Your Pathway from Stress to Wellness

Presented by Dr. Derek Lee,

HBSc, DC, CAFCI, Certified Stress & Wellness Consultant
In association with

betterHEALTH providers

Core materials in this presentation are copyright (2006) to the Canadian Institute of Stress and Dr. Derek Lee
A Step-by-Step Process to Managing Your Stress

6 Objectives to Cover
1. What is Stress? How does it work?
2. Examine the Impact of Stress on us emotionally &
physically.
3. Stress affects us differently from person to person
and that is dictated by our particular Stress Type.
4. Different people need different stress management
strategies…a personalized program.
5. Vitality Quotient Test to determine your stress type.
6. Choose the top 2 proven interventions for reducing
our individual levels of stress.
 What is Stress? How does it work?

 “Stress” is energy … more precisely, stress is your body’s

hormonal system for producing the physical and emotional energy
you rely on throughout your day.
 Every time you need energy – whether it’s lifting a barbell, simply getting out of bed
in the morning, or leading a meeting – your stress level will automatically go up.
 It’s a reflex like closing your eyes when you sneeze…you can’t help it.
5 Stages of Stress
 Fatigue & Insomnia
 Relationships Diminish
 Emotional Distress
 Chronic Aches & Pains
 Illness and Disability

 These issues become

progressively worse in
frequency and severity
over time.
How do we get a handle on Stress?
…it depends on who we are.

1. Figure out who we are. This

means determining our “stress
type” or stress personality. Our
stress type defines how we
handle stress and how stress
affects us.
2. Once we know who we are, we
can scientifically choose the
most effective stress intervention
skill for our unique stress type.
3. Making small, predictable but
profound changes lead to
6 Stress Types significant gains in stress
reduction.
 The SPEED FREAK
 Constant foot to the floor on
their “stress accelerator”;
borderline workaholic
 Everything must get 110%
effort, no matter what its
priority
 Rapid speech; interrupts
frequently
 Periods of fatigue after all-
out effort
 General state of emotional
turbulence
Two skills best for Speed Freaks
First, clarify the life goals you value most, and then learn autogenic
relaxation to control how you invest energy in those goals.
 The WORRY WART
 Have trouble turning off
their thoughts
 Drive themselves at
high RPM, but rarely put
themselves in gear, i.e.
worry leads to useless
wheel spinning
 Frequent anxiety, and
slow to recover / come
down from high stress
situations
 Tension headaches
Two skills best for Worry Warts – The first step is psychological relaxation
or reframing, then supported by clarifying values and goals.
 The DRIFTER
 Tend to shotgun their
energy across many
options
 In perpetual “mid-life
crisis”
 Often feel dissatisfied;
that life is not “adding
up”; or that something is
seriously missing in
their lives
 Doubts existing goals /
satisfactions in life
Two skills best for Drifters – First, focus on more self-affirming relationships,
then follow up by pinpointing the satisfying experiences you value most in those
relationships.
 The LONER
 Feel lonely, often
unfulfilled in
relationships
 May feel uncomfortable
with others; often
masked with a smile
 Difficulties in giving /
receiving easy, relaxed
closeness or intimacy
 Feel alone in carrying
burdens or worries
Two skills best for Loners -- First, clarify what you value and truly enjoy in work
or personal life, then cultivate relationships which affirm what you value.
 The BASKET CASE
 In constant “energy
crisis”
 Energy often fades by
mid-day
 Frequent aches / pains
in low back, muscles or
headaches
 Sometimes depressed;
feel most activities are
too much to do
Two skills best for Basket Cases -- The first foundation skill is high
performance nutrition, then supported by essential exercise.
 The CLIFF WALKER
 A walking life insurance
company “risk factor chart”
[e.g. blood pressure;
smoking; alcohol misuse;
no exercise; hereditary
factors]
 Tends to be cavalier about
risks: “It’ll never happen to
me”.
 Usually a somewhat “worn”
appearance, and difficulty
sustaining energy
Two skills best for Cliff Walkers -- The first foundation skill is high
performance nutrition, then supported by essential exercise.
 Measure your Stress &
Determine your Stress Type.

 What’s my overall stress score? How does

that compare to other people?
 What’s my Stress Type ? Am I a Worry
Wart … a Speed Freak … a Drifter … a
Loner … or a Basket Case?
 How can I improve my stress level? What
two steps will get the best results for my
Stress Type?
 Take the ’Stress Test’.
Since people are quite different in how they become
vulnerable to stress build-up, do different people
need different wellness strategies?

 The answer is a scientifically solid Yes.

 There are five basic, proven stress control skills
which work better for one stress type over
another.
 Many people who started with the wrong skill
actually increased their stress.
 The right stress control skill depends upon your
individual stress type. (Review)
Vital Skills…
In descending order of their overall power
 1) clarifying your personal values and daily
satisfiers
 (2) being able to relax-at-will, anywhere, any
time
 (3) developing rewarding relationships
 (4) high performance nutrition
 (5) essential exercise.
2 Dominant Skills per Stresstype
Two skills best for Speed Freaks
First, clarify the life goals you value most, and then learn
relaxation to control how you invest energy in those goals.
Two skills best for Worry Warts – The first step is
psychological relaxation or reframing, then supported by
clarifying values and goals.

Two skills best for Drifters – First, focus on more self-

affirming relationships, then follow up by pinpointing the
satisfying experiences you value most in those relationships.

Two skills best for Loners -- First, clarify what you value
and truly enjoy in work or personal life, then cultivate
relationships which affirm what you value.

Two skills best for Basket Cases and Cliff Walkers -- The
first foundation skill is high performance nutrition, then
supported by essential exercise.
Do any of the much touted stress and
wellness techniques actually work?

1. To recap 25 years of research with 132,000 over-stressed Canadians

and Americans, here’s what we’ve learned.
2. If you want a stress control program giving you deeply rooted
personalized results, with no time wasted on false starts … on what
might work for someone else, but not for you, then …
3. Personalize your from-stress-to-wellness strategy to match your
dominant Stress Type, focusing on the two skills you most need. They
will give you 65+% of your progress.
4. Later, focus on your secondary Stress Type for the other 35%.
5. Follow our advice on which of your two skills you should start with first.
6. Use “autogenic technology” to reprogram your body mind habits [i.e.
autogenic relaxation + visualization + affirmation methods].
 Long-term Results of this Program
Program Results at Four and Eight Months Follow-Up
At 4 months At 8 months
Doctor’s office visits decrease 22% 53%
Days absent from work decrease 42% 58%
Below target blood pressure 49% 91%
Immunoglobulin A increase 24% 31%
T cell increase 16% 28%
Stress hyper-reactivity down [EMG/GSR] 41% 46%
Stress recovery time down [EMG/GSR] 28% 36%
Ability to relax at will increase [EMG] 17% 31%
Future workshops on
…Stress Management?
 Vitality Quotient Questionnaire.
 Measuring your level of stress.
 Determining your dominant and secondary
stress types
 Choosing the top 2 most effective
interventions for you.
 Make minor but profound changes that are
proven to last.