6: Self-Talk for Wellbeing

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Quick Takes

Kaitlin & Nancy's takeaways from recent content we've discovered

Self-Talk for Wellbeing

As the holidays approach, many of us are under more stress than usual. We’re attending events, making preparations, and often feeling pressure to make everything just right. This may result in less productive self-talk, and negative thought spirals. Even when we recognize their corrosive effect, controlling those thoughts can be another matter.

Ethan Kross, an experimental psychologist and neuroscientist at the University of Michigan has made a study of “the silent conversations we have with ourselves.” While we may gain insight and even courage from affirming self-talk, it can also devolve into cyclical negative thoughts and emotions that hinder our performance, relationships, and health - in Kross’s terminology: “chatter".

In his 2021 book, Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters and How to Harness It, Kross discusses self-talk, from its evolutionary value, to its negative aspects in our modern lives, and offers a menu of strategies for gaining control over our inner voice.

Key among these strategies is to put some distance between ourselves and our inner voice in order to gain greater perspective and control. Kross provides a multitude of approaches for doing so, but here are four that we felt were especially helpful:

Imagine advising a friend. Think about how you would advise a friend in the same situation, and turn this advice on yourself. In addition to allowing us to view a problem we are facing from the perspective of a third party, and thus more objectively and less emotionally, this approach encourages self-compassion. Often, we can compound a challenge by being too self-critical in evaluating how we are responding and in perhaps blaming ourselves for the problem in the first place. Putting yourself in the position of a caring friend helps us to be kinder and more understanding about our own situation and reactions to it, which better positions us to respond effectively.
Reframe your experience as a challenge. Chatter often results from interpreting a situation as a threat. It can help to recall how you have overcome similar circumstances in the past. Reminding yourself of your prior successes helps to boost your confidence and strengthen your resilience, thereby quelling the anxiety driven by uncertainty.
Write expressively. Spend 15-20 minutes putting your thoughts and feelings about the negative experience down on paper for 1-3 consecutive days. Sometimes just getting things out on paper makes them less emotionally charged and better defined. It also can help you to restrict the amount of time you are thinking about a problem, because you have scheduled time to think about it specifically.

Recall Ellen Langer’s research we discussed last month, demonstrating just how powerful our thoughts can be in defining our experience and our health. It’s up to us to decide whether those thoughts – and the impact they have – will be positive or negative.

By taking a step back from the noise inside our heads this holiday season, we can create more space for experiencing joy, and also enable ourselves to better care for family, friends, and those in our communities during this time.

Community Buzz

Highlights from Benchmark's community forum

Muscle Matters 🏋️

Kaitlin's taken her "Muscle Matters" talk on tour, sharing the importance of muscle mass, strength, and power for nearly every aspect of our health as we age. She spoke at CSGNA’s annual gastroenterology conference, presented to the enthusiastic community of The Proactive Athlete, and joined an event organized by Tania Clancy of Straight to Fit, bringing together women getting proactive about their health! 💪

For a quick primer on the topic, revisit our July newsletter featuring Andy Galpin's podcast. For a deeper-dive, this American Heart Association article provides an excellent summary of research into the impact of resistance training on various dimensions of health.

Bodily Makeup 🔍

Lisa shared an article by Dr. Mark Hyman on why we should understand our body composition. He touches on why we should track lean mass, visceral fat, and bone density,** and notes that sustaining a healthy level of body fat is essential for health. He offers his take on tools for measurement, highlighting DEXA scans as the most accurate, with pros and cons of various options. It’s a good reminder to focus on these key health metrics, instead of bodyweight alone, or worse, the body image “ideals” of pop culture.

Make Health Last ⛷️

Lynne pointed us to "Make Health Last," an award-winning 2013 ad campaign from the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation that’s worth revisiting. The 1-minute video is a powerful reminder of why we must invest in our health today to enjoy an active and healthy future.

Hydration is a Gift 💧

Proper hydration is essential for health, and we think it becomes easier with a water bottle you love. ‘Tis the season, so we rounded up a few gift-worthy community picks. My personal pick is the bkr glass bottle. I chose the spiked sleeve for durability, and these silicone spikes not only provide a great grip, but make it a perfect desk companion to anyone fidgety during conference calls 🖐️. Bkr offers smooth sleeves too, and lots of stylish colours. Multiple parents recommended the stainless steel Owala FreeSip in fun colours for the kids. It has a built-in straw + spout for sip/swig optionality. Scott shared the classic stainless Yeti Rambler for its impressive insulation and "chug cap" for easy ice cube entry.

6: Self-Talk for Wellbeing

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