Tips for Making a Change for the Better!

If you are contemplating making a change for the better, perhaps losing weight, improving your eating habits, getting help for anxiety or depression, or resolving issues in a relationship, you are at a stage of awareness.   But what you need to really move forward and begin doing rather than thinking about change is a level of emotional arousal and emotional energy. Use emotional energy to garner the momentum you need to make the change.  We know from research that knowing facts about a problem or dilemma is not enough to create behavior change. So stir things up a bit.  Here are some suggestions:

Create your own promotional materials.  Film yourself YouTube style and monitor your progress with a succession of videos.  Or paint or draw or create posters that are unique to your goals, post them at home and work and ramp up your emotional energy.

Start a group or join a group. There is a reason why joining and participating with a group of people with similar goals is a successful endeavor for many.  Participation can be emotionally energizing via the support you get from others in the group.

Use meditation, visualization and imagination. Take time out each day be in the moment, to reflect, visualize your goal and imagine how you will feel.   The emotional release you may experience may help you to move forward with the needed momentum so that you will be successful in reaching your goal.

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• Mindfulness-based Anger Management Online via Skype (psychologytoday.com)

Do women respond differently to stress than men?

Shelly C. Taylor, a recognized psychologist and researcher at UCLA, investigated  women’responses to stress and how those responses may be different from the accepted “fight or flight” theory I discussed in an earlier article.  The results from Taylor’s study demonstrated that the neuropeptide called oxytocin, (which also plays a roll in sexual arousal, monogamous bonding, childbirth, maternal bonding to the newborn, among other primarily female responses) also plays a role in the stress response.  Taylor provides support for identifying oxytocin as a ‘social thermostat.’  As a social thermostat, oxytocin informs the brain on whether social resources are adequate to deal with stressful events.  Based on the study, Taylor suggests that oxytocin then, may be a biological marker, with higher levels of oxytocin indicating inadequate or depleted social connection and support.  If you want to read and learn more about your own stress style and how to uniquely and proactively manage your stress response, I highly recommend the book “So Stressed,” by Stephanie McClellan, M.D. and Beth Hamilton, M.D. (ISBN #9781416593584)  They present an excellent guide to stress, how stress uniquely effects women, four types of stress profiles, and what women can do to uniquely and proactively  counter stress and become psychologically and physiologically healthier. So then, do women respond differently to stress than men?  Yes, there are definite differences, one of them, based on Taylor’s work is to tend and befriend, reaching out to others and seeking support when it is needed.