Stress Can Be Managed in a Healthy Way

By Lori Miltenberger, Kappa Kappa Gamma

Stress happens to everyone, and stress itself isn’t good or bad! Stress is what we all experience as we adjust to the demands of our lives. It can be a source of motivation, pushing and moving us to take action, or a source of negativity, creating feelings of sadness, anger and depression. It is the negative reaction to stress that can lead to health problems such as headaches, high blood pressure and heart disease, as well as anxiety and depression. Every day we experience stress as a response to both happy and difficult events, and it is how we react to these stressors that will determine if stress will help or hurt us.

Research has shown that women are highly susceptible to stress. This may be due to multiple factors, such as managing a balance between work and traditional responsibilities at home, difficulty in saying no to others and spending less time nurturing our own needs. Hormones and body chemistry may also play a part.

So how can we better manage stress? We need to remember that we can’t eliminate it entirely, and without it we might become stagnant. The goal is to find our own optimal level of stress, so we feel motivated rather than paralyzed. When you begin to experience symptoms of too much stress, it is time to take action and change your reaction to it. Symptoms include decreased memory and concentration, mood swings, distractibility, depression, anger, increased alcohol consumption and excess smoking or eating.

Begin by becoming aware of your stressors and how you react to them physically and emotionally. Recognize when you feel distressed, and ask yourself what is causing that feeling. Pay attention to how your body responds to the stress. Are you physically upset – for example, do you notice stomach pain or tension? Are you emotionally upset, with negative thoughts or feelings of helplessness?

Second, identify what you can and cannot change. Can you eliminate the stressful circumstance completely or reduce its intensity by delegation or managing it over a longer period of time?

Third, reduce the intensity of your emotional and physical reactions to stress. Your reaction is determined by your perception of the event. Are you turning a small event into a larger one? Are you trying to please everyone? Try looking at the stressor as something you can effectively cope with, so as to put the situation into perspective. Practice deep breathing exercises, which will bring your heart rate to a normal level, and use relaxation techniques to reduce muscle tension.

Fourth, build yourself up physically and emotionally. Exercise regularly, eat balanced and nutritious meals, avoid caffeine and get enough sleep. Nurture supportive friendships, develop realistic goals and be kind and gentle to yourself. Stress can be managed in a healthy way!

About Lori Miltenberger
Lori Miltenberger is a professional counselor, currently working in a university counseling center. In addition to providing individual therapy, Lori serves as the outreach coordinator, developing and coordinating mental-health initiatives in the campus community. She finds working with college students very rewarding, and is honored to be involved in people’s lives at a time when they are experiencing tremendous growth and change. Besides working with students in her professional career, she has been involved through the years in mentoring, advising and participating in inspiring young women as a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity. She has been married for 20 years and is the proud mother of three.

How to Thrive in the Sedentary World

By Garrett Wood, Alpha Phi

As an online strength and nutrition coach, I work with Panhellenic women all across the country.

I am a huge advocate of movement: dancing, rock climbing, roller blading, you name it! My mantra is #daretomove.

After my time as president of Alpha Phi at Miami University, I started a website called Crossroads of Fitness. I founded my business to inspire people to move by writing about fitness topics and through online coaching. Many of my clients are young professionals trying to find sustainable ways to incorporate healthful fitness and nutrition habits into their lives to achieve their physique and fat-loss goals.

Post-graduate life can be more sedentary, stressful and challenging to manage than we realize going into it. It’s tough to really know how to stay active and develop hard habits when you are in a new city, juggling new job tasks, making new friends and getting acquainted with longer work days in new surroundings.

Here are my three tips to find movement when you feel stressed in the chaos of the sometimes-sedentary world.

1. Make small promises to yourself.

Treat your body like a good friend. Make mini-commitments on which you can't bail.

Set some weekly goals, such as:

• Drink one extra cup of water.
• Eliminate one alcoholic beverage.
• Get one extra workout in this week.
• Take the stairs.

It's good to practice mini-commitments. Once you commit to one little thing for seven days, you prove to yourself you are capable, and it feels awesome!

Here's the trick: you can't be too drastic and try to change your entire lifestyle all at once. Changing everything at once (such as adding five new workouts, trying a new meal plan, taking a different commute to work, and skipping happy hour) can be overwhelming and lead to failure over time. This is why I urge working on one new weekly habit at a time.

By tackling one new habit, you are able to see if it is feasible. Pretend you are doing a science experiment; you have one independent variable a week, and you do the experiment to see how it goes.

Once you figure out how to nail that habit into your lifestyle, you can work on a new one.

2. Stop comparing yourself to others. 

Seriously, stop. This only promotes negative feelings about yourself. If you are constantly measuring yourself against others, it perpetuates a constant state of unhappiness.

In the same vein, do not let others influence you negatively. Too often I saw co-workers in my first nine-to-five job eating cake in the break room just because their friends wanted to. "If she is eating it, it's okay for me to do it, too.”

It's not. You do you. You won't regret it.

