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

The average rating for Addicted to Stress: A Woman's 7-Step Program to Reclaim Joy and Spontaneity in Life based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-01-10 00:00:00 Marc-Andre Desalliers Self-help books usually give me hives. They bug me. The formulaic route to happiness, whether it takes three steps or twelve, never works for long. Usually I abhor the testimonials and chatty stories in the sidebars to showcase how messed up people can get. This book though... this Addicted to Stress could just work. Essentially, author Debbie Mandel is swimming against the current and wishing we could all do a lot less with our day. She doesn't mean crashing on the couch to watch Colbert until you fall asleep. She's talking about taking time to be focused on a single task. She rejects the multi-task. However, after adding up everything Mandel expects us to do, it is a hell of a trick to fit it all in without killing two birds with one stone. We're advised to get ourselves running ticktity boo inside and out'from our libido to our lunchbox, our humor to our humps. Stress addicts would take the advice and end up doing pelvic floor muscles while going to the magic store to learn tricks, and meanwhile thinking up a good "totem." The chatty sidebar stories are a good bit of fun, as long as you don't have a problem with seeing yourself held up in print as a beacon of stress addiction'because most women I know would qualify. Slowing down is a great idea. Taking time to develop healthy narcissism is, well, healthy. Problems? Reclaiming joy and spontaneity in life could get a bit costly. Add up the time being sexy, slowly eating, having self-assessment chats, exercising, going on fun picnics, and engaging in deep conversations, and this might mean I have to quit my job. Review by Sarah Papple

Review # 2 was written on 2008-12-09 00:00:00 Jason Tardo Ok, I admit it. I'm a stress addict. I don't feel valuable to the world unless I'm producing something. I've driven myself to the point of panic attacks when I'm relaxing. So when I saw this book, I had to acknowledge that it was meant for me. Rather than everything written now about how to do more, how to be more connected to the world, I wanted a book that helped me to believe that it was acceptable to be a little withdrawn, and to focus on taking care of myself. Addicted to Stress did just that, for at least periods of time. It provided good insights into why I was driven by stress, and gave coping techniques. I've found a few ways in which to let go, and some ways to "do better" moving forward. The book in no way provided all of the answers, but it provided a good overview of a variety of ways in which to think about your life. The variety is what made the book most valuable to me; unlike most other books, it's answer wasn't just "do less, delegate." Nor was the answer to "reduce conflict." Both of these were suggestions, but Debbie Mandel also suggests exercise, and finding your own passion. Overall, I think I will look back at the book for reference, but it's not one that I'll re-read often.