Life by Design offers classes aimed at reducing stress

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    Every one has a “trigger” that thrusts them into a certain behavior. That behavior/reaction has a consequence and the consequence then an outcome.
    For a majority of people, stress is the trigger for many adverse manners, as people do not inherently know how to combat anxiety, worry, tension or strain.
    Life By Design is offering a series of educational classes on “Finding Peace in a Stressful World” for those in the public of any age.
    The classes are sponsored by Youth By Design, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting new ways of bringing alternative health ideas into the community.
    “We see a widening gap of people who do not have any insurance, but have a lot of needs,” said Phil Jurson, LADC. “This is the initial step into the community.”
    The series will be held on four consecutive Tuesday nights from 6:30-8 at the Life By design office at 18 High St. in Houlton. The educational sessions are free, however donations will also be accepted.
    “Donations to support the idea,” said Deb Gray, MSW, LADC “The money will be used to promote educational information into the community and to grow programs.”
    The first session is entitled “Peace of Mind, how to remain centered in this stressful society,” followed by “Helping the body say ‘yes,’ how we physically react to emotional stressors.” The third session is “Peaceful Parenting, how to deal with adverse childhood events in both the parent and child” and the final discussion will be a “Peaceful Tools Workshop, real tools to implement coping skills to manage stress.”
    “Let’s talk about what can be done to help,” Jurson said. “Let us show you some different coping skills.” The series will help people find their way without a counselor to help their own physical and mental health, as well as substance abuse health.
    “One cause of substance abuse is ‘I feel lousy,’” said Jurson. “Someone tries a pill and it feels good. The person is addicted to the feeling, along with the biological effects. When coming off, people think they need to go back to the way they felt before … sad or anxious. Ninety-six percent of my clients who are opiate/painkiller addicts suffer from a tremendous amount of racing thoughts.”
    But, the body demands more pills to ease the stressor and the endless cycle begins.
    “Then they are out doing crimes,” Jurson added. “We want to give them other ways to handle those racing thoughts besides a pill.”
    Recognizing many people either do not have insurance or have a high deductible, Life By Design is looking for a way to help those who need help.
    “How do we help people who do not have access to anything?,” asked Gray. “How many are reaching out to access service? We want to offer another piece, an out-of-the-box intervention, albeit, not an evidence-based practice.”
    Gray and Jurson both have additional training, as Gray is studying the mind, body, medicine PhD and Jurson has done a lot around nutrition. Both have background in energy medicine, which is not a standard treatment.
    The free sessions are strictly educational based, no private information will be shared, and the sessions are to help family, friends or guardians, along with anyone with an addiction.
    “Our heart is to help the community,” said Jurson. “We have some severe substance abuse issues, in that, it never is strictly substance abuse alone, it is co-occuring. We want to free the guilt and shame that goes with this process.”
    “People are hurting,” said Gray. “We want others to look and go ‘there is a person under there, not a drug, but a person who needs help.’ We need to really prevent [addictions] and do harm reduction around young families, stressed out families.”
    Though some people may be predisposed genetically, others through stress or trauma have the “switch” turned on.
    “Not everyone gets the switch turned on,” Gray said. “But, if we can stop the switch from even being turned on we’d be a healthier group of people.”
    The series will begin the Tuesday following the publishing of this article. Organizers ask that anyone thinking about attending any of these sessions to RSVP by calling 532-9600. Space is limited.