sample - portages · 05/14/2019 readiness in this area you are somewhat prepared to work on...

Feel Happy, Healthy and Fulfilled

Portages GuidePortages GuideGuest User Guest User

05/14/2019

To portage literally means to carry your gear and vessel on a path from one body ofwater to another in order to continue your journey. Similarly, improving your healthand wellbeing requires you to intentionally carry your mind and body on multiplepaths of change and growth as you continue your journey to become your best selfand feel happy, healthy and fulfilled.

Portages™ will be with you on your journey, guiding you along the way!

©Praestan Health, LLC.All rights reserved. 1

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How To Use Your GuideHow To Use Your Guide Guest User Guest User 05/14/2019

Congratulations Guest User!Congratulations Guest User!

Yo u have begun yo ur jo urney to beco ming yo ur bes ts elf and feeling happy, healthy and fulfilled! Po rtages is ahealth impro vement to o lkit that will lead yo u thro ugh aneffective pro ces s o f changing yo ur Health Practices toimpro ve yo ur wellbeing. Us ing the bes t o f Po s itivePs ycho lo gy, Mindfulnes s , Acceptance and Co mmitment,Co gnitive B ehavio ral Therapy and many o ther s pecialtyareas o f behavio ral change and habit fo rmatio n s cience,Po rtages brings pro ven s trategies to yo u that have beens pecifically s elected bas ed o n yo ur unique Po rtagesPro file.

Yo ur Po rtages Guide gives yo u an o verview o f theres ults o f yo ur s elf- as s es s ment, s ho wing yo u yo urs trengths and pro viding yo u info rmatio n abo ut s pecifico ppo rtunities yo u have to further enhance yo ur healthand wellbeing by impro ving yo ur s kills and habits ins pecific health practices . I n the fo llo wing pages o f yo urPo rtages Pro file yo u will s ee an o verview o f yo ur res ultsin each o f the fo llo wing:

Wellbeing

Health Status

Health Practices

Readines s

Yo ur Guide includes a Readines s Plan to build yo u upand help yo u get ready to undergo changes needed inyo ur health practices . Yo ur Readines s Plan invo lves a s eto f reflectio ns fo r yo u to us e daily fo r at leas t s even days .Thes e are s elected fo r yo u bas ed o n the area o fReadines s that yo ur s elf- as s es s ment s ho ws yo u co uldus e s o me fo cus o n to build yo urs elf up in this area. Thiseas y to us e plan will help yo u prepare fo r and s tay o ntrack alo ng yo ur health impro vement jo urney. Each planis des igned to give yo u kno wledge abo ut the changepro ces s and practical s trategies to help enhance yo uro verall attitude abo ut yo urs elf and yo ur po tential.

I ncluded in yo ur Guide are Po rtages , each s electedbas ed o n yo ur identified Health Practice o ppo rtunities .A Po rtages is a guided jo urney helping yo u learn abo utand develo p a new s kill that will impro ve yo ur HealthPractice. Each Po rtages is co mpo s ed o f fo ur s ectio ns :

ImagineImagine where yo u co uld be if yo u develo ped as pecific new s kill.

D iscove rD iscove r the s cience and kno wledge behind thereco mmended appro aches to develo p a s pecific news kill.

Pre p are Pre p are to develo p a new s kill thro ugh pro ven s tep-by- s tep les s o ns .

PracticePractice a uniquely des igned s trategy intentio nallyinco rpo rating habit engineering s o it is eas y to repeatas o en as needed until yo u develo p the s kill toimpro ve yo ur level o f mas tery in a Health Practice.

Yo u will be guided thro ugh the pro ces s o f applyingnewly learned s trategies to create healthy habits in theMap Yo ur Po rtages s ectio n.

The s teps in this s ectio n are bas ed o n the bes t o fmultiple mo dels o f habit fo rmatio n s cience s o yo u caneas ily develo p new s kills and us e them effo rtles s ly. ToMap yo ur Po rtages , fo llo w o ur AB Cs o f HabitEngineering.

Changing yo ur health practices means identifying yo urcurrent habits and replacing them s ucces s fully with newhealthier habits . Ho w habits develo p has been wellpro ven. Yo u can us e this kno wledge fro m HabitFo rmatio n Science to actually create new habits fo ryo urs elf fo llo wing s imple ABCsABCs :

AActivity: Specify the new activity yo u will do o r s trategyyo u will us e. Schedule when yo u are go ing to do it. Cueyo urs elf to do it by do ing it when yo u do s o methingels e. Nudge yo urs elf to do it when s cheduled by s ettingreminders in yo ur calendar and pho ne.

BBenefit: I dentify the po s itive emo tio n yo u are go ing toexperience while yo u are do ing the new activity and thebenefit yo u will experience as a res ult o f develo pingyo ur new s kill.

CC heck: Check in regularly to mo nito r yo ur effo rt,tho ughts and emo tio ns while do ing the new activity, andthe pro gres s yo u are making as a res ult.

Pledges are included at the end o f each Po rtages tohelp yo u co mmit to the develo pment o f yo ur new s kills .We enco urage yo u to s ign yo ur pledge, write it do wn,and review it regularly.

To s tay o n track with yo ur health and wellbeing, yo u willbe pro mpted to co mplete the Self- As s es s ment everytwo to fo ur weeks . Yo u will receive an updated Po rtagesGuide with a new Readines s Plan and a new s et o fPo rtages bas ed o n yo ur current Po rtages Pro file res ultsevery time yo u take the Self- As s es s ment. Each time yo urdo wnlo ad yo ur current guide, print it s o yo u can keep itwith yo u and us e it daily to s tay o n track.

Develo ping new healthy habits and the s kills yo u needto enhance yo ur Health and Wellbeing is a co ntinuo usjo urney. Po rtages is des igned to be r ight here with yo u,guiding yo u alo ng the way!

Portage s On!Portage s On!

T he res ults o f this Self -As s es s m ent and any reco m m end atio nsp ro vid ed are no t intend ed to s ub s titute f o r co ns ultatio n witha healthcare p ro f es s io nal. If yo u f eel yo u need treatm ent o rcare, yo u s ho uld co ns ult with a healthcare p ro f es s io nal. If yo uare in cris is , having s uicid al tho ug hts and in need o fim m ed iate help o r as s is tance, yo u s ho uld g o to yo ur neares tEm erg ency Dep artm ent o r call 9 1 1 .


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Portages GuidePortages GuideGuest UserGuest User

05/14/2019

Table Of ContentsTable Of Contents

Ho w To Us e This Guide ........................................................ 2

Pro file Overview .................................................................. 5

Wellbeing ........................................................................... 6

Health Status ....................................................................... 6

Readines s ........................................................................... 7

Health Practices ................................................................... 8

Health Practice Strengths ..................................................... 10

Health Practice Oppo rtunities ............................................... 11

Po rtrait Chart ...................................................................... 12

Po rtages Pro file Sco res ........................................................ 13

Mental Health I tem Sco res .................................................... 14

Readines s Plan .................................................................... 16

Po rtages 1........................................................................... 18

Po rtages 2........................................................................... 25


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Feel Happy, Healthy and FulfilledFeel Happy, Healthy and Fulfilled

Your ProfileYour ProfileUnderstand where you are and where youcould be through a global view of yourself

Guest User Guest User 05/14/2019


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Profile OverviewProfile Overview

WellbeingWellbeing Health StatusHealth Status Health PracticeHealth Practice ReadinessReadinessHow well you are thriving ineach of 4 Worlds of your life:Internal, Physical, External andSpiritual, as well as Overall

Your current level of emotionaland physical health and howyou are living day to day thataffects your Wellbeing

Your everyday actions,thoughts and emotions thatimpact your Health andWellbeing

How prepared you are to do thework needed to change yourHealth Practices in order toimprove your Health andWellbeing

Very HighHighModerateLow




Yo u have a go o d s tart in thisarea. There is higho ppo rtunity to impro ve.

Yo u may want to fo cus mo reo n yo ur health. There ishigh o ppo rtunity fo rimpro vement.

Yo u may want wo rk o ndevelo ping yo ur healthpractices . There is higho ppo rtunity to impro veyo ur abilities .

Yo u are kind o f prepared tochange yo ur healthpractices ! I f yo u turn up thereadines s dial a fair amo untyo u will be able to do thewo rk to reach yo ur healthand wellbeing go als .


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WellbeingWellbeingYo u have a go o d s tart in this area. There is high o ppo rtunity to impro ve.

Internal WorldInternal World Physical WorldPhysical World External WorldExternal World Spiritual WorldSpiritual World OverallOverallHow well you are able tobe calm, cope, haveoptimistic thoughts andrest

How well you are stayinghydrated, eating healthyand being physicallyactive

How well you are gettingalong with other peopleand feeling successful athome, work and/orschool

How well you are livingaccording to your valuesand beliefs withgratitude, acceptanceand purpose

How well you are feelinghealthy, happy andfulfilled






Yo u have a go o d s tartin this area. There ishigh o ppo rtunity toimpro ve.





Health StatusHealth StatusYo u may want to fo cus mo re o n yo ur health. There is high o ppo rtunity fo r impro vement.

Emotional Health StatusEmotional Health Status Physical Health StatusPhysical Health Status Living Health StatusLiving Health StatusYour current emotional health Your current physical health How well you are currently living day to

day




Fo cus ing o n impro ving yo ur healthpractices may impro ve yo uremo tio nal health. There is higho ppo rtunity fo r impro vement.

Fo cus ing o n impro ving yo ur healthpractices may impro ve yo ur phys icalhealth. There is high o ppo rtunity fo rimpro vement.

Fo cus ing o n impro ving yo ur healthpractices may impro ve ho w yo u areliving day to day. There is higho ppo rtunity fo r impro vement.


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ReadinessReadinessI n this area yo u are s o mewhat prepared to wo rk o n impro ving yo ur Health Practices . Refer to yo ur Po rtages Guidefo r s ugges tio ns o n bo o s ting yo ur Readines s further.

UnderstandingUnderstanding DesireDesire MotivationMotivation ConfidenceConfidenceAwareness of what it will takefor you to improve your healthpractices

How much do you want toimprove your health practices

Having the drive to work hardto change your health practices

Believing that you will be ableto improve your healthpractices





I n this area yo u ares o mewhat prepared towo rk o n impro ving yo urHealth Practices . Refer toyo ur Po rtages Guide fo rs ugges tio ns o n bo o s tingyo ur Readines s further.




