Tips and Tricks for Reducing Stress

Featuring Dr. Medge Jaspan

Mindset and Daily Challenges

We are influenced by how we view ourselves, how we respond to challenges, and how we handle everyday life. Our thoughts can shape how we experience each day and how we approach the difficulties that come our way.

What does it mean to have a healthy mindset? Dr. Medge Jaspan describes a healthy mindset as a process of constantly doing your best. It means doing your best to maintain a more positive mindset, even when it's difficult. However, this doesn't mean being positive all the time. It's about shifting from negativity to positivity. It's about catching disturbing thoughts. It's about acknowledging when something isn't right and deciding how you are going to respond.

She states that the way you feel about yourself is vital. Even if your day is not going well, you lose your job, or something else happens, you can still maintain a state of well-being because you can say, "Okay, it can happen. This is me alongside myself. I want to feel good. I want to be happy."

Like with everything, achieving a healthy mindset requires practice. Consistency in practicing how to shift your mindset is more important than perfection. Dr. Medge states, "When you go to the gym, you don't see results on day one. It's over time that you see results when you are consistent. If you go only once every other month, nothing is happening. Your physical body isn't changing. The mind is the same. You need to exercise your mind. You transform it because you are consistent."

But what if you keep trying to change your mindset and still fall back into old habits? Dr. Medge says that when she went through some heavy and dark times, she realized that she was falling deeper into negativity, to the point where she knew a change needed to be made.

"And I can assure you that diving into it means acknowledging it and trying to understand, 'What am I learning from this?' As soon as I learn from the experience, I can say, 'Okay, next.' It's the ability to say, 'Next.' That's why I say to surround yourself with loving, caring people. As soon as you understand that, you begin to let go of people who are not serving your happiness or who are not good for your health. If they are not good for your health, why are you still staying near them?"

It's not always easy to break away from people who are not good for your health. However, it's important to recognize that the most important person in your life is yourself. Dr. Medge emphasizes that you'll be with yourself your entire life, which is why learning to love yourself is so important. The person you see in the mirror is the person who has been with you from the beginning and will be with you until the end. Ultimately, that relationship with yourself is one of the most important relationships you will ever have. As we cultivate our relationship with ourselves, we understand the power of self-respect and self-care.

Developing Healthy Habits

Changing your mindset doesn't always require a major change overnight. Small habits practiced consistently can begin to change the way you experience everyday life. Dr. Medge suggests starting with a simple gratitude exercise: every day, find one good thing in your life. Try this exercise at night and at the end of the day, ask yourself the question: What is one good thing that occurred today?

Dr. Peterson, one of the founders of positive psychology, once said, humans are wired for negativity. It is easier to assume the worst than to assume the best. We can truly transform how we think by embracing this statement. Dr. Medge experienced the importance of this practice herself while grieving the loss of her dad and also a close friend.

"I lost a dear friend not that long ago, and I cried for a week. I cried before she died, when she died, and after she died. At one point, my eyes were so swollen that I couldn't cry anymore.

Then I took it on myself to look for the gold and began to shift my focus toward gratitude for the time we spent together, and I began to smile. Then I laughed, thinking about our fun and exciting time together. I'm still sad when I think about her, sad that we will not see each other, but I was able to shift the way I looked at this experience. Death and grief are certainly one of the most challenging problems that we face. We have absolutely no control over it.

"She was my age, and losing her reminded me of the choices that I make daily. It reminded me of my own limitations in time. I decided to stop wasting time and enjoy my life. It reminded me that I have to be on top of my own life and appreciate the time that I have."

"How often do we waste time on silliness? How often do our minds wander in places that bring us nowhere?"

"I began to imagine her in heaven, and I began to imagine her with answers. I thought, 'Wow.' You know, I'm still sad when I think about it, but I can tell you that I immediately began to shift my perspective."

"By looking for the good in a bad situation, you can shift your perspective and improve your outlook. It doesn't mean ignoring sadness or pretending that something difficult didn't happen. Instead, it means acknowledging those emotions while also finding something positive to hold onto."

Stress and Modern Life

Stress is one of the most Insidious, invasive, and destructive aspects of our lives. Stress is a behavior that society often praises and continues to normalize. Dr. Medge describes stress as something that our fast-paced, modern civilization can intensify. We live with it, get used to it, and forget what life was like without it.

"Our environment shapes our health, and when we are constantly surrounded by technology, Wi-Fi, 5G, electricity, and other aspects of modern life, it can disrupt our natural connection to nature. As human beings, we are in essence in a geomagnetic field on Earth. Step back and feel how our nature and our perfect energetic field are disturbed by all these invasive technologies."

When we become stressed about money, work, or relationships, we can forget what it means to live and find pleasure in life truly. When you begin to focus on enjoying life, you leave less room for stress or for people who don't participate in our happiness process. Can we naturally begin to distance ourselves from them? If they are family, it can be complicated nonetheless, but it becomes more achievable if you respect yourself and put yourself first in your life. It becomes more achievable.

At first, it is about recognizing that some people don't support our choice. Recognizing those who have our back. Acknowledging those who are there for us. We can take small steps, giving them less space in our lives. Deciding to distance ourselves is already a good decision. We can love family while knowing that their way of seeing the world and the situation are personal. Their opinions are their opinions, nothing else.

Finding Balance in a Crazy Everyday Life

When life gets crazy, it becomes problematic to see things objectively. As a result, set aside time to enjoy life. Dr. Medge emphasizes the importance of finding balance in daily life. She explains that people are not on Earth to work, but to live. This means asking important questions: What is life for you? What does your life look like? What do you want your life to look like? What is your commitment to yourself? What do you truly want from your life? What is the difference between want and like?

