The Gifts of Gratitude

THE GIFTS OF GRATITUDE – Daily Practices Boost Emotional Wellbeing

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.  It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

-- Melodie Beattie

A daily dose of gratitude may be just what we all need to improve our mental health and buffer against the effect of stress. Being grateful helps us be mindful of what is around us and shifts our focus outward.  Thankful people have been found to are happier, have stronger relationships, are more optimistic, exercise more and have fewer visits to physicians. Here are four things you can do to benefit from gratitude:

1)     Gratitude Inventory and Reflection

Make a list of the 100 things you are grateful for and keep it nearby to remind yourself on tough days. Include in this list:

·       What do I take for granted?

·       What challenges have made me a better person?

·       Who are the people who have improved my well-being?

·       What are the opportunities in the future that I look forward to?

·       What gives me joy?

·       Where do I find unconditional love and support?

Some people find it helpful to gather physical reminders of the things they are most grateful for and put them into a “hope kit” – pictures, thank you letters they have received, and so on.

Start and end your day by reflecting on these gifts and sending intentions of gratitude for their presence in your life by saying, “today I am especially grateful for…” or “my life is better because…is in it.” Notice the sensations you feel when you make these mental intentions of thanks.

2)     Give Thanks Freely

Look for small acts of kindness in your day and offer unexpected thanks without expectation of anything in return. Quick notes or comments of gratitude go a long way for the giver and receiver.

3)     Do the Gratitude Dance

Citation:

Harvard Health Publications, November 2011 http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Mental_Health_Letter/2011/November/in-praise-of-gratitude

Cultivating Innovation

By Guest Blogger, Jess Stohlmann

Growing up, I remember hearing my mom tell me, “Perception is reality.” She said it so often, that it became a sort of script for me. When people talk about a problem or a situation and have a very narrow, focused view, that is always what runs through my mind. What my mom was talking about when she said, “Perception is reality,” is so much more complex than it might seem on the surface.

First, there is an assumption that perception is not the same for all people. This means that there are constraints on perception, and that these constraints are different for each individual. This study is a great example of what I mean: 

The Simon & Levins “Door Study” shows us that there are constraints on what people perceive. When people are busy doing one thing, something that seems obvious from the outside can change without them noticing. If you think about how the subject would talk about what happened and what was important, it would probably be very different from what we, the observers would identify as what happened and what was important.

Perceptual constraints aren’t just what we are focusing on and what we are ignoring. Stereotypes put constraints on our perceptions, our past successes and failures shape how we approach problems, etc. All of these constraints narrow our perceptions. They narrow our perceptions so uniquely, that the way each individual perceives the world is different. That is part of what my mom meant when she told me, “Perception is reality.”

The other part of what she meant is that most people do not spend any time trying to remove perceptual constraints, so to them what is ‘real’ and ‘possible’ must exist inside those constraints. Innovators are people who can overcome their perceptual constraints.

Being innovative isn’t just a natural skill that certain people have; all people are capable of being innovative. We can create conditions in which innovation is cultivated. We can open up spaces for innovation by practicing overcoming our perceptual constraints. Using new methods for problem solving is a practical way to start. Here is a process you can try:·       Assume that all problems have multiple solutions

• Generate a lot of ideas – do not allow yourself to stop after you have come up with a few easy solutions. Problems are hard (that’s why they are problems) and solutions should not always be easy.
•  Spend time assessing the ideas
• Assume that innovation is based on utility – the best solutions are useful, not just different
• Choose the best idea and use it!

Once you start opening up spaces for innovation while you are problem solving, innovative approaches to other aspects of work and play will become easier and more natural. Practicing innovation broadens the scope of our perception, and makes things that previously seemed impossible, possible.

Gratitude Overflows in the Glass of Social Entrepreneurship

By Guest Blogger, Jess Stohlmann

This month, the Carson J Spencer Foundation is celebrating our core value of gratitude. Gratitude is an emotion expressing appreciation for what one has. It is what gets poured into the glass to make it half full, and increases the wellbeing and happiness of those who cultivate it.  In addition, grateful thinking—and especially expression of it to others—increases energy, optimism, and empathy.

