Success Stories

Sara Finds Breathing Room

Sara, a corporate IT manager, entered the stress reduction class looking overburdened and pale. She introduced herself as caretaker of her ailing mother who lives with her. She spoke of her limited time for herself due to her demanding work schedule and daily caretaking chores.

Sara is a quiet, tall, thin, forty-ish woman with glasses who enrolled in Stress Mastery, our six-week stress reduction class. Sara’s goal was to take better care of herself and be able to reduce daily stressors in caring for her elderly mother. Her mother had had severe depression and completely depended on Sara for her daily living needs.

In the class, Sara learned to identify her own self-care needs, and how to balance them with the needs of her ailing mother. By the third class, she looked brighter, her eyes more focused, and she said that she and her husband found time for themselves to enjoy hiking and the theatre. She also arranged for her mother to attend a senior community center a few hours each week. 

By rethinking her own wellness needs, Sara had her life back. She had found some breathing room for herself and her husband. In addition, she returned to her hobby of weaving which gave her peace of mind and a sense of accomplishment.  

Doctor Gets Wake-up Call

A Chief of Opthalmology begrudgingly took time away from work to attend one of our Wellness Offsites featuring the Stress Map – a self-scoring assessment of work-related stress. Attendees were to complete their map before the workshop and I, the facilitator, would interpret their results and help participants create a personal action plan.

The Chief’s Stress Map revealed that of the statistically validated 21 scales, his showed more than half were in the dangerous burnout range where illness would likely occur. This highly productive, dedicated physician said he worked long hours often leaving long after his staff to review charts for possible errors.

His home life was suffering but he didn’t feel he could work less and do the job he thought he must do. His staff had strongly recommended the workshop to him and he looked frightened by the results of his map.

He understood that his score reflected his serious physical and emotional health issues (sleeplessness, digestive problems, back pain and relationship problems). Following the workshop, the chief was motivated to see a counselor, who helped his work/life get back on track.