USATODAY.com Posts Overland Chiropractic’s Press Release: Dr. Robert Patterson of Overland Chiropractic Reviews How to Manage Stress During the Holidays

December 22nd, 2010

Posted By: Dr. Robert Patterson

USATODAY.com recently posted Overland Chiropractic’s press release: Dr. Robert Patterson of Overland Chiropractic Reviews How to Manage Stress During the Holidays.

Altering expectations or tightening your budget can help alleviate additional financial stress. Maintain a normal exercise and sleep routine. Plenty of rest and exercise are great stress relievers. Finally, prioritizing is important during the holidays. Do not tire yourself out trying to attend every holiday party. Make a list of the most meaningful gatherings and graciously decline the rest.

Read More:

---

Dr. Robert Patterson of Overland Chiropractic Reviews Holiday Health Risks

December 14th, 2010

Posted By: Dr. Robert Patterson

The holiday season brings excitement and anticipation. We often become busy and rush to finish our shopping and preparations for the holidays. Winter brings new health risks as well. It is important to prepare for risks. If you think about potential health hazards in advance, you will be better prepared to handle them. This article written by Angela Haupt from msn.com offers tips for nine health hazards associated with the holiday season.

9 Holiday Health Hazards to Avoid

1- Sledding Recklessly

2- Catching a Germ

3- Taking a Fall

4- Shopping till you drop

5- Dying of Cold

6- Developing food poisoning

7- Having an allergic reaction to dirty decorations

8- Going heavy on the salt

9- Imitating Santa

Read More

---

Stress Management During the Holiday Season

December 10th, 2010

Posted By: Dr. Robert Patterson

As the holidays approach, stress levels increase rapidly. Busy schedules often worry us and distract us from the joy of the season. The many stressors that surround us can cause our health to suffer. In this article, written by Janie Rosman, from harrison.patch.com there are tips for staying healthy this holiday season. When you anticipate a problem in advance, you can plan how to resolve the situation. If you are ready for stressful situations, you can handle them with less panic. It is also important to schedule free time so that you can relax and maintain healthy eating habits.

It’s that Stressful Time of Year: How Do You Cope?

In the thick of the early December holiday season, there are numerous stressors—traffic, long lines, financial issues and looking for a parking spot. Who hasn’t felt a knot in the stomach, nervousness, tense muscles and that “all over the place” feeling.

Westchester and Rockland health professionals tell us how to skip holiday stress with a few helpful tips.

“Stress comes from thoughts that are exaggerated so things have to be put in perspective,” said Fred Neuman, Director of the Anxiety and Phobia Treatment Center at White Plains Hospital.

Take, for example, finishing one’s holiday shopping by Dec. 24.

“First, what are the chances of something bad happening?” Neuman said. “If someone gets sick and can’t buy gifts in time and goes to the party without them, what will happen?”

The second thing is to think of the worst-case scenario which, Neuman said, in most cases isn’t as bad as the person imagines it will be.

“We physically experience the same physical symptoms, yet [we have them] for different reasons,” said Pearl Hacker, LCSW, Director of Ludington Adult Day Services Center, Sound Shore Medical Center of Westchester in New Rochelle. ”And since we think we can do everything ourselves, we don’t ask for help and suddenly we’re stressed.”

Read More

---

Dr. Robert Patterson of Overland Chiropractic Reviews How to Stay Healthy During the Holidays

November 29th, 2010

By: Dr. Robert Patterson

The delicious food and drinks that surround the holidays can make it difficult to stay in shape. This article from MSN.com offers tips about how to be healthier during the holidays.

Mmm, holiday carbs! Eat, drink and not fatten up

During the holiday season, most people attend tons of festive events—and nearly all of them center around fattening food. Add seasonal stress and zero time to cook or hit the gym, and you have a recipe for holiday weight gain. Well, not this year! We came up with 10 tips to help you survive the hectic holiday season.

HOLIDAY PARTIES

It’s inevitable that you’ll be going to at least a few soirees this holiday season, whether it’s the office holiday party or your neighbor’s annual bash. Here are a few tactics you can employ.

