The Little Book of Stress Relief

by David Posen

"If we take control of the things we do control, we'll have much more energy and resilience to deal with the other stressors in our lives."
- David Posen, MD Intense stress is an integral part of modern life. In controlled doses, stress helps individuals to think faster and perform better, but left unchecked and unbalanced, it leads to fatigue, helplessness and a variety of unfortunate health complications. The Little Book of Stress Relief is a practical book that changes the fundamental thinking and habitual lifestyle choices contributing to heightened stress levels. There are helpful tips for making informed choices, adjusting how we think and taking the necessary steps to regain control. Organized in 52 short chapters -- one for each week of the year -- the book isolates specific causes of stress and provides detailed yet useful advice and tips for overcoming them. Easy-to-follow activities and exercises lead to the right amount of sleep, deal with procrastination and perfect the art of setting priorities. The Little Book of Stress Relief explains how small changes to relieve stress have a positive effect on quality of life. Of particular importance in high-pressure environments is advice for isolating other people's stress.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Mental Health

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Amy C.]

Curt and alleviating.

[Sasha Boersma]

The handbook I’ve been hunting for! Everything is broken down into 52 digestible components that have 4-6 tips to examine your response (leaning on CBT), and suggestions to rethink, reframe, and be mindful about how to handle it.

Borrowed it from the library. Will be buying my own copy to dog-ear and reference regularly.

[Stephanie]

Lots of Really good advice. I think this book would be better if you read it one week at a time and did the exercises for a week at a time. I'm not the type of person to read a book that way so I feel like I lost some of the pieces of advice along the way. Really well written author really knows his stuff.

[Andrea]

After discovering the chapter on "how to enjoy holiday stress" while looking at this book in a bookstore, I decided to read the whole book as a reminder of strategies to use when you feel fatigued and overwhelmed. A useful book with short, easy to read chapters.

[Emily Stewart]

This book is short and sweet, but it has plenty of helpful tips for stress relief. A lot of what was written I already knew, but there were some parts that gave me a new perspective. There are also plenty of helpful suggestions on what to do if you recognize a stressor as a problem in your life.

[Wendy Em]

This book served as a good reminder to take care of yourself first.

[Albin Alias]

Helpful book.
It helps to maintain stress in our dailylife.

[Diane B]

A Toronto author and speaker.
Appreciated the format, with small chapters identifying the causes of stress and then a prescription Rx to address.
Recently retired, a skimmed through many of the work-related chapters with delight as this major stressor is no longer a constant concern. However, there is lots of advice for tackling other sources (money, relationships, clutter) and building healthy habits (good sleep, exercise).
Practical advice.

[Jillian]

Very good info in here. Love the short chapters and real life examples. Not a riveting read, but it's prescriptive nonfiction so it makes sense. Definitely good to read to be reminded to take life slower sometimes.

[Rosanna]

A great little easy to read guide on how to relieve stress in your life. This book has realistic expectations and tips on how to conquer stress. A must read for anyone who feels like they've had enough....need a break....given up....or are just too darn stressed!

[SmarterLilac]

A good book on stress management, with lots of practical advice on how to get even the busiest schedule down to something manageable.

[Maham]

Simple to the point...

[Colin]

A great short book on stress relief. It's written as 2 to 3 page chapters with exercises to help better deal with stresses in life

[Deuce Bigelow]

Definitely a book I'll keep for a lifetime to refer back to.

[Jennifer]

Easy-to-digest advice on dealing with stress.

[Sarah]

The poorly constructed Kindle edition of this book (the one I was reading) sapped most of its utility. Also the author's voice seemed like something off of Saturday Night Live.

[Paula ϟ]

This is a great book on stress relief and an important reminder about work-life balance. It was an easy and enjoyable read.

[Muhammad Dimas]

I should learn about this long time ago, because the education system, family, and our environment didn't teach about how to manage stress even though this lesson very important