Participants: Claudio Japas, Hildemar Dos Santos
Series Code: WM
Program Code: WM000415
|
00:01 The following program presents principles
00:03 Designed to promote good health and is not 00:04 intended to take the place of 00:06 personalized professional care. 00:08 The opinions and ideas expressed are those 00:10 of the speaker. Viewers are encouraged to 00:13 draw their own conclusions 00:14 about the information presented. 00:35 Welcome to Wonderfully Made. I'm glad you have 00:38 joined us. I'm your host Claudio Japas 00:40 a doctoral student at Loma Linda University 00:42 in the Preventive Care Program. 00:44 Today, we have a wonderful subject that 00:47 may sound a little stressing, but it is stress 00:50 that we're going to be talking about. 00:52 Joining me is Dr. Dos Santos from Loma Linda University. 00:55 He is a professor in the Preventive Care Program. 00:57 I'm glad you've joined us. I'm sure the, 01:00 your knowledge, and stress, and what you teach, 01:05 and what you've dealt with in different clinics 01:07 would be very helpful to us. 01:09 Well, thank you for having me here 01:12 and this topic is very interesting and 01:17 in the beginning we ourselves, 01:19 I guess a little, got a 01:21 little stressed out, but I believe 01:24 at the end of the presentation 01:25 we will be very relaxed and that's 01:28 what we are trying to do, most of people have 01:30 stress and we are going to try to figure out 01:33 what to do to cope with it. 01:36 That's good, that's good because stress is 01:38 just all around us, it's, I don't think 01:40 anybody is immune to it, it's something we 01:43 experience from day to day and I'm sure many 01:47 of you watching can relate to stress in different 01:50 levels and for different situation and we want to 01:52 make sure we understand it better and learn more 01:55 about it today. In fact stress is a component of, 01:58 has been known to bring ulcers and hypertension 02:02 and migraines and multiple of other symptoms 02:07 and diseases, is that true, I mean that's part 02:10 of being stressful or some of the side effects. 02:12 Yes, when you are under stress. 02:15 When a person is under stress what happen 02:18 is that some hormones are being released in circulation. 02:22 One of the them among is adrenaline and adrenaline 02:25 has the potential or has the function to increase 02:28 blood pressure to increase blood sugar 02:31 and lipids in the circulation, to prepare a 02:35 person is a reaction to prepare a person to fight 02:38 or to run or to climb something or to runaway. 02:42 So, it is something that God has built 02:44 into us to deal with certain situations. 02:46 Here are the drastic stories of somebody 02:50 being caught under the car or similar situations, 02:53 where somebody that didn't have the strength find 02:56 supernatural strength to lift or, and it's usually 02:58 adrenaline or similar brain chemistry that's flowing 03:02 and helping the body cope with that stress. 03:04 But it's a God built component in there. 03:06 Yes, it is. And it all stems from the brain 03:10 and coming in. Now what are some of the 03:13 other components, is stress something that's 03:16 real or perceived whether it's a combination 03:19 of both, how would you define stress? 03:20 Well stress is a reaction to some aggression. 03:27 If this aggression can be brought to us or 03:31 we can create that type by aggression 03:33 and normally stress starts with something that 03:38 happened to a person and I have a graphic 03:41 of a snake here just to show the person when 03:46 you see that snake for the first time 03:49 you get all the reactions that the person 03:52 has under stress that are normal, so you get scared 03:56 and you are ready to run, you are ready to 03:59 get strength to kill the snake and to do 04:02 whatever, this is a normal reaction. 04:05 Right. Acute, short, the problem is when 04:10 you have a rattle snake around you, 04:13 24 hours per day, I mean 7 days per week, 04:17 I mean 30 days per month and then. All the time. 04:19 And then this reaction becomes a disease, 04:23 so you have your levels of adrenaline and cortisol, 04:27 the stress hormones high all the time 04:30 then you will have problem with the disease. 