On A Meaningful Life

Dr. James Gordon, a psychiatrist writing in the Washington Post, offers his tips on relieving stress. He includes the following six strategies: 1. Begin a simple meditation practice. 2. Move your body. 3. Reach out to others. 4. Find someone who will listen and give you a realistic look at your situation. 5. Let your imagination find you healing and new meaning and purpose. 6. Speak and act on your behalf. I think these ways of relieving stress and others are also ways of being resilient in your life. These are not necessarily easy to incorporate in our lives else we would all not be stressed. Still I think it is important to be mindful of how we move through our days.

Taming Stress One of my favorite biology writers, Robert Sapolsky, discusses the biology behind stress. While it's a bit lengthy, I think it would be useful for those who need to review psychopharmacology.

Stress, Health and the Urban Environment Here is another New York Times Magazine article, "Enough To Make You Sick" by Helen Epstein. While I know there is a larger political context to this story, I think that the writer makes it clear how intertwined the influence of an urban environment is on one's health. Her writeup at the end about a program placing people from poor urban environments to a middle class environment is interesting. Followup of this group would be important. Please catch this article before it goes into the archives.