Mary Kay Schultz, LCSW

Category: Fitness

  • Difficult Roads Often Lead To Beautiful Places

    Difficult Roads Often Lead To Beautiful Places

  • Essential Oil Event In Winder, GA on July 26, 2015 @ 1pm

    Essential Oil Event In Winder, GA on July 26, 2015 @ 1pm

  • Exercise and Addiction Recovery

    Exercise and Addiction Recovery

    EXERCISE:

    •  promotes the formation of blood vessels in the brain
    •  forges connections between cells
    •  enhances repair of neural tissue
    •  generates new neurons in memory-formation areas.

    Through its actions on hormones that affect the nervous system, exercise also improves TOLERANCE OF STRESS.  This is an observation that is particularly intriguing given the links between stress and drug abuse.

    How Exercise Helps the Recovery Process from Substance Abuse/Addiction

    Many who abuse drugs or alcohol neglect important components of daily health, wreaking havoc on both emotional and physical well being.

    It is important to repair the psychological and physical damage of chemical dependency as well as the damaged mind-body connection.

    Exercise in chemical dependency treatment serves many purposes, but there are some primary benefits one can get from exercise during substance abuse treatment and recovery.

    • Exercise relieves and reduces stress.
    • Exercise naturally and positively alters your brain chemistry.
    • Exercise is meditation in motion.
    • Exercise improves your outlook.

    In addition, regular exercise fosters improved:

    • Sleep
    • Greater energy
    • Enhanced feelings of well being

    All of these make life much more manageable and enjoyable and recovery that much more possible and sustainable.

    DOPAMINE AND SEROTONIN ARE MAJOR FACTORS WITH ADDICTION

    Researchers now think there are at least two systems for rewards involving the neurotransmitter, dopamine:

    • One, described as the “liking” system, is stimulated on receiving a reward, incorporating dopamine’s originally conceived role.
    • The other, the “wanting” system, motivates behavior in pursuit of a reward, which explains why dopamine rises in anticipation.

    Neuroscientists say the balance between these systems can be altered by drug abuse to the point that the wanting system dominates the liking one.

    Serotonin also plays a prominent role in the way hallucinogens act on the brain, greatly increasing serotonin levels in certain brain cells.

    Hallucinogens are serotonin “agonists,” which means they are molecularly similar enough to serotonin to dock with serotonin receptors.

    Large increases in serotonin levels have also been measured in users of ecstasy.

    Ecstasy appears to push the serotonin system into overdrive by interfering with serotonin mop-up transporters, similar to the way cocaine affects dopamine.

    Elevated serotonin causes short-term euphoria but depletes it in the longer-term. Chronic ecstasy users, for example, were found to have 50%-80% lower concentrations of serotonin.

    Aerobic exercise have a neurochemical basis.

    Exercise:

    • Reduces stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol
    • Reduces immune system chemicals that can worsen depression
    • Stimulates the production of neurotransmitters, endorphins and endocannabinoids (aka feel good chemicals), the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators.
    • Increases body temperature which can have a calming effect.

    Psychological and emotional benefits of exercise:

    • Gain confidence.
    • Get more social interaction.
    • Take your mind off worries.
    • Cope in a healthy way.
  • Skills for Recovering Addicts

