10 Ways Art Relieves Stress and Benefits Your Life

The act of creating art, crafts, and other things with your hands can be a great stress reliever. It keeps you in the moment and encourages sustained focus and heightened awareness on an object outside yourself.

One who creates has a chance to take a break from daily activities, turn away from current stressors and demands, and focus on making something new. Being engaged in this lifegiving process, you can develop clarity of thought and positive feelings about yourself and your place in the world. Artistic timeouts, both making and experiencing art, are good for individuals, families, and even groups.

The simple act of creating can…

1.     Free your mind to focus on something unique and nurturing

2.     Engage your senses in focused sight, sound, and touch

3.     Make you mindful of your own ability to create new things

4.     Foster contemplation, quiet reflection and immersion in the activity and object

5.     Develop your sense of self-worth, and give value and meaning to the day

6.     Reveal your thoughts and feelings to yourself and others

7.     Connect you with the world outside your mind and body

8.     Bring back a childlike wonder at colors, textures, shapes, etc.

9.     Be satisfying, meaningful, and fun!

10.   Encourage gratitude and hope

To create is to give life to something. It is a positive, life affirming action that gifts the creator and those who encounter the creation. While art therapy is a recognized form of health related intervention, creating art or crafts, on your own time, can have some of the same benefits. Creating or viewing art can also trigger a surge of the feel-good neurotransmitters.

Each of us is an integrated being. Everything we do with our minds affects our bodies and what we do with our bodies affects our minds. If you take out a pencil and draw what you feel on a sheet of paper, something will happen. If you take the family to the art museum and walk through the galleries, something will happen. Art benefits your body, mind, emotions, and interactions. The synergy is fascinating and fruitful.

When faced with difficult circumstances or simply the challenges of living, art therapy can allow people to create art in a safe setting that can be tailored to address particular issues and concerns. Art therapy is defined as the therapeutic use of art making, within a professional relationship, by people who experience illness, trauma, or challenges, and by people who seek personal development. Through creating art and reflecting on the art products and processes, one can increase awareness of self and others, cope with symptoms, stress, and traumatic experiences; enhance cognitive abilities; and enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of making art. 

Spring Greens - Adding Nutrients to Your Diet

After a long winter of grey skies, white snow, and brown grass, we long for the fresh colors and tastes of spring!  Our ancestors tired of stored potatoes, onions, and apples over the winter and cooked many wild greens as soon as they appeared.  This added not only vital nutrients but also variety to their limited diet.  While modern grocery stores sell produce from around the world and we are not quite so restricted, the price, taste, and quality of these imported foods often leave something to be desired.

In Central New York where I live (and earlier in warmer climates), the month of May brings fresh asparagus, rhubarb, spinach, and broccoli to the market.  Now is the time when they will have the best value, taste and texture.  No need to resist their perky, colorful allure!  These vegetables are packed with nutrients and phytochemicals.  For example, asparagus is high in folic acid and potassium, rhubarb is a good source of calcium, spinach is sky-high in vitamin A and provides vitamin C, and broccoli is a great source of vitamin C and good source of vitamin A.

Most vegetables are best enjoyed with limited heat and water, such as steaming and microwaving. However asparagus keeps its texture better when quickly roasted over high heat in a dry pan.  Leftover vegetables (if there are any!) are great when tossed into a frittata, added to a cold salad, or stirred into soup.  Enjoy each fresh vegetable frequently while it is in season and, when the next crop comes in, you will be ready for a change!

Darlene Endy, MS, RD, CDN

www.nutritionbydarlene.com

Are You Mindfully Eating? How to Tell

When learning how to eat mindfully, often we begin by focusing on obvious behaviors such as not watching television or driving while eating.  The more subtle aspects come later when we have mastered these and are more in tune with our own bodies and our environment.  However, suggestions to “focus on your food” may seem too vague to be sure we are eating mindfully.  What is most helpful is a checklist to evaluate our own eating awareness.

