 News from
the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Less
Stress Is Possible!
 APRIL 12, 2001 | The topic of stress
management attracted a crowd to the UAMS-Arvest
Women's Forum on Monday.
A UAMS
psychiatrist presented the secrets to “true
happiness” while a banker gave practical
ideas for preventing financial stress. Anne
Jansen of KTHV-TV (Ch.11) was the moderator for
the program.
“Ask
yourself, `Whose dream am I living?'”, Linda
Worley, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry
and behavioral science in the UAMS College of
Medicine, told the audience. Stress can result
from focusing on pleasing others rather than
living one's own dreams, she said.
Dr. Worley also emphasized that men and women
should recognize and express their emotions
instead of suppressing them. She identified the
seven normal emotions: happiness, acceptance,
anger, fear, sadness, surprise, and disgust.
Women tend to disguise anger, while men tend to
ignore feelings of fear or sadness. However,
burying such emotions can lead to stress, she
said.
Dr. Worley
suggested beginning each day by examining how one
feels and acknowledging negative emotions such as
fear or sadness. Expressing the emotions to
“safe” persons can help. Dr. Worley
also recommended consciously turning negative
thoughts into positive thoughts: “Instead
of, `That car wreck up ahead is going to make me
late to work,' think “I'm so lucky I wasn't
in that wreck!'”
Kelly F. Brown, a
senior vice president of Arvest Central Bank,
drew almost nonstop laughter with a presentation
about personal finances. Between jokes about
shopping, she recommended that individuals
eliminate credit card debt and save or invest
each month. In reducing consumer debt, Brown said
it is effective to pay off the lowest balance
first and then reapply that monthly payment to
the next lowest balance, entirely eliminating one
department store or bank card at a time.
Brown also discussed refinancing home mortgages,
suggesting that refinancing can be cost-effective
if the homebuyer is able to reduce the mortage
rate by 2 percent or more.
During the program, Arvest Central Bank presented
a gift of $4,500 to the UAMS Women's Health Care
Initiative. (See related story.)
The Women's Forum is a project of the University
of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and
Arvest Central Bank. Monday's program was the
third in a spring series. The Junior League of
North Little Rock provided lunch, featuring
dishes from its new cookbook, Natural
Temptations.
The final spring
program will be “Maturing
Gracefully”, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Thurs., May
10, at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging on
the UAMS campus. Refreshments will be served
before the program and door prizes will be given.
The forum will be free and open to the public. To
reserve seats, call 501-526-6190 and leave a
message or send an email to Carla Alexander.
Top photo: Seminar attendees focus on
speaker Kelly Brown.
Linda
Worley demonstrates the emotion of anxiety.
Speaker
Kelly Brown and moderator Anne Jansen take a
break after the presentations.
North Little Rock
Junior League members fix homemade lunch plates
for attendees.
Links in This Article
UAMS Women's Health Care Initiative: http://womenshealth.uams.edu/initiative.htm
Maturing Gracefully: http://womenshealth.uams.edu/forum/forum5-10-01.htm
Carla Alexander: AlexanderCarlaA@uams.edu
04/12/01
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