October 6, 2025 • 7 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up, folks. Matti Wills here with a brand new
episode to Be Well with Mattie Wills, brought to you
by our good friends at Metro Health. We're each episode
we talk about a different mental health, physical health, all
types of health topics with a variety of wellness experts.
And today we have my good friend Christy Zavarella here
to talk to us about how to break the cycle
(00:21):
of stressing ourselves out, a conversation that I sorely need
to have and I'm gonna get some good advice today.
But first and foremost, how are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'm doing well. How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I'm doing great? Thank you so much. We know that
you guys are extremely busy, so we always appreciate every
moment that you can give to us, not only for us,
but obviously for our listeners and our viewers as well.
And before we get into today's topic, why don't you
just give our listeners just a beat about your journey
into Metro Health, what you do here, how you got here,
(00:52):
and all that good stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Sure. So, I am the clinical operations manager for the
outpatient program at Metro Health, and I've been with Metro
for two years. But Prior to that, I was with
a different hospital system for over twelve years doing impatient
psychiatric work. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I also saw that you are a Cleveland State University.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Great Cleveland State Alone.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
I didn't go there, but I have several friends that
went there, So yeah, shout out to the.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Stops, all my my alone.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
There you go, you go true Cleveland or here, So
we'll just dive right in. Okay, why do people have
a tendency to overthink things?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, you know, as human beings, we're kind of hardwired
to be problem solvers. You know, from the time we
were cave people gathering, hunting, running away from saber tooth tigers.
You know, there's we're always having to plan, always having
to create a plan for the worst case scenario. So
(01:59):
our brains are just hardwired to think things through to
become problem solvers, to say, Okay, this is an issue,
how am I going to solve it? How is it
going to get worse in the future. So we're just
kind of constantly on these problem solving tasks.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Yeah, and it's it's kind of a simple question, but
the answer can be very complex because just like you
lay it out every day, that's basically what we're doing
all day is trying to problem solve, and if you
have a lot of problems, then could be easy to
overthink some of those things. Makes perfect sense. What effect
does negative stress and anxiety have on our bodies? Though?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
It can have It can wreck havoc on your bodies,
you know, and if you think about stress, it has
several different levels, you know. So at the very highest level,
you have your anxiety and panic. You know, so some
people are so anxious that they have what they call
panic attacks, which makes you literally feel like you're going
(03:03):
to die. Your your heart rate goes up, you get
the chest tightness, shortness of breath, sweating, you know, all
of these things that can really feel like art attacks.
So that's terrifying. And that's so that's like the highest
level of what can happen to your body under extreme stress.
But at a at a lower level where most of
(03:24):
us live, you know, when we're thinking about the deadline
that's coming up, or the emails that we have to answer,
or you know, all these things that long term, low
level stress can cause heart problems down the road, high
blood pressure, you know, it can it can make your
(03:44):
immune system a little less effective, so you get sick
more often. So yeah, stress can definitely have a significant
effect on the body.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
And it sounds like a like a snowball effect as well, right, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
I mean longer you allow stress to eat away at you,
the more your body is going to break down, right,
which which is why it's important to get that taken
care of.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Absolutely. So what are some ways that you would suggest
that we can get that stress lower?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Well, there are things we can do on our own,
you know, because you don't always need professional help, but
so on your own, there are several what they call
grounding techniques or you know, mindfulness techniques are kind of
in the same realm, and these are techniques that you
(04:35):
can use on your own to kind of calm yourself.
And the idea behind all of these techniques is just
taking a step back from whatever you're looking at, whatever
you're dealing with, and just connecting to the moment, being
in the moment, like I'm just here in this room,
(04:55):
this is the only moment I have at the moment,
and just living in that moment. And are ways you
can do that. One technique that I like to give
to my patients when I see them or to friends
who ask is the five four three two one method?
And what that is? It's a mindfulness technique. Uh, you're
(05:17):
sitting in a place like we're here in a studio.
I would if I were to employ this technique, I
would name five things I can see, four things I
can hear, three things I can feel, two things I
can smell, and one thing I can taste. And the
idea behind that is, you know, we are so much
(05:39):
living in our heads. We're like thinking about tomorrow. I
got this deadline, I got this going on, or you're
thinking about your past. Oh I messed this up. You know.
To get yourself back into the present, you force your
brain to notice your surroundings. And you're doing this in
a way that is not judgmental, but you know you're
(05:59):
not You're not complaining, You're just noticing. And by the
time you have told yourself stories about the five things
you can see, four things you can hear, and so on,
you're in a little bit calmer place.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
That is really interesting because I don't remember exactly how
you you termed it, but forcing yourself to kind of
be present and then acknowledging things through sight, smell, whatever,
that you there's no wiggle room on it right, which
kind of makes you get out of the mental space
(06:35):
of what's going on tomorrow or yesterday or whatever and
be right here, right now. And apparently that has what
you would call it a calming effect.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Calming or sometimes they call it grounding. That's kind of
the technical term for it. Yeah, you're just grounding yourself
back in reality, back in the present.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
If you're experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety that
interfere with daily life, the Metro Health team is here
to help. You can always call two one six seven
seven eight four four two eight to book an appointment today.
She's Christy Zavarella. I'm Maddie Wills. Thank you for joining
us with another episode of Be Well with Maddie Wills,
brought to you by Metro Health. Thank you.
