Dr. Wendy Garvin Mayo: The Stress Solutions Strategist

[00:00:00] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah, think about what you're good at, what you enjoy. Um, what brings you, what brings you joy? What makes you happy? You know, when was the last time you were happy? Have you been working in a job for 10, 20, 30 years and you've been miserable? Like, when was the last time you were happy? Uh, really finding that.

[00:00:17] How do you serve the world and you feel good about it? You know that feeling you get when you're doing something that is just like so enjoyable? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It just, it kind of lights you up. What's that thing that really lights you up? And sometimes you have to think about it, you know, when was the last time you were lit up?

[00:00:33] Tina: I'm Dr Tina Kaczor 

[00:00:35] Leah: and I'm Dr Leah Sherman 

[00:00:37] Tina: And we're two naturopathic doctors who practice integrative cancer care 

[00:00:41] Leah: But we're not your doctors

[00:00:43] Tina: This is for education entertainment and informational purposes only

[00:00:47] Leah: do not apply any of this information without first speaking to your doctor

[00:00:52] Tina: The views and opinions expressed on this podcast by the hosts and their guests are solely their own 

[00:00:58] Leah: Welcome to the cancer pod 

[00:01:03] Tina: We're talking today with Wendy Garvin Mayo, she has a doctorate as a nurse practitioner. She's a distinguished healthcare leader with a career spanning over two decades across clinical leadership, research, academia, and pharmaceutical She has dedicated the majority of her career to caring for cancer patients directly and their family members as the accomplished author of shape your life five step blueprint for sustainable stress management.

[00:01:30] Wendy is deeply committed to enhancing the well being of the oncology community. She also has a podcast and she is the CEO and founder of the stress. Blueprint, as well as Collaborative Cancer Care, a program for both patients and their loved ones. Thank you so much for joining us, Wendy. 

[00:01:52] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited about our discussion today.

[00:01:55] Tina: And I feel funny calling you Wendy because I know that you have a doctorate and I want to say Dr. Garvin Mayo, but that's a mouthful every time. So if you don't mind that we call you Wendy, that would be great. Easy.

[00:02:06] Dr. Wendy Garvin: That is fine. That is fine.

[00:02:09] Tina: Okay. I want to, I want to make sure I'm being respectful. I don't want to be a presumptive. So, so yeah, there's a lot, you know, we did a little looking around online, all of your work, and I know you have a new book out and I want to get to that for sure. But give us a little background on, on exactly what The stress blueprint is I know that you this looking at stress as a component of people's lives Not just cancer patients, but people in general and optimizing their life through stress management it's basically what I see as your lifetime work right now.

[00:02:45] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah. So I am the stress solution strategist and I got into stress management during the pandemic. I was working from home in March of 2020, just had my son. I was working as a scientist, um, for a pharmaceutical company. And what I say is I was wrestling with my purpose. So I was really stressed out.

[00:03:06] Because I'm like, this virus is out there killing people. But I had the urge to go back to clinical practice. And I struggled with that decision for a very long time. And when I made the decision to go back, that really alleviated a lot of my stress. Um, so I went back to clinical practice to care for cancer patients, and that's when my whole life really changed.

[00:03:29] And I really saw that I have a bigger purpose in this world to serve. And I always tell people at that time is when I discovered that I can really have an impact on the world without being associated with an organization or a title, because it really lives within you. 

[00:03:45] Tina: Mm hmm. 

[00:03:46] Dr. Wendy Garvin: So that's when I started helping caregivers with, uh, stress management as well as healthcare professionals.

[00:03:52] And that's where the stress blueprint was born. We help healthcare professionals manage stress by leveraging emotional intelligence.

[00:03:58] Tina: Yeah, I guess let's start there What do you mean by emotional intelligence?

[00:04:04] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah, so emotional intelligence is a skill. Uh, people are hearing a lot about EQ, emotional quotients, and that is really having self awareness and self control or self regulation. That's one part of it. The second part of it is really having awareness of others. of others, emotions, behaviors, and thoughts.

[00:04:26] And being able to still cultivate a relationship. When we are stressed, we are not able to do that. We're not self aware, we feel like we cannot regulate ourselves, and we cannot, really care about what you're feeling or thinking, or even really cultivate the relationship that we wanna have with you.

[00:04:45] So that is emotional intelligence.

[00:04:46] It's really an awareness and a self control in order to cultivate relationships. 

[00:04:53] Tina: Yeah, and from a biological perspective because you also touch on kind of what happens when people are under stress You And so explaining that from a, from a biological perspective, what are the hormones doing and how that sense of lack of emotional intelligence is in some ways, allowing stress to create your reactions. 

