Weekly Email for Stress Reduction from Wellbeing Lifestyles.com

Highlights

Enjoy the ease of working with concise information delivered via 52 weekly e-mails.
Benefit from the easy-to-use format that contains information “To Know” and action steps “To Do” in every e-mail.
Learn how to actually reduce stress one-week and one-step at a time during the course of an entire year.
Learn to use the 7 most effective strategies of the past 70 years for reducing stress.
Learn to use the 6 most effective techniques for releasing stress.
Learn how to deal with your own and others’ emotions, especially anger, fear, grief, anxiety, and depression.
Upgrade and customize your time management system.
Discover which relaxation method(s) work best for you.
Learn the importance of good nutrition in relation to stress and what to do about it.
Identify the best form(s) of enjoyable exercise for you.
Learn how to improve the quality of your sleep.
Learn how to apply the six keys to inner happiness.
Identify the most effective forms of support for you and where to get it.
Learn the importance of pleasure, play and laughter in reducing stress.
Learn how to develop and when to use positive self-talk skills.
Learn quicker and retain the information longer with the accelerated learning techniques that are built right into the program.

E-mail Sample 1 of 6:

E-mail tips taken from the seven strategies of Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™

Tip # 2 Understanding the Time/Enegery Relationship -- from "Take Charge of Your Time."

To Know: Research indicates that "lack of time" is a major cause of stress for most people today. If this is true for you, it's time to take charge of your time! You can do this through careful planning, prioritizing, organizing, and simplifying. To gain more control of your life, you must first determine how you currently spend your time and engergy.

To Do: Start a one-week "time log." Each day, write down how much time you allocate for each activity, e.g. get ready for work -- 45 min; commute -- 1.3 hrs; meetings -- 1.3 hrs; telephone -- 1.5 hrs; paperwork -- 2.75 hrs; etc.

Be sure to include things like informal chats with co-workers, planning time, procrastination, answering e-mails, and other small things that can add up. At the end of the week, tally the time you spent in each category. Are you surprised? Where might you save and/or better use your time? Be sure to use your list of prioritized values (From Tip #1) in this process.

“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.”
- Arthur Ashe, 1943-93, Professional Tennis Player

Note: This is one of 52 weekly Wellness Wednesdays™ tips on the topic of stress reduction. These tips are derived from Wellbeing Lifestyles'™, popular e-learning program Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™. For more information regarding each weekly tip, please refer to the section of the program listed above or see our website at www.wellbeinglifestyles.com. ©2005 International Learning Center, Inc.™. All rights reserved.

E-mail Samples 2 of 6:

E-mail tips taken from the seven strategies of Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™

Tip # 6 Establish Dietary Guidelines -- from "Nurture Your Body"

To Know: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, "Poor diet and a lack of exercise have almost caught up with tobacco as being the leading source of disease in the United States." Currently 65 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese -- that's two out of three -- and the trend is getting worse!

To Do: The following suggestions are based on the National Cancer Institute's and the American Heart Association's dietary guidelines for reducing the risks of cancer, heart disease, and stroke (the three leading causes of death in the United States).

Choose a diet rich in a variety of plant-based foods ( vegetables, fruits, and whole grains).
Eat plenty of high-fiber foods ( fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, roots, tubers, whole grains, and whole foods).
Avoid excess fats, sugars, salt, and caffeine. (High-caffeine foods include coffee, tea, cola, and chocolate.)
Eat fresh rather than processed foods. Limit your intake of salt-cured, smoked, and nitrite-preserved food.
Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all.
Prepare and store foods safely.
Avoid being underweight or overweight.

“Your food shall be your remedy.”
- Hippocrates, 470-410 B.C., Greek Physician

Note: This is one of 52 weekly Wellness Wednesdays™ tips on the topic of stress reduction. These tips are derived from Wellbeing Lifestyles'™, popular e-learning program Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™. For more information regarding each weekly tip, please refer to the section of the program listed above or see our website at www.wellbeinglifestyles.com. ©2005 International Learning Center, Inc.™. All rights reserved.

