Stress SOS! Self care skills for scary times

What a week. What a month. Like you, I'm feeling the stress that goes along with so much uncertainty. Operating a business that sells something as "discretionary" as spa treatments has always been, as the Chinese would say, interesting during recessions and slowdowns.

We are in the de-stressing business, which means that people need us now more than ever. But we all respond to stress differently.

Following the Loma Prieta earthquake, which impacted many of our clients, I received these phone calls within five minutes of one another:

Caller #1: Oh my gosh, the earthquake! I need to cancel my appointment!

Caller #2: Oh my gosh, the earthquake! I need a massage!

Self care is critical during scary times. While we may convince ourselves that remaining "alert" or "vigilant" is helpful, it's actually not. Now is the time to work out, eat well, meditate. In short, it's the most important time to nurture yourself.

This isn't about denial, it's about diet. Just like "you are what you eat" you also "are what you see and hear." What you put into your brain profoundly affects your well-being. You actually do have a choice.

Avoiding excessive amounts of negative "input" keeps you better prepared to respond rationally, if indeed a response or decision is necessary. Our choice, when confronted with a slow motion train wreck on TV? Turn it off.

One of the temptations during a time like this is to believe the line the media uses to get us to tune in to their 24/7 "anxiety feed": "information is power." Subsisting on a steady diet of doom and gloom doesn't prepare us to be more effective. You will rapidly encounter the diminishing returns of this sort of "information."

Here are some ways to keep yourself healthy during a scary news cycle:

1. Limit the amount of news you consume. Set a time limit of 20-30 minutes per day to catch up on breaking news. Listening to pundits argue for two hours will not benefit you (ever.) Don't constantly peek at headlines online throughout the day.

2. Choose the news delivery system that has the least hype and programs on TV with the fewest split screens, and those godawful "tickers." One of the most stressful things you can do is overload your brain with too many different ideas and thoughts. Avoiding TV news altogether and sticking with newspapers or online news sites can be helpful.

3. If you want to be "informed", choose programs that delve into the subject in more depth, rather than headline-driven hysteria and panic-punditry.

4. Navigate with care through the blogosphere. There's lots of rumor, conjecture and inaccurate information out here on the wild frontier.

There are few emotions more powerful than gratitude for creating health and happiness. It may be challenging, but the best strategy during scary times is regularly expressing gratitude for what we have, and what is going well in our lives.

In the coming weeks, we'll be expressing our gratitude for you, our Preston Wynne guests and friends, more than ever. We know that to keep our business healthy we must rise to the occasion when times are tough, and deliver even more value to you. As your designated de-stressers, we're busy cooking up new ways to make that as easy and affordable as possible.

Watch out. We have ways of making you relax!