[00:05:14] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Absolutely. Emotional intelligence allows you to respond. When we are stressed, we are just reacting. And I talk about stress because in our society, we kind of glorify stress without really understanding the impact it has on our lives. Right? Um, and our health, our mental and our physical health. Um, so it is important that we take stress very serious because we're in stressful times now.

[00:05:39] I just wrote an article about the election and stress, right? Making sure you're showing up the way you want to be seen in the world because as emotions get going, people start, uh, just reacting and not really responding. So, uh, yes, emotional intelligence is very important.

[00:05:56] Tina: Yeah. When I had, I had a social studies teacher in eighth grade who, whose mantra was mind in gear before mouth in motion

[00:06:04] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Mmm. Love that.

[00:06:06] Tina: stuck with me.

[00:06:08] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah! Yeah,

[00:06:11] Leah: applies, um, you know, the emotional intelligence, applies to not only the patients and the caregivers undergoing, you know, living with, you know, cancer treatment, um, or cancer itself, but also with the healthcare provider. So it's kind of, I mean, that's, that's across the board.

[00:06:29] That's not just, this applies only to one. One person, or, you know, one type of person. I mean, that's, I mean, you know, as a person who was working in cancer centers, you know, around cancer patients and dealing with my own stresses, you know, like, I mean, I, that's, yeah, no, that's, that's really interesting because that was something that I was curious about, you know, prior to you coming on.

[00:06:52] That's 

[00:06:53] Dr. Wendy Garvin: so that's a good point. So yeah the stress blueprint, uh, That coaching and consulting firm is geared towards health care professionals So we help health care professionals manage their stress manage burnout with emotional intelligence Collaborative cancer care is geared towards cancer patients caregivers and survivors.

[00:07:12] So that is our mental health Practice where we still implement some of the strategies and frameworks from the stress blueprint, but it's all all mental health. But I want to make that clear that the stress blueprint or is for health care professionals to manage themselves so they can actually provide the best quality care and show up that work to, you know, to really provide good care to their patients.

[00:07:35] So, yes.

[00:07:36] Leah: But I do love how you are working with the caregivers as well. The family members, you know, because everyone is dealing with the stress on different levels, you know, the way that affects, it affects everybody.

[00:07:52] Tina: Mm hmm. Mm 

[00:07:53] Dr. Wendy Garvin: and that's what I always say, a cancer diagnosis, I mean, everyone in the family is impacted, whether you live in the household with that person or not. And that's one thing I stress to healthcare professionals. When we're in the office or in an exam room with a patient, that patient has a village. So when the patient's in a room and they're diagnosed with cancer, you're talking to that one person, but it's going to have a ripple effect on their.

[00:08:17] They're their spouse, their children, their parents, their grandparents, their friends, their cousins. So many people are impacted. However, as healthcare professionals, we don't always take the time to understand that. or even provide support to those individuals. Many times we're focusing on the patient, the treatment, but I'm a big advocate that if patients aren't mentally sound, it's going to be really hard for them to really engage in treatment and have a good experience.

[00:08:49] And we know cancer, cancer treatment is not a good experience, but you want to make sure that patients have a mental stability, as I call it, on the journey.

[00:08:59] Tina: Yeah, and having the caregivers basically partake, loved ones, caregivers, whoever someone goes home to, I think, is still important. That would be nice if it was in all cancer centers where we kept in mind that patients, this is not an individual journey, that it's the, it's a family affair and it's definitely that household at the very least and you know, extended family and friends and such.

[00:09:22] And so it's a, it's an interesting approach to kind of make sure that your program includes the larger village. That's a, that's a really important piece that I think I agree is, is really missing because it's, it's, it's hard enough as a, as a clinician to talk to the people in the room. Cause there could be. You know, I've had in my, in my room, I've had families come with their spouse, two kids and a sister. I mean, there's like a line, a semi circle that I'm talking to and you can see by everyone's reaction, everybody needs something different said to, to feel supported. So. Yeah, that's a, what, what, what do you, what is collaborative cancer care about?

[00:10:00] You said it's based on the blueprint, but what exactly does it entail?

[00:10:05] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yep. So collaborative cancer care is a mental health practice curated specifically for cancer patients, cancer survivors, cancer caregivers, and their family members. We provide counseling, psychotherapy, medication management, education, advocacy, and resources. So we have built this practice and we are a brick and mortar.

[00:10:27] We also do virtual visits to really support cancer patients, the mental health of cancer patients and their family members.

[00:10:35] Tina: Okay. 