E-mail Samples 3 of 6:

E-mail tips taken from the seven strategies of Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™

Tip # 14 Play More & Often -- from "Rejuvenate"

To Know: In his book Playing and Reality (1982) noted psychoanalyst D. W. Winnicott highlights the importance of play for children as a means of working through anxiety. Yet as adults, we easily lose sight of the importance of and need for play. Whatever “play” looks like to you, be sure to regularly incorporate it into your life.

To Do: Plan playtime in three distinct areas of your life:

Personal time: Make a list of all the things you enjoy doing on your own, and then plan time to do them. This could be as simple as spending an afternoon in the hammock or taking a car ride to someplace you enjoy.
Couple time: If you are married, learn how to “date” your spouse again. Find 1 night each week and 1 weekend each month that are yours to enjoy without the children.
Family time: Identify shared activities that you all enjoy, and then plan for them. Turn off the television and bring out board games that encourage participation, or simply take a walk or a bike ride together.

Each of these areas of play requires its own allotment of time, and each will probably take a different form of play. Take time now to schedule some playtime in each area.

“To a young heart everything is fun.”
- Charles Dickens, 1812 - 1870, Author

Note: This is one of 52 weekly Wellness Wednesdays™ tips on the topic of stress reduction. These tips are derived from Wellbeing Lifestyles'™, popular e-learning program Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™. For more information regarding each weekly tip, please refer to the section of the program listed above or see our website at www.wellbeinglifestyles.com. ©2005 International Learning Center, Inc.™. All rights reserved.

E-mail Samples 4 of 6:

E-mail tips taken from the seven strategies of Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™

Tip # 21 Want What You Have -- from "Examine Your Beliefs"

To Know: Here is a common belief: "In order to reduce stress and be happy, my outward circumstances must change."

Many people spend a great deal of time and energy trying to change their outward circumstances. And too often the result is added stress. Though a person may find temporary happiness by winning the lottery, finding the "perfect" love, or getting the "perfect" job, he or she may only be unhappy again when the fortune is spent or the perfect partner or job is gone. You -- yes, you -- can learn to appreciate all the good things in your life and to be truly content at this very moment, regardless of what you think may be "lacking" or what the future may bring. "Hopeless," you say? Not at all. Please read further.
To Do: The key to true happiness is simple: Instead of struggling to change your outward circumstances, relax and begin to focuse on changing your inward thoughts, beliefs and attitudes. You can start today by ramping up your gratitude and making a list of some of the many things for which you are grateful. Start small (e.g., having food to eat, clothes to wear, a place to live, etc.) and then branch out. Focus on a few of those things every day, not half-heartedly, but with a sense of passion and real gratitude.

It has been said that many of us live lives of relative luxury that surpass anything before the Industrial Revolution, even for royalty or the wealthy. The abundance of out choices for food, accommodations, work, entertainment, transportation, leisure, medicine, technology, information, etc., is unlike anything ever seen before. Instead of focusing on what you don't have, practice wanting what you have, and enjoy the ride a little more.

“Only one thing has to change for us to know happiness in our lives: where we focus our attention.”
- Greg Anderson, NBA player

Note: This is one of 52 weekly Wellness Wednesdays™ tips on the topic of stress reduction. These tips are derived from Wellbeing Lifestyles'™, popular e-learning program Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™. For more information regarding each weekly tip, please refer to the section of the program listed above or see our website at www.wellbeinglifestyles.com. ©2005 International Learning Center, Inc.™. All rights reserved.

E-mail Samples 5 of 6:

E-mail tips taken from the seven strategies of Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™

Tip # 29 Dealing with Depression -- from "Let Your Emotions Flow"

To Know: Depression involves both a biochemical imbalance in the brain and a psychological imbalance (i.e., an imbalance in thinking). It should not be confused with normal grief or mourning, or with the "down" cycle of life's ordinary ups and downs. Depression is more serious than a bad case of the blues; it is a disease that requires treatment.

Thre are different types of depression and varying degrees of severity. In fact, you can be depressed without feeling unusual amounts of sorrow, saddness, or emotional hurt.

