Participants: Skip MacCarty, Don Mackintosh
Series Code: HFAL
Program Code: HFAL000104
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00:48 Hello and welcome to "Health for a Lifetime"
00:49 I'm your host Don Mackintosh 00:51 and we're glad that you've joined us today. 00:53 In your life, perhaps you have stressors that are really 00:56 troubling you and today we're going to learn 00:58 it depends a lot on your viewpoint as to whether or not 01:01 you're going to get through those stressors. 01:03 Joining us today is Dr. Skip MacCarty, 01:05 he is a specialist actually in stress management. 01:09 You've done seminars now for over 20 years. 01:11 You've developed a seminar that's available. 01:14 If you need more information on how to get that, 01:16 they can contact 3ABN. 01:18 But, you have had a lot of exciting things come out of 01:21 your work and today we're going to be talking about 01:23 an aspect of it that deals with our viewpoint. 01:27 One of the things that's been helpful to me, 01:29 as I've looked at your seminar is this idea of a stress tank 01:32 and maybe you can work us into that, 01:34 and then how viewpoint fits into it. 01:36 Okay Don, the stress tank model came out of Australia actually, 01:39 and then I re-formed it based on my research. 01:43 It essentially invites us to think of our life as a tank, 01:46 and every day we have these stressors pouring into our lives 01:49 every day - we can't get away 01:50 from that in living in this world... 01:52 And if stress levels rise to the overflow point, 01:56 then various kinds of harm can result from that; 01:59 physical illnesses, accidents, etcetera. 02:01 Fortunately, there is a pressure relief valve 02:02 on our tank that can drain the stress to safe levels, 02:06 and there are 7 keys to managing stress 02:08 and keeping that pressure-relief valve opened. 02:10 Also ways we can close the pressure-relief valve 02:12 thinking we are helping it... Here are the 7 keys: 02:14 Prayer, relaxation, exercise, 02:16 and then viewpoint is #4, you're calling it? 02:20 Well on that particular list - simply because we put it in an 02:24 acronym to prevent stress overload, 02:27 and keeping it fully open. 02:30 Okay, so how important then is it in terms of 02:34 the BIG scheme of things. 02:36 Okay, Don, we've created a stress management pyramid 02:40 as well and the stress management pyramid, 02:42 we have at the bottom of the pyramid, 02:44 we have the things that are foundational - very important, 02:47 but as you move up the stress pyramid, 02:49 every one of those 7 keys becomes even more important, 02:53 and you see "viewpoint" is right up toward the top... 02:56 Very, very important - it's in the power position. 02:59 The bottom 4 are foundational. 03:01 The top 3 are the power position of stress management, 03:03 and "viewpoint" is that important. 03:05 So, in other words, your point-of-view or your viewpoint 03:07 is very important. 03:09 What exactly does that mean? 03:10 What exact are you talking about 03:12 when you're talking about "viewpoint?" 03:13 Okay, researchers, Don, distinguish between 03:15 what they call "real stress" and "process of stress" 03:19 Okay, real stress, Don would be if I was holding 03:22 a gun to your head, for instance. 03:23 That would be a real threat to you... Okay 03:27 But in process of stress would be if we were at a party, 03:31 you didn't like me - let's say, 03:32 I had hurt you some time in the past - 03:34 You were at a party, you were having a great time... 03:36 I walked into the room and you saw me... 03:38 Suddenly, very similar kinds of 03:41 things start to take place in your body. 03:44 That's right - biochemically. 03:47 We've got a slide that shows - what I call a beginning level 03:50 understanding of stress which really is real stress, 03:52 and that is - the activating event leads to a consequence. 03:55 In other words, the stressor... 03:56 Me holding the gun to your head 03:57 leads to a biochemical reaction in your body. 04:01 You start pumping adrenalin, cortisol levels rise, 04:04 you have an emotional response, 04:06 and maybe even a behavioral response. 04:08 And the next slide shows, in Advanced Understanding, 04:13 95% of the stress we experience in this life is processive. 04:17 What happens is filtered through your believe system. 