[00:10:36] Leah: So you do have virtual visits. And so this. Is something that people across the country can access.

[00:10:45] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yes. So we take insurance in the state of Connecticut. We take insurance, Medicare, Medicaid. However, we do have programs where we're able to service people nationwide. So anyone can call in, we have different programs for them. We can help them find resources. So we, our tagline is revolutionizing mental health and oncology.

[00:11:05] Uh, so really I truly believe that everyone who has. Encountered cancer, whether you or a loved one should have a mental health. Partner, I'm calling it to really navigate that. So I mean the healthcare system, the treatment, um, the anxiety, the depression, the uncertainty. And what makes our practice very unique and different is that, um, it's a mental health practice where we have social workers, we have marriage, family therapists, but you also have me, I'm an oncology nurse practitioner with many years of experience that can really help with the education, the advocacy, the resources, and also our therapist.

[00:11:46] Many of them are cancer survivors themselves or have been a caregiver for a parent. So we are really in this and we really, um, enjoy creating this space for, uh, the oncology community. 

[00:11:59] Tina: Yeah. I totally agree with you. I think it should be something that is in every cancer center, it should be offered support from whether, how people are trained and how they go about it. There's many different ways out there in, in the world, but something that allows people to talk about the emotional aspects of what is happening because it is unique and it's a unique challenge, even when people are, you know, together married for several decades.

[00:12:27] I mean, this could be the biggest challenge because it seems like everyone reacts differently and sometimes it brings a lot of, um, dynamics to a head, I would say. Mm 

[00:12:40] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah. And Tina, you bring up a good point because before cancer, people are dealing with, relationships and stressors, then you have cancer. Those things don't go away. They're, they're more so amplified. And you know, a lot of cancer centers, it's not that they don't want to do it or they are not aware of it.

[00:12:58] It's, it's resources. They don't have the partners. We have social workers, we have navigators that are short staff. They don't, they don't have the capacity. So You know, partnering with an organization like Collaborative Cancer Care or another mental health organization, there's a shortage of mental health professionals as well.

[00:13:17] Tina: But it, that would help. That would help. But we have to start somewhere. We, we have to start somewhere from an awareness and really advocating for which, right, for our patients. Well, it's interesting too, because I think to myself, we have a higher population of people who have gone through treatment, cancer survivors, in the United States than ever. And they're, they're going to grow because thankfully treatments have gotten better. Our, our diagnosis has gotten earlier for a lot of cancers.

[00:13:44] And so with that, It is interesting to me because I think of emotional intelligence as going far beyond the cancer diagnosis, right, and having ramifications for the rest of their lives on how they interact with people, all of us. I mean, the better our emotional intelligence, the more we probably can go about the world without as much stress.

[00:14:02] Right. Mm hmm.

[00:14:05] Dr. Wendy Garvin: you said something very key. Our cancer survivor population is growing, especially here in Connecticut, our breast cancer survivors, those numbers are really increasing, which is great. It's amazing. But we got to think about the quality of life of these individuals. Do they have the tools to really thrive, right?

[00:14:21] They, they went through this traumatic experience of diagnosing surgery, uh, radiation, chemo, all these things. Now they're here and you put them back out into the world with what? Right? So it's really providing that infrastructure for them to actually thrive.

[00:14:38] Leah: That's something that I see, not only in social media, um. but you know, my own personal experience is that, you know, when you're going through treatment, you're in go mode. I mean, it's this high stress, however you manifest that stress, you know, some people they're, they're cool as a cucumber and they just kind of go through it. But then when you're, you know, other people are stressed the whole way and you can see it, you know, it's palpable, but when you get through it and you start to look normal again, And you go back to work and everything starts to fit into place, it's like there's this release of what did I just go through,

[00:15:20] Tina: hmm.

[00:15:20] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah.

[00:15:21] Leah: know, and I think for many of the people that I speak with, that is harder than, Being in go mode

[00:15:32] where it's like, how do you deal with everything that happened to you?

[00:15:34] Everybody's acting normal again But I'm not the same person. Do I want to be the same person? You know, it's there's so much there What are? Some strategies that you use with your patients to help them to figure out where to go from that point

[00:15:59] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah. Yeah. So it's interesting that you say that. I want to just tell a quick little story and then I'm going to answer your question because it brought me back to a patient. I had a breast cancer patient who came in for her annual followup. This woman was dressed to the nines, had her suit on, her crispy white shirt, her heels, makeup looked beautiful, came into my exam room and just let loose.