CommitmentCommitment VisionVision CapacityCapacity Social SupportSocial SupportPromising yourself to followthrough to improve your healthpractices

Imagining yourself successfullychanging your health practices

Managing your everyday stressso you will be able to improveyour health practices

Buildling your team who willsupport you improving yourhealth practices










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Internal WorldInternal World

SootheSoothe ThinkThink RestRest

Bei ng calm and managi ng yo uremo ti o ns

Havi ng po si t i ve, ho peful and helpfultho ughts

Renewi ng yo ur energy, bei ng wel lrested, and gett i ng go o d sleep




Physical WorldPhysical World

HydrateHydrate NourishNourish MoveMove

Dri nki ng eno ugh water and stayi nghydrated

Eati ng healthy Bei ng physi cal ly act i ve





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External WorldExternal World

ExpressExpress ConnectConnect ActivateActivate

Li steni ng to o thers and expressi ngyo ursel f wel l

Havi ng po si t i ve, healthy andmeani ngful relat i o nshi ps

Bei ng respo nsi ble and successful atho me, wo rk and/o r scho o l




Spiritual WorldSpiritual World

ObserveObserve SeekSeek BelieveBelieve

Bei ng thankful , accepti ng, andl i vi ng i n the mo ment

Do i ng thi ngs that gi ve yo u meani ngand purpo se

Usi ng yo ur values and bel i efs togui de ho w yo u are l i vi ng





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Health Practice StrengthsHealth Practice Strengths

Co ngratulatio ns , bas ed o n yo ur Self- As s es s ment res ults , yo ur s pecific health practices that are areas o f s trengthfo r yo u are s ho wn belo w in rank o rder with the s tro nges t health practice at the to p.

NourishNourishEati nghealthy.

HydrateHydrateDri nki ng eno ugh water and stayi nghydrated.

ConnectConnectHavi ng po si t i ve, healthy andmeani ngful relat i o nshi ps.


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B as ed o n yo ur Self- As s es s ment res ults , the To p Three s pecific health practices with greates t o ppo rtunity fo rimpro vement and fo cus fo r change are s ho wn belo w in rank o rder, with the greates t prio rity at the to p. Co ns iderus ing s pecific s trategies to develo p thes e three health practices to turn them into s trengths . A er yo u have madepro gres s o n thes e three yo u may want to fo cus effo rts o n impro ving the additio nal health practices lis ted belo was o ppo rtunities .



Health Practice OpportunitiesHealth Practice Opportunities

SootheSootheUse speci fic strategi es that helpyo u i mpro ve yo ur abi l i ty to be calmand manage yo ur emo ti o ns.

ThinkThinkUse speci fic strategi es to havepo si t i ve, ho peful and helpfultho ughts.

ActivateActivateUse speci fic strategi es to berespo nsi ble and successful atho me, wo rk and/o r scho o l.


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Soothe

Think

Rest

Hydrate

Nourish

Move

Express

Connect

Activate

Observe

Seek

Believe

0

2

4

6

8

10

Portrait Chart

05/14/2019


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Your ProfileYour ProfileUnderstand where you are and where you couldbe through a global view of yourself


Portages Profile ScoresPortages Profile ScoresAll Scores range from 10 (Greatest Strength) to 0 (Greatest Opportunity) Very High – 8.0 - 10, High – 6.0 - 7.9, Moderate – 3 - 5.9, Low– 0 - 2.9

We llb e ingWe llb e ing

Wellbeing Average Sco re 5 Mo derate

I nternal Wo rld 5 Mo derate

Phys ical Wo rld 5.1 Mo derate

External Wo rld 5 Mo derate

Spir itual Wo rld 5 Mo derate

Overall 5 Mo derate

He alth S tatusHe alth S tatus (See Appendix fo r individual items co res )

Health Status Average Sco re 5 Mo derate

Emo tio nal Health Average Sco re 5 Mo derate

Phys ical Health Average Sco re 5 Mo derate

Living Health Average Sco re 5 Mo derate

He alth Practice sHe alth Practice s

Health Practices Average Sco re 5 Mo derate

So o the 5 Mo derate

Think 5 Mo derate

Res t 5 Mo derate

Hydrate 5 Mo derate

No uris h 5 Mo derate

Mo ve 5 Mo derate

Expres s 5 Mo derate

Co nnect 5 Mo derate

Activate 5 Mo derate

Obs erve 5 Mo derate

Seek 5 Mo derate

B elieve 5 Mo derate

Re adine ssRe adine ss

To tal Readines s Average Sco re 5 Mo derate

Unders tanding 5 Mo derate

Des ire 5 Mo derate

Mo tivatio n 5 Mo derate

Co nfidence 5 Mo derate

Co mmitment 5 Mo derate

Vis io n 5 Mo derate

Capacity 5 Mo derate

Suppo rt 5 Mo derate

Ap p e ndix Ap p e ndix (The higher the s co re the greater theo ppo rtunity o r co ncern except where indicated*)

Anxio us 5.0 Mo derate

Wo rry 5.0 Mo derate

J o yles s 5.0 Mo derate

Sadnes s 5.0 Mo derate

Helples s 5.0 Mo derate

Co mpetent* 5 Mo derate

Ho peful* 5 Mo derate

Overwhelmed 5.0 Mo derate

Phys ical Health* 5 Mo derate

Phys ical Activity* 5 Mo derate

B o dy Weight Co ncern 5.0 Mo derate

Habits Co ncern 5.0 Mo derate

Pain 5.0 Mo derate

Avo idance 5.0 Mo derate

Ho us eho ld 5.0 Mo derate

Abs ences 5.0 Mo derate

Pro ductivity 5.0 Mo derate

Suffering 5.0 Mo derate


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Your ProfileYour ProfileUnderstand where you are and where you couldbe through a global view of yourself


