healthy boundaries are important in any relationship, including our relationship to technology. This is a less intense alternative to fasting, and might look like setting aside times of the day or days of the week when you don’t use your phone at all, such as before and after work, or on your lunch break (when many people are most tempted). It may also mean leaving your phone in the other room, keeping it out of your bedroom or putting everyone’s phone in a box outside of the kitchen during dinnertime.
  
  
• Make your smartphone less appealing: You can also make your phone less engaging. This might look like changing the screen to grayscale or turning off notifications, as well as uninstalling some of your more addicting apps (Wordle, we’re looking at you!) In addition you might periodically rearrange the apps on your phone so that they become harder to find and less likely to lure you into a mindless loop of checking and rechecking simply out of habit.

“The big question to ask yourself with screens is: ‘What else could I be doing right now? Is there something I could be doing that would be better for me?’” Dr. Alter said. “That’s important now more than ever because of how much time we’ve been forced to spend on screens during the pandemic.”

To read the full article, entitled “I’m Addicted to My Phone. How Can I Cut Back?” visit https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/well/live/smartphone-addiction-tips.html

Victor Wooten is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer whose professional career spans nearly 40 years but who has been playing almost his entire life. In that time he has also formed his on record label, published his novel “The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music” and earned five Grammy Awards along the way. How has he been so successful? He has treated music like any other language, which means maintaining a child-like mindset. This means, among other things, staying curious, being open to mistakes and learning from them, and simply learning by doing without judgement. Listen to Mr. Wooten in his own words in this TED-ED video.