Baby Boomers Network

Are you having trouble shaking away the blues? Do you feel overwhelmed, overwrought and overspent? You’re not alone. You’re juggling the roles of parent, spouse, caregiver and employee and have passed the point where you can effectively cope and function well. Perhaps, caring for your parents and your children simultaneously is just a bit too much for you to handle. In today’s world, where stress levels in your personal and professional life are at their limit, it’s not uncommon for you to need a little coaching to get you on a better road to better health.

Everyone has had the occasional “off” day where the minor inconveniences and anxiety of daily living make you want to stay in bed, rather than confront the day. This is normal. It’s basically the body interpreting the messages from your mind and the message is, “I’m worn out emotionally and physically”.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, companies spend billions of dollars a year dealing with the effects of stress on their employees. The consequences of stress manifest as numerous sick days, slow production, poor motivation, decreased involvement and even substance abuse.

Here are some suggestions to combat the baby boomer blues:

1. The oldest and best way to master stress is through stress reduction techniques, first introduced by Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard University in the 1970’s. However, most people never practice the time-tested techniques or even recognize that they need help. Anyone can learn the relaxation response, which involves slow, rhythmic breathing and visualizing peaceful, positive images in your mind. Just 10 minutes a day will effectively promote better health, both physically and emotionally. Plus, studies show it increases longevity and life satisfaction.

2. You may also want to look at your attitude. Are you taking everything too seriously or can you pick and choose what bothers you? Do you let things roll off your back or must it need further attention, right now? If you keep your thoughts on what you want, rather than on what you don’t want, you’ll see what a big difference that makes. Reducing the amount of time you dwell on the negative helps to reduce the impact it has on you physically - thereby strengthening your emotional ability to cope with the stress at hand.
A good dose of laughter or light-heartedness also reduces those negative thoughts and makes most situations more manageable.

3. Another practical tool is delineating some of your responsibilities to others. Can a sibling take your mom to the MD, so you can focus on your son’s homework? Can you and your spouse find some R&R time this weekend, while your teenagers or adult children spend time with grandma? Don’t be afraid to ask. It’s important to lessen your burdens by getting as much help from your support system, so you can be a healthier support for others.

4. An easy and immediate stress reducer is to have a library of inspiring, uplifting books or other materials on hand. This might include funny movies, joyful music, taped sit-coms, inspirational reading or just a blank journal to vent. You can use this as your safety net when things get too tough to jolt yourself out of a downcast mindset.

The goal for stress reduction is to use whatever tools you have to lift your mood and rejuvenate your spirit, so you can stay productive, effective and emotionally on track.

Are you familiar with subliminal programming? Subliminal learning bypasses the conscious experience and sends information directly to your unconscious mind. This is done through audio or visual means and it works through repetition and consistency. If the same subliminal messages are sent frequently enough this will lead to a shift in your beliefs.

You might not realize it, but the problem you have with most things you want lies within your mind. This subliminal messaging works to re-program your beliefs about money, love, health, relationships, motivation, weight loss, etc. and brings you to a point of believing you are entitled and deserving of the thing you want most. Take wealth, for example. Subliminal messaging will give you the same sort of beliefs as those who make good money and were bought up believing that they were entitled to be rich and wealthy. You, too, could believe that money is a positive thing, and that you deserve the abundant wealth that is available to us all.

Subliminal learning uses the principles of Neuro Linguistic Programming. It basically looks at the type of language you use to speak to yourself on a specific subject, and recognizes the patterns. It then aims to change this language to match that used by someone who is successful in the area you wish to improve.

Subliminal messaging sends suggestions to your mind, which overwrite your negative beliefs with positive ones. Subliminal messaging isn’t just pseudo-science; it is based on NLP, one of the most effective forms of therapy and personal development of modern times.

Subliminal suggestions are basically just positive affirmations, but instead of you having to repeat them, the work is done for you by entering your mind subliminally - without distracting you, and without you being aware of them.

I have used subliminal messaging techniques for a few of my clients for weight loss and self-esteem and they have shown remarkable results.
To get more information, click on this link: SUBLIMINAL

Aging can be a beautiful process, especially if you expect it to be that way. There was a study done back in 1971 in the Soviet Republic of the Caucasus. Anthropologists went there to examine the centenarians, who lived to be well over 100 and researchers wanted to know why. These people did not need eyeglasses or hearing aids, they had all their teeth, and they were healthy and vibrant. This community lived a stress free life up in the mountains of Russia. Their water was pure, food was fresh, and there was no word in their language for old age; they expected to live a long life and that was their mindset.

In our culture, we expect that the aging process will not go as smoothly and that we will suffer from age-related illnesses like arthritis, heart disease and so on. However, if we decide today - here and now - that we are going to be healthy and live a long, healthy life, then the possibility is there. In order to do that, we have to change our lifestyle, look at our attitude, watch our behavior and be aware of any unhealthy scenarios, so that we’d at least give ourselves a fighting chance for that long, healthy life.

An older woman with grey hair came up to me after a presentation I had given on aging and she shared a little about her life. She used to be overweight with high blood pressure and arthritis, but she decided that she needed to do something to change her health and life for her overall happiness. So she looked at her lifestyle, examined her attitude and made a commitment to change things. She went on to share some of the hard and disappointing times she experienced, but she pushed through them and ultimately did very well. At the end of the conversation she asked me how old I thought she was? With her grey hair and small stature, I thought she was about 70-72. She was actually 91 and still going strong.

Some people are extremely determined to do whatever it takes to be healthier and happier and yet so many people are not willing to put in the effort. I think the key to successful aging is following through with your commitment. You cannot do something for two weeks and think it’s done; there has to be a lifestyle change and a perseverance that demonstrates your commitment. While there are going to be setbacks and challenges along the way, no one else is going to care for you as much as you care for yourself, bottom line.