Remember this one?* – The Little Book of Stress Relief

The Little Book of Stress Relief by David Posen, MD is not a heavy book… and by that, I mean, physically or emotionally.

The cover is inviting and beautiful. The chapters are 1 -2 pages long and broken up into palatable sections that consist of a short essay, an “Rx” (he is, after all, a physician), a quote, perhaps some bullet points and a final, thoughtful point to wrap up the subject, whether it’s about sleep or learning to say no. There are 52 chapters; one for each week of the year… and some might say that this is a business book, which is the section of the bookstore where I found it. Yes, it *says* it’s about healthy work-life balance… but to me, it’s about healthy life-life-balance. Coin that! 

Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading (listening to) this sweeping historical fiction I mentioned earlier this week… but my mind can’t take too much thinking right now. I’m at the end of my fiction and it’s wrung me out. Our protagonist is 80+ (the book begins before she was even a glint in her father’s eye, for crying out loud!). It’s been a wonderful journey around the world and through the harrowing 1800s with her, and boy, I’m tired! I have less than ten pages to go. I will be sad but grateful when it’s finished… I just don’t know how much more I can take!

Now where was I? Oh yes, about this book. There’s not much new in it… at least for us self-helpies. Good Lord, I typed that without even thinking about it. It’s not a good moniker for us, is it? Remember, last month… or maybe the month before… I asked you what we should call ourselves… and nobody answered. So, you’ve left it to me, have you? You may be sorry. Let’s see…

• DIYSH = Do it yourself self-help? We’ll call ourselves Dishes.
• Self-HDs= Self-Help Divas and Dudes?
• MSPs =Mutual Support Partners?
• MOJWTC = Move over Jesus, we’re taking control?

None of those seem to roll off the tongue, do they?

The more I think about it, the more I know I don’t want a cutesy name. I mean, I thought of Helpkins, of all the silly, insipid names. It sounds like the name of a gerbil. Helplings sounds just as awful, but reminds me of a smaller second helping of cake or potatoes – and food always makes me happy. It also made me think of children that Dicken’s might have written about. The Helplings stood on street corners with their dirty palms lifted skyward, cupped for coins.

Ugh. This is difficult.

I don’t mind being a guide, when needed, but there are times when you will guide me. The vast majority of time, we are in this journey called Self-Help together. How do we denote that?

But of course, this has nothing to do with the book. Forgive me.

This is a great little read that can literally be picked up once a day or once a week… or read all at once. There are important chapters about the signs of stress and what it does to your body and mind… and chapters about how to enjoy holidays because, let’s get real, we’ve all been there, haven’t we? We plan, we pack, we fly and the whole thing is so stressful we’ve barely had time to breathe deeply before having to go home. Or, we check emails from the beach (or don’t… and worry about what’s happening at the office while we’re gone). Holidays/ schmolidays. They’re almost more trouble than they’re worth. And that includes Christmas and the New Year, which are also covered. Yeah, he’s covered it all! The book also has plenty of ideas and exercises to keep you busy, should you desire. Bottom line: I like and recommend it.

Now, about our name… 

SearcHers? The S and H capped for Self-Help? That feels about right. I might take that one and run…

*Originally written by me for this blog on August 30, 2018