In 1976, after returning from 2½ years in the Peace Corps in Colombia, South America, Jackie earned her Master’s degree in Community Counseling/Psychology from her home state of Minnesota. She then worked for several years as a Program Director at a mental health center. In 1982 she founded InterAction Associates, her speaking and coaching firm.
For over 25 years Jackie has designed and presented keynotes and workshops on stress management, diversity, workplace harassment, workplace civility, and conflict resolution.
Jackie is also a Stress & Wellness Coach helping people achieve more success with less stress. She is also a member of a theater-based training group, Dramatic Results at www.dramaticresults.biz ). This five-member cast is met with rave reviews and standing ovations.
Order her 2010 published book, Let Your Body Win: Stress Management Plain & Simple and request her weekly, published, emailed column, Stress for Success at www.letyourbodywin.com.
You can now follow Jackie on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/JacquelynFergus)
FInding humor in anything is the best way of survival and it might help you survive the world's topsy-turvy world. Your reaction to the stress is significantly determined by the way you perceive it, either as a challenge or a threat to your health.
Driving your car or body towards the cliff may harm you badly and you need to manage a balance between the two for a healthy life. Stress triggers the physical fight speeding up your body and puts a momentary strain on it.
Conflicts usually have less to do with the person in front of you whom you assume is causing your distress and more to do with her. You project onto the present situation your past fears and practicing mindfulness can help you break your historic patterns.
You believe what happens to you in life is largely determined by fate, luck or other external conditions. If you think you're in charge of your own destiny - had I prepared better I might have gotten the promotion - you're an internal.
Chronic stress like unremitting illness causes body tissue to adapt to higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Continuous inflammation aids the development and progression of heart disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, and cancer.
Evolutionary psychologists believe gossip is a human trait meant to increase our chances of survival since people continue to do. Everyone knew everyone and they seldom came upon outsiders.
Stress, financial anxiety threatens your foundation and the survival and how long will the collective financial instability last. If you aren't personally suffering you probably know others who are struggling with the financial instability.
You might be aware that cortisol is a fight or flight hormone that is released every time you are stressed by anything. Part of its purpose is to replenish your energy after exerting yourself through fighting or fleeing your perceived threat.
Overwhelming emotions cause depression or other uncomfortable mental stress, which ultimately impacts overall productivity. Would you like to learn techniques that can help you avoid emotions' all-consuming potential?