What's up, folks. Matti Wills here with a brand new
episode to Be Well with Mattie Wills, brought to you
by our good friends at Metro Health. We're each episode
we talk about a different mental health, physical health, all
types of health topics with a variety of wellness experts.
And today we have my good friend Christy Zavarella here
to talk to us about how to break the cycle
(00:21):
of stressing ourselves out, a conversation that I sorely need
to have and I'm gonna get some good advice today.
But first and foremost, how are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'm doing well. How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I'm doing great? Thank you so much. We know that
you guys are extremely busy, so we always appreciate every
moment that you can give to us, not only for us,
but obviously for our listeners and our viewers as well.
And before we get into today's topic, why don't you
just give our listeners just a beat about your journey
into Metro Health, what you do here, how you got here,
(00:52):
and all that good stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Sure. So, I am the clinical operations manager for the
outpatient program at Metro Health, and I've been with Metro
for two years. But Prior to that, I was with
a different hospital system for over twelve years doing impatient
psychiatric work. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I also saw that you are a Cleveland State University.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Great Cleveland State Alone.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
I didn't go there, but I have several friends that
went there, So yeah, shout out to the.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Stops, all my my alone.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
There you go, you go true Cleveland or here, So
we'll just dive right in. Okay, why do people have
a tendency to overthink things?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, you know, as human beings, we're kind of hardwired
to be problem solvers. You know, from the time we
were cave people gathering, hunting, running away from saber tooth tigers.
You know, there's we're always having to plan, always having
to create a plan for the worst case scenario. So
(01:59):
our brains are just hardwired to think things through to
become problem solvers, to say, Okay, this is an issue,
how am I going to solve it? How is it
going to get worse in the future. So we're just
kind of constantly on these problem solving tasks.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Yeah, and it's it's kind of a simple question, but
the answer can be very complex because just like you
lay it out every day, that's basically what we're doing
all day is trying to problem solve, and if you
have a lot of problems, then could be easy to
overthink some of those things. Makes perfect sense. What effect
does negative stress and anxiety have on our bodies? Though?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
It can have It can wreck havoc on your bodies,
you know, and if you think about stress, it has
several different levels, you know. So at the very highest level,
you have your anxiety and panic. You know, so some
people are so anxious that they have what they call
panic attacks, which makes you literally feel like you're going
(03:03):
to die. Your your heart rate goes up, you get
the chest tightness, shortness of breath, sweating, you know, all
of these things that can really feel like art attacks.
So that's terrifying. And that's so that's like the highest
level of what can happen to your body under extreme stress.
But at a at a lower level where most of
(03:24):
us live, you know, when we're thinking about the deadline
that's coming up, or the emails that we have to answer,
or you know, all these things that long term, low
level stress can cause heart problems down the road, high
blood pressure, you know, it can it can make your
(03:44):
immune system a little less effective, so you get sick
more often. So yeah, stress can definitely have a significant
effect on the body.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
And it sounds like a like a snowball effect as well, right, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
I mean longer you allow stress to eat away at you,
the more your body is going to break down, right,
which which is why it's important to get that taken
care of.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Absolutely. So what are some ways that you would suggest
that we can get that stress lower?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Well, there are things we can do on our own,
you know, because you don't always need professional help, but
so on your own, there are several what they call
grounding techniques or you know, mindfulness techniques are kind of
in the same realm, and these are techniques that you
(04:35):
can use on your own to kind of calm yourself.
And the idea behind all of these techniques is just
taking a step back from whatever you're looking at, whatever
you're dealing with, and just connecting to the moment, being
in the moment, like I'm just here in this room,
(04:55):
this is the only moment I have at the moment,
and just living in that moment. And are ways you
can do that. One technique that I like to give
to my patients when I see them or to friends
who ask is the five four three two one method?
And what that is? It's a mindfulness technique. Uh, you're
(05:17):
sitting in a place like we're here in a studio.
I would if I were to employ this technique, I
would name five things I can see, four things I
can hear, three things I can feel, two things I
can smell, and one thing I can taste. And the
idea behind that is, you know, we are so much
(05:39):
living in our heads. We're like thinking about tomorrow. I
got this deadline, I got this going on, or you're
thinking about your past. Oh I messed this up. You know.
To get yourself back into the present, you force your
brain to notice your surroundings. And you're doing this in
a way that is not judgmental, but you know you're
(05:59):
not You're not complaining, You're just noticing. And by the
time you have told yourself stories about the five things
you can see, four things you can hear, and so on,
you're in a little bit calmer place.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
That is really interesting because I don't remember exactly how
you you termed it, but forcing yourself to kind of
be present and then acknowledging things through sight, smell, whatever,
that you there's no wiggle room on it right, which
kind of makes you get out of the mental space
(06:35):
of what's going on tomorrow or yesterday or whatever and
be right here, right now. And apparently that has what
you would call it a calming effect.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Calming or sometimes they call it grounding. That's kind of
the technical term for it. Yeah, you're just grounding yourself
back in reality, back in the present.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
If you're experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety that
interfere with daily life, the Metro Health team is here
to help. You can always call two one six seven
seven eight four four two eight to book an appointment today.
She's Christy Zavarella. I'm Maddie Wills. Thank you for joining
us with another episode of Be Well with Maddie Wills,
brought to you by Metro Health. Thank you.
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