The acronym A.F.T.E.R.  is a checklist developed by K. Katrina, N. King, and D. Hayes in their book, “Moving Away From Diets”.  Although the acronym suggests its use when you finish your meal, it is actually more useful during the meal.  Keep this checklist handy wherever you eat so that you can be sure to get the full enjoyment from your meal.  Achieving most of the characteristics of A.F.T.E.R. will help insure that you are satisfied with your meal emotionally, as well as physically.  But don’t worry if EVERY meal does not measure up.  Sometimes we eat just to meet our hunger need even if the food isn’t as appealing as we would prefer.

A stands for appearance of your food.  You are encouraged to notice the color, shape, and design of the foods.  Pay attention to how it is served—attractively on a plate?  With a garnish?  With a tablecloth or placemat? It isn’t hard to make your food look good enough to eat!

F is for flavor.  Notice if there is one dominant flavor or do they all meld together?  How does it smell?  Are there certain spices or herbs that you can identify?

T is for temperature and texture.  Is the food warm or cold enough?  If not, you should correct the temperature before you eat it.  What about the texture?  Can you think of four adjectives to describe it?  How about crunchy, smooth, tender, chewy?  Is there a nice balance or contrast in textures?

E is for the overall experience.  Was it pleasant?  If so, what made it so?  Was the background noise conducive to enjoying your food?  How about the lighting, company, etc.?  Make a note of what improved your experience and be sure to repeat it.

R is for results.  When the meal ends, do you feel satisfied?  What other feelings do you experience?  Relaxed?  Pleased? Nurtured?  Did the food sustain you until the next time you ate?

Use the A.F.T.E.R. acronym checklist for your next meal and see if it improves your enjoyment and ultimate satisfaction with the experience.  Learning to respond to our own needs is a journey that takes many steps but is worth it!

Darlene Endy, MS, RD, CDN

www.nutritionbydarlene.com

Religion and Mental Health - Do they belong together?

Where does faith fit into therapy? A recent post on the NY Times blog Well, reports that a growing number of counselors and patients think it that religion belongs in therapy. According to Psychology Today, more patients look for conselors who can discuss their problems and goals from a religious frame of reference.

A Spiritual Director, or clergy of any religion, who is also trained in counseling would be best suited to incorporate a client’s religious beliefs into therapy. Yet how many people will actually seek out or find such a situation?

What is unfortunate is that our culture has separated religion and science is such a way that, even for those who desire it, any attempt at a hybrid approach is shunned as not being evidence based. However, the lack of interest and funding for research that seeks to bridge faith and health perpetuates this lack of evidence. While meditation has been shown to be effective in mitigating some psychological or physiological symptoms, only recently has contemplative prayer been of interest to a few researchers. 

Beliefs, including religious ones, can provide motivation for our actions. They can encourage us to pursue contemplative practices, positive social encounters and a healthy active lifestyle. If therapists and other healthcare providers are to consider the whole person, shouldn't they be better prepared to consider how one’s faith might be incorporated into the healing process?

With faith-filled intentions, all daily activities can become acts of prayer, praise, and connection to a divine power. Nourishing your body and exercise can be considered taking care of the gift of life. Reaching out to others to give or receive acts of kindness, compassion and social support can be considered acts of faithful service. Every thought and actions can become a prayer form by your intentions and desire. Self-care becomes an at of faith if that is your intention. Meditation, mindfulness, positive thinking, nutrition, exercise, and interactions with others and nature can resonant with your beliefs, by the transforming power of holy desire.

See Faith View for more information on relating faith and compassionate self-care.

Eat Right with Color - March is National Nutrition Month

Color your meals nutritous when you Eat Right with Color! March is National Nutrition Month and a great time to practice mindful eating, RealeWell style.

This month dietitions are encouraging you to add color and nutrients to meals, "Adding a splash of colorful seasonal foods to your plate makes for more than just a festive meal. A rainbow of foods creates a palette of nutrients, each with a different bundle of potential benefits for a healthful eating plan," says registered dietician, Karen Ansel (ADA).