04:32 That's correct, I was thinking when you 04:35 said about the snake, to you or me maybe 04:39 that would be something very stressful 04:41 because we're not used to seeing them everyday, but 04:43 to us one of my friends that's doing research on 04:45 rattlesnakes. He actually has to go hunt them 04:47 and he deals with them from day to day, 04:49 but his stress level is very low when 04:51 he sees a rattlesnake. He knows how to deal 04:52 with it, he knows how to determine 04:54 which kind it is, so stress is something 04:57 in our mind that's perceived and how much 05:00 control we have over it. So, a lot of people, 05:03 the same stress for you may not be the same 05:05 stress for me or the same stress that 05:07 you maybe having may not be the one I have, 05:09 and the one I have may not be the same one you 05:11 have, but so it's something that 05:13 we perceive in different, different ways. 05:15 Yeah, the perception is very important 05:18 and how the person sees the situation, 05:21 so if you see the situation as something that 05:24 will hurt you then you start having the effects 05:29 of the hormones on that. If the situation 05:32 is not hurtful, so you is not, what is the 05:36 stress for you might not be for me 05:38 and I have another picture there that tells the 05:43 Bible story about Balaam and he was a prophet that 05:48 we know they started since we were kids 05:52 and then Balaam was running, riding his donkey 05:57 and the donkey was pressing his legs to the, 06:01 to the walls there and, and then he was 06:07 spanking the donkey several times and then all of a 06:11 sudden he figured out that the donkey was not 06:15 going ahead because there was an 06:17 angel ready to kill Balaam. 06:19 Right. So, then he looks like his eyes 06:21 were open and then he could see the 06:25 big picture and that's the word that we use 06:27 in stress. You have to try to see 06:29 the big picture, find meaning 06:32 for the situation and try to understand 06:35 why the situation is hurting you or 06:38 why people is aggressive towards you. 06:41 So understanding is part of the issue and how 06:45 to deal with it or understanding how when 06:47 to stop it too. Speaking of donkeys, 06:50 I was reminded of zebras and zebras don't get 06:53 ulcers and some I guess it was a veterinary or 06:57 somebody that studied zebra that noticed this is 06:58 interesting we never did a biopsy or studied a 07:02 zebra that had ulcers, so they did more 07:04 research on it and they noticed that zebras 07:06 like most other animals, cows or most other 07:09 ones when most of the day they're spending 07:12 eating and grazing on grass and they are not 07:14 stressed, they are happy zebras or happy cows 07:16 and but that doesn't mean they always live that 07:19 way, when there is a lion or a predator or something 07:22 comes to them they get stressed 07:23 and the brain chemistry flows in and they start 07:26 running and escaping that danger. 07:28 So they need the stress to survive, 07:30 but they don't live under that thought of 07:33 oh, there is that lion or that predator 07:35 all the time. Yeah, that's how we often times 07:37 live under constant stress, so what are some 07:40 of the consequences of living under 07:43 constant stress, what may happen 07:45 to the mind or the body. 07:47 Yes, I believe on one or on another way 07:52 all the diseases can be consequence or can be 07:56 a cause of stress, so when you have a disease 07:59 that affects you, you develop stress 08:03 a reaction of the disease. When you have 08:06 stress because of something else 08:08 then this will create increase the risk of 08:12 that disease and as you mentioned in the 08:14 beginning that those disease can be 08:16 a reaction or an overreaction 08:20 of the immune system. So allergies, 08:24 even asthma or arthritis are related 08:27 somehow to this overreaction of the 08:31 immune system and then there is, there is a 08:33 suppression of the immune system because 08:36 of one hormone called cortisol, 08:39 then you have high risk of infections 08:42 when you are under chronic 08:44 constant stress in your life. 08:46 And that's why we are trying to avoid that 08:48 constant chronic levels. There are some 08:53 practical ways now we may want to talk about 08:55 well you may be viewing and saying I 08:57 know exactly what you're talking about, 08:59 I live under that constant stress, I am 09:01 always thinking of the what if and what if 09:03 might happen or not happen and what can I do, 09:06 what are some of the practical things 09:08 that we can incorporate in our lives. 09:09 How do we deal with stress? 