[00:16:29] So stressed just about possibly at coming back. But if you look at her at work, she looks fine, but she was carrying that burden. And what we're doing here at collaborative cancer care, I'm glad you asked. We have developed the breast, cancer survivorship hub in that hub. It's not only our breast cancer support group, We also have stress management and self empowerment training.

[00:16:57] We also have health and wellness, um, education because as you know, as a survivor, there are different things you need in follow up in terms of health and wellness and also advocacy. How do you advocate for yourself? So that is a program we are starting to really help survivors thrive after treatment once they take a minute to really pause and really understand what they've been through.

[00:17:22] Yeah, and I think it also offers a reflection. On relationships. I mean, I am not a counselor. I am not a social worker. I refer to people like you, but it always seems like an opportunity of sorts to redefine relationships because you also have something monumental in your life that others will say, well, you know, she's more direct than she used to be, or, you know, a lot of, you know, Women say, yes, yes, yes.

[00:17:51] Tina: Kind of we're programmed to be accommodating in many ways. Um, and so I don't know, I just, I think that there's also a lot of opportunity by the time you get through treatment on the other side to say, to take a really good, hard look at things that maybe aren't serving you ways of being in the world or in your relationships.

[00:18:07] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah, I'm smiling because it's redefining who you want to be. How you want to show up in the world. We actually have a patient here at Collaborative Cancer Care who's part of our support group who said that she's so much stronger now and she's so much more blunt. Like she just kind of told people how it is, where to go, how to get there, you know?

[00:18:29] Uh, but. You know through her experience she has come to this new person where she used to be very kind of like She'll call herself like, you know awkward or just not wanting to say anything But yeah, and I always tell people, you know, whether you have cancer or not You can wake up any day and redefine yourself and reintroduce yourself to the world

[00:18:51] Tina: Yeah. I, I saw in a couple of your lectures, you had, um, purpose purpose was the keyword. And that struck me because, you know, we don't have, we have purpose, but there's terms in other languages. I know in Chinese that there's a, an entire kind of thought process around like, you must have purpose in life and you must know your purpose in order to be happy.

[00:19:13] Which I heard you saying in some of those, um, snippets that I saw on YouTube or wherever I was looking. I'm not sure where I saw it now.

[00:19:20] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah. Yeah. So purpose is very important to me. Uh, in March of 2020, like I said, I was wrestling with my purpose and I really understood my purpose to serve the world, as I say. Um, and I understand that feeling when you're aligned. So, uh, recently this week, actually, someone said, you seem so confident. You seem so confident.

[00:19:43] And I said, you must be saying that I'm truly aligned. I am truly aligned with my purpose to serve. I know who I'm serving. I know why I'm serving them. I know how I'm serving them. So purpose is so important and it really is a big thing and people think, Oh, I can only have one purpose. It shifts, but as long as you are aligned with it, you can show up in the world and you can just serve and you can just, and when I think of purpose, I think about how your gifts, we all have gifts, serves.

[00:20:13] people or serve society because our purpose is really for us, but not about us. It's how we serve the world. That's how I interpret purpose.

[00:20:25] Tina: Yeah. Yeah. It's a, it's a little bit of like the, the idea of self actualizing of taking your potentials and maximizing them. And then what I hear you saying is also pointing them towards the idea of serving others and community, which I agree is, is in the healthcare profession. I always call it a privilege because it truly feels like that.

[00:20:47] Like, oh my gosh, I get to help people. What a, amazing feeling that is. It's, you know, I'm not, I don't know, it's, it's, it's special. It's different than, than pushing paper, which I do also. Yeah, yeah,

[00:21:09] Dr. Wendy Garvin: when I was introduced to oncology as an undergrad in nursing school. I still remember him. He had pancreatic cancer, metastatic pancreatic cancer, and I thought I wanted to be a cardiac nurse. But, uh, my first clinical, I remember I could see his face, black gentleman, gray hair.

[00:21:26] And he said he had like 11 children, but he was there by himself, just him and I. And leaving that gentleman, it was just an honor and a privilege. to be in his life at that time. So people always ask, how do you do oncology? It's so sad. It's really not. It's really an honor. And I feel privileged. I feel privileged that I can be in someone's life at that time and just help make it a little better, a little better, a little shift.

[00:21:55] And, and that, that drives me like even saying that gives me chills, but it is an honor, truly an honor to serve cancer patients.

[00:22:02] Tina: totally agree. Now I want to go back to your finding your purpose, because now I'm curious. Was there a rock bottom you hit? Like, how did you make the switch? Cause I understand what you're saying. You were at a large pharmaceutical company doing research.

