Outwitting Stress: A Practical Guide to Conquering Stress Before You Crack Book

	Introduction: Facts About Stress	xiii
1	Identifying the Problem	1
	What Is Stress?
	How Stress Affects Your Body
	The Stress of Information Overload
	Taking Control of Your Life
	Self Test: How Much Stress Are You Under?
2	Practical Ways to Outwit Stress	15
	The Importance of Exercise
	20 Ways to Incorporate Exercise into Your Daily Routine
	Limit Caffeine
	Relaxation Techniques
	Keep a Journal
	Incorporate Music into Your Day
	Expand Your Horizons
	Pull Out of the Fast Lane
	Preparing for Stress
	Happiness Is in the Details
	Eliminate Unnecessary Stress
	Solve the Consistent Problems
	Live in the Moment
	Nurture Your Friendships
	Expand Your Circle of Friends
	Women and Stress at Home
	Men Feel the Stress, Too
	Outwitting Housework--Make Peace with Imperfection
	Make Your House a Haven
3	Stress in the Workplace	41
	Working Harder, Working More
	Fears Abound
	Finding Solutions That Work
	The Alpha, Beta, or Gamma Response
	Time-Management Strategies
	Learning to Say "No"
	Create a Haven at Work
	The Art of Balance
	The Rule of Opposites
	Listening to Your Body's Internal Clock
	Working from Home
	A Few Words for Policemen, Firefighters, and Physicians
4	Sex, Stress, and Dating	59
	The Dating Game
	Happiness Comes from Within
	Taking the Stress Out of Dating
	Double Up and Reduce the Stress
	Make a List, and Then ...
	Surviving Family Inquisitions
	Winning the Numbers Game
	Hold Off on Sex until You're Ready
	Top 10 Relationship Killers
	The Wisdom of the Football Coach
5	Stressbusters for Marriage	75
	Good Advice
	A Foundation of Respect
	Understand the Stresses
	Developing a Respectful Relationship
	The Art of Being Polite
	Emotional Banking
	Communication 101
	Outwitting a Dry Spell
	Help! I Married the Wrong Person
	Marriage, Stress, and Finances
	Outwitting the Stress of Sex in Marriage
	Melting the Ice
	Stress and In-Laws
	Too Close for Comfort?
	Dealing with the Holidays
6	Stress and Parenting	101
	Outwitting Toddler Tyranny: One Story
	Outwitting a Child Who Won't Sleep
	Children and Their Messes
	Outwitting a Whiner
	Keep Your Eye on the Goal
	Helping Your Children Deal with Stress
	The Perfectionist Child
	Preteens and 'Tweens and Teens, Oh My!
	Top 10 Mistakes Parents Make
	Tips for Outwitting Teenagers
	Helping Teenagers Reframe
	Student Stress 101
	Strategies for a Child Who Is Flirting with Real Trouble
7	Stress and Finances	131
	A General Plan of Action
Step 1	Establishing Goals
Step 2	Keeping Records
Step 3	Developing a Plan
Step 4	Fine-Tuning the Process
	Overextended on Credit? Try This
	40 Cost-Cutting Strategies
	Top 10 Purchase Mistakes
	Including Children and Teenagers in Financial Decisions
	Outwitting Excessive Spending During the Holidays
	Expensive Gifts Are Not Always the Best
8	Outwitting Travel, Traffic, and Unexpected Delays	157
	Outwitting Traffic
	A Special Type of Aggravation: The Family Vacation
	Traveling with Tots
	Airport Stress
	Plane Travel with Kids
	Restaurant Stress
	Tips for Eating Out with Kids
	Outwitting Unexpected Delays
	When All Else Fails ... Laugh
9	Outwitting Holiday Stress	177
	Identifying Major Causes of Holiday Stress
	10 Tips to Avoid Holiday Stress
	The Myth of Making Everyone Happy
	The Creative Calendar
	Building Traditions
	Providing a Meaningful Focal Point
	Outwitting the Martha Stewart Syndrome
	Holiday Cost-Cutters
	Kids Too Materialistic? Try These Strategies
	In-Laws and Holiday Stress
	Remember the Meaning of the Season
10	Outwitting the Stress of Illness, Death, and Dying	195
	Dealing with Stress When You Are Sick
	Stress and Chronic Disease
	Learning to Adapt
	Taking Care of Business
	Recognizing the Signs of Depression
	Coping with Terminal Illness in Someone You Love
	Caregiver Stress: 20 Quick Tips
	The Story of Thale
	Caring for Aging Parents
	Elder Care Tips
	The Sandwich Generation
	A Philosophical Approach to Death and Dying
	The Final Lesson
	A New Realm of Possibility
11	How to Deal with Living in a Sometimes Ugly World	219
	Take a Step Back from the Horror
	Milosevic, Atrocities, and Breast-feeding
	Facing My Fears
	Cleaning a Poisoned Well
	The Therapy of Volunteering
	Cultivate Uplifting Relationships
	Remember to Laugh
	Examine Your Priorities
12	Can Medicine Help?	235
	Stress and Medical Intervention--What Works?
	An Overview of Antidepressants
	SSRIs, MAOIs, and Tricyclic Antidepressants
	Older vs. Newer Generation Antidepressants
	How to Determine Which Medication Is Right for You
	Can Antidepressants Be Dangerous?
	Getting Back to Nature, or, Alternative Remedies for Stress
	Massage Therapy
	Aromatherapy
	The Therapy of Pets
	Get a Good Night's Sleep
	A Few Final Thoughts
	Index	253