Elisabeth Wilson - Stress Proof Your Life: 52 Brilliant Ideas for Taking Control

CAREFUL NOW
Some people seem to have come to the conclusion they can get compensation for just about anything that goes wrong in their lives these days, so forgive me for being a bit stroppy now. Whatever age you are lifes about risk, and you dont get to be compensated for getting into some kind of trouble just because something youve done was sparked by an idea you read in this book. Your actions are your own responsibility and its up to you to make sensible choices. The publishers and I are not prepared to accept any responsibility for any kind of harm or damage that comes to you from any decision you reach as a result of reading this book. If youre in any doubt about whether your ideas are safe, speak to an expert on the subject (if youre the litigious kind, find one whos got insurance cover). And dont do anything I wouldnt do.

For Jim. The only man worth getting de-stressed for.

Copyright The Infinite Ideas Company Limited, 2005

The right of Elisabeth Wilson to be identified as the author of this book has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2005 by
The Infinite Ideas Company Limited
36 St Giles
Oxford
OX1 3LD
United Kingdom
www.infideas.com

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of small passages for the purposes of criticism or review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP, UK, without the permission in writing of the publisher. Requests to the publisher should be addressed to the Permissions Department, Infinite Ideas Limited, 36 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LD, UK, or faxed to +44 (0)1865 514777.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 1-904902-58-8

Brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Designed and typeset by Baseline Arts Ltd, Oxford
Printed by TJ International, Cornwall

Brilliant ideas

So youre stressed? Be grateful. Stress makes life a lot sweeter when you learn to manage it right.

No, seriously, is that too much to ask?

Make just say no your new mantra.

Procrastination is stresss best friend. Its not big, its not clever but for most of us, its a way of life.

Often you cant remember where you left the car keys. Sometimes you cant remember where you left the car.

Take the insecurity out of your life. All you need is a Plan B.

Only one thing gets you down, and hence stressed, more than work. Not working.

Imagine a place with no phone, no noise, no hassle, no problems.

Theres nothing wrong with stress. Were designed to get stressed. Its how we deal with it thats the problem.

Reduce interruptions. Reclaim your evenings.

Children pick up adult stress like a dry sponge soaks up water.

When youre bored, dull, lacklustre, youre as stressed as it gets.

I refuse to call it worklife. It should be lifework. And thats what achieving it entails a life-work.

Your need to get it perfect isnt about perfection. Its about staying in control.

For every behaviour or action, theres a payback. When you work out the payback you often drain away a lot of stress from a situation.

Heres how to deal with the energy black holes.

Like the Titanic, youre beetling along coping like a trouper and then, kerboom!, youre scuppered. You cant get out of bed. Thats iceberg stress.

Take the moral high ground. Youll like the view.

If youre a man and youre angry, could it be your hormones that are to blame?

Let your diet support you in your battle to destress. Lose weight, think clearly, sleep better. All this can be yours with food combining.

Season of goodwill and cheer? Yes, if youre not worn down by the constant partying, endless entertaining, relentless cooking and lets not start on the shopping.

Stress saps energy and eventually our enjoyment of life. Stress makes us unhappy without us even realising it.

Decluttering. Space clearing. Majorly destressing.

You know youre stressed and you know its affecting your health. Heres what to do about it.

Its hard to feel unstressed when your home is filthy. And even if its clean, keeping it that way is often a major cause of stress.

When youre suffering from chronic, long-term stress. When your batteries are blown. When burnout is imminent, here is your emergency plan.

Facing the week from hell? Heres how to survive it.

Learn from zen. The Japanese bath and tea ceremonies are as much about refreshing the mind and spirit as nourishing and cleansing the body.

Everyone gets stressed. Everyone gets disappointed. But how come some people are better at dealing with it than others?

No, not those kind of piles. Were talking about the avalanche of paper, magazines, unpaid bills, flyers for pizza houses the general detritus of 21st-century life that threatens to overwhelm you.

If your stomach hangs so low theres a chance of it keeping your knees warm, its time for the Alexander technique.

Any sort of stress can lead to weight gain.

Reckon youre not an angry person?

And it will love you right back. When that happens life gets a lot less stressful.

You take holidays. You know how important this is if you want to be stress-free.

Facts: the most reliable predictor of depression is insomnia. Sleeping less than six hours a night is linked to increased obesity. Sleeping less than seven hours a night is linked to increased mortality.

Live on less than you earn. Hey, radical concept.

Imbue the old nine-to-five with a certain glamour and youll be amazed at how much tension seeps out of your life.

Are you ready for a journey to the weirder, wilder side?

Sometimes you cant have the one you want. So you have to love the one youve got.

Focus, concentration, sticking to what youve started. That will cut your stress levels instantly.

Too stressed to talk? Remember, divorce is pretty stressful too.

The ability to create perfect moments is possibly the most valuable life skill youll ever learn.

A way of handling stress that could improve your sex life too. Result.

Think that aromatherapy is just for wimps? Wrong. Aromatherapy has attitude. Aromatherapy kicks ass. Aromatherapy actually works.

The problem with to-do lists is that it takes seconds to scribble yet another entry and a whole lot longer to get round to doing it.

Surveys show that we know exactly what we ought to do in order to relax. We just cant be bothered.

Touchy-feely behaviour is the best stress buster of all. Time to give love and, hopefully, get some back.

Managing stress is simply a matter of managing your bodys chemistry. There is a whole battery of supplements that can help you do this.

What is burn out? Its when a relationship either work or personal has got so bad that you just cant stand it any longer.

Or to give it the grown-up name, retreat

Give up coffee, dont smoke, take exercise were always being told that unless we do our stress will become worse. And you know what? Its true.

Or is it a new beginning?

Each chapter of this book is designed to provide you with an inspirational idea that you can read quickly and put into practice straight away.

Throughout youll find four features that will help you to get right to the heart of the idea: