Mindful Happiness

Anthony Quintiliani, Ph.D, LADC

  • Home
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
    • About
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Contact

March 5, 2015 By Admin

Stress in America – 2014 and Beyond

Stress In America – How to Deal with it Effectively

The American Psychological Association just released the results of its annual stress survey for 2014.  This comprehensive study of stress in America has some serious implications for our health and happiness.  Although self-reported stress levels in many categories are lower than in 2013, the overall picture is still less than positive.

Here I will simply review some of the more important points.

The rank order of sources of stress existing for Americans looks like this: money, work, significant relationships, family health, family responsibilities, housing costs, job stability, personal health, and personal safety.  Note the important role of money, work and jobs!  The top four sources of stress for most people were  money concerns (64%), work MindfulHappiness_Stressconcerns (60%), family concerns (47%), and health concerns (46%).  Up to 72% noted that they worried about money some of the time.  Women, especially with child rearing responsibility, experienced slightly more stress than men did. Parents reported that when they were stressed they ate too much or ate junk food (43%), while some skipped a meal (37%).  Given these lists, it is no surprise that only 38% of Americans noted that their health was good to excellent.

When annual family income was below $50,000, self-reported stress levels increased.  In this group self-medicative solutions were more common.  These people reported that when stressed they surfed the internet (58%), watched TV (53%), went to sleep (42%), ate more MindfulHappiness_StressinAmerica(38%), smoked (25%), and drank alcohol (20%).  Millennials (ages 18-35) experienced more stress than other groups, and lacked adequate emotional support. The self-medicative reactions to stress have serious implications for both psychological and physical health.  Stress may lead to unhelpful levels of anxiety, depression, substance use, eating problems , and obesity.  Chronic stress often leads to deterioration in physical health and complications in existing medical conditions. The human brain, body, and immune system have problems when bombarded with continued stressors. Americans in the non-self-medicating categories responded to stress by listening to music, exercising, reading, socializing, praying and working on hobbies.  Much better choices!

So what should people do to deal more effectively with their personal stress level?

Here is a helpful list.

Remember your level of stress is usually based NOT on the actual stressor but how you respond or react to it. Take better control over your emotional reactions, and use more helpful thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to respond with more calmness.

Respond to stress how people did in the non-self-medicating group noted above (music, exercise, read, socialize, pray, and enjoy hobbies.).

Increase social and emotional support to/from co-workers and to/from family and friends. Learn how to PRACTICE mindfulness and self-compassion skills when facing acute and chronic stressors.

More helpful responses to stress will occur when you practice these skills on a daily basis whether or not you feel stressed.  Know that ample research supports the effectiveness of mindfulness and compassion skills in reducing your reactivity to stressors. Your emotional health will also improve.  The more you practice, the more your brain goes on autopilot in the behaviors you choose.  If you react in negative ways OR if you respond in more “wise mind” ways (enlightened), your brain will change over time.  The habits you develop will occur more and more easily.  So, be certain to select mindfulness, self-calming, and compassion over negative emotional reactivity. Your choices will determine how well you do in stressful situations. If you are already experiencing anxiety and/or depression, be Thinking mancertain to learn and use mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy skills.  These two approached, above all others, have been shown to improve personal responses to stressors and associated moods.  If you do not know these skills, see a competent therapist who knows how to do these skills. Learn from her/him. BIG Hint – If your therapist spends more time talking and less time doing helpful skills with you in sessions, you may need to find another therapist (too much talk – not enough skill-building).  And, if your therapist is overly concerned about how you emotionally interact with them, you may need to find another therapist (too much psychodynamics, not enough skill-building). Learn about and practice daily loving kindness meditation and daily gratitude awareness. Loving kindness gentles your mind toward yourself and others, and gratitude gently reminds you of what you DO HAVE to be thankful for.  Be kind and appreciative to yourself and others. Lastly, and I mean this, LOVE yourself just a bit more. STOP being stuck on your” less-than” parts of self! You are human; you have weaknesses.  And, you are human: you have strengths.  Use the strengths!

May you be safe and healthy.  May you be happy and unstressed. May you change for the better by practicing daily mindfulness and compassion skills.

Refer to Stress in America: Paying With Our Health. (2015). Washington, DC: The American Psychological Association. See also The American Psychological Association. (March, 2015). Monitor on Psychology. 46(3), 50-55.

By Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, VermontChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness

CLICK HERE to Order!

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

 

 

Filed Under: ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, Featured, MIndfulness, Stress Reduction Tagged With: 2014, ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, APA, MINDFUL SOLUTIONS, RELIEVE STRESSORS, STRESS IN AMERICA

Twitter

Mindful Happiness -Currently in Production

Mindful Happiness Posts

College Students – Mental Health in The US R. Quintiliani, Ph.D., LADC The Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors has released data on the mental health status of American college students.  Two survey between 2016 and 2018 yielded results from as far back as 2014. Here are some selected statistics (rounded): Anxiety 47-61%; […]

-Steps to Mind Training Anthony R. Quintiliani, Ph.D., LADC To pacify your mind you need to train your mind. Mind training leads to liberation from brain-mind-heart-body automatic processes and reactions. A well-trained mind allows you to utilize executive functions (attention and concentration) to alter auto-reactions of the brain, body and heart. A trained mind liberates […]