Mental Health ScreensMental Health Screens

Depression Screen (PHQ-2)Depression Screen (PHQ-2) 2/62/6 POSSIBLEPOSSIBLE

The PHQ- 2 is a s tandardized, widely us ed and res earcheds creening to o l meas uring two co mmo n s ympto ms o fdepres s io n. A s co re o f 0 o r 1 o ut o f po s s ible 6 is a negatives creen (NEGATI VE). A s co re o f 2 is co ns idered a “po s s iblypo s itive s creen (POSSI B LE)” and a mo re tho ro ugh s creen o revaluatio n fo r depres s io n with yo ur do cto r o r mental healthpro fes s io nal s ho uld be co ns idered. A s co re o f 3 o r abo ve isa “po s itive s creen” (POSI TI VE) and indicates a mo re tho ro ughs creen o r evaluatio n fo r depres s io n with yo ur do cto r o rmental health pro fes s io nal s ho uld be do ne.

Anxiety Screen (GAD-2)Anxiety Screen (GAD-2) 2/62/6 POSSIBLEPOSSIBLE

The GAD- 2 is a s tandardized, widely us ed and res earcheds creening to o l meas uring two co mmo n s ympto ms o f anxiety.A s co re o f 0 o r 1 o ut o f po s s ible 6 is a negative s creen(NEGATI VE). A s co re o f 2 is co ns idered a “po s s ibly po s itives creen (POSSI B LE)” and a mo re tho ro ugh s creen o revaluatio n with yo ur do cto r o r mental health pro fes s io nal fo ranxiety s ho uld be co ns idered. A s co re o f 3 o r abo ve is a“po s itive s creen” (POSI TI VE) and indicates a mo re tho ro ughs creen o r evaluatio n fo r anxiety with yo ur do cto r o r mentalhealth pro fes s io nal s ho uld be do ne.

Perceived Stress Screen (PSS-4)Perceived Stress Screen (PSS-4) 10/1610/16

The PSS- 4 is a widely us ed and res earched s creening to o lmeas uring the degree to which s ituatio ns in yo ur life o ver thepas t mo nth are experienced as s tres s ful. The s cale isdes igned to identify ho w unpredictable, unco ntro llable, ando verlo aded yo u find yo ur life to be currently. There are norepo rted cut- o ff s co res to determine a “po s itive” s creen, butthe higher the s co re, the mo re “s tres s ed” yo u are and themo re yo u may want to co ns ider co ns ulting with yo ur do cto ro r mental health pro fes s io nal to help yo u manage yo urres po ns es to yo ur s tres s .

The re s u lts o f this Se lf- As s e s s m e nt and any re co m m e nd atio nsp ro vid e d are no t inte nd e d to s u b s t itu te fo r co ns u ltat io n w ith ahe althcare p ro fe s s io nal. If yo u fe e l yo u ne e d tre atm e nt o r care , yo us ho u ld co ns u lt w ith a he althcare p ro fe s s io nal. If yo u are in cris is ,having s u icid al tho u g hts and in ne e d o f im m e d iate he lp o ras s is tance , yo u s ho u ld g o to yo u r ne are s t Em e rg e ncy De p artm e nto r cal l 9 1 1 .

Pleas e s ee o ur webs ite fo r mo re info rmatio n o n Praes tanHealth and o ur pro gram Po rtages to help guide yo u inchanging yo ur health practices to enhance yo ur health andwellbeing: Praes tan Health Webs ite: https ://po rtages .io .co m


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https://portages.io

Fe e l Hap p y , He althy and Fulf ille dFe e l Hap p y , He althy and Fulf ille d

Your Readiness PlansYour Readiness PlansBuilding you up to begin your journey



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7 Days of Visualizing Yourself ChangingPicture Yourself Being Ready for Change and Beginning Your Journey! Imagine Thriving!

©Praestan Health, LLC. All rights reserved. 1

Your Plan: Visualizing yourself becoming healthier by developing new habits or skills can be a huge boost to your readiness. The power of visualizing begins with imagining yourself having reached your goals. Visualizing yourself doing the work to make needed changes is a powerful way to begin. Picture yourself following through and working on a plan you have made to create the changes you desire. See yourself on that journey. Imagine yourself smiling and feeling positive while you are doing the work. Imagine the positive emotions you will experience while on your journey and when you reach your goals. Imagine feeling joy, hope, inspiration, awe, interest, serenity, pride, amusement, love, or gratitude on your new journey to become your best self!

How it Works: The real power of visualization lies in you imagining yourself doing the work needed to achieve your goals. You build your confidence in your ability and increase your desire for your new way of being by picturing yourself getting started, sticking with it, and overcoming obstacles you will face.

How to Do This: Visualize yourself making the lasting changes you desire and GET READY by reading each of the following Readiness Reflections each day for the next 7 days. Schedule when you will read and reflect on each. Plan to do the reflection when you are already doing something in order to Cue yourself to do it (for example, after dinner). Set an alarm on your phone or some other reminder to Nudge you to do it when

planned.

