MediMindful Moment: Meet Chris Salem

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview Chris Salem, Executive Coach, Keynote Speaker, and CEO at EFA Movement. Chris talks about the fine line between kindness and compassion. He also shares how mindfulness plays a significant role in building a core foundation.

Listen HERE! 

Episode Highlights:

●      Judith introduces Chris Salem. (00:44)

●      Chris shares that he’s working with executives to help build and scale their businesses and their brands by teaching them how to become trusted advisors in their business. (1:16)

●      Chris mentions his international best-selling book titled, Master Your Inner Critic: Resolve the Root Cause Create Prosperity. (1:31)

●      Chris shares that finding the harmony between work and life can be difficult. (7:36)

●      Chris mentions that mindfulness plays a significant role in building the core of that foundation. (8:10)

●      Chris shares that a lot of times, people will experience frustration and stress because they tend to focus more on the elements that play into their weaknesses or on the things that they can't control versus the things they can. (8:59)

●      Chris mentions the two habits that he always recommends for everyone which are meditation and journaling, daily. (10:46)

●      Chris mentions that he’s a big believer that mindfulness is the core nucleus of everything. (15:50)

●      Chris shares that mindfulness leads to clarity and clarity leads to the ability to make, calculated risks, learn from mistakes, make better decisions, and take action. (18:03)

●      Chris mentions that in reality, multitasking is counterproductive and, oftentimes, it doesn't lead to sustainable results. (22:42)

●      Chris shares his advice with everyone is to control what you can and let go of what you can't. (28:25)

Key Quotes:

●      “I'm a firm believer that any sustainable results that you seek in your life, in business, overall, start with the foundation, and it’s a process that when you go through the trials and tribulations of life and business, you approach it in a way that you could see the blessings and opportunities disguised and what you become as part of that process.” - Chris Salem

●      “To break these cycles, we as people have got to take responsibility for our own lives, our actions, our roles, and duties. We can't assume and speculate somebody is going to help us do that. We’ve got to take that responsibility. That's where change takes place.” - Chris Salem

●      “If we commit to it, controlling what we can do our part, and empowering people to do the same for themselves, we can come together interdependently over time, to be more productive, more efficient, more functional in terms of what we do, and why what we do to create a better environment around us.” - Chris Salem

Resources Mentioned:

●      Judith Dreyer

●      Jeff Nelder LinkedIn

●      Henry Edinger LinkedIn

●      Cloud9 Online

●      MediMind App

●      Chris Salem LinkedIn

Mindfulness and Negative Self-Talk: What Are We Thinking?

by Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN

Several studies use a mindful self-care and resiliency (MSCR) program to evaluate mindful practices' effectiveness and look at negative self-talk among health care professionals. Burnout and compassion fatigue are real issues in our medical professions, especially during this pandemic time. At an acute care hospital in Australia, researchers reported, "… participants gained more awareness of their thought patterns in stressful situations, thus providing them with the ability to circumvent rising negative self-talk and consciously adopt a more positive perspective on the situation."

Alison Ledgerwood, a social psychologist and TED talk speaker conducted a study at the University of California to evaluate which thoughts are stronger: positive or negative ones. She used the concept of half-empty or half-full in her experiment. She discovered that it's harder to shift from bad to good with our thoughts. Doing so requires disciplined effort due to what is known as our negativity bias.

How many thoughts do we experience per day? Dr. Poppenk, Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience at Queen's University, and his team of researchers discovered a brain-based marker for new thoughts. They estimate that the "average person has about 6,200 thoughts per day".  

Self-talk is something we are aware of in our everyday life. Thoughts can be positive or negative, and some days I know I wish mine would just be quiet. Six thousand two hundred thoughts seem incomprehensible.

"Negative self-talk is any inner dialogue you have with yourself that may be limiting your ability to believe in yourself and your abilities and to reach your potential. It is any thought that diminishes your ability to make positive changes in your life or your confidence in yourself to do so. Negative self-talk can not only be stressful, but it can stunt your success." Most of the time, the inner critic's voice is not an accurate marker of your successes, your intelligence, or character.

However, we have thoughts that are here to protect us. For example: don't jump off that bridge. Then there's emotional self-talk that usually has no basis in fact. Once we understand that both will always be there, then we can learn to manage the negative and reframe the ideas into more positive ones. Does it happen overnight? Mindfulness techniques, when applied consistently, do make a difference. 

What can we do to manage these negative thoughts?

1. Pay attention to your thoughts in the present moment. Simply pause.  

2. Meditation practices help you listen a little more deeply. Negative self-talk can be a blanket covering up deeper hurts, negative patterns. It can also be a distraction from what you are feeling. Negative thoughts can be a treasure in that these types of thoughts can highlight an issue, a problem. 

3. Be kind to yourself. Within our 6,200 thoughts, some are negative. Kindness and gentle awareness, compassion for self open the door to acknowledging them and softening them.