09:11 Well, I think the first point is to assess 09:15 what kind of stress you have or how is stress 09:19 is affecting you, so you should check if the 09:22 stress is from work, is from friends, is 09:25 from your family, internal stress or 09:29 if the stress is caused by your behavior 09:32 or if your stress is caused by the environment, 09:35 so a good stress assessment 09:38 is fundamental, the first step. 09:40 Perhaps you could describe a piece of 09:42 paper and write down how this stress 09:46 why and so listing the things that stress it 09:48 or ask somebody to interview you, why 09:51 you stress, yes, and that would help you figure out 09:52 what's going on. 09:54 Yeah, the first question that we ask 09:56 is that do you have time to do all the things 09:58 that you wanna do in your life and then 10:01 we have a clear first question and then 10:07 we go over and see what else is 10:10 the things that are competing, competing 10:13 with that for that time, yeah. That special time. 10:16 And then once we make the list 10:17 and we find okay these are my causes, 10:19 where do we follow with that. 10:22 Well, we have the second and the third point. 10:25 The second is try to neutralize 10:28 the stressors and the term and the third would be 10:31 how to deal with the consequences when you 10:34 cannot neutralize the stressors. The 10:37 stressors are those things that cause 10:40 us or hurt us or create the situation, 10:44 the reaction. So all the things that 10:46 happen should be the stress, so how 10:49 can we modify them and manipulate 10:52 them and so some of them you can, some 10:54 of them you cannot like if you are, 10:57 if your problem is with time, so we ask 11:01 the person to fill up a sheet with all the 11:05 activities that a person does and then we can 11:08 somehow identify gaps of time that he is losing 11:12 or lack of further activities that he should do 11:17 on that and then organize his life on that. 11:20 Make a schedule in other words, exactly, 11:22 well this is taking too long or this is 11:24 I could use some more time here or 11:25 this one activity really stresses me out, maybe 11:28 I can add some more time before or during 11:30 and take some out of this, so organizing 11:33 life is one way to deal with consequences, 11:37 what's causing it. 11:39 Yeah, we are talking about the stressors 11:41 first still and then there are other things, 11:44 improve communications, sometimes we have a 11:46 problem in work because we don't say the 11:49 right word or we say the wrong word 11:52 and we don't listen to people or we mind read 11:56 and before you say something I know you 11:58 are against me and then this creates 12:00 a big stress in the work cycle. 12:04 Right. So, we should work on that, 12:07 we still working in the stressors. 12:10 Okay. Another one is priorities, 12:13 check what is your main priority in life. 12:16 I have asking in stress seminars 12:19 mostly I got three answers when they 12:22 say put the three main priorities or the main 12:24 priorities and then this goes around God, 12:27 family, and work and they go around 12:31 these. Okay and then, you're saying list 12:34 whatever is number 1 number 2 number 3, 12:37 your priorities. Yeah. And then focus all your 12:40 daily schedule, your activities according to 12:43 those priority. Yeah, I remember one 12:45 person put home as the main priority, 12:48 then I have started exploring with him 12:51 and then we got that he didn't spent 12:54 any time with his family and say what's 12:56 going on here, you put home and you don't 12:59 have time for well, but I have to work 13:01 to make a lot of money to provide for my 13:03 family. You see, well, I think we 13:06 have to think about that better, because 13:08 it's not if you are absent you cannot help your 13:12 home or your family as much if you are present 13:16 there and try to raise your kids and try to raise your 13:20 family in a good environment. 13:22 Right.So, you cannot be outside 13:24 them and thinking that you are putting 13:26 as a priority and so we try to change 13:29 I mean the way to prioritize things in 13:31 life. And it almost sounds like this might 13:33 take so much time that, that even would be 13:35 stressful to try to organize, but it 13:37 would be a good investment because 13:39 taking some time and organizing 13:41 what are my priorities, what's causing 13:43 me stress, where's it coming from 13:44 and try to build the strategic plan would 13:47 have long-term beneficial effects, 13:50 we still had one more. Yeah, the second, 13:53 I mean the third level, we did assessment, 13:55 we checked the stressors, now we will 13:57 deal with the consequence and when I am 14:00 talking about consequence is when a person 14:03 is working like you have a boss that 14:06 you don't appreciate much, but you 14:08 cannot change, you need to keep your job 14:11 and you have to maintain your income, 14:14 but you still have the situation. 