Picture Being Ready and Beginning

You have entered into this journey because you have habits that you want to change. Think about one of them and imagine that you have learned about it, identified why you want to change it, and discovered how to go about changing it. Congratulations, by visualizing something you want to change you are beginning to get ready to develop a new healthier habit. Now imagine that you have identified a new activity to practice, have scheduled when you are going to do it, and have identified how you are going to cue and nudge yourself to do it. Imagine that you have thought about the good feelings you will experience while practicing your new routine. Now picture yourself the day before you start. Imagine the plan you have created and see yourself in that moment, reviewing it, and feeling ready to begin down this new path for yourself. Now see yourself beginning. Notice how good it feels to imagine yourself prepared, knowing what to do, when you will do it, and how you will do it! Feel how good it feels to be starting your journey!

Imagine Thriving

Now imagine you have reached your goal. You are healthy, happy and feel fulfilled in your life! Maybe you are calmer and coping better with your stress. Maybe you have more optimistic and positive thoughts. You are better rested and more energized. Perhaps your goals led you to drink more water, improve your eating habits and increase your physically activity. You might now get along more meaningfully with your family, friends and other people and you feel successful at home, work, and/or school. Maybe you are now living according to your values and beliefs with gratitude, acceptance and purpose. You haven’t just reached your goals to make the changes you desire, but you are thriving! When you clearly picture yourself having achieved your goals and imagine what you are experiencing as a result, you change the way you think. When you practice visualizing yourself having made the changes your desire, you develop the ability to expect the changes to occur. The feeling you get is hope, and hope is what boosts your readiness to make the changes your desire!

Imagine being ready, beginning your journey, and thriving!

This Readiness Plan Integrates the Knowledge from the following Behavior Change Science

Growth Mindset ~ Transtheoretical Model of Change ~ Theory of Planned Behavior ~ Habit Formation ~ Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions ~ Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions ~Positive Psychology


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Fe e l Hap p y , He althy and Fulf ille dFe e l Hap p y , He althy and Fulf ille d

Your PortagesYour PortagesGuiding you on the path to become your best self



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Soothe

Recognize Your Stress Signals

You can improve how you stay calm when you are feeling stressed by learning to be actively aware of your

stress signals and managing your reactions to them. Your stress signals are the responses to stress in your

thoughts, emotions, body, and actions. Learning to increase your awareness of these signals is the first

step to managing your stress responses and keeping calm during stressful situations. Being actively aware

of your stress signals is the first step to learning to calm your stress response and develop your Soothe

Health Practice. You will improve your ability to think more clearly and have better control over your

emotions, actions, and interactions with others!

Imagine being actively aware of the signals that let you know that you are stressed.

Benefits

Happy Healthy Energized Productive Connected Focused

Discover

Learn About Your Opportunities

Prepare

Learn New Strategies to Build New Skills

Practice

Develop New Skills to Improve Your Mastery


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Discover

There are numerous ways that your body, thoughts, and emotions affect how you act in a stressful situation. Your heart rate and breathing may go up and your thoughts and actions can quickly become out of control. When your stress responses are repeatedly triggered, your nervous system becomes increasingly sensitive. As a result, your stress response becomes more easily activated, and your nervous system remains in an elevated state of activation.

When your stress response is triggered, your brain’s amygdala activates the sympathetic nervous system and the fight, flight, or freeze response is initiated. This makes it harder for the reasoning center of your brain responsible for self-regulation, the prefrontal cortex, to work effectively. As a result, when you are stressed, you may become more emotionally reactive, and have a hard time communicating, solving problems, and interacting with others effectively.

Learning to recognize the early signals your brain and nervous system give you is the first step to developing the skills to keep calm and manage your responses in stressful situations.

On this Portage to Recognize Your Stress Signals, you will develop the following skill:

Recognize your thoughts, emotions, your body’s reactions, and how you act in response to stress


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Prepare

In the following lesson you will learn how to recognize stress signals in your body, including your thoughts and actions. You will learn to be actively aware of and monitor stress signals in the moment. Increasing your awareness of your stress signals is the first step to learning to keep calm in-the-moment and manage your reactions to stress better.

Follow these steps to learn how to be actively aware of the stress signals by recognizing the responses in your body, thoughts, actions, and, emotions.

Step 1. Recognize Your Body Signals

Your body’s responses to stress can include:

• Muscle tension leading to pain or discomfort

• Rapid heart rate

• Rapid breathing rate

• An upset stomach

• Abdominal cramping

• Skin flushed (red) and feeling hot

• Increased sweating

• Overactive bladder

Do a Body Scan: Start by getting comfortable in your chair or where you are standing. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and do a quick body scan from your head to your toes. To begin, imagine a light shining across your body in a straight line that slowly lowers as you do this scan. Starting at the top of your head, imagine the light shining straight across your body as you slowly move it down your body all the way to your toes. As you imagine the light move across a part of your body, notice if there are any feelings of tightness, tension, or discomfort.

Did you notice feeling tension somewhere such as in your jaw, neck, shoulders, or lower back? Did you notice any discomfort such as a headache or stomach ache? Did you notice if your breathing was short and rapid or if your heart was beating fast?

On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is No Signs of Tension or Stress in your body and 10 is the Greatest Tension or Stress in your body you could experience, rate the level level of stress your body signaled and write the number below:

Body Signals __________

Step 2. Recognize Your Thought Signals

The type of thoughts you experience in any moment may be important signals that you are stressed. The following types of thoughts are examples of signals that may indicate a higher level of stress:

• Worried thoughts about something in the future

• Worried thoughts about something that happened in the past

• Negative thoughts about the worst possibility that could happen

• Angry or aggressive thoughts such as “I hate him” or “I want to punch something!”

