Carol J. Scott, M.D., M.S.Ed., FACEP, is a stress-management strategist for organizations and individuals. Dr. Scott trained in internal medicine at Duke University and emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins. She is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, coach, and consultant for such clients as Microsoft, McDonald's, Civil Service Employees Association NY (CSEA), IBM, Merrill Lynch, Discovery Communications, and Johnson & Johnson. She has spoken for the Florida, Pennsylvania, and California Governor's Conference for Women. She has been a keynote speaker at the Working Mother 100 Best Companies Work Life Congress. Her work has been featured in Fast Company and she has been cited in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. She has been heard on several radio shows, including the WOR Saturday Morning Show with Joe Bartlett, the Bev Smith Show, Martha Stewart Living Radio, and Doug Stephan's Good Day. She is married with two sons.

Preface.

Acknowledgements.

Introduction

Part One Stop Stressing about Stress.

1 Understanding Stress and It Can Work for You.

2 Measuring the Risk: Stress, Health, and Wellness.

3 Women and Stress: The Unique Impact of Stress on Women and How to Reduce It.

4 What is Causing You Stress.

5 What's Really Important in Your Life: Defining Your Purpose, Pasions, and Priorities.

6 What Is in Your Way: Change, Emotions, and Putting it All Together.

Part Two Optimal Stress: Living in Your Beststress Zone.

7 Discovering Your BestStress Zone and Achieving the BestStress Balance.

8 Living in the BestStress Zone: Relationships, Roles, and Common Pitfalls.

9 Defending and Nurturing Your BestStress Zone: Self-Care Strategies, Relaxation, and The Power Pause.

Selected References.

Index.

Find the optimal level of stress and wellness for your life and career-the essential guide for women

If you're one of the many women juggling the issues and demands of self, home, family, health, and the workplace, stress is one of the most important emotional and physical problems you face every day. Stress is inevitable, but this book shows you how to embrace it and use it. The key lies in learning how to transform harmful reactions into healthy responses.

Optimal Stress offers a new way to view, organize, and shape your world so that you have a healthy response to any stressor or demand in your life. Its approach helps you develop a crucial understanding of what stress is, what it is not, and most importantly, how to find the right stress-health balance.

• Clarifies the link between stress and medical disorders such as: heart disease, immune disorders, diabetes, and gastrointestinal issues
• Explains three key principles-Priorities, Passions, and Purpose-to help you understand and handle stress
• Shares data as well as other women's true stories, feelings, and insights about stress
• Reveals that stress is a process, with emotional, psychological, behavioral, biological and physical components
• Helps you find a renewed sense of meaning, coherence, and balance in your life through discovery of your personal BestStress Zone
• Gets you in touch with your unique physical and personality traits and life circumstances that contribute to stress

Don't let stress overwhelm you-discover Optimal Stress and regain balance in your life.