[00:22:16] I'm sure well compensated for your work. Cause you're at a large pharmaceutical company. There were, there were things about security there that I'm just going to assume. And then you said, no, I'm going to change gears. I'm going to go back to serving patients directly. And you connect what you knew, but how'd you get there?

[00:22:31] Mm

[00:22:33] Dr. Wendy Garvin: in March of 2020, I had that feeling in my gut right here, uh, about going back to the clinical setting in the middle of COVID. Um, when I started collaborative cancer care, I had that feeling again. And that feeling. I call it the shift where you have to make a decision. You have, you have to do something and that something is make the decision.

[00:22:58] So you make the decision and really bet on yourself. Um, and I think it's easier to do that when you have support. I want to say that. I have a husband who supports me 200%. I would not be able to do any of the work. Without him and his support Um, but you need the right support you need to have the right community You're you're aligned with people like minded people and you understand your purpose and your gift

[00:23:25] Tina: hmm.

[00:23:25] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Then you can make that shift and it's really betting on yourself.

[00:23:29] But as long as you're aligned you will definitely succeed

[00:23:32] Tina: Well, I commend the courage it takes to do that, because I don't, I think that many people feel something like that, and then their brain kicks in and says, Yeah, but, right? Yeah, but you've got a 401k. Yeah, but you've got three children to put through college. Yeah, but whatever the yeah, buts are, right? Like, there could be but really practical.

[00:23:53] Yeah, buts that That everyone says, and then you just kind of like stay Tom tamp that feeling down and just let it die on the vine or, you know, I think that most people, when they have that feeling, don't have, I want to call it courage, but maybe opportunity to 

[00:24:08] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Mm hmm. Yeah, it's not an easy decision because of those "yeah buts.". And those "yeah buts" are real, so I want to just go back and let everyone know that I never thought I would be here. This was never part of my dream board. My, my dream board was really just to be a nurse practitioner and care for cancer patients.

[00:24:28] And I'll tell you another quick little story. When I was a nurse in RN, I was motivated to go back to school to be an outpatient oncology nurse practitioner. And I did that. It got me through school. And I remember sitting in my little office with no windows in the corner and thinking that you made it.

[00:24:48] You did it. You are working your dream job. And then Don, who is a pharmaceutical rep from the pharmaceutical company I worked for, came in and asked me, you know, did I want to be a medical science liaison? I had no idea what that was, and I said no. I said I'm working my dream job. And he kept coming back.

[00:25:06] And then finally he told me that there was a position here in Connecticut. I applied, got the job, and made the switch. That was also a turning point in my life because I was able to really discover gifts and skills that I was not able to utilize in my dream job. So you collect all these skills. And really get an understanding of who you are and you use all those skills to put towards your dream, your purpose, how you serve, um, you know, align with other people.

[00:25:38] I had a business coach that, that really poured into me, that gave me that business acumen. I didn't, I didn't know anything about business. I didn't know anything about, you know, really serving on this. But it's crazy, but it's also just having faith in yourself and believing in yourself. That's what it takes

[00:25:57] Tina: And just in case we haven't said it yet, because I'm not sure if the listener has knows this, it's been 20 years that your career thus far. It's 20 years young and it keeps evolving and so, yes, you have collected some experience over a couple decades.

[00:26:11] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah, yeah, that's crazy That is crazy, yeah, but I truly believe everyone has the ability it's just Believing in yourself and again that comes with you know, really having good stress management Strategies going where stress is hard to make a decision 

[00:26:33] It's hard to, hard to make a decision. So, you know, that stress management is definitely key.

[00:26:38] Um, and especially with our cancer population as well, just kind of going back there. We, we know when they're stressed, it impacts their survival. There's research on this. It impacts their ability to, um, you know, choose a treatment, choose a clinical trial. It impacts their whole being. So it's really important that we take a step back and take a little extra time to address.

[00:27:01] stress, mental health in the oncology population.

[00:27:06] Tina: Yeah. And when you mention it affects outcomes, what do you mean? Like, is it anxiety? Is it depression? Is it what, how does it affect outcomes?

[00:27:16] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah, so chronic stress, uh, is associated with anxiety, with depression, with diabetes, with high blood pressure, with so many things. Um, so think about your body's already under attack with cancer. Those things are only going to be amplified if we are in this chronic stress cycle, as I like to call it.

[00:27:35] Tina: Mm

[00:27:36] Dr. Wendy Garvin: So patients aren't going to do well.

[00:27:37] There's research out there that, that looks at this, the impact of chronic stress on cancer patients. I was just looking at an article that said, um, I have to read it in detail, but it was saying that chronic stress, um, can contribute to tumor growth. And I want to see the pathophysiology of that because I'm like, Oh, that's interesting, but I want to like, look more into that.

