Recommended Reads: Good Stress, Bad Stress

"Future shock [is] the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time." – Alvin Toffler

In this era of cell phones, email overload, and voicemail menus, we are all experiencing enormous technological and societal changes that are happening very quickly and that can become sources of stress in our lives. According to a book by Cindy Ricardo, an American Psychological Association survey taken in 2004 points to fifty-four percent of Americans being concerned about the level of stress in their everyday lives. (This level has most likely gone up with the latest problems hitting the American economy!)

According to Ricardo, not everyone reacts to stressful situations in the same manner. Some stress is helpful by enriching our lives or challenging us to reach our potential. However, negative stress can be dangerous, and long-term or chronic stress can even adversely affect one's health and contribute to conditions such as high blood pressure, migraines, or heart disease to name a few. We all need ways to relax and "de-stress!" Hopefully, some of these titles may help you change the way you deal with stress and lead to a healthier, more balanced lifestyle. After all, spring is here. Take time to enjoy the season's bounty!

Recorded cassette (RC), digital book (DB), braille (BR), and large print (LT) copies of these books are available from the Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library. Please contact the library to order any of these books.

Prepared by Linda Rossman, Reference Services Librarian

Good Stress, Bad Stress: An Indispensable Guide to Identifying and Managing Your Stress by Barry Lenson.
DB/RC 58486
The author distinguishes between two types of personal anxiety: potentially damaging "bad" stress and beneficial "good" stress, which helps individuals improve performance and accomplishment. Explains effects of stress on physical and mental well-being and provides strategies for harnessing good stress. 2002.

Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt by Karen Scalf Linamen.
DB/RC 57443
The contributing editor for Today's Christian Woman magazine offers fifteen ways women can lift their spirits in times of stress that go beyond eating chocolate. Linamen focuses on emotional, physical, and spiritual health with these "warm fuzzies, quick fixes, good ideas, and long-term solutions." 1999.

Why People Get Sick: Exploring the Mind-Body Connection by Darian Leader and David Corfield.
DB/RC 67395 (Braille in Process)
A psychoanalyst and a cybernetics researcher collaborate to examine illness as affected by the state of a person's mind. They use numerous case studies to illustrate ways emotions contribute to cancer, heart disease, and lowered resistance to infection. Urges doctors to go beyond physical symptoms and consider psychological connections. 2008.

Stress & Natural Healing by Christopher Hobbs.
BR 12079
Advocates the use of herbal medicine and natural therapies for common ailments caused by stress. Describes both medical and natural treatments for common stress-related disorders such as depression, insomnia, and digestive problems. Includes an overview of major relaxing herbs. 1997.

Why Mars & Venus Collide: Improving Relationships by Understanding How Men and Women Cope Differently With Stress by John Gray.
DB/RC 66406, BR 17832 (in process)
The author examines the stressful shift in the roles of men and women and describes what he believes to be physiological gender differences in dealing with tension. Outlines coping mechanisms for women to help both themselves and their partners improve communication, mood, energy, and levels of attraction. 2008.

The Body Mind Soul Solution: Healing Emotional Pain Through Exercise by Bob Livingstone.
DB/RC 65832
A clinical therapist's holistic approach to finding balance among mental, physical, and emotional health. Livingstone advocates a technique of self-questioning combined with an exercise regimen to promote calmness, self-esteem, mental strength, and physical well-being. Includes case studies in which patients connected to their higher selves. 2007.

Life is not a Stress Rehearsal:  Bringing Yesterday's Sane Wisdom into Today's Insane World by Loretta LaRoche.
RC 53179
A well-known stress management consultant provides humorous advice on ways to reduce stress in daily life by avoiding overuse of modern technological gadgets. Urges more family time and less television, reduced use of cell phones, and bigger doses of laughter. 2001.

Fighting Invisible Tigers: A Stress Management Guide for Teens by Earl Hipp.
BR 14404
Discusses pressures and problems encountered by teenagers and provides information on life skills, stress management, and methods of gaining more control over their own lives. For senior high and older readers. 1995.

Relax--You May Have Only a Few Minutes Left: Using the Power of Humor to Overcome Stress in Your Life and Work by Loretta LaRoche.
RC 50306
A motivational speaker and stress management consultant featured on PBS outlines how to achieve peace and harmony by bringing laughter into every situation. Offers tips on eliminating stress and turning it into an opportunity for resiliency and humor. 1998.