4. Change negativity to neutrality:  For example, "I hate" becomes "I find this challenging."  

There are many mindfulness techniques to use.

            Pause and focus on your breath. 

            When a thought arises, acknowledge it and refocus on your breathing.

            Then resume your day.

"Mindfulness is like that—it is the miracle which can call back in a flash our dispersed mind and restore it to wholeness so that we can live each minute of life."

— Thich Nhat Hanh

MediMindful Moment: Meet Rich Tyler

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview Richard Tyler, R.Ph, Pharmacist at Westown Pharmacy. Rich talks about his career in the pharmaceutical industry and his experiences working in an independent community pharmacy.

Listen HERE!

Episode Highlights:

●      Judith introduces Richard Tyler. (0:38)

●      What does Rich see in his workplace? (1:03)

●      Rich mentions that he prefers to work in an independent community pharmacy. (1:22)

●      Rich shares that COVID-19 has changed them in many ways as an independent pharmacy. Because they extended their services in the big box stores with their delivery, and their community outreach services have dramatically increased. (1:38)

●      Rich shares that they’re a solid team that has been together for a long time and everybody knows each other personally, and professionally. (2:12)

●      Judith shares that Rich has the wisdom and the experience, for the history of some medications that most of us don't have. (3:28)

●      Rich thinks that pharmacists nowadays are more academic than it was back in 1977. (4:00)

●      Judith mentions that Rich has a great reputation in the community. (4:22)

●      Rich mentions that his first job was in a small retail independent pharmacy. (4:39)

●      Jeff proceeds with the mindful moment exercise. (6:45)

●      How is Rich helping himself to stay mindful when the interactions are changing? (9:33)

●      What is Rich doing to help their staff mindful of the fact that the world's changing around them and they're at steady state for the customers? (9:44)

●      Rich shares that he’s a firm believer of leading by example. (10:05)

●      Henry shares that if somebody’s having anxiety, making them stabilize is one of the most significant aspects, and taking a few deep breaths. (12:17)

●      What are some of Rich’s daily practices, before going into the pharmacy, with the right mindset? (12:42)

●      What role does Rich notice that mind-body connection plays in people's lives these days, whether it's on the team, or in terms of the people coming in? (16:31)

●      Rich mentions that everybody's a little frightened, and when the fear comes to them, they lose their way. (16:53)

●      Rich shares that it’s necessary to recognize who you're dealing with. Because some people are more open to suggestions than others. (19:03)

●      Judith shares that staying true to our way of working, and how we want to be for people is what matters in the long run. (20:33)

●      Judith mentions what she loves about their podcasts and the MediMindful team is that they try to walk their talk, with what they’re doing. (20:47)

●      Based on everything that's happening, does Rich have any tips for everybody? (21:39)

●      Henry shares that if everyone could do a little more introspection, the whole world would be so much better. (22:24)

●      Rich mentions that pharmacies are an accessible part of the healthcare system. (25:35)

●      Jeff mentions that the more time we spend present, the more time we spend awake, the more we appreciate how powerful and fulfilling it is to have that level of compassion without having the ego in it. (27:24)

Key Quotes:

●      “Sometimes you have to grow with the times and stay current. I think we do a pretty good job of telling people, informing people, and keeping people in the loop of what has to happen and what's going to occur for them.” - Richard Tyler

●      “We're all humans. If I have a bad day and I bring it to the pharmacy, and I spike up in emotional outbursts, then everybody goes downhill quick and spirals down. So you have to recognize that they're looking to you to be the rock, so to speak, and the basis to be mindful, and to be present with the situation that's occurring and move forward with that.”  - Richard Tyler

●      “Not everybody can be athletic, yoga wise. But if you can just bring your breath, your focus to the center, then you're in a good place right there.”  - Richard Tyler

●      “You guys are all involved in the mindfulness, and that's what this is about. Just breathing, staying present, knowing we can't change the world but, we can do our best to try and make it a little bit better, every day.” - Richard Tyler 

Resources Mentioned:

●      Judith Dreyer

●      Jeff Nelder LinkedIn

●      Henry Edinger LinkedIn

●      Cloud9 Online

●      MediMind App

●      Richard Tyler Facebook

●      Westown Pharmacy

●      Westown Pharmacy App

MediMindful Moment: Meet Dr. Eric Secor

In this episode of Cloud9 Online’s MediMindful Moments Podcast, co-hosts Judith Dreyer, Jeff Nelder, and Henry Edinger interview Dr. Eric R. Secor, ND, PhD, LAc, Chief of Integrative Medicine at Hartford Hospital. Dr. Secor shares his knowledge and expertise in integrative medicine and explains the complexity of stress and the benefits of mindfulness. Dr. Secor, a key player within our medical system, on the medical front lines throughout COVID-19's arrival and impact on our medical system, shares his experiences about how mindfulness played and continues to play a role in his practice and approach to his patients and their medical care.

Join us for an engaging conversation experience.  

