The answer to Generation Burnout

The alarm goes off on a Sunday morning, you drag your zombie-like self to the kitchen where your true best friend resides, coffee. You guzzle the syrupy liquid before throwing yourself into the shower; step two of operation: Wake Up.

After serpentine driving maneuvers, a phantom of your former self sits hunched in front of a screen. Hours later you emerge from your cave (now well-fuelled with several more cups of caffeine) only to find yourself slithering through traffic once more. Your evenings are far from restorative – emails and phone calls keep you tied to the desk you left behind until you make your way back to the bed you didn’t have time to make that morning. And so the cycle continues.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. A recent survey shows that 71 per cent of women have suffered an anxiety or panic attack brought on by long working hours and everyday stress. This phenomenon is now so commonplace that the term Generation Burnout was coined, referring to millennials – those born between 1981 and 1995 – and the effect of the strain on their lives.

Even more worrying is that burnout among doctors has dramatically increased over the past three years – the very people who are responsible for our health are suffering from their own. A new study by Mayo Clinic in the US found more than half of physicians felt emotionally drained, ineffective and unmotivated.

Enter Urban Zen, an integrative therapy program founded by fashion designer, Donna Karan. After watching her late husband Stephan Weiss battle with lung cancer for seven years, Karan realized that his doctors were treating the disease and not the patient and it became her mission to “bring the care back into healthcare.”

For Weiss and Karan this meant more than just treating the patients, but also the doctors and nurses who were looking after them.

Karan turned to her long-time friends and renowned yoga teachers, Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee, to develop a program that brought holistic healthcare into hospitals. Immediately, the yoga and wellness community took notice. Yoga teachers who personally watched their students go through burnout wanted to offer more than just a traditional yoga class. Instead of rigorous asanas (postures), students can expect restorative yoga poses supported by props such as blankets, blocks, straps and bolsters peppered with compatible essential oils, Reiki therapy and body scan meditations.

Cairo West Magazine connected with Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee to talk about their journey into the creation and development of the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy program.

CWM: How did Urban Zen originate for both of you?

RY & CSY: We were friends with Donna Karan and her husband, Stephan Weiss. At the end of his life he asked Donna to take care of the nurses and help bring complementary healthcare to the healthcare system. In her work, she asked us what we were going to do about these situations – we ended up having a wellness initiative that lasted ten days with nurses, doctors and allied health professionals as well as yogis and other people involved in complementary healthcare. We decided that we needed to create Urban Zen Integrative Therapy and spent three years compiling the program and refining it.

How did you get the therapy from paper to the public?

We had our first training in 2009 with about 100 people that were pioneers in their own field and wanted to be a part of this movement. Now, in 2016 almost, we’re in many hospitals and schools and have several training programs in place. It’s a beautiful endeavor – we get letters every day with people saying that their lives have become better because of an Urban Zen Integrative Therapist in their hospital.

What are the benefits of having a combined holistic concept?

We were a little skeptical at first but when we gave the first training in 2009 and saw people in restorative poses with essential oils and Reiki, we realized that the sum was far greater than the addition of the parts. We’re realizing more and more that we can teach people small tools but in the combination of teaching the tools together they become far greater at what they can do for self care, for the care of their family and eventually, if they get trained enough, care in clinical situations.

Where do you see Urban Zen going internationally?

I believe that it will become almost like Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy, an integral part of every hospital, school and corporation. People need to learn how to take care of themselves and each other in really simple ways.

How do the modalities of Reiki, yoga therapy, essential oils, nutrition and contemplative care blend with modern medicine?

I think it’s a doorway to augmenting a lot of modern day healthcare with other practices from around the world that other societies and cultures have developed. Unfortunately, I think that post-industrialized nations tend to use Western medicine only and I think that is very limiting. Our world is now opening up to really cultivating wisdom from a lot of different cultures and beginning to look at healthcare in a much broader way. I think that is the future of healthcare and Urban Zen Integrative Therapy is a part of that paradigm.

How did Urban Zen move from a clinical setting to a yoga studio?

There were a lot of yoga teachers taking the classes, most of whom knew that restorative yoga is essential for our modern life. >>

It wasn’t popular yet because everyone wanted to get physically fit, lose weight and have good skincare but even from a scientific perspective, they are just now understanding the relationship between rest and health.

Tell us about the evolution of restorative yoga into Urban Zen as a full integrative therapy.

