Tag: laughter therapy

EOLPodcast

Ep. 344 Tools for Caregivers to Manage Stress and Increase Joy with Roger Moore

kwyattmd

Learn some quick and easy stress management tools to improve health and joy during challenging times.

My guest Roger Moore is a certified hypnotherapist who helps people at the end of life with anxiety, depression, pain and other symptoms. His latest book Becoming the Greatest Expression of You contains tips and practices for overcoming the shame and fear of the past to live life more joyfully now. He discusses how these stress-reducing practices might help caregivers stay healthier as they offer care and support to their loved ones. These suggestions are also perfect for all of us as we navigate the stresses of life. Learn more at Roger’s websites:

www.palmdeserthypnosis.com

Get the book here

Read the transcript

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How we can rewire the brain even until the moment we die
  • How to experience joy even during times of pain and difficulty
  • When we are able to recognize the presence of stress in our bodies we can more easily shift out of it into a state of joy
  • How laughter can change an entire day
  • Using a practice of “mental rehearsal” to envision things going well instead of badly
  • How caregivers can learn to ask for help from others
  • Simple tips for using meditation to help with stress
  • The importance of practicing gratitude every day
  • How to use self-forgiveness to move past blame and shame when things go wrong

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast, Grief, Spirituality

Ep. 298 Loss Without Sadness: Another View of Grief with Jennifer Mathews

kwyattmd

Learn how for some of us it’s possible to experience grief without being sad and why that’s okay.

My guest Jennifer Mathews is a founding member of the Ashland Death Cafe and the Living/Dying Alliance of Southern Oregon. She is on a mission to shift cultural messages that hold us back from joy and to help us rethink grief and how we respond to death. She shares with us why we need to prepare for loss by developing tools that allow us to cope better. Based on her popular TEDxTalk “Death is Inevitable – Grief is Not” she also proposes the controversial idea that grief doesn’t have to be sad and it’s okay for each of us to have our own unique experience after the death of someone close to us. Learn more about her work at her website:

www.JenniferMathews.com

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What motivated Jennifer to rethink grief in her own life
  • How the language of grief can impact our expectations and experiences of grief
  • How some of our current models of grief may actually shame people who grieve differently for not being “sad enough”
  • There are many ways to respond to death and grief is just one of them
  • Adjusting to the loss of a loved one’s physical presence is not the same as grief
  • Why love does not always equal grief
  • Tools we can develop before a loss occurs to help us when we do encounter loss

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes! Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest supporter Judith Hillyard! Your contributions make all the difference!

EOLPodcast

Ep. 285 Laughter Yoga: Antidote to Burnout with Janet Carroll RN

kwyattmd

Learn about the power of laughter to reverse the effects of stress, improve our health and prevent burnout.

My guest Janet Carroll has had a dual career with 48 years in nursing and 35 years as a massage therapist, which have given her not only decades of experience in health services, but also a special insight into wellbeing. She is also a certified Laughter Yoga Leader and Instructor and will share today how laughter can help us improve our health, prevent burnout, and find deeper joy in life. In addition, I will be hosting a free experiential webinar with Janet on Laughter Yoga on February 17th! Learn more about her work at her website:

www.janetcarrollrn.com

Janet-Carroll-4-slide-presentation-1Download

Register for the FREE webinar here!

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What exactly is laughter
  • Why you don’t have to be happy in order to laugh
  • The history of Laughter Yoga
  • The catastrophic effects of stress on the body and how laughter counteracts them
  • The benefits of laughter for individuals and groups
  • How Laughter Yoga can help prevent burnout
  • Why it’s better to laugh out loud than to laugh internally
  • What you’ll learn at the upcoming FREE webinar with Janet

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes! Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest supporters Jen Davidson, Alissa Silva and Brittany J. Ellis! Your contributions make all the difference!

End of Life, EOLPodcast, Hospice

Ep. 104 Alternative Remedies for Pain

kwyattmd

Learn about 10 alternative remedies that are helpful for chronic or terminal pain.

PodcastPain

In this episode I’ll share some insights about pain management from a recent blog I wrote in response to the opioid crisis in the U.S. I’ll cover 10 alternative remedies for pain that can be used alone or in conjunction with pain medication. Read the companion blog here (includes links to sources.)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

If you missed “An Evening with Ira Byock MD” you can still sign up to listen to the replay. Just click here to submit your email address and you’ll receive the link to listen.

Patreonbecome2xThanks to all of my supporters on Patreon.com/eolu who generously contribute every month to help keep this podcast and the End-of-Life University Interview Series on the air! If you’d like to become a Patron for just $1 or $2 per month go to Patreon.com/eolu and join the fun! You’ll receive access to our monthly Hospice Happy Hour Q&A session, the Top 10 Interviews from EOLU, I’ll also promote your website, business, organization, book, etc. related to the end of life on this podcast.

In personal news, I’m busy preparing for my trip to Italy where I’ll be traveling for a month and writing a new book about grief. You can check out my travel plans on my Pinterest board and follow my journey on Instagram and Facebook.

FEATURED PRESENTATION:

The current opioid crisis in the U.S. has reached epidemic proportions and prescription drug-related deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities and gun deaths. This crisis has been  partly fueled by the pressure placed on physicians two decades ago to do a better job of treating pain. Since that time the trend has been for doctors to hand out prescriptions for powerful and addictive opioids for relatively moderate pain when those drugs should be reserved for intractable pain from serious or terminal illness.

As a response to this epidemic I discuss 10 alternative therapies which can help with pain management that can be used alone or in combination with medications. These remedies can decrease the need for drugs and will help improve wellbeing and decrease stress as well:

  1. Laughter
  2. Music
  3. Exercise and stretching
  4. Massage
  5. Guided imagery
  6. Coloring
  7. Deep breathing
  8. Loving relationships and sexual intimacy
  9. Prayer and meditation
  10. Emotional Freedom Techniques (E.F.T.)

I’ll discuss each alternative along with the science that supports its use. Hopefully we can learn to manage pain in ways that support overall health of the whole person.

Tune in next week for another episode! Until then …

Face Your Fear.                    BE Ready.                        Love Your Life.

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