    Skills for Recovering Addicts

    1.  Assertiveness ~ Assertiveness is having the confidence to say no when needed, and accepting limits set by others. It is taking responsibility for the consequences of your actions while allowing others to own their own feelings and actions. It means doing these things even if they make you unpopular or challenge you to step outside your comfort zone. In some cases, it may mean ending a relationship with someone who repeatedly disrespects your boundaries.
      Positive communication requires people in recovery to let go of familiar tactics like manipulation and replace them with assertiveness. This doesn’t mean getting pushy or demanding what you want, but rather approaching others with honesty and straightforwardness to prevent misunderstandings and to protect yourself from being taken advantage of.  Assertiveness is a skill that enables people to find “win – win” solutions to different situations.
    2. Using Positive Self-Talk and Self-Thought ~ Self-talk can affect your perspective. It can boost you up or take you down.  Self-Talk and Self-Thought are the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.  Using positive Self-Talk and Thoughts are vital to manage stress and help the body maintain balance especially early in recovery.
    3. Openness ~ Openness in interpersonal communication is not only a person’s willingness to self-disclose and to reveal information about himself or herself as appropriate. Openness also includes a willingness to listen openly and to react honestly to the messages of others.
    4. Listening ~ When people give up an addiction they can spend a great deal of time talking. This is particularly likely if they join a recovery fellowship or enter group therapy. There is no doubt that talking can help people recover from their addiction, but sometimes it can be far more helpful to listen. This will allow the individual to soak up the information they need, and it can also allow them to be of comfort to other people. Listening is a skill that most addicts will have failed to develop. It is something that they will need to learn to do in order to build a successful life away from addiction.
    5. Empathy ~ The ability to understand other people is an important skill for those recovering from an addiction. Those who abuse alcohol and drugs sometimes can be highly self-absorbed and selfish. This will usually bring them into conflict with other humans. The addict may have been the source of a great deal of suffering for family and friends. When these individuals become sober it will be necessary to take a new approach to dealing with other people. Part of this will involve learning to listen and trying to be empathetic.
    6. Thought Stopping ~ Sometimes unwanted thoughts simply will not go away and we spend a lot of time and energy focused on the wrong things. Thought stopping is a simple, but effective tool for getting rid of those unwanted and unnecessary thoughts.  Thought stopping develops the mental discipline needed to consciously take control over an unwanted, unconscious behavior.
    7. Mindfulness ~ Mindfulness is the state of being present in the here and now It means being in the moment, and being in your body instead of being on autopilot.  Mindfulness allows you to harness the power of both emotional and rational parts together.  It involves not being blinded by emotionality so as to ignore logic and not being so rational that you ignore your feelings.  Mood swings are common in early recovery.  Practicing not going off the deep end in either direction is very beneficial.
    8. Distress Tolerance ~ Distress Tolerance skills are used when we are unable, unwilling, or it would be inappropriate to change a situation.  It’s important to use the right skills at the right time.  Distress Tolerance skills are used to help us cope and survive during a crisis, and helps us tolerate short term or long term pain (physical or emotional pain).
    9. Emotion Regulation ~ In recovery, emotions can frequently be very intense and labile, which means they change often. Emotions often drive behavior. A lot of behavior focuses around finding ways to get our emotions validated or to get rid of the pain in some way.  This involves learning how to regulate emotions.
    10. Interpersonal Effectiveness ~ Our interactions with other people are a common source of stress and can lead to unhealthy behaviors. Many people have spent a lifetime suppressing their own values and goals, live with anger and guilt, or living lives of quiet frustration. Much of that has to do with how we communicate with others: at home, at work, at school, and as we go about our daily lives.  Learning to assert ourselves is crucial in learning to say no, building our self-respect, and dealing with drinking or drugging situations.
  • Decision Making Styles

    Decision Making Styles

    decision making styles

     

    Certain decision making styles may be more effective in different situations.  However, it is probably obvious that the searching style is the most preferred.

    Here is a quiz you can take to determine your style.

    DIRECTIONS:
    Read each statement and then use the one (1) to five (5) point scale to indicate the     degree to which each statement applies to you. If the statement is not at all like you, give yourself a one (1). If it is very much like you, give yourself a five (5).

    NOT AT ALL LIKE ME                                                                                                                                                                                             VERY MUCH LIKE ME

                       1

    		 2 3 4 5
      1. I spend time almost every day thinking about what I should do with my life.
      2. I’m not sure what I’m doing at work; I think that things will work themselves out.
      3. I have been acting according to the ways with which I was brought up.
      4. I spend time on two or more occasions per week reading and talking to others about religious ideas.
      5. When I discuss an idea with others, I try to assume their point of view and see the idea from their perspective.
      6. I don’t think about things in advance; I decide things as they happen.
      7. I’ve always had a purpose in my life; I was brought up to know what life is about and what standards to strive for.
      8. Many times by not thinking about personal problems, they just go away by themselves.
      9. On five or more occasions per week, I read and learn about economic, political, or social issues.
      10. I do not think about my future now; it’s still years off.
      11. I read about career possibilities and have talked to a lot of people trying to decide what I want.
      12. Regarding religion, I’ve always known what I believe and don’t believe; I never ask myself questions about my beliefs.
      13. I’ve known since high school or earlier that I would be working in the job that I am in and pursue the training that I have.
      14. I prefer to have one set of beliefs, and not question them.
      15. When I have to make a decision, I put it off for as long possible in order to see what will happen.
      16. When I have a personal problem, I try to figure out the situation in order to understand it.
      17. I prefer relying on the advice of a professional (e.g., chaplain, doctor, lawyer, instructor) when I have a personal problem.
      18. I prefer not thinking about my life; I just try to do the things I like to do.
      19. I prefer using my own ways of doing things to considering the ways other people do things.
      20. I try not to think about or deal with problems for as long as I can.
      21. I find that personal problems often require that I learn skills and information I did not know about.
      22. I try not to get into situations that will require me to do a lot of work.
      23. Once I learn one way to handle a problem, I prefer sticking with that way.
      24. When I have to make a decision, I spend a lot of time finding out and thinking about a number of options before I make the decision.
      25. I prefer dealing with situations where the standards are publicized and I already know them.
      26. I prefer dealing with situations where I will have to establish the standards.
      27. I do not believe problems will happen since things manage to work themselves out.
      28. When making decisions, I want to have as much information as possible.
      29. When I guess that a situation where I’m required to be is going to cause me pressure, I think of ways to get out of it.

