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Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to Hally HealthCast, the Wellness podcast from Halle Health, your partner in helping you live your healthiest life. Every episode on our podcast addresses a new topic important to your health and wellbeing, bringing in expert doctors, therapists, and specialists who offer advice and answer your most pressing question. April is National Stress Awareness Month. So today we're discussing how to recognize stress and anxiety, how to take steps to build resilience and manage stress, and where to turn for help. Here with us are two experts. Dr. John Beck is a psychiatrist and medical director at Health Alliance in Champaign, Illinois.

And Devin Richardson is a licensed clinical social worker and supervisor of specialty care coordination programs for Hally Health in Champa. Welcome to you both, and thanks for being with us today. Let's. Dr. Beck, it seems the irony of National Stress Awareness month is that these days it's hard not to be aware of the excess of stress in our daily lives with the effects of the pandemic extending beyond the foreseeable future and the current state of global and national events. Not to mention the everyday tensions and demands of our personal and professional lives and relationships.

How can we possibly recognize and cope with all of the many sources of stress that we're confronted with on a day-to-day basis?

Dr. John Beck: I think that's a good question because, you know, humans function. Best under a certain amount of stress. I mean, studies have shown that, that if you have a low to moderate amount of stress, it actually improves your performance. The problem comes when the stress becomes overwhelming or just too high, and then people's ability to kind of function in that environment decreases. And as you note. We live in an environment where there's a lot going on. In addition to whatever people have going on with themselves, their relationships, their jobs, their children in school. We also have, where we're being really inundated almost on a moment to moment basis with news.

You know, with our smartphones. I think they're a blessing in some respects, but they also. It can be a little tricky because they bring up to the moment news. Often not great news. You have social media where you're always or can't always be connected with other people. And in one respect that can be a good thing, but in the other respect, it can get a little overwhelming at times and I think it's sometimes hard to sort out what's important, what's not important. And I think it's important for people to kind of know themselves and know when they're getting to that point where it is just starting to feel detrimental to their health, to their relationships, that sort of thing.

And in terms of harmful stress, you know, that can be a lot of things. I mean, I think we live in an environment where, as you mentioned, with the pandemic, It's had a lot of uncertainty for three years now. And I think it's, it's driven some wedges between people in terms of, well, how do your family members approach Covid versus how do you approach covid? So it can bring conflict into just family gatherings that wouldn't have been there before. It's a time of lots of things going on, and I think it's important for people to be aware of that and also kind of be aware of their limits when they're starting to feel a little overwhelmed by what's going on.

Caitlin Whyte: Thank you, Dr. Beck. Excellent answer. But Devin, even if we can identify the sources of stress in our lives, it's often difficult to recognize the negative impact they may be having on our health. How do we spot the signs of stress before they start taking a toll on us?

Devin Richardson: Yeah, great question. And it is a challenge, but I tend to kind of categorize them into three different categories. So I look for signs on the body, behavior and mood. So things like in your body, things like muscle tension or a headache. Sometimes people even get like an upset stomach mood. It could be restlessness, it could be just feeling overwhelmed, those kinds of things. And then from behavior, just angry outbursts even sometimes, which you know, when that, that stress gets really pent up, that is easy to understand why that happened. But then some numbing behaviors as well.

Sometimes folks turn to things like drugs or alcohol, just to kind of numb some of that stress. Even things like social withdrawal. Now that isn't an exhaustive list by any means, but just some different examples on the, in those three categories that people might want to look out for.

Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you, Devin. That was most helpful. Okay, so Dr. Beck, now that we have a better idea of the health risks of too much stress in our lives, what positive action can we take to counter those effects? How do we go about de-stressing, admit everything else going on around us?

Dr. John Beck: Well, I think part of it is knowing yourself because different people will find different things help them. I mean, there are people that if they're feeling stressed, really the answer for them is to be out social and spend time with friends and really lose themselves in, or just get in the relationships and so they're not thinking about maybe things that are bothering them for other people being in those real social environments itself can be kind of stressful and maybe they want to spend more time by themselves reading a book or just spending time alone doing a hobby.

