Don’t Wait Till Your Life Suffers Stress Fractures

StayWell is a new weekly feature designed to help you better manage your health.

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We all face stress, whether we’re juniors in college, junior corporate executives, single teachers or married, harried, double-income parents. It’s how we manage that stress that makes the difference for ourselves, our friends, our co-workers and loved ones. Take Al and Elaine, a typical couple with typical troubles. Each day, they deal with stressful moments. A look at their busy lives might show you some ways you can reduce the stress in yours:

While Elaine rushed to pack lunch for the kids, Al read the paper. 1. Once out the door, all she could think about was the traffic she knew she would face. 2. Al hurried out just before her, late for a meeting. 3.

On her way to lunch, Elaine tried something new. She took a deep breath and imagined herself on an island. 4. At that same moment, Al sat at his desk eyeing a new CD player in a catalog. 5. He had just returned from a walk. The meeting hadn’t gone well. But instead of blowing up, he went out for air. 6.

Later, as Elaine left for home, her boss asked whether she could take on a fourth project. “I’m not sure, but maybe I could fit it in,” she said. 7. Meanwhile, Al called an old jogging buddy just before leaving work to plan a weekend run. 8.

Later that evening, Al had an idea. “Let’s go to the park and feed the ducks.” The kids jumped at the idea. Elaine smiled broadly at her husband. 9. Remembering the morning, she asked, “Al, could you help clean up first?’ Together they did the dishes, gathered the kids and headed out the door.

1. Elaine, what’s the matter with you? Cat--which you have to take to the vet at lunchtime for hairball treatment--got your tongue? And Al, what’s the matter with you? You got arthritis in those hands? You can’t put the paper down for five minutes and lend Elaine a hand?

2. Of course, we Southlanders are all too familiar with that four-letter word, T-R-A-F-F-I-C. Bring an audiotaped book or a tape or CD of soothing music; it ought to drown out the blare of car horns and swear words.

3. C’mon, Al. What happened to that snazzy electronic calendar Elaine and the kids got you for your last birthday? You did log that meeting into your calendar, didn’t you? Give yourself more time in the future.

4. Daydreaming or visualizing being someplace else--like an island, in a bubble bath or at Crate & Barrel with a cart full of cash--is a great stress reliever.

5. The question is: Al, can you afford it? Maybe it’s time to let the plastic cool down from the last impulse shopping spree.

6. Going out for a quick walk is a better stress reliever than venting anger in a meeting--especially if the boss, the boss’s boss and the boss’s boss’s boss are present.

7. Elaine, Elaine, Elaine, develop a backbone, girl, and ask which project takes priority, then focus on that one first. More work all at once can add to stress.

8. Good going, Albert. The best way to find the time to exercise is to make the time. Write it down and treat it as if it’s an important appointment--which it is.

9. Beats doing the same old, same old for the night, right? TV isn’t the most fun way to spend the evening. And feeding the ducks can help relieve some of the day’s stress.