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Stress Free for Good: 10 Scientifically Proven Life Skills for Health and Happiness
Ten Minutes to Learn One Minute to Practice Ten Seconds to Work Imagine if you could . . .
240 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2004
73 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Fred Luskin
23 books25 followersIn the Forgive for Good workshop and class series Dr. Frederic Luskin presents the forgiveness training methodology that has been validated through six successful research studies conducted through the Stanford Forgiveness Projects.
Prior to the current surge in research interest the importance of practicing forgiveness was extolled in both religious and psychological traditions. Recently, Dr. Luskin’s and other’s research has confirmed its virtues in the promotion of psychological, relationship and physical health. Forgiveness has been shown to reduce anger, hurt, depression and stress and lead to greater feelings of optimism, hope, compassion and self confidence.
Dr. Luskin’s work combines lecture with a hands-on approach to the ancient tradition of forgiveness. Participants explore forgiveness with the goal of reducing hurt and helplessness, letting go of anger and increasing confidence and hope as they learn how to release unwanted hurts and grudges. His presentations explore the HEAL process of forgiveness that, when learned, can lead to enhanced well-being through self-care. In class practice may include guided imagery, journal writing and discussion all presented in a safe and nurturing environment. Dr. Luskin holds a Ph.D. in Counseling and Health Psychology from Stanford University.
Dr. Luskin continues to serve as Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Projects, an ongoing series of workshops and research projects that investigate the effectiveness of his forgiveness methods on a variety of populations. The forgiveness project has successfully explored forgiveness therapy with people who suffered from the violence in Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone as well as the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11. In addition his work has been successfully applied and researched in corporate, medical, legal and religious settings. He currently serves as a Senior Consultant in Health Promotion at Stanford University and is a Professor at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. He presents lectures, workshops, seminars and trainings on the importance, health benefits and training of forgiveness, stress management and emotional competence throughout the United States. He offers presentations and classes that range from one hour to ongoing weekly trainings.
Prior to the current surge in research interest the importance of practicing forgiveness was extolled in both religious and psychological traditions. Recently, Dr. Luskin’s and other’s research has confirmed its virtues in the promotion of psychological, relationship and physical health. Forgiveness has been shown to reduce anger, hurt, depression and stress and lead to greater feelings of optimism, hope, compassion and self confidence.
Dr. Luskin’s work combines lecture with a hands-on approach to the ancient tradition of forgiveness. Participants explore forgiveness with the goal of reducing hurt and helplessness, letting go of anger and increasing confidence and hope as they learn how to release unwanted hurts and grudges. His presentations explore the HEAL process of forgiveness that, when learned, can lead to enhanced well-being through self-care. In class practice may include guided imagery, journal writing and discussion all presented in a safe and nurturing environment. Dr. Luskin holds a Ph.D. in Counseling and Health Psychology from Stanford University.
Dr. Luskin continues to serve as Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Projects, an ongoing series of workshops and research projects that investigate the effectiveness of his forgiveness methods on a variety of populations. The forgiveness project has successfully explored forgiveness therapy with people who suffered from the violence in Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone as well as the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11. In addition his work has been successfully applied and researched in corporate, medical, legal and religious settings. He currently serves as a Senior Consultant in Health Promotion at Stanford University and is a Professor at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. He presents lectures, workshops, seminars and trainings on the importance, health benefits and training of forgiveness, stress management and emotional competence throughout the United States. He offers presentations and classes that range from one hour to ongoing weekly trainings.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 8, 2011
meh. Recycled ideas- such as the Serenity Prayer.
February 10, 2022
I was forced to read this book as part of an emotional intelligence program through my job. I found it covered a lot that could simply be summarized in a single list but, it does contain helpful tips, though most of them are mechanisms that are either common sense or taught to me through various other means throughout my lifetime.
March 9, 2016
2.5 stars
The first 25% of this book is kind of boring and long-winded. It discusses the research behind the skills that will eventually be presented in the book and it talks about how bad stress is for a person. I believe that if a person is reading this book, then they already know they're stressed and that it's bad for them. I feel the authors were forced to add stuff to the beginning simply to make the book longer.
That being said, the skills they provide are as simple as they say they are. People say they already know these skills and it's nothing new, but it takes practice and actually using these skills to benefit from it. The authors say you have to do more than just read the book, you actually have to implement these simple skills.
It's a quick read and if it even slightly helps to alleviate someone's stress then it's worth the time.
The first 25% of this book is kind of boring and long-winded. It discusses the research behind the skills that will eventually be presented in the book and it talks about how bad stress is for a person. I believe that if a person is reading this book, then they already know they're stressed and that it's bad for them. I feel the authors were forced to add stuff to the beginning simply to make the book longer.
That being said, the skills they provide are as simple as they say they are. People say they already know these skills and it's nothing new, but it takes practice and actually using these skills to benefit from it. The authors say you have to do more than just read the book, you actually have to implement these simple skills.
It's a quick read and if it even slightly helps to alleviate someone's stress then it's worth the time.
November 22, 2008
Maybe I've just read too many similar books, but I just can't say that this one was overwhelmingly helpful. It gives 10 very simple, basic "LifeSkills" for handling stress (such as deep breathing). The LifeSkills themselves are all fine, useful techniques - and if you were to practice and use them as the book suggests, I have no doubt that they would improve your life. My problem was with the presentation. The first few chapters were so full of fluff that I almost gave up completely on the book. In the end, I did get something out of it, but I just felt that the book didn't truly inspire me to actually do what it suggested. Without that, the skills are pretty meaningless. For the right person, at the right time though, this book could be helpful
July 22, 2010
Heavy on examples, but sometimes leaves you hanging by not saying how the case ended up. Somewhat light on how-to details. Nothing I hadn't heard of before.