[00:27:58] But we know without cancer, stress has an enormous impact on our body, right? We feel it. And the thing with stresses, I want to say this, the thing with stresses is that it's so detrimental, but it's intangible. You can't see it, right? You can't feel it, but it's like a phenomenon. Now we experience it. It's, it's fascinating.

[00:28:20] It's fascinating.

[00:28:22] Tina: Yeah, all these biometric devices. We're getting there. We're getting to the point where we can kind of see it. Um, it's not perfected yet, but things like heart rate variability. Um, I mean, sure heart rate just in general, we'll have some, some, um, association with our stress levels, but heart rate variability has been used a little bit depth of breathing, um, those kinds of things.

[00:28:43] So, as we, as we get our wearables dialed in and more precise, we might be able to track it better because there is a little bit of denial in all of us. Right? Because we're like, you said in the beginning, um, stresses glorified in a way, you know, people say I'm a type a personality. They don't say it of under their breath.

[00:29:00] They say it with pride.

[00:29:02] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah, Yeah, yeah, I work, I work well under pressure.

[00:29:05] Tina: yeah.

[00:29:06] Leah: Yeah. And I feel like that's happening less and less with younger generations. Um, I was talking to my husband about just like, what was expected of us from, you know, both of us being Gen X and you know, what was expected, you know, like you showed up for work early, you left late, like all of these things that that was ingrained in us.

[00:29:28] And so it was like this stressful lifestyle that. That was the norm, but I do feel like younger, younger people are more in tune with that and demanding more of a, um, a work life balance and Recognizing that they are stressed. Like I have several young people in my life who talk about their anxiety and what they're doing about it.

[00:29:54] We would never, I mean, you know, when I was, when I was younger, it was like, you know, well, I lived in New York, so most people were going to therapists, but it was just very much like, you weren't saying it's because you were stressed. Like, I don't really, I don't remember really using those words. It was more type A personality.

[00:30:15] So it is something I feel like it's being talked about more and younger people are kind of taking the reins on it

[00:30:21] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah, those are millennials and a lot of organizations and in the corporate world. They had a hard time accepting them, but you are right. They are taking charge of their Physical and mental health. And we are having a hard time with dealing with them, but I think it's something to be, it's something that I think we have to have an open mind about.

[00:30:41] Like, you know, you see all these webinars and articles on, you know, how do we attract millennials? How do we retain millennials? It's like, get with the program,

[00:30:50] Tina: Right. 

[00:30:51] Dr. Wendy Garvin: because yeah, and I think that's it. A lot of organizations have to take a look at how we have been doing things, right? Of working, you know, coming to work early, leaving late, doing all the things, multitasking and type A personalities, like, they are like, yeah, no, need a mental health day, right?

[00:31:08] So, 

[00:31:09] Tina: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Millennials and Gen Z now too. 

[00:31:12] Gen Z is out in the work world. And, and it's a totally different world. Like Leah said, then I can't imagine at 25 or 28 or whatever, needing, not needing it. Yeah. I might have needed it, but I can't imagine asking for it or get receiving a mental health day.

[00:31:29] You 

[00:31:29] know, it just wasn't. It wasn't a concept that everyone that anyone even brought up. We had no language for it. 

[00:31:37] Dr. Wendy Garvin: No. 

[00:31:37] Tina: know, went home and went out with your friends and got drunk.

[00:31:44] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Right.

[00:31:44] Tina: it. I think I, you know, I looked at, I looked at stats of alcohol consumption and it was really high for our generation when we were in our twenties.

[00:31:54] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah. Absolutely. And that is a way, not the way, but a way.

[00:31:59] Tina: it's, it's one of the self medications. And, you know, that is something we should, we could talk about, which it's tangential, but I think that Self medication is is a way people deal with their stress and whether it's alcohol or it's marijuana doesn't matter It's still a way to deal with it that I don't think is serving people's mental health in a general sense.

[00:32:19] It is a bandage 

[00:32:22] and a way to avoid having to delve deeply into the mental health issues that are going on that cause you to reach for whatever that is. So, it is something we probably could tackle it on another show with someone who does that kind of expertise. But I just want to say that because our listeners, I just made a joke about alcohol and I know it's not really a joking matter for a lot of people. 

[00:32:42] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah. No, absolutely. And I think that's where the self awareness comes in, you know, if you are self medicating in whatever way and, and people have. Uh, real addictions, um, that, you know, they really feel like they can't control, whether it's alcohol, whether it's drugs, whether it's, uh, food. That's another one.