• Hopeless thoughts such as “I’ll never make it!”

Do a Thought Scan: Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Let your mind wander a little bit, and notice where your thoughts go. After a minute or so, open your eyes and think about the thoughts you noticed. Did you experience negative or worried thoughts, unpleasant memories, or angry thoughts? Did any of these thoughts signal in any way the level of stress you may be currently experiencing?

On a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is No Signs of Stressful Thoughts and 10 is the Greatest Level of Stressful Thinking you could possibly experience, rate the level of stress in your thought signals and write the number below:

Thought Signals __________

Step 3. Recognize Your Action Signals

Your actions are also often a signal of the level of stress you may be experiencing. There are certain ways of responding or behaving that can happen when your stress level is high. The following actions are examples of possible signals that stress is high:

• Yelling

• Swearing

• Throwing things

• Aggressive outbursts

• Responding to others with irritation and irritability

• Withdrawing or shutting down

• Being restless and needing to fidget

• Becoming tearful or crying easily


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Prepare (Continued)

Do an Action Scan: Think about how you have interacted with others and reactions you have had over the past few days. Were any of your actions signals that your level of stress was high?

On a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is No Signs of Stress and 10 is the Greatest Signs of Stress you could experience, rate the level of stress in your actions signals and write the number below:

Actions Signals __________

Step 4. Recognize Your Stress

Now that you have thought about your body’s responses, thoughts and actions as signals of your stress level, you can use the results of all three scans to assess your overall level of stress.

On a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is No Stress and 10 is the Greatest Stress level you could possibly experience, rate your current stress level:

Current Stress Level _____

Step 5. Positivity Scan

Which of the following positive emotions do you notice you felt during this lesson?

• Joy – feelings of pleasure, happiness and excitement

• Gratitude – noticing and reflecting on things you are thankful for

• Serenity – the calm experienced from accepting and being content with what you have

• Interest – being curious and excited about something new or different and wanting to understand more about it

• Hope – a desire for and expectation that something positive will happen

• Pride – deep pleasure, satisfaction and a sense of dignity experienced as a result of achieving something important

• Amusement – experiencing something as funny, entertaining, or fun

• Inspiration – feeling of encouragement and increased desire to accomplish or do something

• Awe – feeling of great respect and wonder

• Love – an intense feeling of deep affection, great interest and pleasure


SAMPLE


Practice

You have learned a way to be actively aware of your unique responses to stress in the moment. You practiced using a Body Scan, Thought Scan, and Action Scan to improve your awareness of stress signals and overall stress level. This lesson can be practiced repeatedly as outlined in the strategy below to develop the important skill of being actively aware of your stress signals, which will help you handle stressful situations more effectively to improve your overall Soothe Health Practice.

Strategy: Recognize Your Stress Signals

Choose one stressful situation from the day and do a Body Scan, Thought Scan, and Action Scan. Use the examples given in the Recognizing Stress lesson if you need a reminder of the various stress signals. Follow the steps below to log the stress signals you experience. Repeat this as many times as you can over the next four weeks until recognizing your stress signals becomes easy.

Step 1. Do a Body Scan and rate your stress signals on a scale from 0 to 10 (highest).

Step 2. Do a Thought Scan and rate your stress signals on a scale from 0 to 10 (highest).

Step 3. Do an Action Scan and rate your stress signals on a scale from 0 to 10 (highest).

Step 4. Rate your overall stress level on a scale from 0 to 10 (highest).

Step 5. Do a Positivity Scan.


SAMPLE


Map Your Portage

Make this strategy a healthy new habit by completing Map Your Portage and follow the ABCs below guiding you through proven steps of habit engineering.

A: Actions

Schedule: When and how often will you use the strategy?

__________________________________________________________

Cue: What is the trigger – time, location, event, person, feeling – that will prompt you to use the strategy?

__________________________________________________________

Nudge: How will you remind yourself to use the strategy?

_____ Set Reminder on Phone

_____ Set Reminder on Calendar

_____ Other _______________________________________________

B: Benefits

Positivity Scan: Circle the Positive Emotions you anticipate you will experience while using the strategy

Joy

Gratitude

Serenity

Awe

Interest

Hope

Pride

Amusement

Inspiration

Love

Other ______

Outcome Scan: Circle the feelings you anticipate you will experience as a result of repeatedly using the strategy

Happy

Healthy

Energized

Productive

Optimistic

Fulfilled

Connected

Purpose

Self-Worth

Focused

Other ______

C: Check-ins

Once a week, do a Progress Scan by reading each of the two statements about how well you are using the strategy and how well you are scanning for positivity while using it. After reading each, pause, observe your thoughts, and then reflect for a brief moment on your thoughts. Finally, for each statement rate how well you are doing from 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all and 10 is a great amount. Schedule this check-in and then nudge or prompt yourself to do it.

Progress Scan – Week 1 Date:

__________________________________________________________

_____ I am trying to use this new strategy.

_____ I am scanning for positivity while using this new strategy.


__________________________________________________________




__________________________________________________________




__________________________________________________________




SAMPLE


Complete Your Portage

Recognizing Your Stress Signals will help you develop the skills needed to recognize stress signals in the moment which will lead to managing your stress better and improving your Soothe Health Practice. Use the strategy presented in this Portage repeatedly until you feel you are using this skill effortlessly. You will have completed this portage when you are able to use the following skill regularly:

Being aware of your thoughts, emotions, your body’s reactions, and how you act in response to stress.

