Stress is a great teacher.  When we experience a crisis we draw on personal resources that we may rarely tap. The crisis may motivate us to seek answers.  We may also draw on the experience and maturity of other people to assist us to navigate through difficult times. The learning process begins in childhood.  Parents [...]

The way we perceive a stressful event determines whether that event will be psychologically processed as a threat or challenge. Our response to threat usually anticipates a future loss, harm or damage.  We evaluate the threat in terms of its future implications. The global financial crisis is perceived by many people as a threat to [...]

Yesterday I took my mother Christmas shopping at Erina Fair on the Central Coast north of Sydney. As we walked through the shopping centre she was darting off here and there to buy small gifts for people who had done her a kindness or who were experiencing some special needs. Her approach to Christmas did [...]

This test has been developed to enable you to rate your personal level of stress toughness. Research has shown that high tough individuals are better able to cope with stress than low tough individuals. Select an appropriate response from the drop down box for each of the 10 questions. You must complete all of the [...]

How big is your universe? It is so easy to get caught up in the immediate issues that wash across the shores of our lives every day that we can lose the sense of the vast dimensions around us. The picture below is of a massive star in the Carina Nebula, 7,500 light years from [...]