Often we want something because it is socially respectable or acceptable, something that we should want. However, do we really like it? The more we learn to distinguish want from like, and the more we learn to know ourselves, the more we can find harmony.

Once people understand what they want, they can begin to shift their perspective and mindset to rewrite their story. According to Dr. Medge, it begins with awareness: recognizing how you are currently living, understanding what is no longer working, and deciding that you deserve something different. Transformation begins with a decision. Taking the first step can be challenging and overwhelming, but the change is worth it.

Finding this balance can be tricky, especially when someone has become accustomed to living with constant stress. If people struggle to find balance in their daily lives, Dr. Medge is there to encourage and guide them.

When Stress Begins to Become Unhealthy

Stress can take a toll on the body. When it becomes ongoing, the body may begin to show signs that it is struggling with that stress.

"When you have no clarity and cannot see things clearly, or when you begin experiencing physical issues, such as psoriasis, skin problems, or hair loss, those can be signs that something isn't right. People don't always realize how important these changes can be. When I begin to notice physical or mental signs that something is off, I know it's important to stop, shift, and reset." Results of stress can be more damaging than we imagine. Ignoring signs of stress in the body and mind can open the door to serious health complications.

Recognizing these signs matters because they remind you to pay attention to yourself and make changes instead of pushing through stress.

Simple Ways to Reduce Stress

Reducing stress can begin with simple actions that support both the mind and body. One place to start is with something as essential as water. Dr. Medge describes how water's properties can support the body during periods of stress. She states, "When you're stressed, your body produces more cortisol, and chemicals become unbalanced, leading to mental and physical complications. Drinking clean water can be a simple step to support the body through these changes. Let's remember that all our cells are immersed in water. Supporting the water within our bodies helps support our overall well-being."

Being immersed in water can also create an opportunity to slow down and relax. Dr. Medge explains, "When you are in water, especially ocean water, your body instantly begins to relax. A bath can also be a good solution to let go of stress. Ocean therapy and thalassotherapy research explore how immersion in water may support relaxation and well-being. It's all about helping the body restore its natural balance."

Along with water, movement plays an important role in managing everyday stress. Dr. Medge explains, "When thinking about reducing stress, you must also consider physical activity, which releases endorphins and helps restore balance. Engaging in sports, exercising, and simply moving the body can help support your mood and provide an outlet for stress."

She also emphasizes the importance of intentionally making time for relaxation and reconnecting with nature. This can include getting a massage, spending time near a lake or the ocean, putting your feet on the grass, walking in the mountains or forest, or simply spending more time outdoors. These moments can give us an opportunity to unplug from our daily routines and step away from the constant stimulation of modern life.

At the Holistic Healing & Wellness Center in Longboat Key, Dr. Medge encourages people to create space for this type of reset. Visitors can immerse themselves in a biophoton chamber, explore energetic protocols, and participate in creative workshops designed to create a relaxing wellness environment. As the mind and body begin to relax, it can become easier to find clarity and reconnect with yourself.

For Dr. Medge, these practices all come back to something simple: creating opportunities to slow down, reconnect with yourself and your surroundings, and step away from the constant pressures of everyday life.

Holistic Healing & Wellness Center

Dr. Medge at the Holistic Health & Wellness Center.

The Mind and How It Affects the Body

Reducing stress is not only about what you do physically. The way you think about yourself and your life also plays an important role. With positive psychology interventions, Dr. Medge focuses on character strengths, skills, and talents to bring balance, while also exploring how someone can transform weaknesses into assets.

When you focus on your strengths or your intrinsic assets, you begin to feel stronger. Life becomes more manageable; you feel more powerful, and you have a stronger foundation to improve your daily life.

You are not weak. You have strengths. You feel more powerful. As soon as you understand that, your life is already shifting for the best. Many exercises can help build resilience, and knowing your strengths can empower you and make you stronger. Building on your strengths can help because sometimes those strengths are under the surface. We think about them as, "Okay, I'm good at that," but the more you discover and recognize your strengths, the more you have something within yourself to lean on.

It's important to build emotional resilience by learning and thinking about how you can transform every day. Just like developing a healthy mindset, building emotional resilience is a work in progress.

As we practice this over and over, we can begin to create more positive emotions and intentionally bring more joy into our lives.

Dr. Medge notes, "You know, find something that makes you happy. I will tell you, I love Hallmark movies. I love those love stories. When I was feeling sad because my friend was dying, I knew I had to do something that made me happy.

I exercised more at the time. I was crying, but I exercised more. I also listened to silly audio love stories, which brought joy into my life, and I spoke with old friends. These kinds of things completely transformed my life.

You have to find a way to transmute your energy, not keep it internally. Transform the negative into more positive. You have to transform it and shift it. I was sad because she was my age and she was dying of cancer. It didn't make sense to me."

Her experience shows that creating positive emotions does not mean disturbing emotions disappear. Instead, it means finding ways to bring moments of happiness, connection, and movement into your life even while you are going through struggles.

Conclusion

Dr. Medge continues to help others transform their lives because she knows transformation is possible. She finds that empowering others is one of her greatest gifts and strengths. One takeaway she always emphasizes is that it all begins with loving yourself.

Dr. Medge states that everyone should say each morning, "I am unique and fabulous, and so are you."

With all the craziness happening in the world and in our everyday lives, it's important not to forget who you are. Reducing stress, developing a healthier mindset, and creating more balance do not happen all at once. They begin with becoming aware of what you need, recognizing your strengths, and making small changes every day.

You don't have to do it alone; we are here to support you.

www.medgejaspan.com

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