A cure for stress

by Phil Houseal, Feb 9, 2011


What would you say if I told you Club Ed had a cure for stress?

It’s no secret more of us are stressed in this economic climate. So I went back to reread Dale Carnegie’s classic How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.

Those who have read Carnegie’s books know he is fond of using real life examples to illustrate his points. One such anecdotes was about a man who tragically lost not one, but two young daughters. The bereaved parent could not shake his anxiety and depression, until one day his remaining son asked him to build a boat.

At first the father was in no mood to start the project, but he relented and spent three hours working with his son. To his surprise, those three hours were the first time in months he was free of stress.

“I realized,” the father said, “that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking.”

This man went on to build his therapy around doing home repair projects, volunteering, and taking adult education classes. The result? He no longer had time or energy to worry - not to mention the side benefits of fixing up his house, raising money for the Red Cross, and learning a foreign language!

Carnegie attributes this phenomenon to the simple fact that the human mind cannot contain two thoughts simultaneously. As an example, he challenges the reader to think of The Statue of Liberty while planning what they will do the next day. Can’t be done.

I recently had more cause than usual to be stressed. My usual reaction to stress is to curl up and stop doing anything. Normally my evenings and weekends are filled with lifelong learning activities - basketball, dance, writing, and playing instruments. At first I thought I would just drop all those activities. My logic was that by foregoing those unnecessary “distractions” I would be able to focus more of my energy on dealing with the stressful situation. But after reading Carnegie, I realized that was self-defeating behavior. Because when you are actively engaged in learning, your mind can’t think worrisome thoughts.

Prove this to yourself. Pick up an instrument and memorize a piece, or sing, or recite a poem out loud. You will forget your other troubles and finish with a refreshed outlook.

I wanted to share this because even if you are not facing some dire situation in your personal life, you owe it to yourself to keep learning and growing. It doesn’t have to be as ambitious as learning to speak Spanish, but it could be learning a new way to bake bread. It could be welding, or dancing, or playing dulcimer, or any of hundreds of other classes you can find right here.

The benefit of lifelong learning isn’t just about learning a new skill. You will also be meeting some pretty neat new folks who share your interest and passion about the subject. They might even have some insight into your stressful situation!

When you take your next Club Ed class, we can’t guarantee you will be free of stress. But we are pretty sure you will leave just a little bit more relaxed, and maybe a little smarter, too.

See you in class.

XXX

Club Ed offers 165 cures for stress. Spring classes are starting now! For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Since 1974, the Kerrville Independent School District has offered Community Education (Club Ed). Each year, Club Ed offers more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

Healing through hypnosis

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - Oct 13, 2010



It is not surprising Patricia Labeda believes in hypnotherapy. After all, it saved her life.

“Years ago, when I was only 29, I did everything wrong,” she said. “I drank, I smoked, I ate the wrong foods.” She also had cancer. Her oncologist started her on hypnotherapy. It changed her profoundly. “I went from smoking two to three packs of cigarettes a day to not smoking. That was over 40 years ago, and I’ve never had another drink.”

After a career in law enforcement, Labeda now works at sharing her knowledge with others seeking life changes. She is certified in Advanced Hypnosis; Investigative/Forensics, Pediatric/Emergency. She is now in private practice, and teaches several classes for Club Ed in Self-Healing Hypnosis.

The modern practice of hypnosis has nothing to do with stage magic or making people cluck like chickens. It is a recognized adjunct to health therapy, used in medicine, dentistry, childbirth, and trauma. In fact, Labeda first became interested in hypnosis as treatment while working in an Emergency Room. She recalls watching how people reacted in the aftermath of major trauma, such as being involved in an automobile accident. She noticed a common denominator.

“I watched on monitors as people panicked,” she said. “I noticed they were not breathing properly, so I asked them to breathe.” Conscious breathing had dramatic effect. It lowered heart rates and increased relaxation. “Breathing is key.”

When you strip away the mystery, hypnosis is best understood as a way to bring your mind into a heightened state of awareness.

“It is like your mind running on autopilot,” Labeda said. “You become more cognizant.”

She elicits this state with techniques such as breathing, soft music, imagery, and relaxation. Once the subject reaches REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage, Labeda plants suggestions, or cues, patients can use. For example, for those trying to lose weight, the cue may be pinching the fold of skin between thumb and finger to fight the urge to overindulge.

She never plants cues that might make the subject uncomfortable. Before they even begin the process, Labeda clarifies specific goals they seek. Rather than wanting “to lose weight,” for example, she embeds the concept of “my perfect weight is...”

Following the session, it is up to the patient to continue the process. They self program every night, using the positive suggestions as they fall through the stages of sleep.

Does it work?

“I feel I get a 100% success rate,” she said.

While most patients only need one session with Labeda, healing is not a one-time practice. Success requires an ongoing commitment from the client.

“It’s a ‘rest of their life’ thing,” Labeda said. “Whether you say, ‘I can’ or ‘I can’t,’ you are always right.”

xxx

Pat Labeda teaches Self Healing Hypnosis for Smoking/Drinking on Oct 17, and for Anxiety/Phobias on Nov 14. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Stress and class

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly Dec 2, 2009

Are you stressed? I might have a cure.

I recently attended a seminar on recognizing and dealing with stress.

It was valuable because the insidious thing about stress is that you don’t realize you have it. It’s that twitch in the eye, the shallow breathing, the waking up at 2 in the morning - little tics that have become patterns that you cannot remember not having.

This group ended the session by going around the room and offering examples of ways we each deal with stress - sharing activities that reduce the level of anxiety.

We covered all the Reader’s Digest points - better nutrition, reduced sugar and caffeine, exercise, finding your happy place, and so on.

The session was nearly over when suddenly I had a flash of insight.

“Take a class!” I blurted.

Everyone turned to me to see what I was going to say next. I wondered, too.

Then it just came spilling out. I realized the times in my life I feel least stressed are when I am learning something new. Right now, that includes learning how to play violin and how to tap dance (no, not at the same time).

When I am in that lesson, for one hour, I don’t worry about work, kids, job, cars, or money. My mind goes to a state of focus and concentration, where the sole purpose is to hit that G# or nail that shuffle ball change. As a bonus, I’m getting a physical workout and learning a new skill or hobby - another stress reducer.

It occurred to me that every day I get to see people come through our doors who want to learn something new, and they are the happiest, most well-adjusted people I know, regardless of their age. This fall I interviewed a gentleman who is learning to weld. He is 87. And he didn’t appear to be too stressed. We have had a 70-year-old lady jump out of an airplane. I imagine she had a little adrenaline pumping through her veins, but she landed and survived to jump another day. Stress didn’t kill her.

We all know you should eat better, exercise more, sleep eight hours, and take time for yourself. The biggest reason people gave for not doing these things is “not enough time.”

Taking a class makes you take time. It forces you to attend a specific place at a specific time. It is in your organizer. When you show up, you are immersed in a whole new group of supportive people who become your friends and allies as you push back the frontiers of ignorance and uncertainty.

It is a fact that learning something new - at any age - forges new neuron paths in the brain. Old dogs can learn new tricks.

Oh. They say that change is another stressor. Well... take a tap class, and you can embrace change - shuffle ball change.

XXX

For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.