Book Can Help Minimize Effects of Stress
Posted on: Tuesday, 18 April 2006, 18:00 CDT
By LAURIE SMITH ANDERSON
Book can help minimize effects of stress
Slow down. Breathe deeply. Take time to enjoy life.
Stress is the topic of one of the new healthy living series of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books (Health Communications Inc., $6.95). Two others on the topics of asthma and diabetes are newly released as well. Other planned topics in the series include arthritis, breast cancer, depression, heart disease, menopause, pain management and weight loss.
The books feature about a dozen "real people" stories followed by expert medical advice, as well as a list of resources.
Leslie Godwin, a career and life-transition coach, writes in her introduction, "Stress is not a disease, but it can cause or exacerbate diseases. It can cause certain hormones to course through your bloodstream and affect your appetite, weight, skin and even your heart and other vital organs."
However, it is possible to make simple changes in your attitude and behavior that can significantly reduce stress, she says.
Most of the information in this book is not new, but most of us could stand reminding that a cranky spouse, demanding boss or even serious illness need not be the defining factors in our attitudes toward life.
Contributor Sallie A. Rodman, who suffered from migraine headaches and irritable bowel syndrome, writes that she realized that she was "a type A personality living in a type B body." She quit her high-stress job, found a holistic medical practitioner and took up meditation. "The experience taught me the value of listening to my body, loving my body, balancing my life and addressing stress before it causes an illness."
Contributor Dolores Kozielski, a cancer and heart patient, writes that she was consumed with stress and convinced she was going to die when she heard an inner voice say, "Calm down. You will not die. Meditate."
Living with cardiomyopathy and ovarian cancer is challenging, she says. "They eat, sleep and breathe with me. Even when everything is going well, they remind me how precious life is Now I meditate daily; it's how I begin to medicate. It's my prescription for happiness."
Attitude can make a huge difference between feeling stressed all the time and living life to the fullest. Here are some tips from the book about how to change your attitude:
Live by your values. It is stressful to act differently from what you believe is right.
Don't let yourself feel like a victim.
Don't overestimate what you can control. Accept what you can't control, and don't waste energy worrying about things that have nothing to do with you.
Develop an attitude of gratitude. Give thanks every day for all that's going well in your life. Keep a journal if you like.
Try to find the humor in life's minor challenges.
Use music to improve your mood and uplift your spirits.
Do the most important task at the beginning of the day whenever possible. If you get interrupted or run out of time or energy later, you won't stress about not doing something that needed to get done.
Beating stress will help you feel more energetic, stay healthier, enjoy life more and be a positive influence on others.
(c) 2006 Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds