Mental Health: Think it Out

(6 proven ways to use your mind to heal your body)

The man who walked into Dr. Herbert Benson's Boston office was a mess. He was a stress case at work, he suffered awful headaches, and his stratospheric blood pressure did not respond to high doses of prescription medicines.

But rather than throw more drugs at him, Dr. Benson, an M.D. who works at a Harvard-affiliated health center called the Mind/Body Medical Institute, prescribed a 10- to 20 minute daily dose of what he calls the "relaxation response": a calming exercise of muscle relaxation and controlled breathing.

"He found that, slowly and inexorably, the headaches became less profound," Dr. Benson says. "Eventually, they totally disappeared. His hypertension, which required relatively high doses of two medications, dropped so significantly that he needed only a fraction of the dose of one medication. This man gained a new perspective."

Stress is the number-one mental culprit in the delay of wound healing. Ohio State researchers studied 11 dental students, taking a chunk of flesh from the roofs of their mouths during summer vacation.

Then, 3 days before the first exam of the next school term, they took a chunk from the opposite side of each student's mouth. On average, the wounds took 40 percent longer to heal during stressful exam time than during the carefree days of summer.

"You can become a victim of the environment or the mind," says William Malarkey, M.D., director of Ohio State's clinical research center and a member of the Center for Stress and Wound Healing, "or you can proactively change the environment of your mind."

(source: www.menshealth.com keyword: think it out)

Coaching Motivates Employees

Why do we need motivated employees? The answer is survival (Smith, 1994). Motivated employees are needed in our rapidly changing workplaces. Motivated employees help organizations survive. Motivated employees are more productive. To be effective, managers need to understand what motivates employees within the context of the roles they perform. Of all the functions a manager performs, motivating employees is arguably the most complex. This is due, in part, to the fact that what motivates employees changes constantly (Bowen & Radhakrishna, 1991). For example, research suggests that as employees' income increases, money becomes less of a motivator (Kovach, 1987). Also, as employees get older, interesting work becomes more of a motivator.

Are You Positive?

The Mayo Clinic conducted a study that offers insights into how positive thinking can contribute to how well - and maybe how long - you live.

According to the 2006 study on thyroid cancer survivors, optimism may be associated with a higher quality of life, both mentally and physically. Another recent study by The Mayo Clinic goes a step further, claiming that an optimist may enjoy a longer life than a pessimist. An optimist is less likely to have depression and may be more likely to maintain a healthier lifestyle, paying more attention to their diet and activity levels.