As social entrepreneurs, gratitude is central to our work. Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” If we replace ‘art’ in his quote with ‘social entrepreneurship,’ it rings equally true. Gratitude shifts the focus from what is lacking to the abundance that is already present.

Shifting focus from weakness to strengths is at the core of social enterprise. Social entrepreneurs celebrate the gifts of both for profit and for impact sectors by utilizing the strengths of each to solve the root causes of social issues. We look upstream to the root of problems, and then draw on the strengths of our community, entrepreneurship, and empathy to make the glass half full – or even all the way full.

I love the “full glass” metaphor; it allows us to really think about what we are bringing to the table and how to combine the efforts of others for the benefit of all. When I think about our glass right now, here is what I imagine it filled with: strong partnerships, passion for our cause, skilled leadership, innovative ideas, and practical solutions. That glass is pretty full to me. Having a full glass opens up opportunities that we never thought possible. That is what social enterprise is really about – using gratitude to recognize the value of all the things we have and bringing our glass full of possibilities to the table.

How Mentally Healthy is Your Workplace?

photo credit: Nelson Webb @Flickr

By Sally Spencer Thomas, Psy.D

It’s not an easy topic to discuss. Suicide, that is. There is a lot of fear based on misperceptions about it. While pamphlets can disseminate information, they are usually not effective enough to shift attitudes or prompt discussion or even help people.  The fact is, the majority of people who die by suicide are working-aged people, and yet most of the suicide prevention efforts target youth. By training workplaces to be better able to identify people at risk, early in the progression of a mental health disorder, more people will get help.

Employers and managers are leaders who can champion a mentally resilient and thriving workplace. They do this by understanding that mental health issues are like other health issues and advocate for promoting protective factors, minimizing risk factors and giving access to quality care. When people are in crisis, these leaders can offer guidance on how to navigate the balance of workplace functioning and individual well-being.

How do you get there?

A great place to start is to take the online assessment.  Part organizational review and part environmental scan, the questionnaire is designed to get workplaces thinking about the many ways they could promote mental health in the workplace. The assessment is helpful, but it is really just the foundation, and one page from the Suicide Prevention Toolkit, which is a Working Minds Program and part of the Carson J. Spencer Foundation.  But the results from the questionnaire will help set the stage for the workshop that follows.

Utilizing the Suicide Prevention Toolkit, employee assistant or human resources personnel, will be able to lead between 25-35 people through the program. The program is practical, user-friendly and seen as highly effective tool for suicide prevention education in the workplace. . One of the main teaching tools is the DVD, which creates a forum for dialogue and critical thinking about workplace mental health challenges. Designed to be implemented over the lunch hour or as a half-day session, the workshop opens the lines of communication and lets employees learn and practice new skills, including help-seeking and help-giving skills.   

Just the employer is encouraged to take the organizational assessment; there is research that supports the use of anonymous online screenings for employees. Through WorkplaceResponse, a program of Screening for Mental Health, employers have a unique opportunity to offer a customized online screening tool that will let employees determine if their symptoms are characteristic of various mood and anxiety disorders and alcohol problems. 

Both programs are about preventing crises through a proactive approach. Both programs are low cost, high impact approaches that empower workplaces to help their vulnerable employees move from distress to coping, communicating that the workplace cares about the well-being of their workers, not just their immediate performance. Both programs have the potential benefit beyond the workplace. In other words, the skills/information acquired in these programs can be applied to family members, neighbors and more. This positions the workplace as responsible corporate citizen and this holistic approach can increase morale.

Click here to take the employer assessment. 

Meeting Workplaces Where They Are: Crisis Response, Safety Planning and Cost-Savings

By Sally Spencer-Thomas

Parts of this blog republished in the International Association of Suicide Prevention’s Newsletter

While most of us in the field of Suicidology can see the great benefits of enlisting employers to implement comprehensive approaches to suicide, most employers are not quite ready. They are unfamiliar with the idea of their role in suicide prevention and often find it initially daunting and significantly out of their usual business endeavors. For these reasons, we need to listen well, move slowly and let them lead.

