8 Keys to Stress Management

by Elizabeth Anne Scott, Babette Rothschild (Foreword by)

Overview

Easy strategies for dealing with the near-universal experience of stress.

Stress has become a near-universal experience as well as a rising public health concern.

According to many measures, people today are dealing with stressors that are greater in number and severity than in the past several decades, and this stress is taking a toll on our collective wellness.

Bringing considerable content from her popular stress management Web site on About.com, Elizabeth Scott distills information about stress management into central ideas and strategies for consumers. These include learning to reduce the stress response and stressors, practicing long-term resilience habits, and putting positive psychology research into action. These various perspectives provide a multilayered framework for understanding stress and approaching stress management that is inspirational, action-oriented, and backed by foundational and recent knowledge in the field.

The quick-to-read “8 keys” format of the book can be utilized on many levels so that busy readers can quickly find relief from stress.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393708097
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	03/25/2013
Series:	8 Keys to Mental Health
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Elizabeth Anne Scott is an award-winning blogger and wellness coach with an MS in counseling. She has helped thousands of people through her writing and stress management workshops.

Babette Rothschild, MSW, LCSW is an internationally recognized PTSD specialist and best-selling author of seven books translated into eighteen languages, including her new offerings Help for the Helper Updated + Expanded and the 8 Keys to Safe Trauma Recovery Workbook. Babette is also the creator and Series Editor of W. W. Norton’s 8 Keys to Mental Health Series. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword xi

Preface xv

Introduction 1

Key 1 Become Aware of Your Stressors 20

Key 2 Learn to Quickly Reverse Your Stress Response 41

Key 3 Take Care of Your Body 57

Key 4 Get into the Right Frame of Mind 79

Key 5 Cut Down on Stressors When Possible 101

Key 6 Cultivate Healthy Relationships 111

Key 7 Put Positive Psychology into Action 128

Key 8 Practice Long-Term Resilience-Forming Habits 145

Creating an Action Plan 167

Resources 185

References 189

Index 191

Editorial Reviews

"I have never seen a more incisive approach to stress reduction and management. The 8 keys format is friendly and easy to use, with down-to-earth examples from daily life. Theoretically sound, eminently practical, and unequivocal without being rigid, this book presents an effective strategy for virtually any real-life situation."

Emery J. Cummins

"In a global culture where 'overwhelmed,' 'stressed-out,' and 'burned-out' are part of our daily vocabularies, Scott shows us evolutionary alternatives that allow us to live fully and healthily. This book will prompt you to realign with your true self... and, most of all, you'll get your twinkly back!"

Ann-Marie McKelvey

"[W]ritten in an easy how-to format that provides excellent resources for the average person in managing stress. . . . [A]lso an excellent tool for counselors in both individual and group counseling sessions. . . . [P]rovides excellent references and a useful index for researching specific topics. . . . I highly recommend the book."

Adaptation and Aging Activities

"In an easy-to-read and understandable style, Elizabeth Scott offers a blend of ancient tradition and modern science along with practical advice for dealing with everyday stress. This book is a useful, practical, and comprehensive guide that helps the reader find healthy ways to live life more fully."

Howard Blumenfeld

"[A] useful, practical guide to approaching stress. . . . [S]hort enough to be a quick read, yet substantial enough to be a worthwhile one."

Metapsychology Online Reviews

"The text’s balanced emphasis on both physiological and mental process makes it a holistic and thorough guide for a broad audience. . . . [Scott’s] approach is collective and confident, a writing style that is ideal and even perhaps essential for readers experiencing issues with stress management. . . . [O]rganized and easy to read, 8 Keys to Stress Management is a convenient self-help tool for those looking to manage their stress more effectively."

International Journal of Psychotherapy

"8 Keys to Stress Management does an exemplary job of simplifying and explaining stress, addressing its physical and psychological aspects while providing practical examples of how to manage it. Elizabeth Scott reminds us that, while we can’t control all stressors, we can control our attitude, and this alone helps us to manage stress better."

Pamela Gail Johnson

"[This book] provides a thorough and detailed overview on the subject. . . . [T]he book gives us an opportunity to take more of a structured and introspective look at the self. It’s a resource that one might actively work through and then revisit later, rather than read once and put on the shelf. . . . Scott helps normalize the experience of stress and provides a wealth of information about how to manage it."

PsychCentral

In the opening paragraphs of this practical audio, the understated enthusiasm of Rebecca Gibel’s performance will lead some to expect an academic mental health guide—something more necessary than inviting. But at some point in the audio, Gibel’s beautiful tone and lithe phrasing ease into the spotlight. Even more enhancing for this type of book is how she resonates at a deep emotional level with the author’s helpful spirit, as well as with her ideas and suggestions. A lot of this content is covered in stress management books and audios already on the market. But with the Gibel’s steady engagement and reassuring delivery, this collection of ideas sounds new and worthy of consideration. T.W. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2014 - AudioFile