04:19 I'd simply walk into the room. 04:20 I'm no real threat to you, but I walk into the room. 04:23 You don't like me - something in your belief system 04:25 filters through my presence 04:27 in that room and it leads to stress 04:29 and it was your belief system that contributed... 04:32 The way you processed it mentally 04:35 actually created the stress. 04:37 So you're saying that, really, the was I BELIEVE about things 04:41 creates stress for me - is that what you're saying? Exactly 04:44 And so, what should I do about this? 04:46 Well, I'd like to just show another 04:51 stage of this process here. 04:53 This is Dr. David Burns at the University of Pennsylvania 04:56 He diagrams it like this - he says there's this real 04:59 world out there that is filled with harmful things 05:03 to us and positive things and neutral things... 05:07 And we process all those things through our thoughts, 05:09 and that creates our mood or our stress level. 05:11 The next slide shows if you translate this 05:13 into actual stress language, you have the stressors 05:18 that are taking place out there, 05:20 yeah - or just somebody walking in the room. 05:23 But your belief system actually assigns a meaning... 05:26 He could hurt me with that gun 05:27 or he can hurt me because he has done that before. 05:29 Yeah, he can walk up and say something to me 05:31 that would embarrass me, for instance... 05:33 And that then contributes to your stress level. Okay 05:36 And it's real stress if it's a gun, 05:39 but it's processed stress if it's just a person walking in. 05:42 That's exactly right. It's the idea... 05:43 Okay, so are there more specific beliefs that can actually 05:48 produce this or lead to this? 05:50 Beliefs are very powerful to 05:52 create or reduce stress, in fact. 05:54 The next graphic we're going to show here shows that... 05:58 Look at that stressor - you have those small arrows 06:00 just something neutral - maybe even positive, 06:02 but I have a belief, a stress-inducing belief, 06:06 I call it - that actually enables that stressor, 06:08 it supercharges it and by the time it gets to me, 06:12 after it being filtered through my belief system, 06:13 it actually induces stress. 06:15 Now "beliefs," Don, can do exactly the opposites as well. 06:18 The next slide will show the effects of 06:21 stress-reducing beliefs. 06:23 Here is a stressor that before has been very negative to me. 06:26 Me walking in that room has just upset you so many times 06:29 because I've hurt you in the past and you expect it again. 06:32 But now you've learned to change your belief system 06:37 with respect to this and so that negative stressor, 06:40 that previously negative stressor, now is disabled 06:44 and you can actually, through your belief system, 06:46 reduce the distress level. 06:47 So we need to be thinking of those kind of things. 06:50 That's exactly right - to learn how to think differently 06:54 to process things differently to develop a healthy 06:58 set of beliefs that will enable us to disable 07:03 potentially stressful situations to cause stress for us. 07:07 So are there specific beliefs 07:09 that can actually produce these things? 07:12 Yes - you take, for instance, people that... 07:16 I don't know if you've ever known anybody 07:17 who is afraid to fly. Oh yeah 07:19 I have relatives who are afraid to fly, 07:20 and interestingly enough, they may travel a LONG distance 07:25 1,000 miles - 1,500 miles in the car in the winter 07:29 ...Instead of being in an airplane - 07:32 and actually consider that safer because they're afraid to fly. 07:36 And, many people are afraid to fly... 07:40 Well I think probably another example that I could think of, 07:44 maybe - I'm just testing this out with you... 07:47 If you do very poorly on a test, say - your young child 07:50 or you feel - made bad - whatever the subject is, 07:53 you feel like you're not that smart. 07:55 You don't want to do that again, even though you may 07:57 or may not be smart in that area... 07:59 You just feel like you were so put down, 08:01 that it stunts you because it's 08:04 imagined belief about yourself. 08:06 Okay, every time you are then required to take a test 08:09 of some kind, it has that effect on you - 08:11 That would be the same kind of thing? 08:13 It would be similar, yes. 08:15 Now what you look at is... what's the basis for that fear? 08:19 For instance, Don, why would somebody be afraid to fly? 08:24 Maybe a recent hijacking, a terrorist act, 08:27 or something like that. Yes 08:29 And also, every time there is a major airliner come down 08:33 it's in the newspapers. 