Fran, parent & teacher
I am grateful to the doctor who referred me to StressCare for treatment of back pain. The simple, easy yoga we did in the class helped me maintain the benefits of physical therapy. And the benefits of the class went well beyond helping my low back.
The tools I learned in StressCare helped me recover from eight years of chronic insomnia. Within three weeks of beginning the class, I was able to sleep through the night, and I have continued to get the rest I need. I no longer even purchase sleeping pills to have "just in case."
The recovery from insomnia and the relief from chronic pain have helped me get a better perspective on myself and, consequently, my relationships with my partner and my sons have improved, as well as my friendships and work relationships.

Susan, library scientist
It's nine months since I took the course. I meditate 20 minutes, twice a day.
I was diagnosed with hypertension and suffered from insomnia. And I wanted to learn to meditate for quite some time. I was told about StressCare by my acupuncturist.
From the first week of daily meditation, I experienced relief from insomnia, and I gained the ability to lower my blood pressure by 10-15 points. I still take low doses of medication, but even my doctor is impressed with my numbers. An added benefit is that I take life's ups and downs a little less seriously.
Not every session is easy - many times I sit there listening to my mind chatter. But there are moments when my mind quiets, and I'm rewarded with a calm sense of well-being and rightness in the moment.
Thank you, StressCare!

Marian, graphic designer
I want to thank you for the eight-week course, which has done much to get me back on course! When I signed up I was in very difficult straits. I badly wanted something in my life to be different. I wanted change and I wanted it now!
I was diagnosed with manic-depressive illness in my early 20's. Since then I have been hospitalized 15 times. There is nothing this illness hasn't cost me. I have lost relationships, jobs, self-esteem, a feeling that my life will be O.K. Most people with my illness do not work, yet I have a very sophisticated job.
What I got out of the class was the knowledge that I can take care of myself, I can observe myself and what's happening with empathy, and the effect on my health is measurable: I have been able to reduce the amount of medication I take significantly!
I look to the techniques I learned in the course as gifts and I will treasure them. Thank you, I got much more than I bargained for!

Beth, nurse
The StressCare course helped me get myself back into balance, so that I could actually take care of myself and meet the challenges of my work: helping patients who are dealing with illness and injury, and coping with a hospital fighting for its own life! My auto accident [after the course] would have been much harder without mindfulness training: As I was lying on a gurney in the trauma center, shaking and having spasms, blood pressure at 225 over 120, I started breathing, paying attention and doing the body scan [meditating]. Almost immediately I felt centered, in control of myself. The trauma nurse said my blood pressure came down nearly to normal. I've used meditation to deal with headaches and pain during my recovery, and it helps a lot.

Gregory, psychologist
I'm delighted with the positive effects StressCare has had on the lives of several patients I have referred. It is a fantastic adjunct to the kind of therapy I do. Please mail me brochures so I can have them ready for future referrals. Thanks.

Jean, mother
I had been suffering from chronic pain, including migraine, along with some pretty severe emotional pain, for thirty years when I took the StressCare 8-week course. I had known about the course for several years before I was ready to take it, and at that point the time was right. For me, timing was key, as were openness, curiosity, and commitment to the process. While the pain didn't go away, other aspects of my life have changed. I am better at handling stress, listening to people, and accepting painful physical or emotional experiences. Friendships have grown deeper, parenting skills have improved, and I have grown more creative, flexible, and self-confident. The other participants were a great inspiration, every one of them, and helped me appreciate that everyone we encounter is full of hidden gifts and suffering. The teacher was delightfully low-key, easy-to-understand, and responsive. It is a good course for people willing to be surprised and challenged, to come to a greater awareness about themselves and the world around them.

Neil, physician
Juggling family life, a demanding career, personal needs, and the relentless effects of aging had created a level of stress and disenchantment with my work that I could no longer afford to ignore.
Under the StressCare instructor's kind and non-judgmental direction, I began learning a method of relaxation which enhances my capacity to better care for myself, which then naturally extends to others. As a physician I have found this most meaningful and sustaining. I am more often patient and readily aware, and have learned a means to regain a receptive and helpful stance.
The StressCare course does involve a small amount of work, an open mind and, to some degree, letting go of fixed expectations. Practicing regularly pays off, though it can be challenging. I confess to swinging in and out of a regular routine. The in-swings affirm the benefits, and the out-swings are costly. I often refrain, "There's not enough time!". How foolish and wise a statement!

