STRESSED?!!!

Are you overworked? Do you have projects and reports due tomorrow and you haven't begun to work on them? It's that time of year again when the semester is almost over and final exams are around the corner. For those graduating, it may be a time of job hunting and uncertainty. Stressed? Stress comes in all shapes and sizes. There is job stress, stress of bereavement, divorce, social isolation, moving, retirement, attending school, child rearing, etc. It's hard to get through a day without hearing or reading something about stress. Fortunately, there are several sites that discuss how to manage stress and be more productive.

The Biobehavioral Institute of Boston (http://www.bbinst.org/home2.html) offers an online "Stress Workshop" to find out what you can do about the stress in your life. You can start by reading something "About Stress" to find out what stress is and how it works, or you can complete the "Stress Audit" to find out how stressed you really are. You'll see how your stress levels compare with the national norm, what your stress is all about and where it's coming from. The institute also offers "Self-Regulation Techniques" to help you counteract the effects of stress on your mind and body. You can even talk with others who are having problems with stress and get advice from the institute's faculty in the "Stress Forum."

The "Stress Relief Strategies" section on the Holistic Healing Web Page (http://www.holisticmed.com/stressfree.html) discusses some of the common signs and symptoms of excess stress, stress relief techniques, including strategies to avoid, regular practices and situations to promote stress relief, and daily stress reduction tips. It also features steps you can take to reduce the stress of specific situations, such as financial difficulties, task and time constraints, and "I hate my Job" syndrome.

The Calm Centre (http://www.calmcentre.com/), as its name suggests, is dedicated to calmness. It is a collaboration of writers, artists, musicians, natural therapists and psychologists who dedicate their efforts to developing new ways of spreading calm. The Centre addresses techniques for instant calm, long-term calm, using calm to heal, meditation and how to deal with crisis. It even allows you to share your sense of calm by sending a "Calm Moment" to someone you know.

Loretta LaRoche, who is an internationally recognized speaker in the area of stress management (The Joy of Stress), brings you The Humor Potential (http://www.stressed.com/). Although the majority of the site is used to promote her books, audio and videotapes and speaking engagements, the "Info and Fun" section offers advice on practicing good humor, laughter and "How to Feel Really Awful."

For more information on stress, check out the Stress Management and Emotional Wellness Links (http://imt.net/~randolfi/StressLinks.html). The links are organized according to subcategories and various intervention categories, such as cognitive restructuring (humor, health and happiness, self-esteem), relaxation techniques (biofeedback, breathing, hypnosis, massage, meditation, yoga) and situational interventions (time-management strategies, assertiveness training). Links on stress in the workplace, stress and college students, emotional self-help links, professional organizations and physiology and disease also are included.

For assistance in connecting to the World Wide Web, contact the ASCIT Help Desk at 645-3542.

-Sue Neumeister and Lori Widzinski, University Libraries