08:35 We have the benefit in this culture today of getting 08:38 the black box and hearing back the last words... 08:43 You hear it over and over again, 08:44 sort of like the incident in New York City. 08:47 They keep replaying it - exactly right; 08:49 they keep replaying these things, 08:50 and we actually put ourselves in the position of a 08:54 passenger on that plane - when every time we hear 08:57 that back, we think - "What would it have been like 08:58 to be a passenger on that plane. " 09:00 And so we generate these fears and if you're looking for 09:03 evidence that planes are unsafe to fly, 09:05 you're going to find that evidence - it's out there. 09:07 So this is a process that our mind goes through 09:10 and it really has the same affect as the actual event 09:14 if that was happening almost. That's exactly right 09:18 Your body doesn't know the difference, 09:20 and when you were thinking about being in a plane 09:23 that's going to crash or that's being hijacked, 09:27 your body biochemically begins to react with adrenalin output, 09:33 with cortisol levels rising in your body which is damaging. 09:36 Cortisol, as far as we understand this, 09:39 cortisol levels are damaging to the immune system, 09:42 and that's why stress can be so 09:43 contributory to illnesses and diseases. 09:47 So it's not something we should mess around with. 09:48 We need to get a handle on what to do when we have 09:51 these stress-inducing beliefs and take care of them. 09:55 How could you sum this up? 09:56 Well because so many stress-inducing beliefs are, 09:58 in fact, just that - it's just our belief system, 10:00 we're processing the stress. 10:02 We're creating stress through our belief system. 10:04 Now the reality is that, statistically, 10:10 do you know how long you would have to fly if you were 10:13 flying for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 10:17 52 weeks out of the year, before a plane that you were in, 10:21 would crash, statistically - based on just statistics... 10:24 the number of miles flown to the number of planes coming down... 10:27 I'm not sure, what would it be? 10:29 I have no idea - 20 years? Okay, 434 years! 10:34 Oh, I think I could probably get where I'm going 10:35 in that amount of time. 10:38 That's flying nonstop 434 years, 10:40 statistically - that doesn't mean there aren't 10:42 people that come down or people that die. 10:44 But statistically, it's 250 times safer 10:49 to be in an airplane mile per mile, 10:52 than it is an automobile mile per mile. 10:55 ...250 times more safer. 10:57 So just replacing that belief can make a difference 11:01 in how you feel about flying, for instance 11:03 when you focus on that. 11:05 So viewpoint is very important and that very fact right there 11:08 can help change our viewpoint. 11:09 Well someone once said... "You know, most accidents 11:11 happen within 25 miles of home, so I moved" 11:13 That's probably not going to work - that one, 11:16 but this viewpoint of what really, 11:18 actually happens, helps us. 11:20 In fact, if you ask people what is the most dangerous 11:22 part of flying, many people will say - "It's the takeoff 11:25 or the landing," but in reality the most dangerous 11:28 part of flying is the drive to the airport. 11:31 That's statistically the truth. 11:35 And almost everything we experience in life 11:37 has at least 2 sets of data... 11:42 Because 90-95% of the stress we experience in life today 11:46 in today's world is processive stress. 11:49 It's how we're processing things. 11:51 It's the data that we choose to focus on 11:54 that determines whether we're going to be stressed by 11:58 our relationship to whatever is happening there. 12:01 Is there a way that you could sum this up for us? 12:04 Yes there is... There is kind of a phrase that 12:07 I use that I think is very powerful, 12:10 and if somebody just took this thought away with them 12:13 from our discussion today... 12:15 If we can change an interpretation of an event, 12:19 we can effectively change the impact 12:22 that event will have on us. 12:25 So, if we can change the interpretation of an event, 12:29 we can effectively change the impact it has on us... 12:31 So this then is not just a statement, 12:34 it also is a question and maybe that's were we should 12:37 pick it up when we come back. 12:39 Can we, in fact, CHANGE the interpretation of events 12:42 so that our stress level will go down? 12:44 We are talking with Dr. Skip MacCarty 12:46 We're talking about material from his 12:48 "Beyond Coping Seminar" on stress 12:51 and we hope that you've found it enjoyable, 12:53 and that you'll join us when we come back. 12:59 Have you found yourself wishing 13:01 that you could shed a few pounds? 