Maureen, television producer
I feel as if the StressCare class opened a door for me. Coming from a childhood rife with loss, I found myself facing current stresses with painful fear. I was having trouble sleeping, worrying A LOT, and experiencing stress-related physical problems.
The class helped me deal with the problems in my life with more equanimity. I developed a calmer attitude and discovered a way to spend less time obsessing about things I can't control. In general, I sleep better (though I have regressions). Excessive fear may always be an issue, but it's clear that when I'm disciplined about meditation practice I handle the fear with more grace. The fact that nearly two years later I still meditate is a strong testament to the value of this program.

Jennifer, historian
About four years ago, my doctor recommended the StressCare class to help address my migraines, which were increasing in frequency and intensity. StressCare taught me a number of skills-not only formal sitting meditation, but also other techniques of moment-to-moment awareness, which have been hugely helpful to me over the years.
Through the StressCare course, I gained new insight into how my body reacts to stress, and how I can respond to stress in positive ways.
I still get migraines and still take medication for them, but they have become less frequent and less emotionally upsetting. My attitude and approach to stress and pain has changed. Stress and pain are still, of course, present in my life, but I no longer feel controlled by them. StressCare gave me tools to approach and address the difficulties of life in a more centered and proactive way. I don't feel quite so tossed about by life's storms.

Dottie, social worker
My doctor recommended your class while I was out on a 5 month medical leave. I had had so much extraordinary stress on my job that I was rather worn down emotionally when the events of September 11 occurred. I experienced more and more health problems, and also became more and more depressed. Finally the combination of physical and emotional pain wore me out so much, I became too tired to keep working, and had to take a 5 month leave.
I did many things to try to heal my depression without taking the anti-depressant medications. Eventually I was successful in pulling myself together without the medication. Of the things I did, the most effective was the class you taught, "Stress Reduction & Pain Management."
I really enjoyed taking the class, but I worried that I might not keep up the practices after the class was over, and I had to start back to work. But I was determined to try to keep up the yoga by getting up extra early and doing it before work each day.
It has been over three months now since the class ended, and almost three months since I started back to work. I am happy to be able to write that I have kept up the yoga about 4-5 days per week, and it has beneficial effects, as follows:
The yoga helps my body feel more balanced and relaxed, and keeps me in better shape. Just as importantly, it helps me to be calmer and more relaxed, despite continued stressors at work (I have a very stressful job) and at home (I have a teenager).
The design of your class, your understanding of the meaning of chronic pain and the excellent facilitation of many discussions, made it safer and easier to learn new skills and develop a new perspective.
As you know, I dug deep to pay for this course myself. I can't think of a time that my money was better spent. Thank you so much.

Kelly, architect, parent
Five years ago, both my dentist and my family doctor suggested that I try meditation to deal with my chronic anxiety and the toll it was taking on my body. Soon after, my gastro-enterologist recommended that I take StressCare's 8-Week Course to attend to my stressed digestive system. I enrolled right away in hopes of finding a fundamentally new way to relate to not just the stress, but the whole of my life. I had been depressed, off and on, since my teenage years, and was ready to make deep changes. The practices I learned in the course have become part of my daily life, and have been nothing short of life-changing. This course has set me on the deepest road to healing and wholeness, in every sense, that I have encountered thus far.
I felt an immediate affinity for the meditation and mindfulness practices presented in the course. Some were as simple as following the breath, yet right away gave me a sense of calm body, eased mind, and freedom from chronic distress. In five years, that promise has come to fruition. Relaxing with the breath brings me immediate relief from the gross physical and emotional effects of my anxiety. In general, my body has become calmer, my overall health more stable, and my digestive stress has virtually disappeared.
In addition, the tools presented in the 8-Week Course and the Ongoing Classes for Graduates have completely changed my approach to all of my life's ongoing stresses - I have gained greater clarity of mind, a greater ability to cope skillfully with pain, and a keen sense of purpose and joy as I witness the unfolding of my experience, whatever it may be. My depression visits me occasionally, but does not derail my sense of underlying strength.
I would highly recommend the 8-Week Course to anyone seeking radical relief from their emotional suffering, stress, or chronic pain. The instructor's engaging presence was always compassionate and inspiring, and the class setting provided a safe haven for personal stories and struggles. I found the instructor's presentations to be compelling, and felt that his responses to class participants cut through confusion and pain; pointing to an inner space of clarity and healing.

© Copyright 2001 StressCare. All rights reserved.