5 Dimensions of Health

For our program we are focusing on the 5 dimensions of health and how stress can affect each one which can adversely lead to coronary heart disease.

5 Dimensions of Health:

• Physical
• Mental
• Emotional
• Spiritual
• Social

Through our program, we will focus on how stress affects each of these areas of health as well as strategies how to counter stress and lower the risk of heart disease.

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Spiritual Health

What is Spiritual Health?

Spiritual health is an important aspect of an individual’s well-being. Spirituality involves understandings of in depth sense of the meaning and purpose of life, a sense of belonging, and acceptance, integration and a feeling of completeness. Spirituality often becomes more significant in our lives in times of emotional stress, distress, loss, physical and mental illness, bereavement and when an individual is in close contact with death. There are many practices an individual can participate in to connect with their spiritual self. Connection with the spiritual self can reduce the overall stress of an individual and limit the onset of potential stressors. Some ideas for individuals to practice to relieve their stress in a spiritual manner are: mediation or prayer, listen to soothing spiritual music, engage in deep reflection, participate in yoga or Tai Chi, spending time in nature, painting, sculpture, cooking, gardening, and surround yourself with people you trust like family members, close friends, and/or sports teams. Some of the information in this paragraph was taken from a website written by the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group Executive Committee.

Source: Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group
Executive Committee.(2010, March). Spiritual and Mental Health. In The Royal
College of Psychiatrists. Retrieved March 31, 2011, from
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/treatments/spirituality.aspx
For an at home activity, you can create a journal. The journal can be something you write in whenever you feel stressed and want to write down your feelings at that moment. The songs below can help relax your mind while journaling about your stressors.

Another way using the spiritual dimension of health is to create a talking circle with close friends that you feel comfortable with. In a talking circle, one individual speaks at a time (person holding the talking object). To talk the individual has to have to talking object in hand. Talking circles allow for individuals to express their feelings and know they are being heard.



Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPfdVW30HCE&feature=related



Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmA-dWdaI5k

Physical Stress (activities and links)

Deep Breathing
Being conscious of your breathe is a good way to re-focus on the present and the things that are truly essential to your well being. Deep breathing calms your nerves by slowing the pace of your breathe, which can in turn slow your heart rate. These instructions describe one deep breathing technique although there are many to be found online and elsewhere...
1-Close your eyes or keep them open
2-Place a hand on your stomach, just above your navel. Place the other hand on your chest.
3-Breathe in slowly and try to make your stomach rise a little. Through your nose
4-Hold your breath for a second.
5-Breathe out slowly and let your stomach go back down. Out through your nose or through your mouth like your fogging up a mirror

This is another technique and explanation of breathing that reduces stress


Yoga
Exercise is a way to release pent up tension and release chemicals within the brain that make you feel good. Yoga incorporates physically strenuous activity with mindful breathing techniques and stretching. Yoga gets your blood pumping but allows you to be calm and controlled at the same time.

Links for more Yoga help
1- http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yoga/MM00650
2-http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/home_practice
3-http://www.yogabasics.com/practice/

Social Health: Guided Imagery

What is Social Health?

Social health is defined by the World Health Organization as the conditions in which a person is born, grow, live in, and age; social health includes the health system.


What is Guided Imagery?

Also sometimes known as visualization, guided imagery can be used to quickly reduce stress and tension in the body; it is comparable to a vivid daydream. Guided imagery can either be self guided or with the use of a guide.

Guided imagery can be used during the day to take a break and re-energize, or at night time to relax and fall asleep more easily. If a person is feeling stress or anxiety about a specific barrier, guided imagery can be used so that person can visualize themselves overcoming that barrier, which will in turn reduce their level of stress.

Steps:
1. Get into a comfortable position
2. Concentrate on deep, diaphragmatic breathing
3. Once in a relaxed state, begin to imagine yourself in the most relaxing environment possible.
4. When imaging the scene, try to involve all of your senses.
5. Stay here as long as you like, and try to get away from the things that re putting stress on you.

An example of guided imagery - facilitated


How can using guided imagery reduce stress in terms of social health?

By visualizing different conditions and scenarios that are stress free environments the stress response in an individual may decrease. If a person is using guided imagery to overcome a barrier, this positive visualization can reduce the amount of stress caused by the actual barrier.

Emotional Health: Art Therapy

Art therapy allows individuals to express their thoughts, emotions, and problems through art. This therapy can allow individuals to deal with their stress in a positive manner. Individuals can use art therapy for as long as they would like, whether it is for minutes or hours.


Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dej22djjBrw

Here are brief directions about how to utilize art therapy at home. There are several different activities.

Activity 1:
Materials: Pen/pencil and paper
1. Take the pen/pencil and place it on the paper while closing your eyes
2. Focus on a stressful event or thought and begin to draw
3. Keep your eyes closed, but focus only on the stress
4. Use the drawing as a release for your stress
Activity 1 found at: http://www.stress-relief-choices.com/art-therapy.html.


Activity 2:
Materials: Paper and art supplies (any kind)
1. Think of a stressful event/thought
2. Begin drawing/painting and using whatever colors you feel are appropriate
3. Focus only on the stress when drawing/painting


Activity 3: Mandala Drawing
Visit the following link for a brief history lesson about mandalas and instructions about how to create your own: http://www.arttherapyblog.com/art-therapy-ideas/healing-with-mandala-art-a-multi-cultural-idea-worth-exploring/.


After completing any or all of the activities, ask yourself the following questions:

1. How did you feel before completing the activity?
2. How did you feel after completing the activity?
3. Are you surprised by how your artwork looks?
4. Would you have done anything differently?
5. Would you consider incorporating art therapy into your daily routine to manage stress?

Mental Health: Putting Things Into Perspective

Many times when we sit down to accomplish our to-do list we don't take the additional minute to really prioritize everything we have to do. Because of this, we spend unnecessary time worrying about things we have no control over. With some simple tricks we can learn to tackle our to-do list easier and with a lot less stress!

• For one whole minute write down anything and everything that stresses you out (i.e. people, homework, school, work, etc.)
• Once you have finished writing take another whole minute to review everything you have written.
• Now, take another full minute to cross off everything you have no control over--whether it's because it's completely out of your hands (i.e. the weather) or because it's on someone else
• Reivew your list again--what changed??

After running through this exercise ask yourself the following questions:

1. How did it feel to get everything down on paper for that first minute?

-Anxiety, release, stress, worry, etc

2. How did it feel to review everything that stresses you out?

- Did you write things down that you did not know were stressors?

4. When you crossed off things that you did not have control over, what types of things were left?

-Did this help to put things into perspective?

-Did it help you to realize that you may have been spending unnecessary time worrying about things you have no control over?

-Did it help to focus your thoughts on things you CAN control?