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1D964TJ33vUl1z6MINzwOK

Episode Highlights:

●     Dr. Eric Secor shares his background and his career in the industry of medicine. (1:12)

●     Dr. Eric Secor mentions that only a few medical programs had Nutrition Lifestyle as a key component of their program. (2:16)

●     Dr. Eric Secor shares that when he joined Hartford, he helped them oversee the transition of their old integrative medicine model into their current model, and look for novel ways to integrate therapies through applications and cloud-based applications. (4:26)

●     Judith mentions that she loves integrative and holistic medicine. (4:53)

●     Judith shares that mindfulness practices provide a refuge from those daily distractions that are fueled by everything going on today. (5:08)

●     Jeff mentions that this episode is dedicated to creating mindful moments together. (5:59)

●     Jeff proceeds with the four questions. (6:10)

●     What are Dr. Eric Secor’s thoughts about the need for more mindful moments? (8:15)

●     Dr. Eric Secor thinks that everybody’s set point is a little bit higher, therefore our threshold for managing stress, anxiety intention, will ebb and flow throughout our workweek and throughout our year. (9:12)

●     Dr. Eric Secor thinks that challenges are coming at us from multiple different angles and locations. In a general sense, the setpoints are higher, the stress is enhanced, and anxiety is enhanced. (10:35)

●     Dr. Eric Secor mentions that heightened stress response is significant to help us react and adapt in the short term. (12:00)

●     Dr. Eric Secor shares the fact that when we’re in a heightened sense of chronic stress, those chronic recurrent conditions can become more active and can become more potent over time, with chronic stress. (13:03)

●     What role does mindfulness play in Dr. Eric Secor’s work environment, with employees, and patients? (13:42)

●     Dr. Eric Secor shares that with COVID-19, their workforce has to be more vigilant about daily temperatures, logins, and all the patients that they see daily, have to be screened, questionnaires have to be done. (14:57)

●     Dr. Eric Secor shares that they have a new resiliency committee, as part of the new wellness initiative at Hartford healthcare, they were starting pre-COVID, and they had their first organizational meeting. (16:20)

●     Dr. Eric Secor mentions that they have deployed Cloud9's MediMind Meditation App. (17:08)

●     Henry mentions that Dr. Eric Secor’s patients are lucky to have him at Hartford healthcare, and his thoughtfulness about patient needs. (19:13)

●     Dr. Eric Secor mentions that 30 years ago, the nurses at Hartford Healthcare began the program from a Reiki perspective which is fundamental meditative mindfulness, and adaptation. (21:27)

●     Dr. Eric Secor shares about their newly opened site located in Westport. (22:34)

●     Dr. Eric Secor thinks that there is a realization that they have to begin to look at the lifestyle wellness, mindfulness options, and provide them a rigorous and reproducible way to provide this to staff and patients. (24:08)

●     Dr. Eric Secor shares a story about his patient who came in with anxiety and palpitations. (25:17)

●     What does Dr. Eric Secor think about pain and mindfulness? (28:58)

●     Dr. Eric Secor mentions that pain management is the number one reference to their practice. (29:06)

●     Dr. Eric Secor shares that with chronic pain, there is a place for recognizing the lack of deep breathing that directly corresponds to elevated blood pressure. (33:01)

●     Dr. Eric Secor mentions that mindfulness lends itself as adjunct care to helping patients to breathe better, improve their circulation, and improve their body temperature. (34:16)

Key Quotes:

●     “When we think about the stress response and the relaxation response, that heightened sense of stress is really about the fight or flight response. So it's nice to have a fight or flight response when we have an acute stressful situation that we have to react to...the caveat to that is that we want that response to go up and we want that response to go down in a proper time frame. When that response continues, it's like we're running away from that bear every single day. ” - Dr. Eric Secor

●     “If we step back a minute and think about the work that we do, anyone that has a job that requires precision and requires extended attention to detail, in a sense, does need to practice mindfulness.” - Dr. Eric Secor

●     “If you're thinking from a large system perspective, if you're not improving the health of your 30,000 employees, it's very difficult to contain your costs and have people be highly effective in very stressful changing situations.” - Dr. Eric Secor

●     “We all know and take for granted that when we breathe very shallowly, our brain gets the signal that we don't have enough oxygen, and the brain likes oxygen because that's what it needs to survive.” - Dr. Eric Secor

Introducing the MediMindful Moments Podcast

INTRODUCING:

The MediMindful Moments Podcast Series, exclusively from Cloud9 Online!

MediMindful Moments is dedicated to creating more mindful awareness in the moment - both during the podcast for guests, listeners and hosts- and out in the world, as you carry insights and experiences to the people around you. Join us each week as we discuss and demonstrate what "presence" means with people from diverse career backgrounds.

We invite you to enjoy our inaugural episode TODAY on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform: https://open.spotify.com/show/1fooGuOfT0B9bVPI2tVEZq