To Do: If you feel you may be depressed, making an appointment with a psychotherapist can be very educational. It can address your feelings, your “errors in emotional logic,” and teach you new habits of thought and action.

Choose a mental health practitioner (a psychiatrist or psychotherapist) who is experienced with depression and open to including medication as part of the treatment plan, should it become necessary.

If you are severely or chronically depressed, see a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist (a medical doctor with training in psychology and psychopharmacology) has more expertise in this area than a general practitioner, an internist, a gynecologist, or other medical doctors.

While medications can be helpful, especially in the short-term, medications by themselves are only part of the solution. According to recent research, combining biochemical therapies for the brain (e.g., medication and exercise) with psychotherapy appears to be the most successful treatment for depression.

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
- Soren Kierkegaard, 1813-55, Philosopher

Note: This is one of 52 weekly Wellness Wednesdays™ tips on the topic of stress reduction. These tips are derived from Wellbeing Lifestyles'™, popular e-learning program Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™. For more information regarding each weekly tip, please refer to the section of the program listed above or see our website at www.wellbeinglifestyles.com. ©2005 International Learning Center, Inc.™. All rights reserved.

E-mail Samples 6 of 6:

E-mail tips taken from the seven strategies of Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™

Tip # 48 Learn & Grow at Every Age -- from "Examine Your Beliefs"

To Know: Stressful situations can become less stressful when viewed and experienced as learning opportunities. In her top-selling book If Life Is a Game, These Are the Rules (1998), Cherie Carter-Scott, Ph.D., lists 10 "rules." Here are 4 of them:

You will be presented with lessons.
There are no mistakes, only lessons.
A lesson is repeated until learned.
Learning does not end.

We are provided with opportunities to learn and grow at every age and stage of our lives. If you do not master a lesson the first time around, take advantage when it next appears.

To Do: Make a short list of reappearing lessons that you have been unsuccessful in learning. Then write out a plan or strategy for learning each one. Make a commitment to learn each one and set a deadline for doing so. Be sure to celebrate your successes as you go.

“Life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-82, Author, Philosopher & Poet

Note: This is one of 52 weekly Wellness Wednesdays™ tips on the topic of stress reduction. These tips are derived from Wellbeing Lifestyles'™, popular e-learning program Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™. For more information regarding each weekly tip, please refer to the section of the program listed above or see our website at www.wellbeinglifestyles.com. ©2005 International Learning Center, Inc.™. All rights reserved.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are the Wellness Wednesdays™ e-mails the same as the ones in your e-learning program Stress Reduction & Personal Renewal™?
A: Yes. Exactly the same.

Q: Will I be able to understand the 7 key strategies for reducing stress?
A: Absolutely! The Wellness Wednesdays™ e-mails are designed to provide you with most of the key information in our e-learning program. The difference is you receive it in smaller bits of information distributed over the length of 52 weeks.

Q: Do the e-mails go in order from one strategy to the next?
A: With the exception of the first three which each deal with a key aspect of time management, Wellness Wednesdays™ e-mails are designed to provide an engaging mix of all 7 strategies. For example, this week you might receive important information regarding "Nurturing Your Body" and next week you would receive something on "Getting Support." The reason for this is we didn't want to make people wait until the final few weeks for information on any one topic. So we intermixed them a bit. In doing so we paid attention to the overall integrity of the information so that there is a nice sense of flow regarding what topics follow what.

Q: Why is it different for the first three?
A: Because effective time management is so important today. We wanted to start with these to give everyone a good foundation on which to build.

Q: Does each e-mail follow the same template: something “To Know” and something “To Do”?
A: Yes. The reason is that it's not enough to simply have good solid information. It's equally important to know what to do with it and how to “bring it alive” in your life.

Q: I like the idea of having this information broken down into “bite-sized” pieces that I can interact with on a weekly basis. It makes it all seem much more doable.
A: That's exactly the point. Effectively reducing stress, not just managing it, is something you have to do in steps, otherwise you end up adding more stress by taking on too much at once.