13:02 Have you been on a diet for most of your life, 13:05 but not found anything that will really keep the weight off? 13:07 If you've answered "yes" to any of these questions, 13:11 then we have a solution for you that works! 13:13 Dr. Hans Diehl and Dr. Aileen Ludington 13:16 have written a marvelous booklet called.. 13:18 "Reversing Obesity Naturally" 13:20 and we'd like to send it to you FREE of charge. 13:23 Here's a medically sound approach successfully used 13:26 by thousands who were able to eat more and lose weight 13:29 permanently without feeling guilty or hungry 13:32 through lifestyle medicine. 13:34 Dr. Diehl and Dr. Ludington have been featured on 3ABN 13:37 and in this booklet they present a sensible 13:40 approach to eating, nutrition and lifestyle changes 13:43 that can help you prevent heart disease, diabetes, 13:45 and EVEN cancer. 13:46 Call or write today for your free copy of... 13:49 "Reversing Obesity Naturally" 13:51 and you could be on your way to a healthier, happier YOU! 13:54 It's ABSOLUTELY free of charge, so call or write today. 14:00 Welcome back, we've been talking 14:01 with Dr. Skip MacCarty 14:03 We're talking about stress and we're talking about 14:05 your viewpoint - what we can do to -what would you say? 14:09 Reduce or alleviate stress by our viewpoint, 14:13 and we've talked about how there are stress-inducing 14:16 beliefs that we can have that can be very harmful. 14:19 When we stopped talking, you were making a claim - 14:22 that it was possible to convert harmful stress 14:25 to beneficial stress through a healthy viewpoint. 14:29 How in the world would you do this? 14:30 Okay Don, we've talked about there are stress-inducing 14:34 beliefs that we all have that create stress; 14:37 90-95% of the stress we experience in today's world 14:41 is process of stress. 14:42 We create it by our own viewpoint. 14:45 Now #1- If you want to change your viewpoint to reduce 14:48 your stress and manage your stress levels, 14:50 #1- Every time you have a stress-inducing belief 14:54 that's manifesting itself and creating stress in your life, 14:56 CHALLENGE that belief, challenge it... rigorously, 15:00 never allow it to go on. 15:01 So as soon as you think sometime like that, 15:03 you go - "Wait a minute, why am I thinking that," 15:05 and just analyze it, scrutinize it... Exactly 15:08 Okay... Exactly 15:09 Well, how can someone determine if they 15:10 have such beliefs? 15:12 Well that's a very good question because I can tell you 15:15 if I asked you right now to write down all your 15:17 stress-inducing beliefs, you might... MIGHT be able 15:20 to come up with 1 or 2, but generally, we don't know.. 15:24 There are 2 primary ways to do that... 15:26 #1- Is by our self-talk. 15:30 We're constantly talking to ourselves. 15:32 We're sending messages to ourselves just constantly, 15:35 and to get in, if we had a ticker taper, it's a printout 15:39 of all of our self-talk, we would see those beliefs 15:42 would be manifest to us. 15:43 So just listening to ourselves, 15:44 listening to what we're saying to ourself. 15:46 And what we're saying in the mirror. 15:47 I guess that's what that graphic means there. 15:48 Okay, good. Yes! 15:50 Analyze your self-talk. 15:51 The person looking in the mirror there is - Talking to themselves 15:54 They're interpreting what they're seeing in the mirror. 15:56 And they are saying something to themselves, 15:58 and if they'll listen to what they're saying to themselves, 16:01 they're actually creating stress by what they're saying, 16:03 and they need to start challenging the words that 16:06 they're saying that are creating stress. 16:08 So, if I'm saying to myself, "You're no good, you're no good" 16:11 ...You've got to say, "Wait a minute, maybe 16:13 I need to think about that... maybe I am good" 16:15 Is there any other way besides self-talk that we can 16:17 challenge these beliefs? Yes there is... 16:19 The second way is equally as important as self-talk is 16:23 to work backward from what we 16:26 call "C" or the consequence of stress to "A" - the stressor, 16:30 and then work forward to beliefs. 