April 4, 2012
These exercises are really basic. Sometimes, that's all you need.
August 31, 2021
I think when the typical person feels stressed, they look for a quick fix. This book takes the approach of providing 10 simple LifeSkills that you do regularly to stay ahead of the stress. There are no "ah ha" insights here, except that managing stress can happen through small actions, just the relentless message is that you have to practice these skills daily.
The LifeSkills are good for the relentless stress we feel every day from work, school, dealing with traffic, bills, etc. Big stressors such as discovering infidelity of a spouse, a nasty divorce, death of a child will require more than what's presented here. Still, very helpful for most of us.
Recommended.
The LifeSkills are good for the relentless stress we feel every day from work, school, dealing with traffic, bills, etc. Big stressors such as discovering infidelity of a spouse, a nasty divorce, death of a child will require more than what's presented here. Still, very helpful for most of us.
Recommended.
January 1, 2018
a spectacular display of how simple changes can result in magnificent evolution towards bliss, tranquility and overall a better, more fulfilling life. these are concepts and practices that i strive to incorporate into my daily life already, yet this book encourages to keep at the practice of it. a must read for everyone.
November 28, 2020
Useful book. For those readers who are familiar with meditation and self-awareness, a lot of the recommendations are not new. The reason for 2-stars is that the book could be considerably shorter, as the majority of the explanations could be skipped.
August 10, 2019
This book presents good, simple solutions to stress that work. I plan to practice these tools so I can be less stressed and enjoy life more.
May 24, 2023
These techniques are simple and helpful, but ultimately it still takes a tremendous amount of effort to make the changes necessary to apply some of these techniques.
August 11, 2025
3.5/5 It has good information!
June 21, 2022
Easy but useful and scientifically based ways of relieving stress.
September 25, 2015
I don't find the anecdotes quite as helpful as I think some people would, but I do find concrete things you can do and why they work to be nice. Also, the emphasis on effort and practice is welcome.
You won't become less stressed by reading this book.
You'll become less stressed by *doing* some of the things mentioned in this book.
I will say: there is a chapter on smiling and how you should do it more often sincerely because it makes you "feel better and less stressed." Now, it makes me almost angry when people tell me that I should smile when I feel like everything in my life is going wrong. It is inauthentic and unwelcome. Maybe my distaste of it comes from cat-calling or being a kid with a mouth full of braces or from being sick of people telling me how I should feel...I don't really know. But I despise it. I feel how I feel. Don't tell me that smiling will fix my problems.
And yet, I do appreciate that if I really reveled in that, I'd be an eeyore, so there you go. Sometimes you have to rely on yourself to get out of feeling terrible (and this book does have advice on that).
All in all, a good read, and hopefully has even better outcomes.
You won't become less stressed by reading this book.
You'll become less stressed by *doing* some of the things mentioned in this book.
I will say: there is a chapter on smiling and how you should do it more often sincerely because it makes you "feel better and less stressed." Now, it makes me almost angry when people tell me that I should smile when I feel like everything in my life is going wrong. It is inauthentic and unwelcome. Maybe my distaste of it comes from cat-calling or being a kid with a mouth full of braces or from being sick of people telling me how I should feel...I don't really know. But I despise it. I feel how I feel. Don't tell me that smiling will fix my problems.
And yet, I do appreciate that if I really reveled in that, I'd be an eeyore, so there you go. Sometimes you have to rely on yourself to get out of feeling terrible (and this book does have advice on that).
All in all, a good read, and hopefully has even better outcomes.
January 14, 2013
This book "Stress Free for Good" has ten "skills" that are easy to understand, and will reduce stress and increase happiness. Several have helped me significantly and I have just finished reading the book. I will do what I can to continue practicing these skills.
Some of the skills you will find resistance to because they require some thought from you to be able to practice the skill. That is something in our hectic world many people avoid doing.
I will be purchasing several additional copies of this book to give as gifts.
Some of the skills you will find resistance to because they require some thought from you to be able to practice the skill. That is something in our hectic world many people avoid doing.
I will be purchasing several additional copies of this book to give as gifts.
June 15, 2016
Ok book. I don't really like reading self-help books with a lot of personal examples anymore. I just find the little stories annoying. Deep breathing is very good. Changing your circumstances, or accepting them if you cannot, is good. Saying no is good. Etc. All good advice. Have read it before, should try doing it!
October 24, 2010
I read this in a class taught by Fred on emotional intelligence at Stanford. Although I agree that the lessons are simple, quick, and easy I felt a disconnect from the stories and experiences shared in the book. This is a book I might give to a friend who was going through a rough time.
November 27, 2016
I found the ten techniques useful and immediately applicable. Just being reminded to toake 2-3 "belly" breaths was a valuable reminder to breathe and gain perspective. The authors give several case studies in each segment, and link the segments to each other. I'll refer back to this book often.
September 21, 2007
Great ideas and easy-to-follow exercises.
July 15, 2009
this book was a great read. i loved all the easy ideas given to help with different stressful situations that anyone can use.
July 23, 2012
Some helpful tools for stress reduction are included in this book. However, it seemed imcomplete.
May 23, 2016
I like these kinds of books. Simple and immediately practical. I've been putting the disciplines into practice with not revolutionary, but generally positive results.
August 11, 2016
Good pointers
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews