Give your stress wings...

....and let it fly away.  ~Terri Guillemets

If only.

Since most of us can’t do that, on Thursday April 26, 2012 we will host a tele-conference with MHN covering the  topic of “Coping with the Stress of Change”.  We will discuss the challenges of change, identify different aspects of the change process and describe different ways to modify your stress responses to change.  RSVP to floaskut@state.gov.   Please provide your name and employee’s post of assignment and let us know if you would prefer to call in or join us in person.  If you do not have a state badge or diplomatic passport, please let us know so someone will be available to escort you.

I like this extract from Wikipedia defining stress, because reading it, I actually start to feel stressed:  

The ambiguity in defining this phenomenon was first recognized by Hans Selye in 1926 who loosely described stress as something that "…in addition to being itself, was also the cause of itself, and the result of itself." First to use the term in a biological context, Selye continued to define stress as "the non-specific response of the body to any demand placed upon it." Present-day neuroscientists including Bruce McEwen and Jaap Koolhaas believe that stress, based on years of empirical research, "should be restricted to conditions where an environmental demand exceeds the natural regulatory capacity of an organism."  

Some more fun quotes about stress…

Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle.  ~Bill Phillips 

There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them.  ~Sylvia Plath 

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.  ~Ovid
 For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.  ~Lily Tomlin 

The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.  ~Author Unknown

Read these 41 random, alarming facts about stress.