[00:33:01] Um, you know, uh, so it is a serious problem, but it's understanding who you are. Where you want to be, when do you need help, and in the book that you refer to, uh, SHAPE YOUR LIFE, SHAPE is really an acronym. Um, and I talk about this in all of my, uh, my lectures, is it's the Story, the essence for story, understanding your story around stress or the situation, and really understanding how it's taking away from your goal, your purpose, so really honing in on that goal or purpose, or revisiting it.

[00:33:33] Many times we don't talk about purpose or even value. What are your values? How often do we think about that? And the A is for really Assessment, understanding or assessing what you already possess within yourself or what you need externally. Do you need community? Do you need a therapist? Do you need to make a phone call?

[00:33:52] What is it that you need? And the P is really a Plan, put in a smart plan, a specific, measurable, attainable, realistic plan to operationalize what you identified in the A, in the assessment. And E is to Execute that plan and do it today. One step, we call it micro shifts, make a micro shift towards that goal to help alleviate your stress so you can really get to that goal or that purpose. 

[00:34:19] Tina: So that's the SHAPE acronym, as in SHAPE YOUR LIFE, the book that you wrote. 

[00:34:24] Dr. Wendy Garvin: You got it. 

[00:34:25] Tina: what was the H though? I missed the H.

[00:34:27] Dr. Wendy Garvin: H is hone. Honing in on your purpose or your goal.

[00:34:31] Tina: Okay.

[00:34:32] Leah: and that's, that is what you, your book is, um, targeted for healthcare professionals, right?

[00:34:43] Dr. Wendy Garvin: The book is 

[00:34:43] for everyone.

[00:34:44] Leah: book is for everyone. Okay. So the Shape framework is for the cancer patient, the caregiver, survivor, and the oncology healthcare professional.

[00:34:55] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah, it's for everyone. Everyone has to understand their story. Everyone has to hone in on their goals and purpose. Everyone needs to do an assessment, develop a plan, and execute the Yes.

[00:35:06] Tina: the other, the other piece that I just wanna touch on is that you had a whole lecture at University of Connecticut called The Power of the Pause. What was this, the whole idea of, of making sure that you are, well, actually, I'll let you tell me what is that?

[00:35:24] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah, the power of the pause is, It's really giving yourself time to stop, um, and really think. We're so, uh, we're in go mode all the time. It's go, go, go, go. You're in routine, routine, routine, that you don't take a pause, and the pause is just time for you to sit and really think. What is going on? Where am I?

[00:35:47] Where am I going? Where do I want to go? What do I need? Do I need to pivot? You know? So it's really giving yourself the time. It's that time you give yourself to just really think. That's what it, that's, that's the pause to really implement shape or implement stop. Stop is another acronym we use, which is to literally stop, stay still, think about what's going on.

[00:36:12] What are your options? What's your plan before you proceed? So it's really giving yourself time and space. We, we don't do that enough in society. We, we have to stop and think and really figure out where are we, where are we going? And do we need to actually make a shift or are we on track and do that every so often?

[00:36:34] Cause sometimes it's just, I'm just doing, I'm just doing, I'm just doing. So some people don't even know what their goals are. Some people don't even know what their purpose is and that's okay, but just. Give yourself the time and space to just think about it.

[00:36:46] Tina: what's the saying? We're not called human doings. We're called human beings. So, yeah.

[00:36:50] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Absolutely. 

[00:36:51] Absolutely. 

[00:36:52] Leah: never, heard that. Yeah.

[00:36:57] Tina: it's something that we do have to carve out interestingly, right? Because we are so busy. Just, just be and sit. That's it. And I think some people find that time when they're praying or meditating, I think that is, opens up the space in our day to day, I think. 

[00:37:12] Yeah. 

[00:37:18] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah. Yeah. Or just writing. I always tell people, write your thoughts out. You know, I, I call it journaling, but 

[00:37:25] just writing. Just write some things down because many times things are just ruminating on things or just thinking about the same. Write it down. Create some space between you and your thoughts or you and your ideas, then you can actually do something with them, but get it out of your head.

[00:37:39] Tina: mm hmm. Mm

[00:37:40] Leah: addition to journaling, are there other tangible things that people can start doing to kind of help themselves, um, find their purpose?

[00:37:48] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah, think about what you're good at, what you enjoy. Um, what brings you, what brings you joy? What makes you happy? You know, when was the last time you were happy? Have you been working in a job for 10, 20, 30 years and you've been miserable? Like, when was the last time you were happy? Uh, really finding that.

