LIFESTYLE BEHAVIORS

Decreasing stress & increasing your wellness requires you to "live" that lifestyle

• Make being healthy & well a habit
• This becomes part of your daily routine
  • Improve healthfulness
  • Maintain healthfulness
• Remember....."LIFE IS ALL CHOICES - YOURS!"

Below are series of reflection questions & questionnaires/rating scales that will allow you reflect upon YOURSELF & your behaviors. Many of these come from the text:

• Greenberg, J.S. (2002). Comprehensive stress management, (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill, Boston.

Health Behaviors Reflection Questions

Some ways to get healthier quickly.....if you say yes to any of the following:

• Do I always wear....
  • A seatbelt while in a vehicle?
  • A helmet when riding a motor bike?
  • A helmet when riding a bicycle or in-line skating?
• Do I smoke....
  • Cigarettes?
• Do I regularly consume....
  • Alcohol?
  • Over-the-counter drugs?
  • Other drugs?

Internal or External locus of control?

Locus of control reflects the amount of control you believe you may have over your life.
Do you believe:

• Genetics has a greater influence on you than, you do
• Environmental (social, cultural, community) factors force you to act in certain ways
• In fate/destiny
• "It wasn't my fault" for something YOU did?
• In chance or luck
• God or some other higher being has greater control over you, than you

If your answer to any of these was yes, this suggests that you have a degree of external locus of control

ACT: (8.2)

1. Complete the Locus-of-control scale in text, p. 240

2. Compare your scores with the analyses in text p 239

3. Complete the Barriers-to-action Questionnaire p 238 in text

4. Email me your scores & analyses

Often when attempting to modify/adjust lifestyle habits we seek excuses or barriers which limit our efforts.

Q - Why would these things arise & stop us from becoming healthier or increasing our wellness?

Barriers emerge from our perceptions & they tend to be highly influenced by:

• convenience
• disorganization
• image (how believe others may perceive us)
• focusing on the negatives

Check your scores on the Barriers-to-action Questionnaire

Any that were identified as at least a 5 are of major concern

• these require intervention

Strategies for Decreasing Stress Inducing Behaviors

• self monitoring
  • observing & recording your own behaviors
  • you have already done that several times!
  • goal is to increase your own awareness of what you do
• tailoring
  • adapting the lifestyle modification to you
  • set goals that match you
  • focus on the process
• reinforcement
  • can be:
    • material
    • social
  • something that increases the occurrence of your lifestyle modification
  • ensure it focuses on you, or is congruent with your goals
  • should be irregular
• contracting
  • it can be:
    • self
    • with another person
  • based on specific objectives & goals
  • administer rewards based upon attainment
• shaping
  • a gradual change in a behavior
  • decrease
  • increase
• reminders
  • utilizing a planner
    • daily
    • weekly
    • monthly
    • yearly
  • scheduling time wisely
    • becomes a habit
    • function in quadrant 2
  • ranking activities based on importance
    • consider:
      • time
      • quality of life
      • family
      • friends
      • profession
      • self
• self-help groups
  • groups with similar concerns/issues
  • sharing experiences
  • support
  • solution identification
• professional help
  • experts in the field
  • assist in identifying & implementing an intervention

Read "Behavior change theories & stress, p 249 in text

ACT: (8.3)

1. Describe your 'ideal life partner'

• physically
• personality
• other

2. Describe what Australia is like

• people
• countryside
• politics

3. Describe

• a republican
• a democrat
• a greenie
  • physically
  • culturally
  • where these people tend to live

4. What did you base these responses upon?

5.  Email me your scores & analyses

Diversity & Stress

ACT: (8.4)

1. Define:

• what is diversity
• race
• ethnicity
• inequality

2. Describe what are....

• the benefits of diversity
• concerns with diversity

4. Post  your responses on the discussion page

Diversity is:

• assortment
• mixture
• differences
• variety
• alternatives

Diversity is essential for survival.

Diversity covers a wide range of things:

• interests/hobbies
• values
• political views
• cultures/ethnicity
• professions
• races
• languages
• skills
• ethics
• nutrition
• exercise
• sports teams
• business
• age
• education
• physical appearance
• gender
• sexual orientation
• spirituality
• likes/dislikes
• environments
• living arrangements
• personalities
• stress management
• etc.

People tend to be drawn to, feel more comfortable, &/or favor others who are similar to them.

People can feel threatened by others who, in comparison, have differences.

Lets consider activity 8.3........ (read the students' responses for each)

• your 'ideal life partner'
  • tended to describe a person similar to yourself, or
  • similar to your ideals
• Australia
  • tended to describe the typical cultural stereotypes
  • not too much background or accurate information
• political parties
  • tended to describe the typical political stereotypes
  • again, not too much background or accurate information

When considering diversity in populations, is usually focuses upon superficial qualities & stereotypical descriptors.

These "more diverse populations" tend to become, what is known as, the minorities. These groups are known as the minority because they are fewer in number than the larger "in control" group of people.

Questions:

• Are all Americans the same?
• Are all Republicans the same?
• Are all of the people in your extended family the same?
• So who is the minority in your family?
• Have you ever been in the minority? (e.g. the only male in a group, etc.)

Typically here, minority refers mainly to:

Race

• similar physical traits, blood types, genetic patterns, inherited characteristics

Ethnicity

• common heritage, customs, cultural characteristics, language, family history

And this results in inequality

Inequality is:

• disparity
• discrimination
• unfairness
• bias
• favoritism
• prejudice
• lack of opportunity

I am reminded of the quote, "True equality will only come when an incompetent women gets appointed to the top position!"

ACT: (8.5)

1. What is your

• race
• ethnicity

2. Describe your family tree

• cultural background
• religious beliefs
• unique family traditions 

3. Post  your responses on the discussion page

Now imagine that these abovementioned qualities which, describe just a part of you, are:

• suppressed/restricted
• ignored or dismissed
• cause you to be ridiculed
• are shown little or no respect
• cause you fear of what the so called "majority" may do to you
• have little to no political influence
• limit your ability to reach your potential
• cause you to be overlooked for positions for which you are the most deserving

Questions:

• How would you feel?
• What would you try to do?
• What wouldn't you do?

Most of the diversity issues arise from ignorance, fear & lack of tolerance.

This causes great stress for the minorities within any population or group.

• racism
• culture conflicts (e.g. Islamic call to prayer)
• hate crimes
• lower self esteem
• lower incomes
  • lower health levels
  • homelessness
  • crime
• family problems
• alcohol & drug abuse
• negative generalizations

Minorities are part of your community, your country, YOUR LIFE.

You may be a minority sometime soon!! (see p. 252 text)

Therefore, it will be in your interests to identify solutions to these issues to reduce stressors for both the majority & minorities.

ACT: (8.6)

1. In your groups identify stressors for both the majority & minority

2. Now identify "real" solutions/interventions which will help reduce the stress for all & increase the characteristics of wellness

3. Share your perspectives with the rest of the class

Some potential interventions:

• ignore stereotypes - get to know the individuals
• educate yourself about the cultures
• get to know others (cultures, races) - interact
  • understand other peoples perspectives
• respect differences
• travel (grassroots)
• weigh all options
• look for alternative solutions to issues
• learn from other cultures
• share your culture
• educate others
• be active in decreasing:
  • racism
  • discrimination
  • inequality
• become diverse/unique yourself