Evading the group mentality and peer pressure is tough, but not impossible. I have three clients – all sorority women living in Los Angeles -- who have high-powered jobs and combat the happy- hour, group-mentality scene two to three times a week.

Here are some of their solutions:

• Bring a Quest bar to avoid appetizers.
• Nurse your first drink until the group is done with their second.
• Wait to order a drink until everyone is on her second round.
• Commit to a morning workout and let it be your (positive) excuse to leave … you have to get up early!

3. Set a goal and be the example. 

Even though co-workers are the biggest influencers on diets and the timing of workday

meals, they can also be the best cheerleaders. Everyone has an "ironman" friend... the one who runs marathons every month, who does crazy 5 a.m. workouts, who brings a new “paleo” recipe to work. You can be that friend to someone. You can make someone proud. Seeing others achieve goals is a huge factor in self-efficacy. Once you see someone else jump off a cliff into a lake, for example, you will do it, too -- just not first.

And setting a goal to run a 5k, climb a mountain or lose 10 pounds is easier to do when you have an entire crowd of people cheering you on.

Sometimes you don't know what you are capable of until you try. Don't let your nine-to-five bog you down; set mini-goals, make promises to yourself and challenge yourself publicly for accountability. Feel free to reach out for personal distance coaching. And always, #daretomove!

About Garrett Wood
Garrett Wood is a Precision Nutrition coach, an SFG certified kettle bell instructor, Barry’s Bootcamp instructor, TRX certified instructor and Madd Dog spinning certified instructor. She spends her time working with others to help them move more and better.

Garrett began her fitness journey through group fitness classes while studying business and journalism at Miami University. Throughout college she taught spinning and TRX classes. After graduation she continued to teach group fitness at Shred415 in Chicago. Her full-time job in real estate moved her to Boston in July 2014.

 
Currently, she teaches at Barry’s Bootcamp, competes as a powerlifter, teaches spinning classes and runs her online business, Crossroads of Fitness, doing nutrition and strength coaching online.

 

Four Healthy Changes You Can Make Today

By Tracy Carson, Alpha Delta Pi

It doesn’t take much effort these days to find inspiration to be your better self in any area of life. From #Whole30 and #YogaAnywhere to tips and techniques at our fingertips, information about getting healthy is all around! At first glance, this is fabulous; after all, we are living longer and we want those years to be the best they can be. But it can also be overwhelming. Where do we start a journey to health? How do we continue the one we are on? Or, in some cases, how do we change it altogether?

National Women’s Health Week is a great kick-start toward a journey to the best version of you. Regardless of where life finds you, read on to discover four tips for healthy behaviors you can start today!

1. When driving, put your phone away. Texting or any other distraction is a massive danger to your health, as well as the safety of others. When you get in the car, put your phone in your bag in the backseat, so you aren’t tempted to use it. Reading a text or updating your status is not worth your health and, potentially, your life.


2. Food is fuel for your body and should never be used as punishment. Skipping meals and suppressing your hunger with diet soda, caffeine or gum are not healthy habits, even if they mean fitting into that swimsuit for beach week. If you are afraid of making a poor choice like fast food, then a few minutes the night before is all it takes to plan a healthy meal for the next day. If you crave a diet soda in the afternoon to get you through the day, then why not replace that with sparkling water? It’s just as refreshing with so many more benefits!


3. Celebrating with friends should always be done responsibly and with intention. You shouldn't drink unless you are 21 because it's illegal, but beyond that, always have a designated driver, surround yourself with friends who will help you if you have too much to drink and don't use drinking to self-medicate. Alcohol should never be used as a tool to accomplish something else.


4. And speaking of responsibility, let’s not neglect mental health. It is just as important as your physical health. As you take control of your health, know that stress is not the same as anxiety, and recognize when to get help if you are having more bad days than good. Unfortunately, even in 2015 there is a stigma to seeking assistance for mental wellness. Let’s say, “No!” to the stigma and “YES!” to long-term health. You are healthier when you are able to ask for help than when you think you can help yourself on your own.

These tips are simple and only scratch the surface, but our individual journeys to health begin with simple steps we can start today. I hope these tangible ideas will guide you toward a lifetime of healthy behaviors! 

About Tracy Carson
Tracy Carson is a professional counselor with a specialty in the treatment of young women's issues, specifically identity, self-esteem, anxiety and eating disorders. Tracy counts it a privilege to accompany individuals as they courageously battle through the hurts and hang-ups of life. When not practicing counseling, she has a great passion for speaking to women, motivating them and encouraging them to know their stories and themselves better. She has been a featured speaker in the Leadership Development Program at Arizona State University, for numerous MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups and frequently for Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, both nationally and regionally. She has been married for 12 years to her own Prince Charming and delights in her three children.

Virginia Dill McCarty, Pi Beta Phi

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog will spotlight Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. The third and final featured Panhellenic woman is Virginia Dill McCarty, a member of Pi Beta Phi at Indiana University. McCarty was an innovator for women in law and the first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney General.

