Tag: exercise

Best Quick Tips Ever Volume 2

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Best Quick Tips Ever (Volume 2)

Here are some more super quick, highly accessible techniques that we could be teaching clients! (Remember, don’t use these if the underlying theory isn’t already part of your clinical repertoire, please!) If you haven’t seen Volume 1, see those here. 

 

  • Imagine Yourself on a Hot Air Balloon (or Better Yet, Sitting on a Satellite) – This is an old Stoic notion, “Plato’s View” (more about that here) that current research also suggest can quickly reduce distress. This visualization exercise allows you to change perspective, throwing even the deepest, most overwhelming pains into relief against all the rest of what’s happening in the world.     
  • Half Smile – A DBT classic, this is possible the quickest and most available emotion regulation technique of all! The brain and body work both ways, you know! 
  • Sunlight – 5-15 minutes in the sun is enough to boost serotonin and improve mood. Add to that the fact that you’re probably removing yourself from a less pleasant situation to a more relaxed/pleasant situation by going outside (yay, behaviorism works!) and getting a little nature fix (bonus mood enhancer!), and it’s even better. 
    • Also, as a reminder, regular moderate sun exposure helps prevent depression, and if you do it in the morning, helps to improve sleep! Oh, and cognitive function! And work satisfaction!
  • Jumping Jacks (any kind of intense exercise immediately) – Even five minutes of intense exercise can improve mood in several ways – by “using up” stress hormones if they’re present (yes, that’s a gross oversimplification), by getting you out of a stressful or uncomfortable situation (unless you’re going to bust out some crunches right in the middle of the stressful work meeting), and/or providing an intense enough distraction to act as a distress tolerance skill.
    • And, over time, a really excellent treatment and prevention strategy for depression! (WAY better than antidepressants) 
  • Say the Thing, Out Loud. Even to Yourself. Especially to Yourself. – That icky feeling is more tolerable once it has words that go along with it (especially if it has accurate words that go with it). But, emotional labeling acts as an implicit emotion regulation strategy, and it’s relatively effortless. Plus, the benefits of expressive writing (decreased anxiety, depression, negative rumination, and improved mental and physical health, including enhanced immune functioning) extends to speaking aloud as well!  
  • Drink a Whole Glass of Water – not only does this just give you a tiny break from whatever stressor you’re in, it’s an opportunity to engage in basic self care and possibly to engage in a mindfulness practice. But there’s also research showing that being even a little dehydrated can contribute to fatigue, low alertness, and negative mood. So a simple glass of water might help you feel better, and help you gear up for more active coping! (Also, many of us work in environments where this is something we could even offer clients in session.)

Comment below: Your ideas for super cool, underutilized quick tips? Or have you ever used any of these with clients? 

 

 

 

Easier, cheaper, better

EllisLeave a comment

Easier, Cheaper, Better

So, I was listening to news radio a few weeks ago (oh, the joys of adulthood!), to a story about electric cars. Without getting into politics or economics, let’s assume for the moment that people driving electric cars might be a good thing. Because the interesting part of this discussion was a question to the interviewee – How could the transition to most or all people driving electric cars happen? And the answer was so beautifully behavioral. In short, to get most people to drive electric cars (sooner, rather than later, when that might be all that’s available), electric cars need to be easier to buy than gas-powered cars, cheaper than gas-powered cars, and better than gas-powered cars, today. The INDUSTRY and the ENVIRONMENT need to change. Not the buyers. 

And so it is with all of our behavior changes. Shame and willpower get us nowhere. Well, that’s not quite true. Unfortunately, shame and willpower get us a tiny distance in the direction we’re headed, and then they collapse on us, leaving us typically worse off than we were before, with more shame, which leads to more undesirable behavior, and so we look more intensely for “more willpower” to get us to our behavior changes. And that system, while it fits nicely with the sort of hyper-American, Protestant-ethic model that likes to believe we can all be anything we want to be with enough will or inner strength or simple desire, is almost entirely useless. 

If we want to really change behavior in the long term, we need to think about how to make the new, desired behavior easier, cheaper, and better immediately. 

Here’s an example: Does a client want to exercise more? Preferably, we need to find a way to make that easier, cheaper, and better than not exercising, right now. 

  • What does easier mean for them? It’s going to be a challenge to make something like physical work seem like less effort than NOT doing physical effort! DO they want to try a gym? Help them find a close one, that’s on the way to or from work. (The farther away the gym is, the less often people go. ) But walking at the nearby park or exercising at home might be easier still. Is part of “easier” training their middle school age kid to do some of the laundry, so that the increase in workout clothes doesn’t feel like a burden? Does it mean getting a trainer so that they can learn to exercise in a way that’s “easier” on their knee joints? Let’s plan this in the “preparation phase” so that the benefit is immediate!
  • What does cheaper mean for them? This one usually means straight “less expensive,” but it might also mean less expensive in terms of other resources, like time spent. Would they be missing out on time with lover or kids? Could they join the exercise effort so that time isn’t missed? Walking is free, which might make it better than the gym, but it’s not cheaper than doing nothing… unless you can help them schedule their exercise at a time they might otherwise be spending money, like out to lunch or online shopping. If exercising in the morning helps them be more productive or in a better mood during the day, or sleep more restfully at night, maybe we could help them monitor that the very first week, to help “see” that additional value right away. 
  • What does better mean for them? Turns out rich folks will totally go to a far away gym as long as it’s SUPER nice! That after-workout-whirlpool is a Day 1 value and they should use it Day 1. Better health, fitness, weight loss, etc…. nice for long term goals but not helpful for that early part of the change process. Is the time-for-self they could get at the gym something that they need and want but would feel guilty about? Can we help reduce that barrier before they start, so that exercise gives them something nice right at the start? 

For long term, positive change – we don’t want to rely on willpower, and we certainly don’t want to get stuck in the shame cycle (that just leads to more Oreos, or self-criticism, or avoidance, or…). We want to change our environments to maximize the chances of following through – make the change as easy, cheap, and desirable as possible right away. If we can make it easier, cheaper, and better than the alternative, our chances are REALLY good. 

Comment below: How have you successfully used something like this model with yourself or clients in the past? Have you had the experience of thinking that a great change plan was in place, but one of these things got in the way?