We started taking the restorative yoga poses that we knew and incorporating them with Urban Zen’s PANIC model (referring to pain, anxiety, nausea, insomnia, constipation and the more recent additions of sadness and exhaustion). We became specific about which poses, movements, oils and Reiki to do in different situations. Breaking it down in this way really helps people to realize what tools to use with each symptom. It’s the beginning of a great movement, of synthesizing our knowledge so that the everyday person can benefit every day.

How do you recommend people incorporate it into their busy day-to-day lives?

I would like to think that every household will have a little place where they can do a restorative pose every day or perhaps pick out an oil and use it. I wish that everybody would learn self-Reiki and then with all of these tools, understand the interrelatedness of these modalities – in a simple ten minutes, people can get restored. Personally, conflict happens a lot of times when I’m exhausted; I don’t think any of us do good work in the world when we’re exhausted. These aspects of the practices we brought together help restore the human being deeply, profoundly and quickly.

As the human impulse to move towards a healthy, long life grows so will the popularity of integrative medicine and holistic wellbeing. From cleaner eating to meditation and fitness, Cairenes are moving towards a wholesome, well-rounded lifestyle. In Colleen and Rodney’s words, “We have the solution, now we have to apply it into our everyday lives.”

Urban Zen is now available at On The Mat, Zamalek and Tūla, Mohandiseen.

Who doesn’t get common cold? It is one of the most common winter illnesses that lead to more doctor visits and absences from school and work than any other illness every year. But don’t worry, with this small guide, we will try to help you understand more about the common cold and how to prevent it.

Most children will develop around six to eight colds a year. This number increases for children who attend day care, but don’t let this increase your concerns about your child’s immunity. Colds may occur less frequently after the age of six. Children are most likely to have colds during fall and winter. The increased incidence of colds during the cold season may be attributed to the fact that more children are indoors and close to each other. In addition, humidity drops during this season, making the nasal passages drier and more vulnerable to infection.

Most colds are caused by viruses. In fact, there are over 200 types of virus that can cause an URI. This is why you can’t be immunized against colds. The flu vaccine only protects against influenza viruses that cause flu, not other viruses that can cause a common cold.

The viruses that cause colds are spread by sneezing, coughing and hand contact.

After the virus enters your child’s body, the body’s immune system begins to react to the foreign virus. This, in turn, causes:

• An increase in mucus production (a runny nose).
• Swelling of the lining of the nose (making it hard to breathe and causing congestion).
• Sneezing (from the irritation in the nose).
• Cough (from the increased mucus dripping down the throat).

Cold symptoms usually last from a few days to a week or more. Your child will usually recover fully without any problems.

Cold treatment

There is no specific treatment that can make the cold go away more quickly but there are several options that can help relieve symptoms:

• Paracetamol, given in recommended doses can help if your child has a fever or is in pain (if the fever lasts more than 48 hours, it’s best to see your doctor)
• Warm drinks, which can ease a sore throat and dry mouth
• Saline nasal drops or spray can ease a blocked nose.

Although it’s likely your child won’t be hungry, make sure he drinks lots of fluids so that he doesn’t get dehydrated. Your child’s appetite will come back as he starts to feel better.

You should avoid the following:

• Aspirin – it can cause your child serious illness
• Cough medicines – your child is coughing because her windpipe is irritated or has a lot of mucus, and cough medicines won’t help with either of these issues
• Decongestants (found in most of over the counter cold and cough preparations) – these have side effects such as rapid heart rate, jitteriness and insomnia.
• Antibiotics – colds are caused by viruses, so antibiotics won’t help. The development of thick yellow-green nasal discharge during a cold doesn’t necessarily need antibiotics. This could be the normal end stage of a cold running its course. Treatment should be considered for a green runny nose that does not clear after 7 to 10 days or the cold symptoms do not go away by 10-14 days. So, it’s not about the color but the duration.

There’s no need to stay away from dairy products – they don’t make extra mucus.

Prevention

It’s pretty much impossible to stop children from getting colds. However, there are some simple things you can do to reduce your child’s chances of getting a cold or passing it on – for example, wash your own and your child’s hands after sneezing, coughing and blowing the nose, and before eating. You can also teach your child to cough into her elbow to avoid getting germs on her hands.

It’s time to get a few things straight! Leading nutritionist, Rana Arafa dispels a lot of misconceptions about dieting and nutrition for Cairo West Magazine.