[00:38:06] How do you serve the world and you feel good about it? You know that feeling you get when you're doing something that is just like so enjoyable? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It just, it kind of lights you up. What's that thing that really lights you up? And sometimes you have to think about it, you know, when was the last time you were lit up?

[00:38:21] Tina: Yeah, I actually had that conversation with a patient quite a few years ago. And she was in her 70s. And I asked her in a different words, I just said, you know, because she was very serious. And, you know, she was going through cancer treatment. Yes, that was very serious, but her family was serious. And she didn't have great support at home.

[00:38:38] And I said, what gives you joy? And she looked at me and she blinked a couple times. She said, I don't know. And so her, her assignment was to think about that. Like there was a time where you felt joyful of what were you doing? And she, she on her own decided to look up this type of yoga that is belly laughing.

[00:38:57] And. Apparently, Leah, you probably know more about this than I do. The act of belly laughing begets more laughter and joy. And so it kind of was, she was trying to pull this energy back into her day to day, like, where do you find that? And she said she felt ridiculous at first, but it really lightened her.

[00:39:15] And she started to really remember like how two decades ago, she used to like to go into the ocean or, you know, that kind of stuff. And it's, it's, it can be pretty profound that answering that question. I think for a lot of people.

[00:39:28] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yeah, I think you bring up a good point is being open. To trying new things. I think many times we know ourselves One way we want to project a certain way But we have to be open to trying different things like belly laugh and like yoga like meditation like journaling right like walking or exercising, uh, but but really because you never know which which you what may stick or Where you may feel like you're able to reconnect or think clearly But if we don't try it, then you never know.

[00:39:56] Leah: So being open to trying new things is also very important Is there anything else that you want to, um, talk about, anything, um, regarding, you know, whether it's something else from your book or from, um, collaborative cancer care? Is there anything else that you want to share with our audience? So

[00:40:18] Dr. Wendy Garvin: can connect and join the revolution? I think that's about it. Yeah. Yeah,

[00:40:24] Leah: you do, you do have a YouTube channel and that is geared more towards patients, caregivers, family, friends.

[00:40:32] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yes.

[00:40:34] Leah: And you have a podcast that is, um, the nurse wellness podcast.

[00:40:40] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yep. Nurse Wellness Podcast. We talk about everything stress management and emotional intelligence on that podcast. And the YouTube channel is the Collaborative Cancer Care YouTube channel, which is an educational resource for cancer patients, survivors, and healthcare professionals, because we have some things on there that can help you as well incorporate, um, you know, managing cancer patients and survivors in your office.

[00:41:04] Leah: And then your book.

[00:41:05] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yes, so, uh, Shape Your Life, the five step blueprint for sustainable stress management, that's on Amazon. Um, anyone can go and get a copy of that. And what's great about the book is that you have some reading and after each chapter you have an activity that's going to actually trigger you to really think.

[00:41:23] So stop, pause, and really start thinking about what you read and applying it to your life.

[00:41:28] Leah: Oh, that's great. So it's an interactive kind of can't move on to the next chapter until you complete this assignment 

[00:41:35] type of a thing. Oh, that's great. 

[00:41:38] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yep.

[00:41:38] Tina: I would encourage everyone to check out your podcast, wherever you're listening to this one, or if you're watching us on YouTube. Um, and you know, on our behalf, as well as, uh, Wendy's behalf, if you could hit the subscribe button or hit the follow button, that helps us out a lot.

[00:41:51] Other people. Can find us easier that way we're treated better by the algorithms. So I encourage people to go ahead and do that. And, um, yeah, thank you so much for taking the time and, and all the great work you're doing, which, you know, it's only since COVID that you've really dug your heels into this. So is the beginning of something that's only going to get bigger.

[00:42:13] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Yes, thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure to speak with both of you. Yes,

[00:42:20] Leah: is collaborative cancer care. com.

[00:42:23] Dr. Wendy Garvin: collaborativecancercare. com, please go on, book a consultation, or you can give us a call. Our number's on there. I would love to connect with anyone who's listening who wants more information.

[00:42:34] Leah: I think it's a fantastic resource. I'm so glad that you're doing what you're doing.

[00:42:37] Tina: Yes. 

[00:42:38] Dr. Wendy Garvin: Thank you Thank you. 

[00:42:41] Thanks for listening to the cancer pod. Remember to subscribe, review and rate us wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates, and as always, this is not medical advice. These are our opinions. Talk to your doctor before changing anything related to your treatment plan. The cancer pod is hosted by me, Dr.

[00:43:01] Leah Sherman. And by Dr. Tina Kaczor music is by Kevin McLeod. See you next time.