Relax! Good Ways to Beat Stress
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About this ebook
The author has spent most of his working life in universities. He has also worked in the United Nations and local and central governments. This book is the product of many years spent teaching in universities in three countries with different cultures. At the freshman level (first year) he encountered many students who had problems settling down to university life. They brought their troubles to him and over the years and he learned a lot about what worried them, including their increasing levels of stress as exams approached. At higher levels, those studying for their Ph.D.s were often under immense pressure, which was sometimes family-based, sometimes financial, and, towards the end, always concerned issues of time. Listening to their concerns, giving support and advice and helping them to make the necessary adjustments provided much of the practical material for this book.
Although the learning side was based in academia, the practical advice applies to the world in general.
The focus is on practical ways to deal with stress i.e., what you can actually do to help yourself. You are told what you can do to gain immediate relief from stress and help you to unwind quickly. Emphasis is placed on each person’s unique individuality which means that when suffering from stress we all have a wide variety of palliative and curative techniques from which to choose. No one set of recommendations will fit each person, so that a stressed individual should try many or all of the suggestions, then select those ways that helps best.
The first set of recommendations deals with various ways of providing quick relief from stress and inducing immediate feelings of well-being. These consist of various ways of tackling the symptoms of stress and restoring feelings of calm and peace.
The second set of recommendations, the most important ones, consist of ways of making improvements that attack the causes of stress, rather than dealing with the immediate symptoms. These improvements are of long-term nature and mostly involve some changes in life-style.
Kevin Bucknall
I have worked at London University, Griffith University (Australia) and with the United Nations in Bangkok. I have lived in a variety of countries, including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the UK. Recently I spend much of my time writing about motivation and study skills and also making videos about Chinese and Japanese culture. I also "entertain" the neighbours by practising the clarinet in order to keep my place as the lowliest clarinet player in the Da Capo concert band in London.
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Book preview
Relax! Good Ways to Beat Stress - Kevin Bucknall
Relax! Good Ways to Beat Stress
By Dr Kevin Bucknall
Copyright 2015 Kevin Bucknall
Published by Kewei Press at Smashwords
ISBN 978-0-9561823-5-7
The cover painting is Les Demoiselles des bords de la Seine
by Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet, (1864-1955) and hangs in the Petit Palace, Paris
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. He spent years gaining the necessary experience.
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. No reproduction without permission. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer
To begin at the beginning. My interest in the subject matter of this book developed when I spent years teaching university students and advising them about their problems. Many of my students suffered from increasing levels of stress, particularly as their exams grew closer and the pressures increased. Many years of practical experience coupled with a lot of research finally led to this book.
Now for the legal bit, which they say I must have.
I have made every effort to ensure that the information and advice in this book was correct at press time, but I do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. This book is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. Before starting any mental or physical exercise program I implore you to consult a medical practitioner for a checkup, just in case. This is particularly so with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention. My advice here also applies before you start on a new diet, especially any of the new fashionable and faddy ones, some of which in my view are conceived a bit irresponsibly and publicized over-enthusiastically. Some of them are undesirable or seem to me to be downright dangerous. So now you know.
I began to write this book with students in mind but realized that there were many other people out there who might also benefit. As a result you might find parts of the book apply to your situation, while other bits may be less relevant to you. You should pick and choose what you want, selecting what fits your needs best and what makes you feel comfortable and happy. Never worry about things that do not seem particularly related to you, as that might offset the improvements that you are capable of making. The suggestions to fight stress are not in any recommended order—what works best for you may be quite different from what works best for me.
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction: How Stress Can Build Up
Chapter 2 Why We Need to Relax
Chapter 3 What You Can Do
Chapter 4 An Optional Guideline
Chapter 5 The Two Broad Approaches
Chapter 6 The Quick Fix Approach to Stress
Chapter 7 More Permanent Solutions for the Longer Term
Chapter 8 Is It Possible to Relax Too Much?
Chapter 9 Appendix A The Deep Relaxation Method and Script
Chapter 10 More Publications by Dr. Kevin Bucknall
About the author
Dr Kevin Bucknall was born in England. He received his first degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from the Australian National University. He is interested in and published in several areas, including student self-help, Asian cultures, and the Chinese economy. Most of his work experience has been in universities, although he has worked for both central and local government, did a stint in the army, and worked for the United Nations. He also plays the clarinet, has actually earned money doing so, and currently plays in an amateur symphonic wind band in London.
Chapter 1 Introduction: How Stress Can Build Up
We live in a stressful world and are subject to a variety of pressures such as the need to be somewhere at a certain time or to undertake tasks that do not naturally exist in the world of mammals, such as living cheek by jowl in crowded, noisy, possibly smoky cities or travelling in small moving boxes on wheels to a school, college or workplace. We are also subject to a barrage of information by telephone, television, radio, advertising hoardings and the like and this torrent must be processed. We face rapid technical change which constantly forces new gadgets upon us and new techniques that must be learned. All this means more stress.
Stress builds up because of pressure and fear. We are basically animals, intelligent ones, but we suffer from the fight or flight
response to danger, as we have always done. Yet fighting or running away is not appropriate for the tension aspects of modern living, so the stress continues and builds up. Our mind and body adjust and start to believe that this is normal and we cease to notice—but