How to Make Stress Work for You

By: Kimberlee Bethany Bonura, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Kimberlee Bethany Bonura

Trying to live a completely stress-free life is a zero-sum game. The true goal of your relationship with stress is to figure out how to manage it effectively, how to use it to build and support a meaningful, resilient life.

In these 18 enriching and inspiring lectures, discover how to manage and minimize the stress in your life. You'll explore the nuances of stress in ways you never really considered. These include types of stress (such as traumas, moderate stressors, and activities of daily life) and the idea that what you experience in life is really just your brain's response (using memory and reasoning) to raw input and stimuli. You'll also explore the relationship between emotion and stress, including the idea that expressing your rage could actually be making you angrier.

Dr. Bonura fills these lectures with scientifically backed techniques, behavior modifications, and exercises you can use to build a personalized toolkit to better manage your stress response. You'll learn about responsible detachment from stressful situations, the importance of ruminating right after a traumatic event, the ways physical affection helps with healing, and much more.

Rooted in scientific findings from experiments, research papers, and case studies, these lectures offer you nothing less than a bold new way of facing (and appreciating) daily life.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 The Great Courses (P)2017 The Teaching Company, LLC

Presents Many Useful Tools

I really enjoyed this lecture series. I have worked in the high tech industry my entire career and over time I have seen the negative effects of stress on people's lives. Some people handle stress better than others. I think many could use the tools presented in this lecture series to make their lives more satisfying and fulfilling. It is important to work through the exercises – practice is important. As stated in the lectures, small things done consistently are more important than big things done infrequently. Basically, you need to build healthy habits.

Life-changing

So helpful, it changes your view about stress. I am planning to listen second time. My anxiety level obviously decreased after some of the techniques which I applied daily.

Narration ruins an otherwise mediocre effort

Mostly banal and trite, the narrator ruins the few nuggets with a condescending and belittling tone of voice.

wow 5 stars

very practical useful effective information. highly recommend for her soothing voice and for her wealth of powerful knowledge.

Exceptional Delivery

This was an incredibly interesting class combining scientific studies, medical research, yoga, mindfulness and a host of other disciplines that weave together to create a fascinating discussion about stress... her delivery is impeccable and very engaging!

A fantastic resource

This lecture series was jam packed with simple, effective ideas and exercises which have utterly reshaped my relationship with stress. I would recommend it to anyone who’s going through a particularly stressful period in their lives and is looking to examine the reasons why and make positive changes.

Good stuff.

Now to apply it! Everyone can use this even the kids. Especially the ones surviving these school shootings.

Full of recommendations

I like her narrative and that she allows herself to show us how much she enjoys what she does.

Excellent book.

I would have included a summary or list of the recommended practices.

Loved it

Lots of tools and a helpful positive information about stress. I really enjoyed this book.

2.5

There were several chapters in the middle that were engaging. The beginning of this book used highly debatable “facts”. The tale end was obvious.