Stress Management - The more connected we get in this dot.com world the more we are assaulted with pressure. While at first we tough it out and "white-knuckle" our way through, eventually the wear-and-tear takes its toll. Art has been working with the Hardiness Institute since 1987, teaching clients the Hardy way to manage their stress.

Stress Treatment Program - Click here to access a free online treatment program to reduce your distress today. Learn three core strategies and listen to two relaxation audio files that will immediately calm your nervous system and generate instant relief.

Many medical conditions create and are exacerbated by stress. It is critical to understand the role stress plays in coping with your medical condition. It's not "all in your head", but your head and your emotions are what suffers along with the rest of your body. Through understanding the feedback process that exists in the Mind/Body connection you can dramatically reduce the level of suffering you experience.

Being stressed has very real physical consequences. It can lead to headaches, back aches, poor sleep, irritability, skin problems, gastrointestinal issues, and many more physical disorders. It can also exacerbate health problems such as tinnitus, chronic pain, asthma, diabetes, and many more. In addition, being ill can in itself be a stressor and interfere with our coping ability.

Paradoxically. learning how to de-stress takes some effort. The more "wound up" you are the harder it is to learn, because this skill is the exact opposite of what you instinctively do. The goal is to learn to turn off the "Fight/Flight" response. Briefly, this is the mechanism that gives you instant energy in times of physical danger. Unfortunately, our bodies can't tell the difference between real physical danger (a mugger attacking you) and threats to our ego (criticism from the boss, being overdrawn on your checking account, etc.) We rarely face actual physical threats, but stressors of the second type are constant. This results in what we experience as "stress".

First line defenses for Stress are Relaxation, Cognitive Therapy (changing your self talk and resulting emotions), and Exercise. If you learn and practice all three you will be well on your way to managing whatever physical problems you are experiencing.

When you click on "Relaxation" you will learn about a procedure that is the first step in learning how to relax your body and disengage the fight/flight response. Once you have practiced this a few times you will be able to tell when you are tense, and will have a short-cut to releasing your body from this tension.

Biofeedback is the next step in learning to regulate your body's response to the demands of life and illness. You may have heard of yoga masters and magicians who can slow their breathing and heart rate to one tenth or less of normal. One way to learn how to manage your body's mechanisms is through the use of monitors which display physical conditions such as skin temperature, heart rate, skin conductivity, etc. You can learn these skills by visiting a professional who will connect you to these monitors and teach you the skills necessary to learn to manage the systems of your body. Call Dr. Pammenter for more information. Another way is to purchase a program which will do the same thing in your home on your computer.

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A more comprehensive approach to coping with stress is learning to develop Eustress, the optimal state of positive energy and well being. From my experience with Hardiness Training, an approach that has been researched for many years and is highly effective, I have developed a program I call “YouStress”. This program teaches skills that aid you in becoming more resilient in the face of high stress environments and conditions such as chronic illness. Click on "YouStress" to learn more about this training.

Cognitive Therapy teaches how your self talk can create and/or alter emotional responses. By learning to tune into your constant sub-conscious stream of imagery you will be able to identify incorrect perceptions and beliefs, altering them to be more accurate, realistic, and calming.