The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook

This is pure serendipity. As I sit down to write this review (March 19, 2019) of the sixth edition of The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook, and pull the book up on Amazon just to check whether it's the most current, I learn that the seventh will be released on April 1, 2019. So mine is "good enough." I'm reviewing the Workbook because I hope my clients who suffer from anxiety might take a look. I know it's been worthwhile for me personally for relieving day-to-day tensions. I'll be telling friends and family about it. This hefty manuscript by Martha Davis, PhD, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman, MSW and Matthew McKay, PhD is a comprehensive how-to guide to the most thoroughly researched, proven relaxation and stress reduction techniques developed from cultures and medical specialties around the world. It covers, among other methods, deep breathing, visualization, meditation, assertiveness training and exercise. It is powerful, but not a quick, simple or peaceful read. The exercises can be emotionally painful and/or physically uncomfortable at first. Learning these competencies is challenging: they require practice to build new habits. You could choose to learn them alone, or I believe this is a fantastic book for friends or family to share on an "accountability partner" basis. It could even be a foundation for efforts in coordination with a health coach. Lauren Williams, Certified Professional Organizer, Owner, Casual Uncluttering LLC, Woodinville, WA, USA

This is seriously one of the best workbooks out there along with the Dialetical Behaviour Thearpy workbook, this book has so much helpful and useful information that can help anyone no matter what they are experiencing. This book has so many different tools and resources and I'm really glad it exists because it's a wonderful tool and resource for anyone to use. Truthfully a wonderful book to have.

Excellent resource for learning stress management and relaxation strategies. The Good: Each chapter is dedicated to a specific topic, such as re-breathing training, refuting irrational ideas and meditation, and the authors do an excellent job providing some background information (e.g., the role of stress in daily life, the fight-flight response, pictures of the diaphragm and information regarding normal vs. shallow breathing). Text is written in very easy-to-understand language and the strategies are easy to learn and apply in a variety of situations. Yet like any skills the strategies require practice, time, and patience to begin to have an effect on your life. What Needs To Be Improved: Whilst the book provides numerous strategies to combat stress and to encourage relaxation, there is no information regarding what someone should do if the strategies don't work. Also, the book tends to focus primarily on breathing-based exercise with the assumption that a person can simply sit down and "get it" at the expense of other proven stress-reduction strategies, such as distress tolerance or mindfulness-based strategies. Furthermore, given that readers need to follow a script for most of the breathing exercises, a companion CD containing the script would have been helpful as trying to follow the instructions whilst doing the exercise is not effective. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn ways to manage everyday stress. I would not recommend this book as the sole resource for anyone who experiences emotional issues that are "deeper" than everyday stress as unfortunately the strategies in this book may not be as effective if used alone and such individuals should instead seek help from a psychologist. I would also recommend this book to students or other professionals interested in learning some introductory information about relaxation strategies.

The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Woorbook - (New Harbinger Self-Help Woorkbook) My counsler suggested this workbook to me as I am going through tremendous stress right now and suffering from insomnia. I usually only get about 4 hours per night, and it had been that way for over 2 months. In the beginning of the workbook, they have a test that gives you a score to determine just how much stress that has been in your life over the past year. The highest number rating was 300. I scored over 1,000 !! The book begins very easy, teaching you to breathe and focus. I did this when I woke up at 2am in the morning when the house was quiet, and learned how to control my breathing. The book continues on to teach you how to meditate which is something I had never thought of. It works !! But, you have to be consistant and do the exercizes every day. I am not finished with the book yet, but I have already told my friends and family about it and should purchase it if they are going through a stressful period of time. I am glad my counsler told me about this workbook as now I can sleep all night using the breathing exercize's before I go to sleep. 5 Stars on this one

We all look at self-help books for separate reasons. I personally suffered (or at least self-diagnosed myself) from general anxiety, depression and insomnia. If you personally have these three conditions, I found this book very helpful in coping with them (details will be explained in a bit.) It's very important to note I said "cope". From experience and as the book will tell you, in order to fully get the most out of this book you will have to practice these exercises daily. The book begins with a short questionaire to help you pinpoint what this book may help you with. After this self-diagnosis, the book will list the chapters that will help you with your condition. This I found very helpful as exercises that didn't help me cope with depression I would not invest my time in. There are quite a few methods in dealing with a number of conditions. For example, for general anxiety the book suggest you focus on breathing exercises, meditation, progressive relaxation and goal setting. You will then skip ahead to those chapters to get the most out of your time with this book. It is also important to note that this is a workbook in which you will preform exercises to help you. In my opinion this is far better than passive reading as you are actively engaging your mind and body. I have bought quite a few self-help books, but I do not regret this purchase one bit.

The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook is a a great help for folks like me suffering from anxiety and letting stress affect the overall well being that one should have. We all know how to be better than we are but sometimes we need someone that writes like this to steer you back to the center of doing things better and giving you a focus on the things that got you to an anxious state to start with. I have undergone therapy and this doubles for home therapy. It's well written and easy to read. Some of the work outlines are great ways to bring you to a an awareness of 'where you are' and how to fix it. I love the chapters on how to relax and calm yourself down. The breathing exercises are great. I have read many self help books but this is one I will continue to mark up and dog ear and reread. If you want to reduce stress then just buy it!

Took a while to work through, but not difficult or overly long. The book starts with various relaxation exercises and then covers more typical cognitive behavioral issues. Hands down the best book I’ve found. The book avoids the extensive repetition so common in these type of books. It could easily be the only book you would need covering the subject extensively. Very easy to read and not overly clinical without insulting your intelligence. The only issue might be too many choices for possible relaxation exercises. If the reader just remembers that then can pick and choose what works for them and doesn’t try and master every technique in the book it should be markedly helpful. Have read a fairly large number of these type of books looking for a good all around book for my patients with excessive stress and anxiety and this would be my first choice.

This was just ok for me, I loved the assessments at the beginning, I've been working with a therapist and having those to look at and refer to have helped, however a lot of these techniques are not always the easiest or the most helpful. It is a very overwhelming book but it is nice to have options since not every technique works for everyone. I do think though it is hard to skip around in the book as they seem to refer to other chapters a lot, so if one technique isn't working and you try to skip to another you might not be able to use it, if you haven't mastered a previous technique. I think it is a good option to have and check out, but it isn't the absolute best, but it does actually provide a lot of options and tips. I appreciate the thought and time that went into this but I can't say it has helped me a whole lot. I personally need something to supplement my therapy something I can do on a daily basis and some of these are very in depth and require a lot of time and focus that with my anxiety I don't quite feel like I have the time for. But it is a good place to start I think for a lot of people.

Lots of good information in it

Really helpful.

sehr unübersichtlich, sehr kleine Buchstaben,schwer zu lesen und zu verstehen. Kapitel eng beschrieben. Text oft kompliziert , manchmal nicht zu verstehen, so dass mehreres Lesen der selben Absätze nötig ist.

Any mental health professional's must-have! I have been using this book for ages now and most techniques in here are carved in my memory! This is something anyone working in a mental health field should have, a fresher or a seasoned therapist! I also give it to my clients to read and have it in our school's library. Don't practice without it!

It is an excellent manual for dealing with the stresses of daily life. Complete. It brings all the resources and possibilities to avoid or treat stress and all the harmful consequences that result.