Myth 1: To lose weight, don’t mix carbohydrates and protein.

Fact: A meal with carbohydrates alone results in you being hungry sooner, with blood glucose levels jumping up very quickly and dipping very low afterwards. This leaves a person hungry and weak, if some amount of protein is added one stays full longer and blood glucose levels stay more consistent.

Myth 2: Vitamins give us energy

Fact: Vitamins help extract energy from carbohydrates and fats but you need the carbohydrates and fats in the first place.

Myth 3: Ignoring hunger and skipping meals will result in weight loss.

Fact: Ignoring your hunger signals will only lead to uncontrolled eating or bingeing later on. Eat at least every 3-4 hours, including breakfast, lunch and supper and snacks in between. Your body will tend to store what you eat, so make sure you don’t starve it. Eating frequently makes it easier to burn more. Also skipping breakfast leads to over-eating at night.

People who skip breakfast tend to be heavier than people who eat a healthy breakfast.

Myth 4: Cutting carbohydrates will lead to weight loss.

Fact: Restricting carbohydrates causes the body’s natural defense mechanism to kick in, leading to sweets cravings as a quick source of fuel for the body, so eat more of the complex carbohydrates like whole grain rye bread.

Myth 5: Avoid Seafood to Lower Cholesterol

Fact: The dietary cholesterol found in seafood, meat or eggs has little effect on blood cholesterol in most people. Saturated fats and trans fatty acids found in margarine and ghee and dark meat are the most important factors that raise blood cholesterol, which can eventually cause heart disease.

Myth 6: Dark breads are more nutritious than white breads.

Fact: Whole grain breads are the healthy type of bread. We need to read nutrition tables or labels to know if it’s high in fiber or not. A dark color can be only a color or caramel added to the bread and has nothing to do with the amount of fiber it has, choose bread with ingredient listings of 100 percent whole wheat or other whole grain (such as barley or oats). “Enriched wheat flour” is the long way to say white flour.

Myth 7: Muscle can turn to fat when you stop exercising

Fact: When you stop training your muscles don’t turn into fat, muscle and fat tissues are entirely different, and therefore they can never transform from one to the other, when you stop exercising your muscle mass declines. How you gain fat tissue is when you eat more calories than you burn off, you don’t burn them as you used to when training or exercising. When your exercise routine is back, your muscles have a memory and will again start to add lean tissue. You might start burning excess body fat, but your fat will not actually turn into muscle.

Myth 8: Eating fruits at night is safe and contains no calories.

Fact: Fruits and vegetables are food, so they do contain calories and are broken down into sugars. Some are higher than others. Banana calories are higher than an orange, but still both are broken down into sugars, so you will end up getting hungry after a maximum of one hour. Proteins like skimmed yoghurt would be a better option at dinner, as it will get broken down slower and yet contains fewer calories.

Rana Arafa, VIBE gym certified pediatric obesity nutritionist, sports athlete nutritionist and holistic nutrition therapist.

Investigating Lung Cancer with Dr. Rabab Gaafar

Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the lung. It is the cancer that took the lives of cartoon and film producer Walt Disney, painter Claude Monet ‘Beatle’ George Harrison, Egyptian actress Ma’aly Zayed and Egyptian superstar Ahmed Zaky.

In a country where pollution is high, where 20 billion cigarettes are smoked annually, shisha water pipes are part of the common culture, and where people continue to neglect the heath risks of smoking even after the government passed legislation requiring graphic warnings to be placed on tobacco packaging, lung cancer continues to be a serious topic that must be touched upon.

To get to know more about lung cancer, Cairo West Magazine met up with one of Egypt’s most prominent specialists in this field, Dr. Rabab Gaafar, Professor of Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute (Cairo University). Dr. Gaafar is also the National Representative of Egypt at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) and a Board Member of the European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC Lung Group).

CWM: Dr. Gaafar, what are the primary symptoms of lung cancer?

Dr. R.G.: Usually patients come with a cough, chest pain, fatigue and difficulty in breathing (dyspnea). Unfortunately, most patients are diagnosed late. Around 70% of the patients are diagnosed when the cancer has reached advanced stages. This happens due to the fact that most people misinterpret their cough as a normal smokers cough, or they confuse it with a cold or bronchitis. They consequently lose time, and do not do proper medical tests to check for cancer. Early detection is crucial in treating lung cancer.

Is smoking the primary cause of lung cancer?