16:31 In other words, Don, you walk into the room, 16:34 you've hurt me so many times in the past - 16:35 I'm having a great time at this social function, 16:38 but YOU walk into the room and suddenly my adrenalin levels 16:41 go up, my cortisol level goes up, 16:42 and I'm defensive now - and I'm just ready to get hurt again... 16:46 And once that happens, that's the consequence; 16:51 my fear - I feel that rush of adrenalin within me... 16:55 That's the consequence, that's the "C" 16:58 And I work backward from that to "A" to the stressor... 17:01 What just happened to create that? 17:02 I sense that happening within me. 17:04 Or you do something that makes me angry - 17:06 that's a stress response. 17:08 So then I say - "Okay, what has just happened?" 17:11 I work back to the stressor - You just walked in the room, 17:13 or you just said something to me. 17:15 Then I work from there and say - "You know what, 17:17 Don walking in the room does not have the power to create 17:19 ...suddenly my adrenalin starts flowing or I get stressed 17:24 He doesn't have that power. 17:26 Even him saying those words doesn't have the 17:27 power to make me angry. 17:29 What is it I'm thinking? 17:30 What is it I'm believing about those words he says, 17:34 or about just his presence in this room that's creating this? 17:37 Well, I'm thinking that because he has said things that have 17:40 hurt me in the past, because he's tried to 17:42 humiliate me in social groups in the past, 17:43 he's probably going to do it again... 17:45 That's a... leap that's probably a leap. That is 17:48 Okay, so once you've discovered these self-inducing stressors 17:54 or beliefs that cause stress, 17:55 and you're starting to discover them, 17:57 and you're going from looking at self-talk and working from 18:01 "C" back to "A" and you have a list of them, 18:03 that you know are there, what do you do then? 18:05 Okay Don, first of all you've challenged those 18:08 stress-inducing beliefs, 18:09 you've identified them and challenged them... 18:11 Secondly now, you replace the stress-inducing beliefs 18:14 with stress-reducing beliefs... a very important step. 18:17 So, here's "A" - here's "B" you replace it. 18:20 So, what are you saying? That we just make up beliefs? 18:22 No... I mean that one option - you just make stuff up, 18:26 but no, we're not talking about that. 18:28 We're talking about reality-based beliefs. 18:31 For instance, in the plane incident where someone is 18:36 afraid to fly because they've seen all the paper reports 18:41 and news reports of planes that have come down, 18:43 and they visualize themselves as being on those planes. 18:45 Well, if they look at the evidence 18:48 that's 250 times safer to fly than to drive, 18:53 statistically, then that's a reality-based belief 18:56 you replace that belief... 18:57 So if they do have to fly next time, 18:59 they wouldn't be as fearful - as an example. 19:02 So put that FACT in the PLACE of the FEAR or whatever it is. 19:04 Okay, let's go on - Do you have some other 19:06 examples that you can share with us? 19:09 Yes, I do... Okay, let's look at them. 19:10 For instance, if a person says to themselves... 19:13 "Life must be fair to me at all times" 19:16 That's a stress-inducing belief. That certainly is... 19:19 Now Don, I have NEVER said to myself... 19:22 "Life must be fair to me at all times" 19:24 I doubt that you ever have. 19:25 But what happens when something grossly unfair happens to you? 19:29 You'd say - "Wait a minute, that's not fair!" 19:31 See, that's the "C" that's the consequence. 19:34 When something grossly unfair happens to you, 19:36 and it just upsets you. 19:37 It frustrates you and maybe makes you angry, 19:39 and it's not something that just comes and goes, 19:42 but, I mean, you stew on it over a period of time... 19:45 And after a while, you may obsess on it. 19:48 What has happened is - that IS a stress-inducing belief 19:50 that you have - whether or not you're... 19:52 I don't want to admit that I have a stress-inducing belief 19:55 so ridiculous as "life must be fair to me at all times" 19:57 ...the fact is if something really bad happens to me, 20:01 very unfair and I start obsessing about it, 20:04 it really affects other aspects of my life, 20:06 then that is a stress-inducing belief I have. 20:08 I need to replace it with a stress-reducing belief. 