As you continue on your journey to feeling happy, healthy and fulfilled, your work in Portages may lead to your Soothe Health Practice being an opportunity for focus again. Although there are several Portages within the Soothe Practice, this Portage may be presented to you to repeat sometime in the future to further the development of your skill in this area.

Make Your Pledge

A pledge is a promise to intentionally practice your new skill, persevering through challenges. Make the following pledge to yourself and Portage On to pursue your dream to become your best self!

I pledge to be actively aware of the signals that let me know that I am stressed!

Sources

Craske, M. G. (2010). Theories of psychotherapy. Cognitive–behavioral therapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Fredrickson, B. (2009). Positivity: Top notch research reveals the 3-to-1 ratio that will change your life. Three Rivers Press. New York.

Gonzalez, G., & Quezada, V.E. (2016). A brief cognitive behavioral intervention for stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms in students of odontology. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 19, 68-78.

Lohr, J., Lilienfeld, S., & Rosen, G. (2012). Anxiety and its treatment: Promoting science-based practice. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26, 719-727.

Meichenbaum, D., & Cameron, R. (1989) Stress inoculation training. In: Meichenbaum D., & Jaremko M.E. (Eds.) Stress reduction and prevention. Springer, Boston, MA

Novaco R.W. (1978) Anger and coping with stress. In: Foreyt, J.P., & Rathjen, D.P. (Eds.) Cognitive behavior therapy. Springer, Boston, MA.

Stewart, R.E., & Chambless, D.L. (2009). Cognitive–behavioral therapy for adult anxiety disorders in clinical practice: A meta-analysis of effectiveness studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 595-606.

Van Cappelen, P., Rice, E., Catalino, L., & Fredrickson, B. (2017). Positive affective processes underlie positive health behavior change. Psychology and Health, 12, 1-21.

This Portage Integrates the Knowledge of:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy | Positive Psychology


SAMPLE

Think

Embrace Optimism

Thinking optimistically about your present and your future begins with noticing the way you think. Once

you are more actively aware of your thoughts, you can train yourself to think with an optimistic mindset.

Your mindset is your pattern of thoughts or style of thinking that develops over time. With practice you can

change your mindset and develop a positive view of the difficulties you experience. Learning to challenge

your negative thoughts and shift your thinking to an optimistic mindset will develop your Think Health

Practice, leading to positive experiences and emotions in your daily life!

Imagine embracing optimism as you face each challenge!

Benefits

Happy Healthy Optimistic Fulfilled Purpose Self-Worth

Discover

Learn About Your Opportunities

Prepare

Learn New Strategies to Build New Skills

Practice

Develop New Skills to Improve Your Mastery


SAMPLE

Embrace Optimism

Discover

You’ve likely heard the idea that optimists see the glass as half full. Optimistic thinkers view the present with a positive mindset and the future with hope, expecting that good things will happen. Hope is the ability to see possibilities and potential, even when faced with obstacles and challenges. To think hopefully often requires developing an optimistic mindset.

How you explain to yourself why things happen has to do with how optimistic or pessimistic your thinking style is. For example, let’s say you tried really hard to do something well, but you did poorly. Which of the following might you say to yourself?

• That was really hard, but I’ll keep trying and do better next time!

• I’m horrible at this and I’ll never be able to do it!

If you think you would most often answer A, you may be thinking more optimistically. If you think you more commonly would answer B, you might be thinking with a more pessimistic style of thinking.

Below are common overall characteristics of pessimistic and optimistic styles of thinking. Your style tends to determine how you explain to yourself the reason for why something happens. Think about the characteristics that are like you. Is your style more like one over the other?

Pessimistic Style

• You blame yourself when things go wrong

• You see failure as evidence of not being good enough

• You downplay your strengths and accomplishments

• You focus on your weaknesses and mistakes

• You lose motivation in the face of obstacles

• You have a tendency to avoid things that seem hard or challenging

• You feel overwhelmed and shut down when things are not going your way.

Optimistic Style

• You see bad events as unlucky, unfortunate, and temporary

• You see failure as a part of life

• You give yourself credit for your positive qualities and accomplishments

• You focus on your strengths

• You look for ways to overcome obstacles

• You push to achieve your goals

• You work hard to find a solution to challenges

Rarely will you find someone who is completely one or the other. Optimistic thinking does not simply require you to see life “through rose-colored glasses” or “just think positive.” Instead, when you think optimistically, you acknowledge the negative things in your life in a way that can be a useful motivator to help you make changes as needed. When you think optimistically, you believe that the obstacles you experience can be overcome and are opportunities for growth.

On this Portage to Embrace Optimism, you will develop the following skill:

Identify and challenge your negative thoughts and replace them with optimistic ones.


SAMPLE

Embrace Optimism

Prepare

Are you ready to change the way you think about your world? Follow the lesson below to help you learn how to change your thoughts from a pessimistic style to an optimistic one. In this lesson, you will identify and challenge your negative thoughts and practice replacing them with positive ones.

Challenge Your Negative Thoughts

Step 1. The Event

Briefly describe a challenging event that happened that left you having negative thoughts:

Step 2. Your Initial Negative Thoughts

Write down examples of the pessimistic and negative thoughts you experienced as a result.