Definitely. Smoking is the cause of lung cancer in around 85% of the cases. Other causes of lung cancer include pollution, radiation, and insecticides. Smoking does not only cause lung cancer, it causes cancer in any body part it goes through: lips, larynx, pancreas, bladder. For example, in countries like Yemen where they chew tobacco, mouth cancer is prevalent.

Is shisha a less dangerous smoking option?

This is a myth. Shisha is actually more dangerous than cigarettes. One shisha stone may be equivalent to 60 – 70 cigarettes. But cigarettes are just handier and you smoke them much more frequently than shisha. The misconception that shisha is a light type of smoking because the tobacco in it contains fruit flavors is what is causing younger generations of both genders to resort to it in their normal outings in cafés. This is a dangerous phenomenon.

What about the electronic cigarettes?

E-cigarettes contain only nicotine and some vapors. They have the advantage that they do not contain the extremely dangerous carcinogenic parts like tar and hydrocarbons. However, it is still under research and investigation. Lets not forget that nicotine alone has many harmful effects. People can use e-cigarettes as a method to stop smoking, but not as a long-term solution.

What age group is lung cancer most prevalent in?

Lung cancer is mostly prevalent in older ages, above 60 years old. But of course people of any age can get lung cancer.

What are the different treatment options for lung cancer patients?

We treat lung cancer according to the stage it has reached. In case of early detection, we treat it with surgery. If it is stage 2, we must add chemotherapy after the surgery to prevent recurrence and to prolong the life of the patient. In more advanced stages, we mainly do not resort to surgery. We use radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In the metastatic or extremely advanced stage, we use mainly chemotherapy and keep radiotherapy for areas of metastasis.

What new developments and therapies can you tell us about?

In the last decade, a new medical model called “personalized therapy” appeared. We use personalized therapy in advanced cases of lung cancer. Personalized medicine is used to learn about a person’s genetic makeup and how their tumor grows. We perform biological tests on the tumor to determine a personalized tailored type of treatment; chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy is also a recent breakthrough in cancer treatment that directs the body’s own immune system to fight cancer cells. To explain this therapy very simply, we must know that usually tumors send messages to the immune system that they are part of the body so the immune system does not fight them. This therapy acts upon the immune system making it recognize that the tumor is a strange foreign body that must be fought.

Are lung cancer rates high in Egypt?

Lung cancer rates are high in Egypt. I must point out that lung cancer is much more prevalent amongst Egyptian men than women. This is due to the fact that some cultural traditions in Egypt and the Middle East still look down upon women smoking. Less smoking amongst women has resulted in fewer women lung cancer patients. Six percent of all cancer patients in Egypt have lung cancer. However, if we look at the male population alone, then around 10% of all male cancer patients in Egypt have lung cancer.

However, I do believe that the ratio between men and women lung cancer patients in Egypt will change again soon because of the shisha. Shisha smoking amongst women and teens is much more socially accepted than before and is becoming part of the social outing custom. The number of lung cancer cases amongst women is increasing.

What are the survival rates amongst lung cancer patients?

As I said earlier, early detection is crucial in lung cancer. General numbers show that lung cancer survival rate is 20%. Survival rates amongst early-detected patients reach around 70 – 80%. However, in advanced stages, survival rates become less than 5%.

How harmful is second-hand smoking?

Being exposed to second-hand smoke is harmful in many ways especially to children. Non-smokers who breathe in second-hand smoke take in nicotine and other toxic chemicals just like smokers do. However, we don’t have exact numbers regarding how many people got lung cancer from second-hand smoke. It is hard to differentiate if someone got cancer from second-hand smoke or pollution. Smoking must be completely eliminated to decrease the threat of cancer. I am very supportive of all procedures taken to prohibit smoking in public areas. People should not be allowed to harm others.

Can our diet help us prevent cancer?

Of course. Eating healthy reduces your risk of cancer.  Drink green tea. Eat cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. All anti-oxidants in general help decrease cancer risk. Avoid artificial coloring, overly burned food, and used oil especially the overly-used oil in many falafel shops in Egypt. Generally, It’s not a good idea to use oil more than once. Also, do not put hot food in plastic containers.

Is lung cancer easily preventable?

It now should be clear that lung cancer is one of the most preventable types of cancer taking into consideration that 85% of lung cancer patients got it as a result of smoking. My advice is to stop smoking. Please stop any type of smoking immediately!