20:10 So what would you replace it with? 20:11 It would look something like this - as an example... 20:14 I would always LIKE to be treated fairly. 20:19 Now, is that a reality-based statement? 20:21 It is because that's realistic... Exactly 20:24 But everyone is treated unfairly at times... 20:26 Is that reality-based? That's very reality-based. 20:29 It is... Okay, now it is possible to be treated 20:32 unfairly and still be happy. Yeah... 20:35 Is that reality-based? How do we know it is? 20:38 Hebrews 11- it's the faith chapter. 20:42 All those people were treated in certain ways, 20:45 but reality was - they had real stressors, 20:47 but still, they are you know... Exactly! 20:51 By the examples - there are people around us too - 20:54 treated grossly unfairly and yet they're almost heroic 20:57 in the way they approach it. 20:58 Because of that, we know that's a reality-based belief, 21:01 Now here's what happens, Don... 21:02 The next time something really unfair happens to me, 21:05 and I'm really upset about it, 21:07 when I literally my self-talk - when I start plugging in those 21:11 words, I'd always like to be treated fairly, 21:13 but many things happen in life that aren't going to be fair. 21:16 It's possible to be treated fairly and still be happy. 21:19 I just start running that tape 21:20 in my mind and you know what happens? 21:21 Before long, my emotions, my reaction, my body chemistry 21:25 actually begins to change and it reduces the stress levels, 21:28 healthy in every way simply by that belief. 21:32 And I'll give you another one... Okay, yeah, give me another one 21:35 Okay - I must succeed, for instance, at everything I do... 21:40 Now, have you ever said that to yourself? 21:42 I've thought it! Okay 21:44 It would be nice to feel... It would be nice - yes 21:46 I've never actually said those words to myself, 21:48 but that's a stress-inducing belief... 21:49 And again, the way we know we have that belief 21:52 somewhere in our psyche - is when you really 21:56 fail at something, how does it make you feel? 21:57 Boy, you're not living up to what your dad said... 22:00 "McCarty's are SUCCESSFUL!" 22:02 See... That's the point, the point is that when it 22:07 affects us by we begin to obsess on it, 22:10 and it affects our relationships and our ability to 22:14 perform at the same level at our work and relationship, etcetera, 22:19 Yeah, then we have that belief, it's there... 22:21 So here's a way we can replace it for instance... 22:23 Okay, let's look at it, how do you do that? 22:25 I would like to succeed at everything that I do, 22:30 and that's reality-based again, right? Yes 22:33 Okay, but no one is always successful... 22:34 Is that true? That's true... 22:36 Okay, failing doesn't devalue me. 22:39 Now from a Christian perspective we know that to be true. 22:42 I can use it - I can use failure as a stepping-stone. 22:46 It's what I do with the failure that matters. 22:49 In fact, we know people from history, from the stories, 22:52 even just looking around us in modern life even, 22:54 people who have failed tremendously, 22:57 and yet have really been heroic again; 23:01 in a way, they've just risen right up on top of that. 23:04 They've used their failure as a stepping stone 23:05 to greater success... 23:07 So both of those are really kind of... 23:09 what would you say? 23:11 I'm talking now as a Christian - they're also biblical based too. 23:14 You can look at the stories and you can see... Absolutely 23:18 that really, you know - hey, just because it looks like 23:22 I'm a failure, it doesn't really mean that... 23:23 Christ on the cross - there He is hanging on the tree... 23:26 It looks like it's the most unsuccessful scene EVER! 23:29 And yet He can say to the thief on the cross... 23:31 "Hey wait, this is successful" 23:33 So is that okay? Yes Reality-based. 23:37 Yes Don, it's important, I think, to recognize that 23:41 if a person just says, "Hey, I have some 23:43 of those stress-inducing beliefs" 23:45 ...there's no shame involving that. 23:46 I teach these things; I teach them over and over 23:50 and over, and yet I'm constantly discovering new 23:52 stress-inducing beliefs I have. 23:53 I'm constantly getting upset about something, 23:55 and then thinking... You know what? 23:57 That didn't have the power to do this to me. 23:59 It had no power to do this to me. 24:01 What was I thinking? 24:03 How was I processing? 