Many well-meaning suicide prevention advocates jump into the work of fixing something before they understand what the obstacles to change are.  The “Stages of Change” model^[1] developed by Prochaska and DiClemente, informs us that in order to be effective, we need to craft our strategy of change to the readiness of the people or systems needing change.^[2] If the problem is not in awareness, they will not be motivated to take action. If the problem is in their awareness but brings with it some big perceived obstacles to change, they will not be motivated to take action. It’s only when the perceived benefits of change outweigh the consequences of staying the same that change happens. You know you are moving too fast in championing change, when you get a lot of “yes, but” responses such as, “Yes, there may be mental health issues at work, but no one has time/money/expertise (fill in the blank) to deal with it.”

For these reasons, suicide prevention advocates need to take time to listen to workplaces and find out how they are being affected by suicidal behavior, before we prescribe a comprehensive blueprint for change. Those of us interested in of suicide prevention in the workplace have noticed three main areas where workplaces have concerns about suicidal behavior:

1)    After death or a serious attempt has already occurred:  Unfortunately, most workplaces dealing with this issue are doing so in a reactive mode – wondering what warning signs were missed and how best to support their grieving and traumatized staff. To help workplaces in these situations, one goal of the workplace suicide prevention advocates is to provide succinct guidelines on how best to handle the crisis and suggested best practices on how to support bereaved employees.

2)    As they relate to healthcare costs and lost productivity costs: Most for-profit organizations make decisions based on how the choice will impact their bottom line. For this reason, suicide prevention advocates will continue to gather data to make a strong business case for suicide prevention. In other words, we need to demonstrate that engaging in suicide prevention will save the company money.

3)    As they relate to workplace safety: with suicide-homicide cases capturing the attention of employers for decades, much concern exists on how dangerous suicidal people are to others. In order to alleviate this worry, suicide prevention advocates can help link workplaces to policy, protocol and training that allows them to implement “early warning” systems and a process for linking at-risk people quickly to qualified care.

Thus, our general approach is to meet workplaces where they are – crisis support, cost-savings, safety protocol, or whatever other need they have. In order to better serve their needs we need to listen well to their concerns about suicidal behavior as well as their perceived barriers to doing something different. By aligning employers’ goals with the goals of suicide prevention, we will have a much greater chance of successful larger-scale change, as one step can often lead to another.

Contact the Carson J Spencer Foundation for more information about up-coming training on suicide prevention in the workplace and our Working Minds Toolkit (www.WorkingMinds.org).

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[1] Prochaska, James, DiClimente, Carlo, Norcross, John (1993). In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behaviors. Journal of Addictions Nursing, 5(1) 2-16.

[2] Edwards, Ruth, Jumper-Thurman, Pamela, Plested, Barbara, Oetting, E. & Louis, Swanson (2000). Community readiness: Research to practice. Journal of Community Psychology, 28(3), 291-307.

Prescription Drug Abuse at Work

Written by Sally Spencer-Thomas

What is the most concerning substance abuse trend facing workplaces today? Is it meth? Heroin? Cocaine? When we look at who is showing up in our emergency rooms after overdosing and who is showing up at addiction treatment centers, the drugs that are affecting the working aged population most are the drugs we usually get with a prescription.

What is prescription drug abuse? Prescription drug abuse is the non-medical use of prescription medications. Prescription medications are only safe for the prescribed patient, for the prescribed reason, for a prescribed time. After they have been used for their intended purpose, they should be safely discarded, and yet many stockpile and share these potentially deadly and addicting medications, leaving them readily accessible for abusive purposes.

For example, OxyContin, which is essentially the same drug as heroin, is often prescribed for pain relief after major surgery. This toxicity of this medication is perceived quite differently when it comes in a prescription pill bottle from the medicine cabinet, and yet the body doesn’t know the difference between this pill and its illicit cousin heroin. The common perception is that these prescription drugs are safe because they come from a doctor rather than off the street. Yet, the consequences of abuse can be just as deadly.  When we look at national overdose deaths, we find that prescription drug abuse deaths are:[1]

·      Four to five times higher than those of black tar heroin in the 1970s

·      Twice as high as the peak years of crack cocaine in the 1990s

More people are dying each year from prescription drug overdoses than from heroin and cocaine overdoses combined.  In 2005 there were 22,400 prescription drug overdose deaths in the United States versus 17,000 homicides.