14:17 The boss does not like you 14:18 or you don't like the boss, what can 14:20 you do, so we advice that a person 14:23 in that situation develops activities 14:27 that will counteract the stress that we call 14:31 parasympathetic activities. Parasympathetic. 14:37 Yes. Okay, please break that down or 14:39 explain it a little bit. Well, 14:41 when you are under stress 14:42 you stimulate, you put to work 14:46 the sympathetic system that has 14:49 adrenaline, cortisol, noradrenaline, 14:53 epinephrine, some hormones that will 14:56 create all of these reactions in your body, 15:01 yeah. So the parasympathetic mostly 15:06 has one substance called acetylcholine. 15:08 Acetylcholine is the substance that will 15:11 counteract these hormones and will bring 15:14 down the blood pressure, bring down the heart 15:16 rate, bring down the blood sugar, so 15:18 this is what I mean, we have to accelerate 15:23 or activate the parasympathetic system. 15:27 To bring that homeostasis to that 15:29 normality back, exactly, yes. 15:30 What are the things that activate this 15:33 system, the parasympathetic system is the one 15:36 that happens when you go to a concert 15:38 and you are classical music concert and in two 15:43 minutes you are sleepy. So why is that 15:47 is because the sympathetic system is 15:50 activated and then brings everything 15:52 down and relaxes you, so we have to find 15:55 those activities that really produce 15:58 relaxation. And it may not always 16:00 be classical music that is what's bringing the 16:03 relaxation to you, maybe it's doing art 16:06 work or going to the beach and just sitting and 16:09 listening to the waves and the birds. 16:10 Being out in nature, all these things 16:13 can really help bringing the sympathetic 16:17 into activating and bringing everything 16:19 back to normal. Perfect, that's what 16:21 we and then massage, Jacuzzi, reading 16:26 a good book that is relaxing, all of the 16:29 activities are important for those that 16:31 have stress. Music is one of the best, 16:35 I mean, listen to music or how about learning a 16:38 musical instrument, something that you 16:41 have the opportunity to relax 16:44 and that's the point. We can do some 16:47 techniques for that to bring relaxation, 16:49 so we can do deep breathing, 16:53 so we breathe in and count until 5 then 16:56 we breathe out and count until five. 16:58 We can do the muscle relaxation like you 17:03 contract your arms and count until five 17:06 then you relax your arms, you can do with 17:08 other muscles in the system, in the body, 17:12 right, the same thing contract for five seconds, 17:14 relax for five seconds, then you can do 17:17 your face you contract your face and make 17:19 a big face, five seconds then relax and then you 17:24 do that over and over until you sure it's the relaxation. 17:30 Training the mind. You're training the mind 17:32 to be relaxed. Relax the muscles 17:34 and the chemicals that we don't see, 17:36 but are very present and active in 17:38 the mind and that effects the rest of the body. 17:41 So, those are some practical 17:42 exercises now it's always different 17:45 for different people, so we have to 17:46 always say well this may not work 17:48 maybe us you know the music may be 17:51 a stressor for somebody, so pick up 17:54 lifting music or the soft music for that you, 17:57 makes you relax a little bit, maybe for some people 18:01 it's working on their car, mechanics 18:03 and that relaxes them. So, it's really looking 18:06 maybe making a list, so you know 18:08 okay when I'm stressed I need to do some more of 18:10 these activities. Yeah, you chose to do, 18:13 you can chose to do an exercise activity 18:16 that provides this relaxation and then 18:19 something that you have fun and then 18:23 you have both effect of the physical activity 18:26 and fun. They create something that is 18:32 called echo therapy or echo therapy, 18:39 it means that you go to nature 18:40 and then you go to nature just 18:43 to walk in nature and then this they measure the 18:47 effects of this in your stress level and to control 18:51 disease, they promote this as a parasympathetic activity, 18:56 walking in a trail, in the woods 18:59 as very beneficial for your health. 