So, for some people, as Devin was saying, They're they're mourning signs for them, maybe getting angry or they know, well, boy, if I'm starting to get really short with my family, or if I'm having a trouble controlling my mood. Okay, that's my early warning sign that I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed, and sometimes a spouse or a friend or even children will kind of remind you of that. You know, you've got that look in your eye. You look like you maybe need to go rest. And I think, so part of it is just being self-aware and being willing to take feedback from people around you and maybe not get.

And do the things that help you because it's not typically a one size fits all because people find different things very relaxing for some people. They lose themselves and they'll go running, exercise for another one. Like I said, it may be reading a good book. So it's just taking that time out. For other people, it is the social media, where social media can be a stressor and maybe you need to step back from it a little bit. And these are all ways. People, I think have to know themselves, but also be willing to take constructive feedback from people in their lives.

Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you Dr. Beck. I know social media and the news are two of my triggers, so that is some great, great advice. Now, Devin, let me put the same question to you. What do you recommend to people who need to reduce or manage the stress in their lives?

Devin Richardson: Yeah, I think Dr. Beck spoke to us just a little bit, but it's very individualized for, you know, each person. I think that really taking some time to ground yourself in maybe nature or listening to some music, just doing things you enjoy, but also just making sure you're getting plenty of sleep, the right amount of sleep. Eating those good foods and doing anything you can to help you relax, whatever that looks like for you.

Caitlin Whyte: Thank you, Devin. More great advice. Okay, Dr. Beck, let's think. Worst case scenarios. Now, the stress is just too much for us to handle. The signs are all there. It's beginning to affect our health, our relationships, our jobs. When and how should we seek help?

Dr. John Beck: Well, one of the ways that I tend to look at it is to what degree is the level of stress you're experiencing or distress interfering with your life? Is it interfering with relationships? Is it interfering with your ability to be patient with your children? Is it interfering with your ability to sleep at night? You know, and if you find that you are having some detrimental effects and you've tried to try to a address 'em yourself, and you're really not getting much relief and you're finding you're kind of in a state of kind of distress and not really seeing kinda where to go or what you can do. I think that's when you may wanna look for, to have a discussion maybe with your primary care provider to say, gee, this is what I'm experiencing these days and what do you think and what are my options?

And a lot of primary care offices have mental health providers embedded on site. So they may say, well, gee, you could talk to Jim. He's a psychologist, or he's. Social worker, lcsw down the hall and just kind of sort things out with them. Because part of, I think when you're getting into mental health issues is almost like a triage phenomena to get an idea, okay, to what degree is this just a temp thing versus to what degree is this something that's a little more serious? And I think having some of these discussions. Starting with a primary care provider perhaps can be real helpful.

The other thing is through the health alliance we have MD Live where you can actually obtain or get behavioral health help in a virtual manner. So let's say you're more of a person, gee, I don't really want to share this with anybody. and particularly with the pandemic, I think people have gotten much more used to doing all sorts of things virtually, so you can actually meet with someone in a virtual manner. And part of it is sometimes just getting that feedback and kind of getting out of your own head.

So I think these are different things people can do if you're starting to feel a little overwhelmed, or let's say you're finding your alcohol use is increasing or your cannabis use is increasing. And, well, is this a problem? You know, this might be a time to kind of step outta your own world or your own head and get some feedback from people, professional people to give you some guidance.

Caitlin Whyte: Thank you, Dr. Beck, some valuable information. And Devin, can you tell us what resources are available out there for stress management and reduction, particularly for members of our health?

Devin Richardson: Yes, absolutely. So there are a wide variety that are available just generally, but for those members of Health Alliance, hally.com and the Hally app actually have links. Do things like fitness routines and some nutritious recipes, which can both be great pieces of the puzzle in combating stress. But we also have care coordination and health coaching. If you find that your stress is related maybe to a physical or mental health diagnosis that could be impacting your day to day. So both of those resources are available to help alliance members.

Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you Devin, again, so, so helpful. And Dr. Beck, we've asked what you tell patients to do to relieve stress, but what do you tell yourself? What special means or methods do you rely on in your own life to help you de-stress?

Dr. John Beck: Well, as I was saying earlier, it's part of it is kind of knowing yourself. Like I know myself. When I start to get stressed, let's say my sleep will start to get interfered with, or I'll start to get shorter with people. Those are kind of my early warning signs. Cause a lot of times when I worked with patients through the years, maybe it's someone who's doing really well, they weren't gonna come back. And so we would have a discussion often to say, okay, what would be the signs? What are your early signs of when, if you're getting in trouble?

Because everybody's individual that way. And they would say, well, it would be my sleep or my this or that. And then we'd say, okay, well if you start to experience these three things, Then that might be a good time to, to reach back. And so I think that's what I do with myself. And as I said earlier too, my spouse is important in that she'll kind of say, look, you've got that look in your eye you look like you're getting pretty overwhelmed. Maybe you just need to kind of do your own thing for a while.

And for me, I know I like to spend probably time alone. I find that relaxing. Some people don't. I do find it relaxing. So if I'm starting to feel overwhelmed, maybe I just need to have a check out of the hubub for a while and just have some time to myself, either doing a hobby or just having time to think.

Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you Dr. Beck. That was very insightful and so important to remember, to know ourselves and our trigger. Now, Devin, it's your turn. What do you do in your own life to turn down all the outside noise and give yourself a break?

Devin Richardson: Well, I'll say that I am a much better clinician than I am patient , so I don't always take my own advice, but for me, I know meditation, especially if I can get in a groove and do it routinely, really helps with my stress and anxiety. And then also just taking walks with my family, especially if the weather is nice really helps with my stress level a lot.

Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you Devin. Very, very enlightening. And Dr. Beck, last question. Tying back in national Stress Awareness month, if there's one thing about stress that you think people ought to be aware of, what should it be?

Dr. John Beck: Probably what I said earlier in that trying to attain a stress-free life is probably not particularly realistic, nor necessarily helpful to you. But in more of, we live in a world with lots of sensory input and social media and moment by moment news and all those things I think can bring a lot of pleasure and joy. to your life. But I think also they can get a little overwhelming at times. So part of it is being aware of kind of where your limits are and what are some of your signs that maybe you need to step back a little bit. And again, as we've said before, those are individual and as Devin was saying there, there's lots of ways to kind of address that.

And also listen to your, your family members, because I think family members often pick up on things before a person does. And I know as a provider, that was, it was very helpful for me to get input from family members when I was working with somebody because the family members often, as I said, will pick up on. Little cues if someone's maybe starting to struggle or having a hard time that maybe they weren't even aware of themselves. So being open to that, being open to feedback from family or coworkers or friends. If they start to say, gee, you're starting to look like you're a little, getting a little overwhelmed.

Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you, Dr. Beck. It's so true. We absolutely need to rely on our support systems. And Devin, the final question for you. April being National Stress Awareness Month, what do you think everybody should be aware of about stress?

Devin Richardson: Yeah, absolutely. So I think stress is inevitable, but in most situations, each of us individually do have some control over how we react to that stress. So just feel empowered in that ownership of when you can, controlling how you react to it, and hopefully using some of those great coping mechanism.

Caitlin Whyte: Well, just a wonderful wrap up. You both have truly been such wonderful guests. Thank you so much, Dr. Beck and Devin for joining us today and for all you do every day at Health Alliance and Hally Health. To help so many individuals and families throughout our communities, Dr. Beck and Devin will be returning as our guests in May to talk about celebrating mental health awareness month. And that concludes today's Hally HealthCast. Tune in next time as we tackle yet another topic important for your health and wellbeing. And remember, Hally Health is your partner in helping you live your healthiest life. Visit hally.com. That's h a l l y.com for resources, information, tips, and much more. Let us help keep you and your family healthy and well. Thanks for listening. We hope you tune in again.