24:05 Going from the consequence to the stressor, 24:07 and saying - the stressor didn't have the power to 24:09 produce that consequence. 24:10 What was going on? 24:11 How was I filtering that? How was I processing it? 24:13 What were my beliefs that enabled it to do that? 24:16 The supercharge enabled it to do that... 24:17 Constantly discovering and so it's part of a life journey, 24:21 but it is SO rewarding. 24:23 Even if you're a stress seminar teacher, 24:25 your stress seminar can be stress-inducing 24:27 unless you know how to make it stress-reducing. 24:31 Okay, how can you actually develop some more healthy 24:35 stress-reducing beliefs? How can you do that? 24:38 A very good question, Don. 24:39 There are 4 points that I would recommend with that. 24:44 #1 is to make an accurate assessment constantly 24:48 of what is happening and we've been talking about that. 24:50 Accurately access what's happening. 24:51 #2- Explore creative possibilities, 24:55 and I'll come back to that in just a moment. 24:57 #3 is read books that are recognized for their 24:59 healthy outlook and then note positive responses 25:03 of other people to situations that cause you stress. 25:06 I think the book, of course, par excellence 25:09 without any question is the Bible. 25:14 Every time you spend time in the Bible... 25:16 When someone takes a devotional time every day, 25:19 they are literally bathing their mind in healthy 25:22 stress-reducing beliefs and become saturated with 25:26 healthy stress-reducing beliefs. 25:27 The Bible itself challenges stress-inducing beliefs, 25:34 and replaces and educates us to think in healthy ways... 25:40 and you're developing the healthiest set of 25:42 belief systems you could possibly have when you're 25:43 just reading and going over the stories of the Bible, 25:46 and seeing how healthy people, God-fearing people 25:49 related positively to life's experiences - it is so awesome, 25:53 and in a future program we'll talk about some of those things. 25:57 It is the greatest source, in my estimation, 26:01 of proven stress-reducing beliefs. 26:03 Now, I'd like to come back to just give you a brief story 26:07 here of how the creatively process stress is an example. 26:10 I was at the General Conference here a while back, 26:13 and our Conference gave us a thousand dollars to go, 26:16 and then when that thousand dollars ran out, 26:18 we had to come back home. 26:19 So I was trying to stretch my thousand dollars out 26:21 as far as I could - I got a hotel that wasn't very expensive 26:23 and one night, I came home late from the last session 26:28 all inspired, got in bed, was doing some reading 26:30 to put myself to sleep and the alarm in the next room went off, 26:33 and it was one of those motel alarms... 26:35 You know, they go... buzz, buzz, buzz, 26:38 and I thought - no problem, they're going to turn it off 26:41 over there... After about 1.5 minutes or so, 26:43 I realized there's nobody in that room... 26:44 and they turn the thing up as loud as it could be; 26:48 it was like 11:30 at night and they turned that thing 26:51 up so loud and it was like the wall between our 2 rooms 26:55 were like an amplifier. 26:56 I called downstairs and I said, "Ma'am, any change you can 26:59 have somebody come up and turn that off?" 27:01 And they said, "Well sir, I'm the only one on duty tonight 27:05 and can't do it until later on. " 27:09 So I said, "Okay, well as soon as you can, please. " 27:12 And about 2 minutes later, I'm trying to read, 27:15 and this thing goes through my mind "Chinese water torture" 27:18 You know what I mean - that buzz, buzz, buzz, 27:21 and then I realize - instantly, I caught what was happening. 27:24 Stress-inducing belief... Exactly! Exactly right 27:27 And so I said, "What's some 27:29 creative way I can deal with this? 27:30 And I said, "You know, I hadn't been thinking directly 27:33 that God loves me - God may be sending me a signal. 27:36 Every time that goes buzz, I'm going to think God loves me, 27:38 and you know what happened? 27:39 About 10 minutes later, they came up 27:40 and turned that thing off. 27:41 I felt they had actually taken something... 27:43 it became soothing. 27:46 We've been talking with Dr. Skip MacCarty 27:48 We've been talking about stress-reducing beliefs; 27:52 how they can replace stressors. 27:53 We hope you contact us about more information 27:56 about how to find health, in this regard, 27:58 that lasts for a lifetime. |
Revised 2014-12-17