 The alarming trend in prescription drug abuse poses a dilemma for doctors. Chronic and severe pain is often best managed with narcotic based medicine until the source of the pain has healed. Very often drug-seeking patients will show up at their primary care clinic complaining of dental or injury pain and will claim they “just need something to get them through the weekend.” Since pain is so subjective, prescribing healthcare providers are often unsure about how to handle such situations and may err on the side of relieving the symptoms the best way they know how.

Sometimes workers who had legitimate pain medication prescriptions find themselves hooked and will “doctor shop” to get additional refills to support their addiction. Other overwhelmed overachievers may turn to prescription drugs for an edge in our highly competitive society. It is not uncommon for Mom or Dad to sneak stimulant pills prescribed for their teen’s Attention Deficit Disorder so that the parent can work longer hours.

The impact of prescription drug abuse on the workplace is evident. Because these pills are usually paid for through insurance, the healthcare costs for workplaces are affected when the drugs are being abused. Performance is impacted when workers are operating under the influence of narcotics, but unlike the abuse of other substances, prescription drug abuse often leaves little evidence: no smell, no paraphernalia, and no visible marks on the skin. Workers can abuse the drugs right at their desks without others noticing.

With all these pills around, the opportunities for intentional and unintentional overdoses increase significantly. Emergency room monitoring shows an upward trend of people experiencing medical crises from these effects.[1] Given these health risks and workplace implications what can employers do?

Like other health issues, the best intervention is early detection. Thus, workplaces can raise awareness by educating employees about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and offer screening to identify those at risk for abuse. Workplaces can help promote events like the Colorado Department of Public Health’s “Take Back” challenges where people can bring in unused prescription medications and dispose of them safely. When writing policies regarding substance abuse, prescription drug abuse should be included. Whatever the approach, workplaces that acknowledge the potential risks of prescription drug abuse will be better able to proactively work to reduce its impact.

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank Beverly Gmerek from Peer Assistance for her leadership in the area of prescription drug abuse prevention and for the information presented at the May 14^th, 2010 Colorado EAPA meeting which was used for the basis of this article.

About the Author

As a psychologist and the survivor of her brother’s suicide, Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas addresses the issue of suicide prevention, intervention and postvention from many angles.  Currently she is the Executive Director for the Carson J Spencer Foundation (www.CarsonJSpencer.org), a Colorado-based (USA) nonprofit that is dedicated to “sustaining a passion for life” through suicide prevention, social enterprise and support for emerging leaders.” In 2009, the Carson J Spencer Foundation launched the Working Minds Program (www.WorkingMinds.org), a comprehensive suicide prevention initiative for workplaces.  As a professional speaker, she frequently presents keynotes and trainings for workplaces, campuses, and conferences around the world. In addition, she is the Executive Secretary for the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, the public-private partnership advancing the Surgeon General’s National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Finally, she is the Division Chair for Survivors of Suicide Loss for the American Association of Suicidology.  

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[1] Gmerek, Beverly (2010, May 14). Prescription Drug Abuse. Presentation at the Colorado EAP Meeting. Denver, Colorado

[2] Gmerek, Beverly (2010, May 14). Prescription Drug Abuse. Presentation at the Colorado EAP Meeting. Denver, Colorado

Preparing for the Worst: Protocols for Community Postvention

Postvention is a difficult topic, and like many other topics that make us uncomfortable, we tend to avoid it. We want to believe our prevention and intervention efforts will be successful. But the truth is, sometimes, just like with cancer, we can do all the right things to try to save someone life and death still results. Postvention should be a part of every comprehensive approach, and predetermined protocols could link back to overall goals of prevention.

Like all guidelines, postvention protocols are living documents that help us think through tough situations but are adaptable to specific circumstances. While adopting other community protocols may be tempting, this can be tricky: many cultural sensitivities exist in each community and a one-size-fits-all approach is bound to be less than ideal.