1. Sip smartly
With alcohol, the goal is to keep both your calories and your buzz under control.

A single shot of vodka, gin, or rum mixed with club or diet soda and a squeeze of lime will set you back only about 100 calories. Other standard low-cal options include light beer or wine, most of which have fewer than 150 calories per serving. That’s perfect if you can sip one all night; if you’re the type to make several trips to the bar (no judgments!), try asking the bartender to fill your glass only halfway each time to keep your total intake down.

Champagne or pink Prosecco are both great options. Not only are they low on the calorie chart—around 80 to 120 per glass—but they’re also more likely to be sipped rather than guzzled.

2. Work the room
If you’re planted next to the food table, you’ll shovel chips and dip into your mouth all night long. So stay far, far away. You won’t eat mindlessly if you have to cross the room to get to the food or if you’re chatting someone up.

You should also be picky. Passed hors d’oeuvres, which hover at every turn, are small, but they add up—fast. To avoid eating 2,000 calories worth of cheese puffs, limit yourself to three that you love. Been waiting all year for bacon-wrapped scallops? Go for it. But pass on the crab cakes and other fried fare.

AT THE MALL

Another inevitability during the holidays is the mall food court, unless you’ve perfected the art of online shopping! Having to make decisions diminishes people’s willpower. So all the gift decisions you face at the mall will make you that much more vulnerable to temptation at the food court.

3. Pack snacks
Malls are filled with kiosks hawking softball-size cinnamon buns and soft pretzels on steroids. Keeping portion-controlled goodies in your bag will make other snacks easier to resist. Stick 30 pistachios or 24 almonds in a ziplock bag with two dried plums or apricots, or even some turkey jerky or a snack bar with less than 200 calories and at least 5 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein. The carb/protein/fat combo in these foods will keep you full.

4. Sidestep seasonal sirens
An economic theory called the scarcity principle explains why we’re such suckers for holiday treats. Decades of research show that items we perceive as being in limited supply seem more desirable to us than non-scarce items. Holiday-themed coffee drinks and sweets are often more caloric than regular ones, so it’s safer to stick to the basics. Add your own cinnamon to your every day coffee or drizzle your own vanilla or peppermint extract.

Read More

---

Dr. Robert Patterson Reflects on Meaning of Continual Thanksgiving

November 19th, 2010

By: Dr. Robert Patterson  

Thanksgiving is probably our family’s favorite time of the year.  We have many traditions, which were started when our children were very small and that we have continued to keep for the past 20 years.  For both my wife and I, the holiday holds wonderful memories of extended family, delicious food and sweet fellowship.

But thankfulness should not be relegated to only one grand Thursday in November.  Gratitude is “an indispensable manifestation of virtue, and an integral component of health, wholeness, and well-being.”

So, how does thankfulness play a part in your wellness?  And how can one go about attaining an attitude of gratitude?

One way to focus on thankfulness is to keep a gratitude journal.  A gratitude journal does not have to take too much time out of your day, and could be done in a simple notebook beside your bed, or in a list kept in your computer.  Research has shown that people who kept a gratitude journal on a weekly basis “exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events”.

Another interesting result of the gratitude journal is that research participants were also more likely to progress toward important goals involving academic achievements, inter-personal relationships and physical well being

Further research showed that “grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, optimism, and lower levels of depression and stress. Grateful individuals place less importance on material goods; they are less likely to judge their own and others’ success in terms of possessions accumulated; they are less envious of others; and are more likely to share their possessions with others relative to less grateful persons.”

Practice gratefulness every day of the year, and not just in November.  Your mind and your body will be healthier for it.

(Quoted items are from “Highlights from the Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness Dimensions and Perspectives of Gratitude” Co-Investigators: Robert A. Emmons, University of California, Davis, and Michael E. McCullough, University of Miami)

---

Dr. Robert Patterson Reviews How to Beat the Holiday Blues

November 17th, 2010

By: Dr. Robert Patterson

November is on its way, but everywhere you go, the holiday season seems to be in full swing. The stores are decorated, the toy catalogs have arrived, and Christmas music is playing on the radio 24 hours a day. For some people this time of year is full of anticipation and joy, while for others the holidays bring on stress, anxiety and depression.