19:03 That's excellent now I'm probably thinking 19:05 somebody watching saying, well I have 19:07 no time at all for, anytime for 19:10 myself or to relax or to think of what I can 19:13 do. So I think the thing we need to do 19:16 is train our mind to be in that state and 19:19 for me personally and I think for many other people 19:22 and for yourself is finding a little bit more 19:24 trust in God or finding Bible verses 19:27 that bring that relaxation. I like the verse, 19:30 where Jesus tells us not to worry about 19:32 tomorrow, that tomorrow will worry for 19:34 itself and a lot of times we worry so much 19:36 about the future when the present has 19:39 enough to worry about and to take care of 19:41 and I like Jesus counsel of just focus on 19:44 what you can do now, what needs to be done 19:47 now and let me take care of the future. 19:48 Yeah in fact people are afraid of the 19:52 future and they hence and chose they have 19:55 anxiety about their future and 19:57 at the same time they are depressive 20:00 about the past, I mean what happened 20:02 in the past they are all what happened, 20:05 why did it happen to me and then what 20:09 we have is today, right, this is our obligation 20:14 and this is what is reserved for us, the 20:17 daily activities, the daily things that we have to 20:21 change or go through, 20:23 that's 24 hours or 12 hour whatever. 20:27 Right. What a beautiful promise that we 20:29 have from God that he forgives all 20:30 our sins and we don't naturally revisit them, 20:33 once they're forgiven they're done with and we 20:34 can worry about today and to know that 20:37 we don't have, you know, we just have today 20:39 guaranteed, we can't change the past, 20:41 that's you know if we have something bothering us, 20:45 let God take care of that. 20:46 You have the present and move forward 20:48 from there. Another one of my favorite 20:51 books is Philippians and Philippians 4:13, 20:54 where I can do all things through Christ, 20:56 who strengthens me. And to know that 20:58 I'm not by myself, because that stresses a lot of 21:00 people out to know that I need to do this, 21:02 I need to do that, and I become so 21:04 big and God becomes smaller and smaller 21:06 and to realize that God is our main help 21:09 and he shows us where we can get more 21:11 help also from any friends or relatives and 21:14 maybe delegating some things. Yeah on this, 21:18 on this way we can say that, we can use 21:24 these things as meditation. There are several 21:26 types of meditation nowadays, one type in 21:30 particular they ask you to go to a level that 21:33 you don't think anything, than to reach the 21:37 nothingness. I don't buy much that, it's much 21:41 better when you meditate with a mind focusing 21:44 that you are asking the supernatural, I mean, 21:48 the higher power or whatever you call God, 21:51 that will take care of your life and then you 21:56 relax because you are putting his and so is 21:58 the meditation with a very 22:00 powerful process of thinking. 22:04 Right, right, well if you read the Bible 22:06 and know that God is our creator, 22:08 that he is a creator of all things, 22:09 that he is all powerful 22:11 and that helps us realize, 22:13 well if God has all the power, then I can 22:16 trust him and I can learn to 22:17 walk in his ways and to be taken 22:20 care by him. Do you have any other 22:22 Bible verses that you would like to share? 22:23 Yeah, I have, I have another one 22:27 that is in Philippians also, that talks 22:31 about when you have, let's see if I have 22:34 here, when you have Philippians 22:37 what's the name, the number here, 22:40 4:6-7, don't be anxious about anything, but 22:46 in everything by prayer and petition, 22:48 with thanksgiving present your requests 22:50 to God. And the peace of God which 22:53 transcends all understanding will guard your 22:55 hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus. 22:57 So, again we go to the meditation 23:00 with the principle, if you have anything 23:03 that is troubling you, you are anxious, 23:06 you take that to the Lord. 23:08 He might not answer the thing that 23:11 you have that is causing the anxiety 23:13 as you want them or want him to answer. 23:17 But he will give you the peace and that's what 23:19 we need. So, well if I have to accept 23:22 something give me that peace to accept 23:24 and there is even the sovereignty prayer 23:28 that we pray to the Lord to accept the things that 23:31 we cannot change. This is a very powerful thing 23:35 for a stress accept the things that 23:37 we cannot change. And to realize that 23:40 we can't do anything about it, but God can. 23:42 Exactly, yeah, yeah. 23:43 The same verse Philippians 4:6-7 23:47 is one of my favorites also as I said 23:49 Philippians it's a very good book and I like the 23:53 part where it says and be thankful for all 23:54 things and I've tried that personally in my life, 23:57 a lot of times we look at the negative side 23:59 of things and if we learn to thank 24:01 God even say Lord I don't understand 24:03 this, but I thank you that I have the 24:05 opportunity to be living today and that you have 24:08 a plan and that you have the power. 