Active Postvention, as developed by Frank Campbell and his LOSS team in Louisiana,  means that the people in charge of the critical aftermath needs are trained and ready to conduct outreach in response to any traumatic event on campus. People are well-versed in standard operating procedures for trauma, especially as it relates to suicide death.

“Community” can be defined in many ways – a school community, a workplace community, a faith community, or a local community.

When developing a postvention policy, stakeholders or coalition members should examine some critical questions:

·      Will the community be notified after a death? How will they be notified? Within what timeframe?

·      What support services will be needed? What support will be active and what should be passive?

·      How will we identify vulnerable individuals who might be prone to copycat?

·      How can we partner with the media and other messaging outlets to help ensure responsible reporting?

·      How can we honor the life of this person without putting others at risk?

·      Who are the first responders and how can we coordinate their efforts? Who is the main point person for this effort?

One of the biggest questions that communities have when developing a protocol for suicide postvention is how to manage memorialization practices. Leaders of these efforts may find themselves immobilized by the fear of copycat suicides on one hand and overwhelmed by the outpouring of grief by the survivors on the other hand. The suicide prevention field currently is in a heated debate over the best way to handle this balance. The most sensible stance I have found is to treat suicide memorials in the same way you treat other traumatic deaths in the community: one bereavement policy regardless of the cause of death. That way, when someone dies we just turn to the policy and say, “This is what we do.” When suicides are treated differently, the death is either marginalized or glamourized. When families of people who die by suicide ask to have a bench erected or a tree planted and then are told they can’t because that would be glorifying the death, they are often shocked and think, “I can’t believe you think I am trying to do that – I just want to remember my son.” With a proactive policy in place, we can just turn to the policy and say, “This is how we treat all deaths here. We don’t establish permanent markers, but rather we do X, Y, and Z to honor the deceased.”

If communities try to suppress the memorialization of people who die by suicide, the plan often backfires. Shutting down channels for grief is a bad idea. A rejecting message goes out, and the bereaved can get very vocal. They will find their own ways to memorialize their friends and family members, and their choices may be much less safe than those supported by knowledgeable suicide prevention folks. Communities often don’t realize the message they are sending when they try to squelch the memorialization efforts of the bereaved. In these circumstances, survivors of loss are likely to feel that their community doesn’t care.

“If you tell people to put their candles out, they will get angry on top of their grief,” says Frank Campbell. “They will find ways to honor their friend and the community just looks embarrassed. I ask community leaders, ‘What would you do after a car accident? Let’s start there.’”

So we have to learn to balance the safety of the community with the needs of the bereaved. This situation is not an either/or proposition. With creative thinking and careful planning, both needs can be met. To do this, several key questions should be explored:

·      What does the family want?

·      Where are the natural support groups in this community? How many social networks have been affected?

·      What is the appropriate timing for a memorial service?

·      What is a good way for the community to express grief and say goodbye that can safely be replicated for many types of death?

·      Who will attend memorialization events from community and what message will it send? Will someone from the our community speak on behalf of the deceased?

Rather than have an individual memorial service for each person who dies, some larger communities hold annual memorial services for all of these at one time. While this may seem like a reasonable idea, I don’t think it will meet the needs of people in the immediate aftermath of their loss. If their friend dies in September, they want to honor her then and not wait until a group service in April. The important thing is to be consistent. Don’t offer memorials for suicide deaths if you don’t offer them for other types of deaths on campus. If you do decide to hold a memorial service, make sure that all people who speak understand the safe messaging guidelines and the reasons why they exist.

Generally speaking, a public and permanent memorial is probably not a good idea. For one thing, it can often become a shrine that ends up inadvertently glorifying the death. Better ideas for memorial practices are to channel the grief towards something life-giving. For example, we can suggest that rather than pile flowers and cards at the deceased’s death site, we can collect pictures of and letters about the person who died to give to the family. We can make a community quilt. We can develop an awareness walk or lecture series in honor of the person’s memory. Or we can start a fund and donate it to a cause that the deceased supported.

                  Community practices for suicide postvention are a critical part of suicide prevention. When done well the bereaved feel supported and are better able to move through their grieving process and the impact of suicide is minimized for all.