Friday, June 22, 2007

Diane De Anda Stress Management Curriculum

Among the many experts of issues regarding stress Diane De Anda surely rings a bell. In fact Diane De Anda stress management curriculum is as famous as the author herself. With her extensive experience in the field of stress management, many would go for her to seek for assistance.

Diane de Anda is presently working in the Department of Social Welfare of the UCLA’s School of Public Policy and Social Research. She has worked for 25 years with community organizations that are focusing on population and adult related concerns such as coping with stress, juvenile violence, teenage pregnancy, and other multicultural issues. She has also published several articles fictional stories both children and young adults. Hence, the Diane De Anda Stress Management Curriculum is a program that is a product of immersion from the field and extensive researches.

The stress management curriculum offered by Diane De Anda is geared towards the improvement of mid and high school youths’ ability in reduction the effects of stress and likewise coping with stressful events. This stress management curriculum is useful in classroom setting as well as fit for small group activities.

The stress management curriculum as espoused by De Anda provides scripts for sessions and instructions. It also includes worksheets for self-assessment, visual aids for better discussion, and other motivational activities. Likewise additional materials are also added like the pretest and posttest tools for better understanding and utilization of the curriculum. These tools are appropriate in determining the stress levels, coping skills to manage stress, and the to determine the effectiveness of the proposed coping strategies.

Diane de Anda stress management curriculum has been widely hailed by those who have attended the program. Its positive reviews from participants are keeping more people especially those that are involved in social welfare to join the program. Diane de Anda stress management curriculum is taught in a systematic manner and well executed.

According to some of the participants, the Diane de Anda stress management curriculum provides new insights not just on the relaxation techniques and regulatory proficiency but also among other things, strategies on problem-solving and mindfulness.

A book on stress management by Diane de Anda can also help to those who want to know more on the subject. Readers will also be provided with additional insights on the identification of stress, and familiarizing with the early signs of stress and how the body reacts to certain type of stress.

The connection between the body and the mind is also highlighted, as well as the technique in self-talk. Moreover, strategies on how to calm the mind the body and ways to clear the mind are well discussed.

The Diane de Anda stress management curriculum is really a big help for those who want to know more about stress management. No wonder, in his field, de Anda’s name surely rings a bell.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Laughter and Stress Management

Laughter is still the best medicine, and the only one perhaps that has no side effects, at least as far as addressing stress is concerned. Laughter is free and contagious. It connects us closer to the people we hold dear. Likewise provides us the means to see the other side of a person. Just hearing people laughing at about anything can certainly bring us to burst of laughter too.

Though, it has not been proven by western medicine yet about the scientific aspect of laughing as a healing technique, still many believe and would agree that to a certain extent laughter is as good a therapy in relieving stress as those recommended by the experts.

Some doctors believe that laughing is not a way of coping but rather a defense mechanism in given stress. They posed their argument as to how can a person possibly laugh at something when in a state of being sad, which according to them very impossible to do. However some still believe that when we laugh, the process can make our stomach and our lungs expand, which also improves our blood circulation, boost the immune system, strengthen the heart, lowers the blood pressure, and give the nervous system a good stimulant.

The creator of a Robin Williams starrer, Patch Adams, a movie about a doctor who believes that making people laugh can somehow alleviate their present health condition, must have been a staunch supporter of the healing power of laughter. True enough just watching the so-called flick can help us understand also the connection of laughter and stress management.

Today with the aim to immediately respond to stress before it wears us down, we are bombarded with so many mechanisms as to how to cope with stress, let alone manage it. Seldom do we hear about laughter and stress management being talked about together, though there already exist groups that purvey the essence of laughter and stress management.

Laughing can release a chemical in our body known as endorphin, which is a proven natural high stimulant. In like manner it decreases the cortisol level in the body, which is a chemical that tell us the level of stress a person is going through. Understandably laughter and stress management can complement the lack of each other. Laughter many not be the ultimate answer in addressing stress but it has proven its use in many stress management courses as one of the better alternative.

No one can ever question the benefits of laughter to a person. It has been proven that laughter can surely help us feel better when we are sad and down. Truly laughter is still the best medicine for stress.