Make your grocery list from the choices below and brighten up your plate in every season.

Green produce indicates antioxidant potential and may help promote healthy vision and reduce cancer risks.

• Fruits: avocado, apples, grapes, honeydew, kiwi and lime
• Vegetables: artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, green peppers and leafy greens such as spinach

Orange and deep yellow fruits and vegetables contain nutrients that promote healthy vision and immunity, and reduce the risk of some cancers.

• Fruits: apricot, cantaloupe, grapefruit, mango, papaya, peach and pineapple
• Vegetables: carrots, yellow pepper, yellow corn and sweet potatoes

Purple and Blue options may have antioxidant and anti-aging benefits and may help with memory, urinary tract health and reduced cancer risks.

• Fruits: blackberries, blueberries, plums, raisins
• Vegetables: eggplant, purple cabbage, purple-fleshed potato

Red indicates produce that may help maintain a healthy heart, vision, immunity and may reduce cancer risks.

• Fruits: cherries, cranberries, pomegranate, red/pink grape fruit, red grapes and watermelon
• Vegetables: beets, red onions, red peppers, red potatoes, rhubarb and tomatoes

White, Tan and Brown foods sometimes contain nutrients that may promote heart health and reduce cancer risks.

• Fruits: banana, brown pear, dates and white peaches
• Vegetables: cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, turnips, white-fleshed potato and white corn

Half Plate Rule

Fill half your plate with a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. For additional options in the color palette, choose frozen or dried fruits and vegetables available throughout the year.

Click Here for mindful eating, RealeWell style. 

You can nurture your body and mind just by adjusting your attitude towards food and how you interact with it. Consider the what, when, where, and why of eating, plus emotional eating and nonjudgmental eating. Enjoy your meals, guilt free! Find out about 4 Simple Steps to start eating RealeWell. 

If you wish to explore how mindful eating can become a form of prayer, RealeWell also offers an optional faith perspective.

Upcoming Program and Events

If you know of an upcoming event related to breast cancer survivors or wellness that you would like to share with the community, please send information to realewell@gmail.com at least 2 weeks prior to the event. You can also use the RealePink Forum to post a notice about a program or event and encourage participates to post related comments before and after the program/event. The RealePink Forum is designed to provide an open forum for breast cancer survivors and their families and friends. 

Research Suggests…Love More, Feel Better

How relationships can affect your health is the subject of new research at Stanford University. A new study suggests that feelings of love can relieve pain. The notion of lovesick may turn out to be more like love-well. Research shows that even looking at a photo of a loved one can release dopamine and natural painkillers.          


Study researcher and senior author Dr. Sean Mackey, chief of the division of pain management at Stanford, said findings support the theory that pain patients who seek out pleasurable activities may find some relief.


“Find things to give you pleasure in life, whether it be through the one you love or going and listening to great music or reading a good book,” Dr. Mackey said. “It suggests that activating this intrinsic reward system ultimately can reduce your pain.”


This research should also help doctors with ways to help patients with care that doesn’t involve drugs or a procedure. “It’s caused me to change the education and how I talk with my patients and how they understand it,” Dr. Mackey said.  “When patients are doing markedly better and I find out they are in a new passionate relationship, I may be less likely to think it’s the new medication I put them on,” he said. “I realize that maybe it has nothing to do with me.”

A recent study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggests that hugging and hand-holding can also release feel-good chemical hormone oxytocin that reduces stress hormones, lowers blood pressure, improves mood, and increases pain tolerance.

According to Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Associate Professor of Psychology at Brigham Young University, "Our relationships help us cope with stress so if we have someone we can turn to for emotional support or advice that can buffer the negative effects of stress." She also suggests that romantic relationships can provide a sense of meaning and purpose in life that can encourage self-care and less risk taking.

Whether or not you are in a romantic relationship, strong connections with friends, neighbors or coworkers can improve your resilience and benefit your health. This Valentine's Day, celebrate your connections. Give a  little love and receive a whole lot more.