Coping with Stress Quickly

Recently a friend of mine was going through a really stressful period in her life. I wanted to help so I looked around for a good self-help guide. I asked friends for recommendations and got some good responses. The best book on the subject that I found was titled “The Doctor’s Guide to Instant Stress Relief. It was written 1987 but is still one of the best published on the subject.

The authors note that a lot of self-help books are not based on scientific research. A second problem is that books that do offer useful systems often have to be read completely and understood before their system can be usefully implemented. This is especially difficult for someone who is really having problems and needs quick relief. The authors reviewed decades of research on simple, quick techniques for relieving stress -then they produced an inexpensive paperback book.

The book starts with a review of information about stress. The book divides the sources of stress into three broad types.

1. Situational stress caused by the reader’s environment.
2. Mental stress caused things happening in the mind of the reader.
3. Physical stress caused by problems in the reader’s body.

The reader is asked to take a 7 minute test to identify sources of the stress within the three types. Each of the three types will result an associated score on a stress scale. The scale is divided into 5 levels including desirable, average, mild, moderate and high.  

Over the years a number of researchers have pointed out that there IS a desirable level of stress of proper human functioning. The book states that for the desireable to average levels of stress, the reader probably does not need to use the techniques in the book. And, if any of the types have very low levels, the reader may be bored and may need to seek more stimulation. Mild or moderate stress levels in any of the stress types indicate that the reader could definitely benefit from using the techniques in the book. If the reader shows a stress level of high in any of the three categories, the book recommends seeking professional help.

The rest of the book is divided into three sections, one for each of the types of stress. Each of the many techniques is covered in a few pages and can be implemented in 10 minutes or less. The reader is encouraged to try a variety of different techniques and find the one that work the best for them.

One novel feature of the book is that it contains a simple biofeedback device in the form of a credit card sized liquid crystal temperature sensor that can be carried in a wallet. The card has a chart that relates skin temperature to stress. It takes about 10 seconds to get a reading.

I have seen a lot of self-help books but this little paperback is one of the most useful I have ever seen.