The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson.
RC 10647
A hypertension specialist defines the risk of stress and explains how tensions can lead to strokes, heart failure, and high blood pressure. Dr. Benson offers simplified instructions in the use of Transcendental Meditation, Yoga, and traditional prayers of the Eastern and Western religions to cope with anxieties. Bestseller. (classic title in the field) 1975. 

The Female Stress Syndrome Survival Guide by Georgia Witkin.
RC 51828
Explains how women experience stress differently from men and provides techniques and problem-solving skills to reduce it. Includes examples of dealing with family life (including teenagers and mates), common work problems, sexual difficulties, and aging--along with other unavoidable everyday tensions. 2000.

The Joy of Stress by Peter G. Hanson.
BR 6755
A Canadian family practitioner tells how we can stop letting stress run our lives. People's lives, Hanson argues, are dependent upon financial sufficiency, personal happiness, sound health, and respect on the job. When people master all four areas, stress can be controlled. The author says to "learn to ignore what you can't control, and learn to control what you can." 1987.

Self-Nurture: Learning to Care for Yourself as Effectively as You Care for Everyone Else by Alice D Domar and Henry Dreher.
RC 51391
Asserts that self-nurturing, "the essence of effective stress management for women," is about self-care, not selfishness. The director of a women's mind and body center presents a yearlong, season-by-season program to practice the skill. Each chapter includes steps for nurturing the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. 2000.

Purify Your Body: Natural Remedies for Detoxing from 50 Everyday Situations by Nina L. Diamond.
BR 11942
Explains how the different systems and parts of the body work and discusses various types of natural treatments including Chinese and Native American medicine. The author then describes how to use these healing techniques to prevent or treat fifty "toxic situations" such as caffeine addiction, PMS, prostate problems, and jet lag. 1996.

Practice Safe Stress with the "Stress Doc:" Healing and Laughing in the Face of Stress, Burnout, and Depression:  A Personal, Professional, and Organizational Guide by Mark Gorkin.
DB/RC 67507 (In Process)
A psychotherapist offers advice on dealing with stressful situations and avoiding depression. Tips for workers and students include allowing enough time for sleep, setting priorities, having empathy, getting exercise, and following a good diet. Also offers tips for businesses on maintaining a healthy workplace. 2004.

Fight Fat After Forty: The Revolutionary Three-pronged Approach that will Break Your Stress-fat Cycle and Make You Healthy, Fit, and Trim for Life by Pamela Peeke.
DB/RC 59378
A clinician offers a scientifically proven program to help women combat age-induced physical and emotional changes that can lead to self-destructive eating behaviors when exacerbated by stress. Focuses on mental regrouping, diet, and exercise to develop a "stress-resilient" lifestyle. 2000.

Why Zebas Don't Get Ulcers: A Guide to Stress, Stress Related Diseases, and Coping by Robert M. Sapolsky.
RC 40516
A science professor explains how stress affects the human immune, cardiovascular, digestive, and reproductive systems; the body's response to pain; its rate of growth; and the process of aging. Sapolsky treats the subject seriously but uses humor and unconventional examples. He advocates preventing psychological stress and avoiding simplistic self-help psychology. 1994.

Stress Relief for Disasters Great and Small: What to Expect and What to Do from Day One to Year One and Beyond by Georgia Witkin.
RC 55685, BR 14678
A contributor to FOX News and the author of The Female Stress Syndrome Survival Guide (RC 51828) and other books offers solutions for coping with natural disasters and personal traumas. Also suggests methods for helping children. 2002.

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by John Kabat-Zinn.
DB/RC 64586
Guide to achieving a state of "mindfulness"--an awareness of the present moment. Explains traditional Buddhist meditation techniques and exercises, such as postures that help cultivate consciousness. Offers suggestions for incorporating mindfulness into daily life to gain wisdom and find direction. First published in 1994; includes 2005 afterword. 1994.

Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness by Kathy Freston.
DB/RC 67076
Believing wellness to involve the body, mind, and spirit, Freston teaches ways to become aware of the state of all three areas and uses a cross-training approach to address any concerns. Tools include meditation, visualization, conscious eating, exercise, self-work, spiritual practice, and service. Includes recipes. Bestseller. 2008.

Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief by Herbert Benson
LT 67
The author of Beyond the Relaxation Response (RC 22254) describes how self-care can be combined with pharmaceuticals, surgery, and other procedures to help the healing process. Self-care methods include a belief in "something good," the placebo effect of "remembered wellness," and religious convictions that enhance relaxation.