Olpin Michael - Principles for a Stress-Free Life

Copyright 2014 Franklin Covey Co.
Stories by Sam Bracken are 2014 Sam Bracken.

The following assessments and experiences in the text are 2014 Dr. Michael Olpin: Stress Self-Assessment; Symptoms of Stress; Effects of Chronic Stress; Upgrading Thoughts section, Entire section on Mindfulness, Workouts and Stress Busters throughout the book, as well as own experiences - Soccer match, my first mindful experience after taking a test; Tense to Tranquil Activities - meditation, guided imagery, yoga, progressive relaxation.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Published by Grand Harbor Press

www.brilliancepublishing.com

Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Grand Harbor are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

ISBN-13: 9781477819593
ISBN-10: 1477819592

Cover design by Faceout Studio, Tim Green
Interior visuals by Faceout Studio, Paul Nielsen

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013954765

This book is dedicated to all those who desperately need to UNWIND, find peace, be mindful, and gain balance regardless of their circumstances.

And

To my wife Kim and our kids, Beau, Ben, Jake, and Hannah.

Sam

To my sweet wife, Shanyn, and our very cool kids, Analise, Erica, Adam, and Benjamin.

Michael

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

by Dr. Daniel Amen

Some stress is good. Its actually crucial to a healthy, energetic life.

I didnt always think so. I used to think my job as a psychiatrist was to eliminate stress, so I learned hypnosis, meditation, biofeedback, and lots of other useful methods for lowering stress.

Then the science started telling us more about stress. In 2011 came the results of a study at Stanford University that had followed 1,548 ten-year-old children for ninety years. One of the big conclusions was that lack of anxiety was associated with early death. Apparently, we need some stress in life: The dont worry, be happy people die early because they underestimate the risks in their lives and tend to make poor decisions.

So you dont want to get rid of stress entirely. What you want to do is modulate it, restrain it, tone it down. Too little stress in your life is bad, but too much stress will also kill you early. An optimal stress level means you do the right things, but you dont have so much stress that it begins to attack your body.

Too much stress is dangerous. When you have symptoms like headaches and stomachaches; when your gastro-intestinal system is a mess; when you cant sleep; when youre sad and cant shake it; when you begin to avoid the world because youre anxiousits quite probable that too much stress is the cause.

Too much stress can actually damage your brain and body. Cortisol is known to be a stress hormone, and during phases of fight or flight, it is secreted at high levels. This hormone causes higher blood pressure, lowered immunity, and decreased muscle tissue and bone density; it also kills cells in the hippocampus, the brains processing center for your memory and emotions, and it increases abdominal fat. Learning how to decrease these dangerous levels of stress hormones is vital to a healthy lifestyle.

Both men and women struggle with too much stress. Women, however, may be more sensitive to its damaging effects. Females have busier brains and stronger empathy, intuition, forethought, and self-controlbut with those strengths also come a greater capacity for worry.

So what should you do when youre over-stressed?

The answers are nicely outlined in this book. It provides the best practices I know of for getting on top of stress.

Meditation, for example, has been shown to decrease cortisol levels. I have published studies of my own, showing that meditation not only lowers cortisol but also boosts blood flow to the front of the brain and raises progesterone levels. Progesterone is the brains natural Valiumit calms and soothes the brain. Stress hormones steal progesterone, and when progesterone is too low, you feel anxious, tense, and nervousso you might end up self-medicating with alcohol, anti-anxiety pills, or sleeping pills. These things are short-term fixes for a long-term problem; plus they often have more side effects than theyre worth.

Im not a big believer in the here, take this pill philosophy of medicine. Still, your doctor is a key resource in helping you with overwhelming stress. Undiagnosed brain injuries can be a hidden source of stresslike symptoms. Other biochemical issues might cause stress.

But for everyday anxieties this book can help you manage your stress. In time, you can work with your family doctor to help wean yourself off your anxiety, highblood pressure, and other stress-related medications. Managing your stress can also help you learn that you do not need coping aids such as excess food, alcohol, tobacco, and other chemicals to help you feel good.

This book stands out from other books on stress management in one significant way: It takes a whole-person approach to stress. Its about optimizing youyour body, heart, mind, and soul. It recognizes that any or all of these dimensions of your life can produce anxiety. Its about getting clear on who you are, whats most important to you, and where you really want to go in life.

My friend Dr. Roy Baumeister has always said, The best way to reduce stress is to stop screwing up. Thats what this book is aboutand so much more. This book shows you how to take charge of your life, how to make better choices that will prevent stress in the first place. You will also learn how to turn off the stress response, so you can return to feeling good again.

My favorite part of the book is where it talks about creating a mission statement. Such a statement helps clear your brain of who you are and what you are about.

In sum, along with excellent, up-to-date guidance on the skills you need to deal with stress when it happens, this book also teaches you how to avoid getting overwhelmed by stress. I congratulate Dr. Michael Olpin, Sam Bracken, and Franklin Covey on their valuable insights. The stories they tell bring to life their own and many other peoples struggles and private victories over debilitating stress.

Enjoy the journey!

Daniel G. Amen, M.D., is a physician, double-board-certified psychiatrist, teacher, and eight-time New York Times bestselling author. Widely regarded as one of the worlds foremost experts on brain science, Dr. Amen is the founder of Amen Clinics. His many bestselling books include Change Your Brain, Change Your Body; Making a Good Brain Great; and Change Your Brain, Change Your Age. He has partnered with Franklin Covey in writing The 5 Choices: Achieving Extraordinary Results in Work and Life.

PART 1

UNWINDING THE STRESS PARADIGM

HOW TO UNDERSTAND STRESS

If things go wrong, dont go with them.

Roger Babson

It doesnt matter where you are in the world, most peopleprobably including you, as you are reading this bookare more stressed out than ever.

Most books on stress are about coping with stress. Their goal is to help you deal with the symptoms of stressheadache, upset stomach, irritability, lack of sleep, and so forth.

This book gives you up-to-date coping skills, but our goal is much greater than simply helping you cope. We get to the roots of the constant stress you feel. We help you remove from your life the