MAY 15, 2000
7
A message from the Tribal Safety Committee..
a i
It's spring in the Northwest and who wants to stay
inside? With trails to hike, rivers to cross, and urban
landscapes to explore, it's a great time to set some
health and fitness goals and map out a way to achieve
them.
"Many people who resolve to start exercising either
fail to set a goal or set one that's too ambitious," notes
Health net Oregon wellness specialist Camille Cadran.
"Before you start, it's a good idea to determine what
you want to accomplish. For example, is your primary
goal to lose weight, to increase strength, or to im
prove aerobic conditioning? Are you preparing for an
event like Hood-to-Coast or cycling across the Wil
lamette Valley? When you know where you want to
go, it's easier to follow the right path."
When setting your specific goals, be realistic: Set
goals that challenge you while remaining within your
reach. You'll be more likely to stick with your program
and set other healthy goals.
Targeting Your Heart Rate
An easy way to gauge whether you're exercising hard
enough is to keep your heart beating within your target
heart zone (THRZ). For beginners, the American Heart
Association sets 60 percent to 75 percent of maximal
heart rate as the normal target zone.
To find your THRZ, follow these steps:
1 Subtract your age from 220. (Using a 50-year-old
as an example: 220 - 50 170.)
2 Multiply the result first by .6 and then by .75 to
obtain the lower and upper limits of your THRZ.
(170 x .6 102 beats per minute. 170 x .75 127.5
beats per minute.)
3 To check that you're in your zone, take your pulse
during exercise. Count the number of beats in 15
seconds and multiply that result by four to determine
the number of beats per minute.
For more information, call Healthline at 1-800-567-4197,
select topic 1833 (fitness).
Reprinted from Being Well, Spring 2000.
Open your door and be counted
Census participation
is now critical
The Census Bureau recently started sending out per
sonnel to complete the Census and count those who
did not receive or return a census questionnaire. Over
$185 billion in federal funds will be distributed to states
and communities based on Census data.
Census personnel will knock on doors and make tele
phone calls until July 7. Census data is confidential.
By the law, the Census Bureau cannot share anyone's
information with any other agency, including the FBI,
INS, or the IRS. Census personnel will be easily rec
ognizable. If one comes to your door, he or she will:
Wear an easily recognizable red, white and blue
name badge.
Have a tote bag with "Census 2000" written
on it.
Carry official census forms.
Have a printed statement verifying that your
answers are confidential.
Never ask to come inside your house.
Never request Social Security, drivers license
or credit card numbers.
Have a local census telephone number you can
call to verify that he or she is a Census worker.
Over four million people were missed in the 1990
census, including many Native American families.
More than half of those missed were children.
To apply for a temporary job with the Census Bu
reau, call 1-888-325-7733.
Panic attacks? Panic disorder is the oolprit
Imagine you are in an airplane, jetting across
the United States. Suddenly, you have a sense
that something horrible is about to happen and
you are powerless to prevent it. Your heart is
pounding. You have chest pains. And, you can
not seem to catch your breath. There is a tingling
or numbness in your hands. And, you just know
you are going to die.
In the United States, more than 3 million people
will have this happen to them at some time in their
lives.
The place is unimportant. These symptoms can
occur while a person is walking, driving a car, or
riding in an elevator. If you have experienced
any of these symptoms, you might have had a bout
with a health problem called panic disorder.
This disorder typically begins in young adult
hood. But, older people and children can be af
fected. Women are twice as likely to have an at
tack as men. And, the first attack seems to take a
person completely by surprise.
According to the National Institute of Mental
Health (NIMH), unpredictability is one reason
panic attacks are so destructive. Initial attacks
can occur because of stress, from an overload at
work, after surgery, an accident or an illness.
Excessive use of caffeine can also trigger the at
tacks. Some people never develop a problem after
a panic attack serious enough to affect their lives.
However, for some the attacks continue and can
cause a lot of harm.
People who continue to have these attacks can
develop irrational fears called phobias. These pho
bias can cause people to avoid the situations they
feel will initiate another panic attack. Then, their
work might suffer because they are afraid to drive
a car. Or relationships may crumble because the
fears begin to rule the affected person and people
close to them. Night time may also be disturbed
because it is possible to have attacks in your sleep.
'' The disorder may progress to a more advanced
stage where a person becomes afraid of being in
any place or situation that might be difficult to
escape. This condition is called agoraphobia.
This phobia can cause people to fear crowds,
lines, shopping malls, and most forms of transpor
tation. Sometimes these people restrict themselves
to their neighborhoods or homes. These people
usually lead lives of extreme dependency as well
as great discomfort.
But, early treatment can keep the disorder from
progressing to the mature stages where agorapho
bia develops. And treatment can bring relief to
about 70 to 90 percent of the people diagnosed
with panic disorder.
The NIMH said before undergoing any treat
ment for panic disorder, a person should undergo
a thorough medical examination to rule out other
causes. After the examination and it is determined
that panic disorder is the culprit, research has
found a variety of treatments available.
Medications or psychotherapy are the two most
common treatments for the disorder. A combina
tion of the two has produced the best results, ac
cording to the NIMH.
Improvement is usually notice after about six to
eight weeks. The combination treatment usually
produces a low relapse rate. But if panic attacks
re-occur, the person should not despair but rather
re-seek help. Although the attack re-occurred,
most people are much better able to handle the
problem after treatment.
Reprinted courtesy of Jerilyn Ross, M.A., L.I.C.S.W., The
Ross Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Inc., Washing
ton, D.C. Adapted from Mathews et ai, 1981.
During a panic attack, some or all of the following
symptoms occur:
0 Terror a sense that something unimaginably
horrible is about to happen and one is powerless
to prevent it.
0 Racing or pounding heartbeat
0 Chest pains
0 Dizziness, light-headedness, nausea
0 Difficulty breathing
0 Tingling or numbness in the hands
0 Flushes or chills
0 Sense of unreality
0 Fear of losing control, going "crazy," or doing
something embarrassing
0 Fear of dying
iwiimMt (Mill tUjiflft
1 Remember that although your feelings and
symptoms are very frightening, they are not dan
gerous or harmful.
2 Understand that what you are experiencing is
just an exaggeration of your normal bodily reac
tions to stress.
3 Do not fight your feelings or try to wish them
away. The more you are willing to face them,
the less intense they will become.
4 Do not add to your panic by thinking about what
"might" happen. If you find yourself asking
"what if?" tell yourself "so what!"
5 Stay in the present. Notice what is really hap
pening to you as opposed to what you think
might happen.
6 Label your fear level from zero to ten and watch
it go up and down. Notice that it does not stay
at a very high level for more than a few seconds.
7 When you find yourself thinking about the fear,
change your "what if thinking. Focus on and
carry out a simple and manageable task such as
counting backwards from 100 by 3's, or snapping a
rubber band on your wrist.
8 Notice that when you stop adding frightening
thoughts to your fear, it begins to fade.
9 When the fear comes, expect and accept it. Wait
and give it time to pass without running away
from it.
Be proud of yourself for your progress so far,
and think about how good you will feel
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when you succeed this time.