McCarty was born in Plainfield, Ind. and attended Indiana University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in law. She graduated first in her class and was elected to serve as Indianapolis Editor of the Indiana Law Journal. In 1965, she served as an Indiana Deputy Attorney General. Following her term, she served as a member of the Indiana Board of Law Examiners from 1971-76.

In 1979, she was appointed U.S. Attorney General by President Jimmy Carter, serving a full, four-year term. After serving as Attorney General, she was Chairman of the Board of the Indiana Department of Correction. She was a practicing attorney until her death in 2006.

Throughout her lifetime, McCarty received many awards and honors. She was the first winner of the Indiana State Bar Association Women Lawyers Committee Women in the Law Achievement Award in 1996. She was also the first to receive the Outstanding Alumna award from the Women’s Division of Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis in 2000. 

Feature Friday Staff Profile: Katie Blasingame, Marketing and Communications Intern

The National Panhellenic Conference has five full-time staff members and interns who work daily to advance the sorority experience. Here we will introduce each staff member and let them tell you who they are and what they do in the office. 

Katie Blasingame is the marketing and communications intern for spring 2015. She manages the advocacy efforts of TheSororityLife.com initiative, including writing newsletters, updating the website and posting to social media.  

About Katie: Katie is from Westfield, Ind., and a senior at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). She is majoring in communication studies, and hopes to work in the field of communications or fraternity and sorority life after graduation. She served as the chapter president for Zeta Tau Alpha at IUPUI and as the student coordinator for Fraternity and Sorority Life. 

Fun Fact: I am terrified of rollercoasters. 

Q&A:

1. What do you most enjoy about working at NPC? I love learning new technology skills and software, and that I get to be creative with my work. I also really like the environment of the office. 
2. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla   
3. What is one of your favorite quotes? “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” – Marianne Williamson
4. How would your friends and family describe you? Caring, sassy and dependable
5. What is your favorite TV show? “Grey’s Anatomy” 

Judith Resnik, Alpha Epsilon Phi

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog will spotlight Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. The second featured Panhellenic woman is Judith Resnik, a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi at Carnegie Mellon. Resnik was an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. She was the second female astronaut in the United States, logging over 140 hours in orbit.  

Resnik was born in Akron, Ohio. While in high school, she achieved a perfect SAT and went on to study electrical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. After graduating in 1970, Resnik earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland.

After graduating, Resnik worked with Xerox Corporation as a systems engineer, was affiliated with the National Institutes of Health as a biomedical engineer, and was employed by RCA as a design engineer. In 1978, she was recruited to the astronaut program. Her first space flight was in 1984 as a mission specialist on the maiden voyage of Discovery. She was the first American Jewish astronaut in space and the first Jewish woman in the world in space. During her first flight, she caused notoriety for her acrobatics and sense of humor, as many viewers were accustomed to seeing only men in space.

In 1986, she boarded her the Space Shuttle Challenger for her second mission. She tragically died in the launch disaster. Resnik received multiple awards after her death, including landmarks and buildings that carry her name. A dormitory at Carnegie Mellon and an engineering lecture hall at the University of Maryland are both named after Resnik. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) Judith Resnik Award is presented each year to teams or individuals with outstanding contributions to space engineering. She was also one of ten finalists in 2010 to represent Ohio in the National Statuary Hall located in Washington. 

Mary Ritter Beard, Kappa Alpha Theta

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog will spotlight Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. The first featured Panhellenic woman is Mary Ritter Beard, a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at DePauw University. Beard was an American historian and activist who played an important role in the women’s suffrage movement. She was born in Indianapolis and was the fourth of seven children.

While studying at DePauw University in 1897, Beard was influenced by two of her sorority sisters who were not satisfied with limiting themselves to the conventional roles and courses of women. After graduating from DePauw, Beard worked as a German teacher in Greencastle, Ind. She married Charles Austin Beard in 1900, and they had two children born in 1901 and 1907. They moved to New York City where they both attended graduate school at Colombia University for Sociology.

Beard became involved with the suffrage movement through her work for the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL). Through this organization, she hoped to improve labor conditions for women and believed that suffrage would speed up governmental regulation of economic conditions which would improve the lives of the working class. In addition to her role in WTUL, Beard was a leader in the New York City Suffrage Party (NYCSP), and an editor for their publication “The Woman Voter.” In 1913, she left NYCSP to join the Congressional Union (CU), where she became an executive member of the board and editor of its weekly magazine “The Suffragist.” On multiple occasions, Beard helped organize, strategize, lecture, participate in demonstrations and write articles — she even testified before House and Senate committees on suffrage.

Later in her life, Beard concentrated more on her writings. Through the written word, she sought to educate women about their history and value to society. In 1935, she founded the World Center for Women’s Archives (WCWA), which collected women’s published and unpublished records. The center also established an educational institution for women. This center was endorsed by Eleanor Roosevelt and generated a huge interest in women’s history.