Although holiday stress can affect anyone, the American Psychological Association (APA) found in a recent survey that women are more likely than men to report increased stress during this time of the year. Women are also less likely to take time to relax or to manage stress in healthy ways. “Holiday blues” may occur when expectations of joyful family gatherings are not met, finances are difficult and when fatigue sets in from trying to do too many things in too little time.

The following tips may help you avoid the pitfalls of becoming too “wrapped up” in the holidays to actually enjoy them:

1. Be realistic. That may mean altering your expectations or tightening your budget. Spending time together as a family and making memories is much more valuable than any amount of money spent on material things.
2. Maintain your normal routine.  If you have begun an exercise program, don’t use this time of year as an excuse to forego your workouts.  Exercise is a great natural stress-reliever.
3. Pay attention to your body.  Make sure you are getting enough sleep and take special care to eat right.  A healthy body is more able to deal with stress.
4. Prioritize.  You really don’t have to attend every event to which you are invited.   Choose the most meaningful gatherings and graciously decline the rest.
5. Start new traditions.  The holidays can be particularly painful if you have recently lost a close family member or friend.  You may want to find a way to recognize that person during this time.

Take time for yourself, enjoy the meaning of the season and don’t let stress and anxiety take away from this unique time of year.  You may just find yourself having a truly happy holiday.

(Some material provided by the APA Website)

---

HOW TO RUN OUTSIDE & STAY MOTIVATED THIS WINTER – SIMPLE STEPS TO STAY PHYSICALLY FIT

November 17th, 2010

By: Dr. Robert Patterson

As we approach winter, I am finding it harder to exercise regularly.   Although I generally exercise after work, the days are becoming shorter.   I prefer running outside, but I don’t like to run in the cold weather or in the dark.  I think a lot of people are just like me and start slipping into a rut. As the holidays approach, people become busier and find more excuses not to exercise.

I read an article on MSN.com that gives us additional motivation to keep up with our exercise programs.

A study was just released in The British Journal of Sports Medicine.  It was found that the frequency of colds in people who exercise at least 5 days per week was up to 46 percent less than in people who exercise one day or less per week.   In addition, the severity of symptoms decreased at least 32 percent in the fittest people who still experienced cold symptoms.

Exercising now may not only improve your health, but may keep you from ruining the upcoming holiday season!

---

Overland Chiropractic’s Annual Canned Food Drive Posted on Yahoo Finance

November 10th, 2010

Posted By: Dr. Robert Patterson

Overland Chiropractic’s annual canned food drive was featured in a press release that was posted on finance.yahoo.com. Dr. Robert Patterson reviews National Hunger Awareness Month and reminds people of the importance of nutrition.

---

OVERLAND CHIROPRACTIC SPONSORS 3RD ANNUAL CANNED FOOD DRIVE TO SUPPORT HARVESTERS

November 3rd, 2010

Overland Chiropractic is Sponsoring our 3rd Annual Canned Food Drive to Benefit and Support

Harvesters

Kansas City’s Only Food Bank

Your Donation makes a Difference!



Because of your help, last year we were able to provide 192 meals to our local community in Kansas City, MO.

Most Needed Food Items

• -Canned Vegetables
• -Canned Fruit
• -Boxed Meals
• -Canned Meats/Tuna
• -Peanut Butter and Jelly
• -Canned Soup
• -Hot and Cold Cereal

Most Needed Household Supplies

• -Soap
• -Deodorant
• -Shampoo
• -Toilet Paper

No Glass Please

---

DR. ROBERT PATTERSON’s REVIEW of FAMILY HEALTH MONTH posted on msnbc.com

October 25th, 2010

Dr. Robert Patterson’s recent review of Family Health Month was featured in a press release that was posted on msnbc.com.

Internal Health Specialist and Overland Park Chiropractor Dr. Robert Patterson advises families to examine their lifestyles, considering such health factors as their eating habits, stress and physical activity. He offers a free online family health assessment. Dr. Patterson encourages families to communicate with each other and focus on healthy living this month.

---