We’ve all heard that if you exercise, you will improve your mood. But do you know why? The obvious and well known answer first: When you move and exercise, your body sends and receives the signal to secrete endorphins. These amino acid peptides reduce pain and enhance pleasure. Neurotransmitters, serotonin and norepinephrine, are also released—the …
I’ve found that sometimes, rather than trying to control my reactions to stressful situations, it can be easier to just control the situation. This sounds contrary to the standard advice, “You can’t change the situation, you can only change you’re reaction to it.” That’s often true, but let’s tackle this stress monster in multiple ways, …
As if we haven’t heard this one before! I was at an orientation class tonight for teaching a couple new (to me) classes, and one of the speakers talked about how to deal with disruptive students…you know, the ones who text, talk, walk in late, eat Taco Bell (and aside from the smell being disruptive, …
One thing I know for sure is that you’ll never see “Stress” listed as the cause of death on a death certificate. Interestingly, many researchers now believe that stress is the foundational cause of most disease. Some may argue that we can’t actually prove that. That’s true—and it’s why you’ll never see Stress on a …
We all have a capacity for the energy output we can put into the world each day. The size of your Cup represents the capacity you have for (1) dealing with stuff in life and (2) performing tasks. When your cup is full with work and stress and required tasks, you don’t have the space …
I’m not the neatest person on the planet. What? You don’t believe that?! I once read an article saying that being messy is a good sign of creativity—I’ve just rolled with that idea ever since. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a slob. I like things clean and I love things to be neat. I …
I’m a master planner. I plan everything, and I enjoy it. Sometimes I enjoy making the plans more than I enjoy implementing them. It’s common for me to discuss (I call it brainstorming) what I think I want (today, tomorrow, for my career, my life…..where I want to live, what car I might want to …
A couple things…. Kristina and I seem to get to the point in the day (right before our sign language class) when we’re feeling a bit overloaded—-not with coaching, but with paperwork and crud that comes with coaching. So, when our ASL instructor (Jennie) comes, we are most likely feeling like we should have practiced …
I had nothing to say today. I had a hard time listening too. Lunchtime was good—not for the food, but for the little break/walk (Thanks Wendy!). I know what I really need to do right now is go to the gym—-but it’s COLD outside. I have a headache, and I ate too much of my …
A new friend at RIT shared this very interesting story with me the other day. I highly recommend listening to the recording describing this study that looked into why we make certain food choices. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122781981&sc=emaf “The brain is anatomically organized into different systems….. You have a rational deliberative system which is sort of more to …
