Customer Reviews

The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sure we're all stressed a little now and then, but when the stress REALLY starts to build up and becomes too much, consider this little helper. An oversized volume (making it much easier to read), this book contains not one, but MANY different ways of reducing your stress- that's why its called a workbook. And this is precisely what makes this book such a gem- there's virtually something in it for everyone. If you don't like one technique, no problem, just go to the next chapter and try another one until you find one that suits you.

A handy book that should help de-stress a lot of people, I give it 5 stars easy. Can also recommend The Sixty-Second Motivator for readers who have trouble getting motivated to do healthy things regularly- like practice relaxation techniques!

I'm a psychologist working in a college counseling center, and this is one of the top self-help books which I recommend to my clients. It's appropriate for anyone looking to find ways to reduce the amount of anxiety and stress they feel. Strategies address all areas of anxiety, including physical tension, worry, and interpersonal issues. Each chapter details a specific anxiety reduction strategy--eg, diaphragmatic breathing, self-hypnosis, thought stopping--and at the start of the book, there is a self quiz to help determine which chapters would best meet your individual needs. This is one of the best, simpliest books avaiable for reducing anxiety and stress; it's also useful for a wide variety of related problems such as depression and difficulties sleeping. Highly recommended!

I must have bought countless books on relaxation and meditation in order to relieve stress. For the most part I found non-objective, very subjective eastern treatises pushing a philosophy or dogma. These books were not very well structured in explaining how to use the techniques. This book, approaches relaxation methods in a scientific manner. Each chapter is about one method, telling what type of attitude works best in its use, the variations of the method (based on effect) and the time that is necessary to see the effects. The methods are explained in a "cookbook" manner. The steps of the methods are clear and explained well. These methods are treated as templates for anybody to use, without implying inferences as to what philosophy of life is correct. I don't think I have ever recommended a book before (heuristic: 90% of all books say the same thing), but since this one follows such a well defined format, I will. Enjoy.

I am a university instructor of stress management education, and this is the textbook I use. The authors cover the salient points of modern stress and how to manage it in an easily readable and understandable way. I recommend this workbook to all my students and clients. This is, by far, the most concise and efficient book available today for every person!

Brew yourself a cup of your favorite herbal tea and curl up in a quiet corner because you're in for a treat. This book is exactly what the title says it is - a workbook for relaxation and stress reduction - and its user-friendly style enables the reader to dip into any chapter at will and derive something useful and informative from it. The book's orientation is very much a holistic approach and the authors' emphasis on mental coping methods dovetails nicely with the chapters on reducing physical stress symptoms. I found the progressive relaxation guidance (including instructions for creating your own tape) particulary well done and helpful. As the authors make so clear, many of us are unaware of how and where we store our tension and how our breathing impacts our ability to move from a stress response to relaxation. Methods such as progressive relaxation - systematically tensing and relaxing all the large muscle groups in the body - aid in gaining awareness of what we are experiencing physically both during stress and in relaxation. The book also discusses goals, time management, nutrition and exercise, with copious worksheets for the reader to dissect which area(s) he or she most needs to focus on to achieve more individual balance, and therefore less stress. The end of each chapter includes suggestions for further reading, providing the reader a jumping off point for deeper work in a particular area, if needed. Each chapter is a module for bringing about psyche/soma homeostasis. The book's one drawback in my view is the length of the personal stress analysis worksheets. One is of course free to skip over them or complete only a portion of each one. Overall though, the book provides a palatable plethora of nurturing and nourishing ideas and methods for bringing mind, body and spirit to a place of respite and repose, whatever one's outer circumstances may be.

This book has helped me deal with stress in a practical way. Fist it explores where you store your stress and how it manifests in your life. Then it will help you identify the stress reduction exercises that will help you the most. The exercise explainations are very easy, step-by-step and assuring. It does not include religous overtones, so anyone can enjoy it. Like I said, it is a very practical guide. It has made a real difference in my life.

Unlike many books, this book is exactly what the title purports it to be. It is a workbook containing most of the common and not so common techniques being used for relaxation and stress reduction today. Each chapter not only describes a technique but also what symptoms you can expect it to relieve and an estimate of how long you will have to use it in order to master the technique. I have seen no other book that does such a thorough job as this one. That is not to say that there are not others that are much better on a specific technique, but this is the best overall survey of all the currently used and effective techniques and the only one that guides you to what to expect, the details of the techniques and how long you will have to practice before seeing results.

I am a therapist and regularly recommend this book. I like the variety of techniques it offers, as one technique may work for once client and not for another. It also has a chapter on dealing with chronic worrying, and an excellent, educational first chapter on stress and anxiety and how it affects us physically, emotionally, etc. My clients love this book. One recently told me it was like having her therapist "right there, all the time". They have sought experts in the various fields and of numerous techniques and theoretical orientations, which leave a nice balance of information from which to choose,use, practice, and get help.

I am a clinical psychologist specializing in medical psychology and have used this book for over 20 years (since it's first edition)and my patients have consistently found it very helpful in learning the background of various aspects of relaxing their lives, and in putting the many exercises included in the book into practice that are needed to integrate relaxation and stress reduction into a person's lifestyle, which is of course the main goal. It has been a very helpful guide for my patients in reducing the signs and symptoms that they report when coming to me for treatment.

This is one of, if not the best books on stress management and relaxation. It is a must have for health care providers working in this area, and an incredible resource for laymen seeking personal help or self growth.

I've recommended this book to probably 1000 psychologists, and as a specialty dealer of products for stress management, relaxation training and biofeedback, I know that at least 600-800 actually bought copies. Many of the ones I suggested it to already owned the book and I was always happy they did, because then, they knew I made credible recommendations.

The book offers a wealth of beautifully, simply explained exercises and techniques you can use immediately to learn to relax and cope with stress more effectively.