     

    In the Score column, write the number you circled for each corresponding item. Then add and record your
    score for each category.

     

     

    Item No. Score Item No. Score Item No. Score
    1 

    4

    5

    9

    11

    16

    21

    24

    26

    28

    		 3 

    7

    12

    13

    14

    17

    19

    23

    25

    29

    		 2 

    6

    8

    10

    15

    18

    20

    22

    27
    Style 3 Style 2 Style 1

     

    Graph the totals for each category on the following chart:

    CHART

     

    Style 1 = Ignoring

    Style 2 = Selective

    Style 3 = Searching

     

     

     

  • Dr. Axe ~ How To Heal Broken Bones Naturally

    Dr. Axe ~ How To Heal Broken Bones Naturally

    In this video, Dr. Axe shares the top tips on how to heal broken bones naturally. If you want to repair broken bones, you’ll need to follow a specific diet, supplement regimen, lifestyle regimen, and essential oils to help your body heal much faster. He has seen broken bones heal 2-3 times faster by following these specific tips.

    Diet:

    1. Calcium

    2. Magnesium

    3. Zinc

    4. Vitamin C

    5. Foods like veggies, fruits, meats, and nuts and seeds

    6. Stay away from overly acidic foods, alcohol, excess sodium, and excess sugar

    Supplements:

    1. Vitamin D Supplement

    2. Magnesium

    3. Fish Oil

    4. Green Superfood

    Therapies:

    1. Stand on a vibrating platform

    2. Acupuncture treatment

    Essential Oils:

    1. Cypress oil

    2. Fir oil

    3. Helichrysum oil

  • 10 Ways to Help Your Child Deal With Anxiety

    10 Ways to Help Your Child Deal With Anxiety

    Very well-meaning parents sometimes fall into an enslaving cycle by trying to save their child from suffering the feelings that come with anxiety.  Sometimes this unintentionally can make the child’s anxiety worse.  It happens when parents, anticipating a child’s fears, try to protect her from them.

    Here are 10 things to keep in mind for helping children escape the cycle of anxiety.

    1. The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety, but to help a child manage it.
    None of us wants to see a child unhappy, but the best way to help kids overcome anxiety isn’t to try to remove stressors that trigger it. It’s to help them learn to tolerate their anxiety and function as well as they can, even when they’re anxious. And as a byproduct of that, the anxiety will decrease or fall away over time.

    2. Don’t avoid things just because they make a child anxious.
    Helping children avoid the things they are afraid of will make them feel better in the short term, but it reinforces the anxiety over the long run. If a child in an uncomfortable situation gets upset, starts to cry—not to be manipulative, but just because that’s how he/she feels—and his/her parents whisk him/her out of there, or remove the thing he/she’s afraid of, he/she’s learned that coping mechanism, and that cycle has the potential to repeat itself.

    3. Express positive ~ but realistic ~ expectations.
    Promising a child that his/her fears are unrealistic may not be the best approach.  A better technique may be to express with confidence that he/she’s going to be okay, he/she will be able to manage it, and that, as he/she faces her fears, the anxiety level will drop over time. This gives him/her confidence that the parent’s expectations are realistic, and that the parent is not going to ask him/her to do something he/she can’t hchild jumps-off-diving-boardandle.

    4. Empower your child not the anxiety.
    It’s important to understand that validation doesn’t always mean agreement. It is possible to respect your child’s feelings without empowering his/her fears. So if a child is terrified about going swimming, don’t belittle his/her fears, but also don’t amplify them. Listen and be empathetic, help him/her understand what he/she’s anxious about, and encourage him/her to know that he/she can face his/her fears. The better message to send is, “I know you’re scared, and that’s okay, and I’m here, and I’m going to help you get through this.”

    5. Don’t ask leading questions.
    Encourage your child to talk about his/her feelings, but try not to ask leading questions; like, “Are you anxious about who will be at Suzie’s birthday party? Are you worried about going to Suzie’s birthday party?” To avoid feeding the cycle of anxiety, just ask open-ended questions: “How are you feeling about going to Suzie’s birthday party?”

