2. Stress…Using Laughter in the Workplace Jennifer Johnson, LCSW

3. Some Stress Is A Normal Part Of Life ■It can create a sense of challenge ■It can help you meet deadlines ■It can help you meet or surpass expectations

4. Excessive Stress ■interferes with your productivity ■reduces your physical health ■reduces your emotional health

5. Let’s Picture It Your job can be extremely stressful and sometimes it may show ! We realize that you’re not always dealing with people that have taken time to think their situation through !

6. Maintaining Professionalism?

7. Now that didn’t work out!

8. The Brain LEFT / LOGICALRIGHT / EMOTIONAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

9. Three Ways to Ease Stress ■#1. Improving your physical and emotional well-being ■#2. Breaking bad habits ■#3. Learning effective communication

10. #1. Improving Your Physical and Emotional Well-being Here are some very small life changes that can make a very big positive impact on your physical and emotional well-being

11. Get Moving ■Aerobic exercise - perspiring is an effective anti-anxiety treatment ■It lifts the mood ■It increases energy ■It sharpens focus ■Afterwards it allows a relaxing of the mind and body

12. For maximum stress relief – try to get at least 30 minutes of heart pounding activity on most days but also know that activity can be broken up into 2 or 3 short segments.

13. Let’s Picture It Try to squeeze aerobic activity in – but squeeze safely !

16. Good Food Choices… Will Make You Feel Good ■Eating small but frequent meals through out the day maintains an even level of blood sugar.

17. ■Low blood sugar makes you feel anxious and irritable.

18. ■Eating too much can make you lethargic.

19. Feed What Ails You! ■Overstressed or anxious? – Next time your buttons get pushed, reach for a banana – it has 30% of the day’s vitamin B6, which helps the brain produce mellowing serotonin.

20. Feed What Ails You! ■Got a case of the blues? – A 3 ounce serving of canned white tuna has about 800mg of omega- 3s, which may treat the kind of blues that leave you feeling low or anxious.

21. Feed What Ails You! ■Feeling fatigued? – A 4 ounce glass of OJ, vitamin C fights stress caused by free radicals.

22. Get Enough Sleep When you’re sleep deprived your ability to handle stress is compromised Please remember that sleep is the time that your body uses to repair itself – both physically and emotionally

23. Lack of Sleep Studies ■60 minutes reviewed an experiment done to study the effects of poor sleep. ■A group of strong healthy males -mid 20’s. ■Kept from entering deep sleep – (REM third stage of sleep). ■Results included; ✷ extreme fatigue - The body is wired to think it is hungry and needs food when feeling fatigued. ✷ over eating ✷ pre-diabetic symptoms

24. Lack of Sleep Studies ■Took a group of healthy individuals – all of similar age. ■Divided group – interrupted sleep and uninterrupted sleep. ■Q-tip swab with cold strain ■Results those that had interrupted sleep not only got sick but had a difficult time kicking the cold

25. Let’s Picture It When you’re well-rested it’s much easier to keep your emotional balance – which is a key factor in coping with stress

26. You don’t handle it well!

28. Add Humor To Your Day Research has identified a number of healthy effects related to laughter ! Fact: Mood enhancing chemicals are released just after 15 seconds of grinning.

29. Laughter is the best Medicine ■Did you know, laughing heartily 100 times a day gives the same cardio results as working out for 20 minutes! ■Laughter increases vascular blood flow as well as oxygenation of the blood. ■Laughter lowers serum cortisol levels. ■Laughter influences the concentration of natural killer (NK) cells which work to destroy tumors and viruses. ■Laughter effects our immune system increasing disease- destroying antibodies.

31. Psychological Benefits of Laughter ■We often accumulate negative emotions, such as anger, sadness and fear, rather than venting them out. ■Laughter provides a way to release these emotions and the related toxins. ■Often health and mental health providers advise people to go to a funny movie or a comedy club, so they can vent out the negative emotions through laughing (this is not a distracter).

32. We can find humor in all kinds of places… ■Video clips ■Comedy shows ■Get together with relatives ■Written jokes ■Funny movie ■Talking with kids ■Talking with our bosses ■Even in the Newspaper

40. #2. Breaking Bad Habits Here are two simple concepts to remember - to assist in the breaking of bad habits.

41. Resist Perfectionism ■No project, or situation, or decision is ever perfect, and you put undue stress on yourself by trying to do everything perfectly. ■Simply set realistic goals. ■When you know nothing is perfect then you become more open to feed back and suggestions.

42. Let’s Picture It Even at times when we strive for perfection there is always that little snap that sends it all awry

44. Flip Your Negative Thinking ■When you see the downside of every situation and interaction, you’ll find yourself drained of energy and motivation. ■Try to think positively about your work. ■Pat yourself on the back for accomplishments even if no one else does. ■Professionally avoid negative thinking co- workers. (puzzle-pieces)

45. Activity: Circular Objects Take a quick look around the room and count the number of circular objects. Count as many as you can in the next 10 seconds.

46. The Point is… The exact number of circular objects you counted doesn’t really matter. The point is that you did not create these circular objects. They already existed in your current landscape and you just found them. You simply chose to notice them and focus your attention on them.

47. Children notice the joyful things ■On average children laugh 300-400 times a day. ■How many times do adults laugh per day? ■On average 15 times per day. We need to get that child like perspective back!

48. If we can’t laugh like them - then at least laugh at them

49. So Remember… ■E■Eat well ■S■Sleep well ■M■Move more ■L■Laugh more ■P■Perfect Less ■L■Look for Positives More Often!

50. And here is why?

51. Thank you - and remember to laugh a little – you deserve it!