24:10 And to start thanking him that the stress 24:12 and that's our perceiving becomes less and less and 24:15 I just you know want everybody to 24:18 enjoy the blessings that God has for us, 24:21 because we know we live in a sinful world, 24:23 there is plenty of negative things and there is 24:25 too much to do all the time, but to 24:28 realize that we are limited God is the only one who 24:30 is unlimited, he has all the power and all the 24:32 strength and to really put ourselves in 24:34 this hands and to realize that 24:37 we can learn some things from the animals too, 24:39 from the zebras and the cows, which they learn to 24:42 when you know things that can't change they 24:44 don't worry about, you know and we've been 24:47 given the capability to think and to reason and 24:49 to know that we can live, learn a little bit from this. 24:53 That's why if you put this in a context 24:57 of stress and spirituality you can say 25:00 that the stress is when the enemy 25:03 put things in your life to deter you 25:06 from God. So if we use this mechanism, 25:11 the solution is to go back to the Lord 25:13 and I like the verse in Matthew, 25:17 in John 16:33, that we say, 25:21 I have told you these things, so that in 25:24 me you have peace. In this world you 25:27 will have trouble. But I overcome the world. 25:30 I put here in the world, you will have 25:35 stress, not trouble, stress. Umm! Umm! 25:37 He was preparing us for that, in the 25:40 world you will have stress, but 25:42 take heart, trust in me, I have overcame 25:46 the world and so that's the point. 25:49 We have to remember the three 25:52 priorities, we have to go back 25:54 to the main priority that I would say 25:57 is God. People say well, but I have 26:00 to work and I have to take care of my family. 26:03 Once you put God first, the other two 26:07 will come along, the other two will be 26:09 a part of that because God will guide 26:11 you to take care of your job and to take 26:14 care of your family. Exactly, and I think 26:18 that's where our topic for today's stress centers on 26:20 God, because even Jesus said you will have 26:23 trouble like you told us and told our 26:25 listeners, but to expect the troubles, to know that 26:29 you know they will be there as long as we live, 26:31 it's like knowing and learning how to drive 26:35 and knowing that you have a brake pedal or something 26:37 crosses a road that you can slow down and 26:39 learn to use that sometimes, to slow down, 26:41 go around the troubles or go around our 26:44 issues that are dealing with us and always with God's 26:46 guidance, always with God's help 26:48 and that will help us through, 26:49 through these hard times. 26:51 Another thing is that 26:53 what happened to Balaam is that 26:55 he didn't see the big picture, 26:57 with God he will be able or he will make 27:01 you able to see a little more 27:03 what is happening around. So for many 27:06 situations that you are in being with 27:09 the Lord will clear your, open your eyes 27:12 to see what is going on around. 27:14 Exactly. Stress will be around us, we need to look 27:18 around, see the big picture and learn not to 27:20 live with stress constantly in our lives. 27:24 Dr. Dos Santos, I thank you for all 27:26 the good help you've given us to learn 27:28 and to deal with and cope with stress, 27:30 your knowledge and your presence has been very 27:32 helpful. Thank you so much. You are welcome, 27:34 I feel relaxed now. Thank you, thank you. 27:37 That's good, and we would just wanna thank 27:40 you for watching, for making wonderfully made 27:43 something you enjoy watching and learn 27:46 and we hope that we have been able to provide 27:49 helpful tips that you maybe able to take 27:51 from today on and apply them to your life, to know 27:54 that God is in control, that God is there to help, 27:57 that God is there to provide a plan and a way 27:59 and that he is already in the future, that he knows 28:01 all things and he has the power and the strength 28:04 to help us through all things. 28:05 Thank you very much for 28:07 watching Wonderfully Made. |
Revised 2014-12-17