    6. Don’t reinforce the child’s fears.
    Try not to use a tone of voice or body language that implies: “Maybe this is something that you should be afraid of.” Let’s say a child has had a negative experience with a dog. Next time he/she’s around a dog, you might be anxious about how he/she will respond, and you might unintentionally send a message that he/she should, indeed, be worried.

    7. Encourage the child to tolerate her anxiety.
    Let your child know that you appreciate the work it takes to tolerate anxiety in order to do what he/she wants or needs to do. It’s really encouraging him/her to engage in life and to let his/her feelings be present in the situation along with a means to cope with it. As time goes by and the child’s contact with the stressor increases, he/she will learn how to get over his/her fear.

    8. Try to keep the anticipatory period short.
    For many of us, the most difficult moments can be the time is just before we do the things we are anxious about. So another rule of thumb for parents is to really try to eliminate or reduce the anticipatory period. If a child is nervous about going into a social situation, try not to launch into a discussion about it two hours before you go; that’s likely to get your child more keyed up.  So just try to shorten that period to a minimum.

    9. Think things through with the child.
    Sometimes it helps to talk through what would happen if a child’s fear came true, how would he/she handle it? A child who’s anxious about separating from his/her parents might worry about what would happen if they didn’t come to pick him/her up. So we talk about that.  If your mom doesn’t come at the end of soccer practice, what would you do? “Well I would tell the coach my mom’s not here.”  And what do you think the coach would do?  “Well he would call my mom.  Or he would wait with me.” A child who’s afraid that a stranger might be sent to pick him/her up can have a code word from her parents that anyone they sent would know. For some kids, having a plan can reduce the uncertainty in a healthy, effective way.

    10. Try to model healthy ways of handling anxiety.
    There are multiple ways you can help kids handle anxiety by letting them see how you cope with anxiety yourself. Kids are perceptive, and they’re going to take it in if you keep complaining on the phone to a friend that you can’t handle the stress or the anxiety. I’m not saying to pretend that you don’t have stress and anxiety, but let kids hear or see you managing it calmly, tolerating it, feeling good about getting through it.

  • Essential Oils for Weight Loss

    Essential Oils for Weight Loss

    In today’s video, Dr. Axe  talks about essential oils for weight loss. So many people want to burn fat and lose weight fast in a safe way. Essential oils alone can’t get you to lose 20 pounds, however, it helps support your body in losing weight. There are three main essential oils that can help your body in weight loss. 

    The number one essential oil is grapefruit oil. It helps to activate enzymes in your saliva that help your body break down body fat. The oil of grapefruit comes from the peel, which helps support metabolism and cleansing of your lymphatic gland.

    The second essential oil to support weight loss is cinnamon oil. Cinnamon oil helps regulate blood glucose levels and GTF (glucose tolerance factor).

    The third oil that helps the body with weight loss is ginger essential oil. Ginger reduces sugar cravings, reduces inflammation in the body, and improves digestion and absorption of nutrients. This process supports cellular energy, which in turn, helps with weight loss.

    If you’re looking to lose weigh with the help of essential oils, I would recommend grapefruit, cinnamon, and ginger essential oils. You can diffuse it or apply it topically with coconut oil.

     

  • Sunburn?

    Sunburn?

    Apply several drops topically to the affected area hourly or as needed.

    This information was taken from Essential Oils A – Z.

    FDA Disclaimer:  The information, advice, statements, and testimonials made about the essential oils, blends, and products mentioned on this web site have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The information on this site and the products listed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease, nor are they intended to replace proper medical help.

  • How Long Should You Rest Between Exercises?

    How Long Should You Rest Between Exercises?

    Did you know that rest can actually improve your physical performance? Dr. Axe has worked with many Olympic level athletes, and they would all agree that rest is just as important as exercise. Resting is when your muscles grow and recover. During a weight training exercise, the general rule of thumb is you need 48 hours for that muscle to recover. You should take a full day off of that muscle group after working it to fatigue. This also works for the cardiovascular system. You do not want to run at a race-pace every day or you will wear your body out. You will need to give you body time to recover to increase you performance. This is also known as “tapering”. When you have a big race coming up, you want to build up your volume of energy leading up to the race, so you would taper your workouts. In general, Dr. Axe would recommend taking off 1-2 days completely off of exercise during the week. Additionally, getting 8 hours of sleep every night is also essential to performing at your highest level.