Step 3. Challenge Your Thoughts

Write down an alternative explanation that is opposite to the initial thoughts you had in Step 2. Imagine a new optimistic mindset challenging your pessimistic mindset and winning. Write down examples of your new optimistic thoughts.

Step 4. Your New Optimistic Thoughts

Using your optimistic mindset, briefly re-write the description of what originally happened.

Step 5. Positivity Scan

Which of the following positive emotions do you notice you felt during this lesson?

• Joy – feelings of pleasure, happiness and excitement

• Gratitude – noticing and reflecting on things you are thankful for

• Serenity – the calm experienced from accepting and being content with what you have

• Interest – being curious and excited about something new or different and wanting to understand more about it

• Hope – a desire for and expectation that something positive will happen

• Pride – deep pleasure, satisfaction and a sense of dignity experienced as a result of achieving something important

• Amusement – experiencing something as funny, entertaining, or fun

• Inspiration – feeling of encouragement and increased desire to accomplish or do something

• Awe – feeling of great respect and wonder

• Love – an intense feeling of deep affection, great interest and pleasure


SAMPLE

Embrace Optimism

Practice

You have learned a way to practice increasing your optimistic thoughts by identifying and challenging your negative thoughts and replacing them with positive and optimistic ones. This lesson can be practiced in the strategy outlined below to develop the important skill of increasing your optimistic thinking and improving your overall Think Health Practice.

Strategy: Embrace Optimism

Each time you use this strategy, do each of the following steps. Ideally use the steps when a challenging situation occurs. Go through these steps in your mind when you are experiencing something difficult or challenging. Repeat the steps as you reflect on the challenge. Try to do this daily to several times a week.

Step 1. Briefly describe the difficult situation that happened.

Step 2. Write down examples of the initial pessimistic explanations you had of why it happened.

Step 3. Write down an alternative explanation that is opposite to the initial thoughts you had in Step 2. Imagine a new optimistic style of thinking challenging your pessimistic style and winning. Write down examples of your new optimistic thoughts.

Step 4. Using your optimistic style, briefly re-write the description of what originally happened.

Step 5. Do a Positivity Scan. Write down the positive emotions you are experiencing.


SAMPLE

Embrace Optimism

Map Your Portage

Make this strategy a healthy new habit by completing Map Your Portage and follow the ABCs below guiding you through proven steps of habit engineering.

A: Actions

Schedule: When and how often will you use the strategy?

__________________________________________________________

Cue: What is the trigger – time, location, event, person, feeling – that will prompt you to use the strategy?

__________________________________________________________

Nudge: How will you remind yourself to use the strategy?

_____ Set Reminder on Phone

_____ Set Reminder on Calendar

_____ Other _______________________________________________

B: Benefits

Positivity Scan: Circle the Positive Emotions you anticipate you will experience while using the strategy

Joy

Gratitude

Serenity

Awe

Interest

Hope

Pride

Amusement

Inspiration

Love

Other ______

Outcome Scan: Circle the feelings you anticipate you will experience as a result of repeatedly using the strategy

Happy

Healthy

Energized

Productive

Optimistic

Fulfilled

Connected

Purpose

Self-Worth

Focused

Other ______

C: Check-ins

Once a week, do a Progress Scan by reading each of the two statements about how well you are using the strategy and how well you are scanning for positivity while using it. After reading each, pause, observe your thoughts, and then reflect for a brief moment on your thoughts. Finally, for each statement rate how well you are doing from 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all and 10 is a great amount. Schedule this check-in and then nudge or prompt yourself to do it.


__________________________________________________________




__________________________________________________________




__________________________________________________________




__________________________________________________________




SAMPLE

Embrace Optimism

Complete Your Portage

Embrace Optimism provides you proven methods to help you to be actively aware of your negative thoughts and shift them to optimistic ones to improve your Think Health Practice. Use the strategy presented in this Portage repeatedly until you feel you are using this skill effortlessly. You will have completed this portage when you are able to use the following skill regularly:

Identify and challenge your negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones.

As you continue on your journey to feeling happy, healthy, and fulfilled, your work in Portages may lead to your Think Health Practice being an opportunity for focus again. Although there are several Portages within the Think Health Practice, this Portage may be presented to you to repeat sometime in the future to further the development of your skill in this area.

Make Your Pledge

A pledge is a promise to yourself to intentionally practice your new skill, perservering through challenges. Make the following pledge to yourself and Portage On to pursue your dream to become your best self!

I pledge to embrace optimism as I face each challenge!

Sources

Boniwell, I. (2012). Positive psychology in a nutshell: The science of happiness. New York, McGraw Hill.

King, A. (2001). The health benefits of writing about life goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 798-807.

Meevissen, Y.M.C., Peters, M.L., & Alberts, H. (2011). Become more optimistic by imagining a best possible self: Effects of a two week intervention. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 42, 371-378.

Peters, L.M., Flink, I.K., Boersma, K., & Linton, S.J. (2010). Manipulating optimism: Can imagining a best possible self be used to increase positive future expectancies? The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5, 204-211.

Scheier, M.F., & Carver, C.S. (1992). Effects of optimism on psychological and physical well-being: Theoretical overview and empirical update. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16, 201-228.

Seligman, M. (2006). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. 2nd Edition. New York: Vintage.

Seligman, M. (2018). The hope circuit: A psychologist’s journey from helplessness to optimism. New York: Random House.

This Portage Integrates the Knowledge of:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy | Positive Psychology


SAMPLE

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