{"id":236663,"date":"2010-01-27T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-27T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chicagopressrelease.com\/?p=13928"},"modified":"2010-01-27T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-01-27T17:00:00","slug":"northwestern-memorial-hospital-experts-offer-tips-to-beat-stress-suggest-mental-health-self-assessment-key-to-overall-well-being","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/236663","title":{"rendered":"Northwestern Memorial Hospital experts offer tips to beat stress, suggest mental health self-assessment key to overall well-being"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A few weeks into the New Year, regular gym attendance and healthy eating pledges might have slowed in their momentum, but the spirit in which these resolutions were made remains.<\/p>\n

In addition to this increased emphasis on diet and exercise, Northwestern Memorial Hospital experts say the start of the New Year is a good opportunity to take stock of your mental and emotional fitness and offer tips to keep stress symptoms at bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe holidays are over, winter is here, and with the current economic conditions in the world, stress is running rampant,\u201d said Mike Ziffra, MD, a psychiatrist with Northwestern Memorial Hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s important to look at your mood and anxiety levels and see how you\u2019re functioning overall.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Ziffra acknowledges in the past, mental health was a subject that was not addressed in mainstream discourse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see a willingness to talk openly about improving other areas of life, such as quitting smoking or a new weight loss plan,\u201d said Ziffra. \u201cHowever, there\u2019s always been this stigma attached to mental health issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used to be told to ignore problems and shove stress aside,\u201d said Greg Petersen, PhD, a health psychologist at Northwestern Memorial\u2019s Center for Integrative Medicine and Wellness. \u201cOften times we viewed admitting your problems as a sign of weakness or a flaw in character.\u201d<\/p>\n

With an increasing wealth of knowledge regarding mental health, the subject has become far less taboo.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are less uneasy about discussing mental health now,\u201d he said. \u201cSociety has started to realize that mental health can effect overall health, and vice versa, and that counseling is a well researched tool that can help get your well-being back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you reach for the right tool, it\u2019s not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Petersen said recognizing the symptoms of stress is key to overcoming them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAvoidance can only really work in the short term,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Physical signs of stress include being unusually tired or fatigued, changes in weight, sleep, or appetite, decreased motivation, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, and thoughts of death.<\/p>\n

If you or a family member\/friend is experiencing these symptoms, Petersen and Ziffra say it\u2019s important to seek professional help, either through your primary caregiver or a counselor.<\/p>\n

They also offer several tips to increase mental fitness and keep stress levels low.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re doing everything you can about a problem but you\u2019re still feeling stressed, you don\u2019t need to try harder, but different,\u201d said Petersen.<\/p>\n

\u201cConstructive worry is an important thing to practice too\u2014make a plan about what you will do to combat your worry, and when you\u2019re not doing that, let the worry go and focus on other things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ziffra recommends patients maintain a consistent sleep schedule, get regular exercise, and have a healthy diet to build up resistance to stress.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake sure you have outlets for socialization too, so that you\u2019re not isolated and can reach out to others during stressful times,\u201d said Ziffra.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who have buffers, through being socially and spiritually connected, and those who participate in a variety of activities, are the ones who are going to handle difficulties the best,\u201d said Petersen. \u201cIt\u2019s about creating joy in the midst of hardship.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few weeks into the New Year, regular gym attendance and healthy eating pledges might have slowed in their momentum, but the spirit in which these resolutions were made remains. In addition to this increased emphasis on diet and exercise, Northwestern Memorial Hospital experts say the start of the New Year is a good opportunity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236663\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}