CHEC Yourself

Healthy Eating (and Living) for a Healthy Heart With Dr. Yadava

In our conversation with Cardiologist Dr. Yadava, we talk about:

• healthy habits that lead to a healthy heart
• how to remove perfectionism from our eating habits
• how nutrition continues to evolve (and how to approach eating with pragmatism and self-compassion)

Donna Thomas - On Heart Failure

In today's episode, we meet Donna Thomas. Donna works in the field of cardiology. In our conversation, we focus on heart failure, and talk about: 

• What heart failure is
• How to help prevent developing heart failure
• What we can do once we have been diagnosed with heart failure

Heart Health - Overview and Introduction

In this episode, join Leah Burkhart as she unpacks some of the health behaviors known to reduce our risk of heart disease. She will also be introducing some of the upcoming topics that will be covered by a number of guest speakers in the upcoming weeks in honor of February's Heart Month. Examples of things explored include: 

• Nutrition
• Exercise
• Stress
• Sleep
• Quitting smoking
• Getting regular checkups
• Upcoming topics that will be shared with guests in the upcoming weeks

Stages of Change

In today's episode, we cover: 

• The stages of change (which includes...)
  • Pre-contemplation (I don't wanna)
  • Contemplation (I'll think about it)
  • Preparation (Let me get organized)
  • Action (Look at me go!) 
  • Maintenance (I'm holding strong)
  • Relapse (Oops) 
• The value in practicing self-compassion as we try  and make changes
• The importance of practicing patience and compassion for others that we may care about as they make those changes on their own time. 

Rewards

In today's episode, Leah Burkhart and Erin Clubb  talk about the subject of rewards. They touch on:

• What makes for a healthy reward?
• How different people interpret what is actually rewarding.
• Intrinsic vs. extrinsic rewards and motivations
• How to prioritize pleasure and rewards for ourselves even while parenting
• How parents can help their kids craft healthy rewards for themselves
• The importance of rewarding healthy behaviors rather than outcomes. 

The Challenge of Change

It's that time of year...the time when many of us will be reflecting on the past year (yeah...that's right...a YEAR has gone by, already). We will also be thinking about what we want to bring in for the new year. Resolutions. Goals. Hopes. Dreams.

In this episode, we will talk about the challenge of change. We'll cover habits (creating new ones and cutting out the not-so-great ones). We will talk about just why change is hard, and how to create an ecosystem that will increase your success.

Resources: 

James Clear: Atomic Habits

Charles Duhigg: The Power of Habit

Kelly. McGonical: The Willpower Instinct

Pandemic Flux Syndrome

Question: 

Have you been feeling like you want to hide under a blanket and completely revamp your life...at the same time? Do you feel both hopeful as well as fearful? Do you feel like you basically have emotional whiplash? You might be navigating what researcher Dr. Amy Cuddy calls Pandmic Flux Syndrome and heading toward burnout. Today's podcast covers why we are feeling this way, and what we can do to reduce our suffering and improve our capacity to navigate tough times. 

Resources: 

Amy Cuddy and Jillellyn Riley: Why This Stage of the Pandemic Makes Us So Anxious. 

Brene Brown and Amy Cuddy: Pandemic Flux Syndrome

• https://brenebrown.com/podcast/pandemic-flux-syndrome/ 

Todd Kashdan: The Upside of Your Dark Side

Marc Brackett: Permission to Feel 

Lisa Feldman Barrett: How Emotions Are Made

Amelia and Emily Nagoski: Burnout

 

Staying On Our Feet (Falls Prevention)

Join Leah Burkhart and Kelley Clark.

Kelley is a physical therapist, and an exceptionally knowledgeable one here, at Salem Health Hospital. And our conversation centers around the importance of reducing the risk of and recovering from falls. As in…falling down. At first glance, that may seem like a topic we could easily keep at the periphery of “wellness” talks…but in truth, it’s an incredibly important part of our health and wellbeing. Injuries that we incur when we fall can have a huge impact on the quality of our lives. We may sustain an injury that makes it difficult to walk (thus making exercise more challenging. Depending on the nature of the fall, we may even sustain a brain injury.  While older adults and young children are at highest risk for sustaining traumatic bring injury due to falls, everyone is at risk. The good news is that many falls can be prevented. In our talk, today, Kelley and I cover the kinds of things that can lead to a fall (and how to treat and/o prevent those conditions). We also talk about resources available in our health care system that many have no idea even exist. Finally, we end the discussion with an invitation to come to this year’s fall  prevention event - held on Saturday, September 25th from 8am - 11am. Should you be listening to this after September 25th, 2021… please keep an eye out for future events, as this will certainly not be the last we host in our community. You can keep abreast of all events and classes by visiting us at salemhealth.org/chec. 

Mindfulness

In today’s episode, we meet with Kate Swarm, a long-time practitioner and teacher of yoga as well as with Dr. Thye Schuyler, the director of the Sleep Clinic at Salem Health.

Together, we talk about the subject of mindfulness.

It’s a buzzword that’s floating around in a number of circles. You’ll hear about its importance in TedTalks, medical offices, yoga studios, and even in pop culture. Suffering from burnout? Engage in a mindfulness practice. Can’t sleep? Mindfulness is the answer. Are you unhappy? Mindfulness will help you. You name the ailment, mindfulness will be given as a potential remedy.

But what exactly is mindfulness? Does anyone really know? And what counts as a mindfulness practice? If one is sitting, quietly, in prayer…is that mindfulness? If I am watching TV, I’m not, technically, thinking about my problems…but is that mindfulness? Do I have to be sitting still to be mindful? Or can I be moving while I practice? And let’s get rid of all the gobbly-gook and hooey claims. What does the science say about the benefits of mindfulness? And how might a beginner get started?

These are some of the questions we tackle in our conversation. As always, if you find this to be a helpful resource, but are looking for more…you can always visit us at www.salemhealth.org/chec. 

Snoring, Narcolepsy and the Power of 1 Percent Improvement

In Today's episode, sleep specialist Dr. Thye Schyler speaks to everything from the seemingly mundane or comical aspects of sleep (sooo…snoring)…as well as aspects of sleep disturbances that many people are not aware of like narcolepsy, for example. He also touches on the power of being willing to take things one step at a time. By the time people are coming to the doctor for sleep, they so often feel desperate and just want it fixed, yesterday. But as with most things, it’s a process. If there is one person well equipped to support people through that process…It’s Dr. Schuyler.