Addicted to Stress: A Woman's 7 Step Program to Reclaim Joy and Spontaneity in Life

By Debbie Mandel

Book Overview

A woman's down-to-earth guide for releasing stress and reclaiming her free-spirit Stress management expert and radio personality Debbie Mandel presents her highly original program for stress reduction. She explains that women who are constantly stressed out have forgotten the dreams of the free-spirited girl living inside them before they became somebody's wife, mother, or workplace colleague. This book, the inspiring and humorous story of successful recovery from stress addiction, outlines her seven steps that have proven to help women overcome daily stressors and reclaim a life of joy and spontaneity. Explores the habit forming pressure principle of stress addiction and how to cure it Provides step-by-step program for self-empowerment, self-care, healthy narcissism, and renewing humor in a woman's relationships Explains the powerful, researched based relationship between food, exercise, and mood Contains indispensable strategies for accepting constructive conflicts with a spouse, partner, friend or colleague to get what she wants Teaches specific techniques for reducing and eliminating stress reduction Addicted to Stress shows how as the addiction to stress is cured, women find it possible to build up an immunity to outside pressure and become their true core self.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470343753
• ISBN13: 9780470343753
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Addicted to Stress is A Fixer Upper--Light Touch but High Impact

So much of what Debbie Mandel says sticks. She was the first person I'd read to explore what drives the woman who constantly reminds everyone how busy she is. One of my favorite examples of Debbie's unique take on things is Step 5: Cultivate Your Sense of Fun and Humor. She questions our need for age-old proverbs and aphorisms (such as "Look Before you Leap" and "He Who Hesitates is Lost") that contradict each other when juxtaposed and don't really fit who we are, but live on because they've been branded in our heads. Her don't-numb-down message tells us why it's okay to seek and create new truths. What a great starting point for change.

'Ah-ha' moments abound

I was expecting a well-written work with a warm touch of humor, given Ms. Mandel's credentials; but I was delighted to find so much more. "Addicted to Stress" is not only filled with the latest scientific research on "stress" and why and how it affects we women as it does; this volume is chock full of practical wisdom, useful guidelines, and enough "eureka" moments to make reading it a potentially life-changing event. The self-tests throughout the book are interesting and illuminating. I also enjoyed the private incidents that Ms. Mandel shares with her readers. These examples bring her unique thesis to life, illustrating how the "seven step" program helps the reader reclaim joy and spontaneity. One of the many nuggets that I found enlightening is the distinction Ms. Mandel makes between "force" and "power"--and how the two different elements play out in a person's life. This book contains loads of revealing insights that will help you enjoy life more, live better now, and, as promised, break your (or help some one else break her) addiction to stress.

Debbie does stress management

In this humorous and witty book, Debbie Mandel speakes to women and the many ways our life styles promote stress. Beyond identifying stressful areas, Debbie offers practical and fun stress-reduction ideas that are easy to incorporate into a stressful life. This book is a must no matter what stage of life you are currently living. I have bought extra copies of the book to give as gifts. Every woman deserves to benefit from the anecdotes and tips that are sprinked throughout this wonderful book.

Good sense from a sensible author

If you live around New York City, you know Debbie Mandel, and you know she's a straight talker who gives good advice to people on issues that matter. Here she takes a look at our love/hate relationship with stress, and speaks with humor and warmth to help her sisters get to the other side of chaos. Her advice is sound (although I found the references to some medical issues inaccurate, such as carbohydrates being a source of tryptophan--strictly speaking that's not so, but she is correct in saying that you need carbs in order for the protein to get into your brain). I think women (and men) could benefit from reading this insightful and clear book. The material meshes well with my own work: The Secrets of Happily Married Women: How to Get More Out of Your Relationship by Doing Less

Addicted to Stress Mom Central Review

If there's one thing that women everywhere know about, it's stress. Stress about kids, relationships, work, dinner, laundry...the list goes on and on. In fact, one might say women are "addicted to stress." Which is exactly the idea behind Debbie Mandel's ingenious new book. In it, she likens a woman's tireless work to identity theft and points out the irony of calling a never-ending to-do list that we use to keep ourselves occupied every moment of every day "progress." But there's good news - we're only 7 simple steps away from changing our lives. Mandel helps women understand that stress addiction is a real problem, recognize the signs, and take action to improve our health and better our lives. And she's got her work cut out for her; after all, one of the major problems with stress addiction is that women today feel they need to keep busy in order to thrive. How often do you find yourself with free time, only to wonder what work or chores you could be getting done instead? Sure, we know we're busy, but we relish the purpose and sense of accomplishment, right? It turns out that stress may be affecting our lives in more ways than we realize, damaging our relationships, our family life, and even our health. Mandel's book is as interactive as it is informative, and it's absolutely a must read for anyone who experiences even a little stress in her daily life (which, let's face it, is pretty much everyone). With anecdotes from women you can relate to, questions and activities to really get you thinking about your own life, and advice to change everything from your diet and your house to your routine and your mindset, this book has the potential to really make a difference in your life. So enough with the excuses - finding the time to read this book will mean finding the time to rediscover yourself.