We walk around in a world full of stressed out people. Anxiety, stress, fear, and restlessness are words that most people are familiar with at some level. The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook has been around since the early 1980’s, when the First Edition was published to respond to the increasing awareness of how stress impacts our overall wellness. Fast forward to the present time and you will find The Relaxation and Stress Workbook has sold over 500,000 copies and is in its Fifth Edition. Martha Davis, Ph.D., Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman, MSW, and Matthew McKay, Ph.D. co-authored this edition.
Kick Back and Relax
This book filled with a large amount of information and techniques for readers to try At the risk of putting counselors and therapists out of business, there are a number of counseling techniques and suggestions for working with anxiety, often used in practice. This is not a text book, however, and the writing is clear enough for most adult readers to follow. Based on the number of copies sold, this is a popular book.
Each chapter is dedicated to examining a specific topic related to stress or relaxation. There are self-score surveys included for individual assessment and a variety of actual counseling techniques that can be used at home. Though many of the techniques are not labeled in the book in professional counseling terms, the section on Refuting Irrational Beliefs is largely linked to Albert Ellis and Rational Emotive Behavioral Theory, as the book briefly notes in the chapter. Other cognitive and cognitive-behavioral techniques, such as thought stopping and worry control are also widely used in the profession for issues related to anxiety and stress reduction.
The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook is a soft-covered 294 page workbook. The topics are divided into 21 Chapters. The Introductory Chapters (1 & 2) are meant to be read prior to engaging in any of the activities or techniques presented in Chapters 3-21. Diagrams and pictures are included in certain sections of the book to illustrate such examples as yoga poses and breathing techniques. There are questionnaires and short surveys for the reader, as well as other exercises that can be completed by writing right in the workbook.
The Chapters
1 How You React to Stress
2 Body Awareness
3 Breathing
4 Progressive Relaxation
5 Meditation
6 Visualization
7 Applied Relaxation Training
8 Self-Hypnosis
9 Autogenics
10 Brief Combination Techniques
11 Recording Your Own Relaxation Tape
12 Refuting Irrational Beliefs
13 Thought Stopping
14 Worry Control
15 Coping Skills Training
16 Goal Setting and Time Management
17 Assertiveness Training
18 Job Stress Management
19 Nutrition
20 Exercise
21 When it Doesn’t Come Easy-Get Unstuck
INDEX
Best Feratures
*The listed price for The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook is only $19.95. Compared to other books that related to relaxation or stress reduction, this is one of the best comprehensive stress reduction books.
* There are practical ideas for both issues for readers to work with at their own pace. The listed chapters (see above) offer a quick look at the main topics covered
* The authors provide instructions for each exercise and short answer summaries for the surveys and questionnaires
*This is a comprehensive book that addresses many topics in one book, rather than shorter issue-specific books on the market
*Many of the techniques offered are supported by research
*The book expects the reader to be an active participant in their own anxiety/stress reduction and empowers the reader with that expectation
One Minor Critique
Overall, this is one of the best books for people that are looking for a self-help type book for stress reduction and want to learn some techniques. The key part of using this book for self-help is that it is best geared to those that are able to do some independent work. This is not a replacement for professional counseling if a person is dealing with elevated levels of stress or anxiety. Though most of the writing is clear enough for an adult reader with some knowledge of basic psychology, not all readers may find this workbook easy to complete. Some of the techniques were difficult for undergraduate psychology students to grasp at first, and many are actual techniques that counselors or therapists have studied professionally.
Recommendation
After trying some of the exercises in the book and reviewing it, I believe that this book could be very helpful to those that are able to dedicate some time to work through all the chapters. In the very least, the readers will have the option of choosing from a variety of stress reduction and relaxation techniques to improve their overall wellness.
With my minor critique in mind, I would rate The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook 4.75 out of 5 stars.
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications, Inc
Website: www.harbinger.com
ISBN: 1-57224-214-0
