SASSY
book review
The 10-Step Stress Solution: Live More, Relax More, Reenergize By Neil Shah Reviewed By: Helen Cawley, Young Adult Librarian, Harris Branch of the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library
M
ost of us have stress in our lives. We are constantly juggling home, work and pleasure activities, all while trying to get enough rest. Neil Shah, the founder and director of the UK-based Stress Management Society, has written a handbook on how to relieve our bad stress in order to be more productive in our work and also to get more out of our relaxation time. Part one of this book explains what stress is, how it affects our bodies, what the positive and negative aspects of stress are and how we cope with that stress. Part two, the 10-step stress solution, outlines in a progressive way Shah’s techniques to deal with negative stress throughout our day. He states that prioritizing our health, getting a good night’s sleep, practicing deep breathing, drinking enough water, eating for well-being only and exercising are all physical ways to combat stress and can bring an immediate sense of relief. The next four steps of Shah’s plan deal with achieving a certain mindset in order to remove harmful stress from your life. He believes making the conscious effort to have a positive attitude will help your body become more relaxed. Also, by becoming the master of our time, developing more organization in our schedules, we will feel more in control and we will find that we have enough time during the day to get important activities completed with plenty of time for relaxation. Technology has also become a taskmaster in our lives, as we constantly try to keep connected through email, social media or our cell phones. Are we managing our online accounts or are they managing us? The last mental goal in the 10 steps is that it is okay to say no: no, I’m too busy at this time; no, I am not the best person to
help with that project; no, I just don’t want to do that right now. Neil Shah is truly an expert at stress-management and his book reflects this. His observations are clearly stated and full of common sense. I appreciated the case studies throughout the book, as well as the opportunities to develop a personal action plan. Most people who read this book and follow Shah’s easy recommendations to examine their lives and habits, can acquire healthier, more stress-free lives.
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