December 2009 Newsletter
Office News
Theme of December: “Give the gift of Health this year”
Promotion: Every dollar you spend in December 2009, I will match that in January of 2010 for a new family member. Gift cards available
i.e. If you spend $100 in December you can bring in your wife, kids, mother, father, etc.. and receive a $100 credit if they are new to the practice.
Last Workshop of 2009 "7 home remedies to take home to help your family and strengthen your immune function"
When: Dec. 9 at 7:00
Where: Alpine Chiropractic: A Creating Wellness Center
Biggest Loser Contest!
Would you like to be the next biggest loser and get rewarded for achieving optimal health? We have incorporated some awesome equipment in the office to help us monitor your progress.
The greatest thing about this equipment is that it allows us to get a snapshot of your overall health and puts you on a scale out of 200. The other unique thing about this program is that there is nothing that can compare to it. There are 4 set different programs to choose from which can be tailor to fit your personal needs depending on what you need and want to be successful. Let me ask you one question before I continue. Where do most weight loss program make most of their money? …..On return customers! How many of you have said, “This is the year I will become healthy and lose those extra pounds!” but seem to fall short of your goal. The great thing is that we have program to help you on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis to keep you motivated and focused on your personal goal. Join us, and learn how to live the life you have always dreamed about. First, second, and third prizes will be awarded.
Mandatory meeting held Wed. Jan 6, 2010 at 7:00 to explain the details of the program at our office on 555 1st Street in Idaho Falls, ID.
Let listen to Gandhi who said “Be the change you want to see in the world” not like Mark Twen who said, “It’s easy to start losing weight, I’ve done it a million times.”
Call our office to RSVP you place on Wed Jan 6, 2010 at 528-6010.
Why Giving Back Could Make You Happier and Healthier
How good would it feel if someone just gave you $1,000? Last fall, Oprah Winfrey thrilled audience members with these words: "You will each go home with $1,000." Then she said there was a catch, "You have to spend the money on someone other than your family." Winfrey said she wanted them to experience how good it feels to give. They still applauded, but the smiles looked a little forced. Yet maybe she did her audience a favor, because even though the audience had to give the money away, it could get back even more than they gave.
Stephen Post explains why in his new book, "Why Good Things Happen to Good People." He reveals that new science shows giving -- money or time -- not only feels just as good as getting, but can actually improve your health. "Giving is as good for the giver as it is for the receiver. Science says it's so. We'll be happier, healthier, and even -- odds are -- live a little longer if we're generous," Post said. "Public health isn't just about bugs and staying away from lead. It's about doing unto others, and at the right dose, science says it's very good for you," he said.
Arthur Brooks, author of the new book, "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism," also knows a lot about the current research on charity. Brooks said, "There's evidence that it helps people with their asthma, in cardiovascular disease, weight loss, insomnia. When people have a lot of happiness, they do a lot better in their health as well.
That was true for former heart patients at Duke University Medical Center. They were asked to visit current heart patients -- no particular agenda, just to listen and lend support. By doing that, the volunteers had better health after their heart attacks.
A similar study at the University of Miami by Dr. Gail Ironson followed HIV patients who volunteered, like Katherine Marshall Scott, who talks to teenagers about avoiding infection, and Stephen Baker, who counsels fellow HIV survivors. These and other HIV patients who helped others had lower stress levels and higher immune resistance. Scott's disease-fighting cells went up, from 200 to 800. Baker says he could feel how volunteering improved his health. "To get involved with someone else's problems makes your problems look a lot less," he said.
At least five studies show that seniors who gave tended to live longer, Post said. After senior Fred Dekuyper started volunteering at a school, a small miracle happened. "I used to walk with a cane all the time, and now I don't need the cane anymore," he said.
Many high schools require their students to volunteer. It's called service learning. And oddly, even though the charity is forced, it still brings happy results. Teachers say students who volunteer raise their grades, and get higher SAT scores. Abington High School student Jeff Rohrback said, "After service learning started, I got so involved in it, I started paying attention more, picked up my grades."
So "20/20" decided to see whether we could find a similar effect. We put an ad on Craigslist recruiting people who were not currently volunteers. We introduced them to Post, and asked them to try it for one week. But first, Post had them fill out a questionnaire that asked how they felt about life, like how often during the week they felt calm and peaceful. Children for Children, whose mission is to get children involved in giving, agreed to help us, as did the Salvation Army, which has many different programs, from soup kitchens to after-school activities for kids. Then off they went -- bringing donated books to children at an elementary school, then reading to the kids and making scarves with the kids. One spent time in a truck handing out food to the poor. All four worked at a Harlem soup kitchen.
One week later we had them answer that questionnaire again. This time their answers about how often they felt "calm and peaceful" changed from some of the time to most of the time. Post said, "In fact, just seven days of activity was a kind of a transformation."
One of our volunteers, Diana Sanchez was surprised at how strongly the experiences affected her. "They were so grateful for me doing that, but it was just peas and carrots," she said. When asked whether it had made her feel good, she said, "It did. It did." Sanchez also spent time with kids at a Salvation Army after-school program. "Just knowing that after work I was heading over to work with the children, just seeing them smiling -- that just made me feel so great," she said. Researchers call that "the helper's high."
"The helper's high has been measured physically," Post said. "We know there's an actual physiological state. It's quite euphoric." The helper's high shows up in MRI brain scans. People who give money show brain activity that's associated with feel-good chemicals like dopamine -- the same brain activity that happens when you receive money. National Institutes of Health neuroscientist Jordan Grafman showed us the brain scans. "Those brain structures that are activated when you get a reward are the same ones that are activated when you give. In fact, they're activated more," he told us.
We asked our volunteers after their week of service who had gotten more out of the experience, the people they helped, or they themselves? Volunteer Daniel Smith didn't hesitate with his answer. "No brainer. Me, definitely." Lelani Clark also felt renewed from her single week of volunteering. "I just felt energized," she said. "We were so caught up in this energy of helping that it was like a buzz -- like a spiritual buzz." Winfrey's audience members reported that, too. After a week of giving money away, many said they were changed. Maybe we should call it selfish to help others, because it seems to help the givers more. "If you want to define selfishness so widely as to include the warm glow that people feel in the aftermath of selflessly giving to others, guess what, we need more of it, not less of it," Post said.
So try it. Get out and give your money or your time. You'll help someone else, AND you'll feel good, too.
Emotional
"Three Effective Ways to Reduce Stress and Depressed Mood During the Holidays," by. Mark Lakewood
The holiday season is quickly approaching and many of us are preparing for this joyous time of the year. Some may embrace the holidays with cheer, hope, and thanksgiving while others may embrace the season with burden, anxiety, and personal failure. This article addresses three ways you can overcome anxiety and depressed mood during the holidays.
The first and most effective way to avoid anxiety and depressed mood is to recognize unachievable and unrealistic expectations (unhealthy thoughts) that you may subscribe to. Our thoughts have a direct bearing over our emotional disposition and the consequences that occur in the aftermath. We often cannot change circumstances (situations, events, and the behavior of others) that occur in our lives but we do have the power to alter the way we feel and react to them by simply changing the way we think. If we would like to avoid experiencing anxiety and depressed mood during the holidays, we must take ownership and control over our own thoughts by identifying unhealthy thoughts that we may subscribe to that might be contributing to a negative emotional disposition and replace them with healthier ones.
The following are six common unachievable and unrealistic expectations (unhealthy thoughts) that are often pondered on during the holidays:
1. "I need to spend a lot of money on gifts otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others" - We should not feel or be made to feel that the holidays are all about external/physical gifts. The most precious gift that we can give to one another is our fellowship and love (internal gifts). Internal gifts have a longer shelf life and increase our self-esteem more than external/physical gifts.
2. "For gatherings, my home must always be clean and tidy otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others" - It is never okay to invite guests to a filthy home. But expecting your home to be constantly tidy might be an unrealistic expectation, especially when children are present. Do not worry about the cleanliness of your home but rather focus on fellowship as this is much more important and significant.
3. "I must prepare a flawless meal for my gathering otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others" - The quality of meals should not be the main focus of the holidays. If food preparation is an issue, there is nothing wrong with purchasing meals from a restaurant. To go one step further, having a potluck might be a better and less expensive idea.
4. "My physical appearance must be acceptable and appropriate otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others" - Aside from daily hygiene, do not worry about your physical appearance. More times than not, our own anxiety over our physical appearance has more to do with how we feel about ourselves rather than how others may perceive us.
5. "I need to bring a mate to the gathering otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others" - If you are single, sometimes attending a gathering by yourself where couples are present might make you feel uncomfortable as you might feel that you do not fit in. Keep in mind that you are not alone as there are many people that are divorced, separated, or single.
6. "I need to pretend that I am happy during gatherings otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others" - Experiencing happiness is not a prerequisite for attending gatherings. Oftentimes, life events and experiences that have nothing to do with the holidays may play a direct role in your emotional disposition. The wonderful thing about gatherings is that there are plenty of people that you can talk with. If someone asks you how you are doing or feeling, be honest with them and let them know. Oftentimes, having someone to discuss your problems with might actually help you resolve them as well as make you feel better.
The second way to avoid anxiety and depressed mood is to establish personal and professional goals for yourself. Establishing short and long-term goals is a healthy idea because they can provide you with structure by giving you something to look forward to. Goals oftentimes give meaning to our lives. Those who do not have goals often feel hopeless and helpless. Just make sure that the goals that you establish are significant and achievable otherwise they will not be effective or worth your while to achieve.
And finally, the third way to avoid anxiety and depressed mood is to work at giving to others. Sometimes we are fooled into believing that happiness is achieved through the gifts that we receive or the items that we purchase. Just the opposite is true. You can achieve true happiness by helping others in need, volunteering your services, holding the hand of one in despair, or just simply being there when one experiences a low moment in his/her life. Happy holidays to all!
Yours in Health
Dr. Justin Hammon