Mindfulness Expands the Art of Journal Writing T. Merton, J. Kerouc, I. Progoff, J. Upton, and others have helped to expand the art or journal writing practice.  This type of practice can become your mindfulness practice.  You will need to write on a daily basis (even if briefly), and you will need to be highly […]

Laughter to Support you in Suffering As we all know life is filled with joy, suffering, and neutrality or boredom. This is THE WAY IT IS! Or, as a very good old friend often reminded me: “It is what it is!”  In Buddhism we preach a middle way in various areas of practice; the same […]

Mindfulness and Concentration –  Experience Differences In this post I will explain some basic differences between mindfulness and concentration, both of which are required for effective meditation practice.  This will be the first of three posts dealing with what mindfulness and concentration are, how to experience them briefly in a body-based activity, and how to […]

Spirit Wars and “Spiritual Warfare” This post will discuss the topic and personal strategies.  Most content will relate to both physical realities and metaphorical meanings and categories. Since a person viewing their self as fighting a spiritual war most likely holds onto certain parts of self in this endeavor, it is highly unlikely that the […]

Mindful Happiness Explores – The Miracle of Mirror Neurons Between 1996 and 2000 researchers (Gallese and Rizzolatti) at the University of Parme in Italy discovered what are now called mirror neurons. Neuroscientists speculate that mirror neurons (reportedly in the Broca’s area of the prefrontal cortex) activate perceptual responses for internal motor-emotional responses.  Thus mirror neurons […]

Emptiness – Meditation Practice The Brahma-Viharas (higher abodes) include four powerful meditation practices ( Loving Kindness/Maitri or Metta; Compassion/Karuna; Sympathetic Joy/Mudita; and, Equanimity/Upekkha) that involve boundless radiation outwardly all the way into the infinite universe. These boundless or infinite space meditations, working with deep absorption and projecting kindness outwardly, may lead to positive changes. Experienced […]

Relapse Prevention Plans – The Basics T. T. Gorski, Anthony R. Quintiliani, Ph.D., LADC The following information about how to develop effective relapse prevention plans has been paraphrased from the Work of Terrence T. Gorski.  It is highly practical and a concrete way to develop your skills in relapse prevention interventions. Intermediate (Marlatt and Gordon) […]

More Characteristics of Happiness – Happiness #4 Here I will continue my posts about the common characteristics of happiness.  Here is the list. Keep an Open Mind – Maintaining an open mind opens up doorways to interesting things in the world, some of which may help you to become happier. Also, open-mindedness reduces inner tension […]

Mediation:  Conscious or Not? A true, in depth understanding about what human consciousness is and how it works has eluded mind and brain scientists for many years.  A few very interesting ideas have been presented by Stuart Hameroff, professor emeritus and director of the University of Arizona’s Center for Consciousness Studies. Consciousness rests in the […]

Understanding Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy? Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (or Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, hereafter CBT) has been noted as the most common evidence-based therapy approach used in the United States.  That said, the most common “therapy” approach used here remains generic talk therapy with more or less psychodynamic characteristics. Given the absolute limited level of outcome-based evidence for effectiveness of […]

Mindful Loving Can Improve Relationships The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), Pema Chodron, David Richo and many others have provided us with helpful advice about improving the quality of our significant relationships.  The Dalai Lama in various writings reminds us that to have true compassion for others – including those we love – we must […]

Trauma: Object Relations Therapy Object relations therapists, D. W. Winnicott especially, have presented a logical analysis on how to provide object-relations-oriented therapy to people suffering from the effects of psychological trauma. Such attachment-based trauma therapy provides support and healing from trauma, loss and long-term trauma-effects.  The interventions below combine the best of object relations therapy, […]

Basics of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is, perhaps, one of the major contributions to evidence-based mindfulness therapies. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s development of this model of intervention was both timely and exquisite.  In clinical care of psychological and physical problems, these skills and practices are of utmost importance for improving (according to the most recent […]

 Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy “gems” In my opinion there are about eleven such “gems” in psychoanalytic psychotherapy.  Use of these interventions in various types of psychotherapy may improve clinical outcomes beyond insight. Although these curative interventions have often been associated with treatment of psychological trauma, object loss, and inner conflict, they may also be useful in the […]

Self-Reality Checks Are Needed in Your Mindful Clinical Practice It is highly important for helpers working in the co-occurring conditions field to become keenly aware of their own realities in practice and life that impact clinical effectiveness.  Below I have listed four areas that show up in clinical surveys and added four more that I […]

Advanced Meditations – Middle Way -Wisdom Path Between Extremes These meditation practices are advanced, and combine complex ideas from Nagarjuna (Indian Master), T’ong-Kha-Pa (Tibetan Master), and The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso).  In keeping with the mixed secular nature of my meditation center, I have decided to present these complex ideas with several of my […]

Practice: Yogi Deep Meditation on Inner Listening Carl Jung noted: Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside, awakens. The Katha Upanishads (800-400 BCE) noted: One path leads outward and the other inward. [The] way inward leads to grace. The Mind Cave Focus instructs us to close our eyes and expand your third-eye space to the back of […]

The Lotus Sutra and Meditatin Practice The Lotus Sutra is one of the most important and sacred of Buddhist sutras. It is often considered a summary of The Buddha’s teaching, presented many years after he began to teach and share his experiences. The version considered here is the Kumarajiva translation,  as translated by B. Watson; it […]

Mindful Categories

Mindful Happiness Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Site Map

Copyright © 2023 · Mindful Happiness