Stress Wisely: How to Be Well in an Unwell World

Imagine the full continuum of “the good life” we seek to achieve, with oneness with God is at one end and ageless skin at the other

How do we begin working towards living the good life when the global landscape is ever changing? What even is the good life anymore? We could try to sift out the philosophical and spiritual components of one—but where do a clean house, remembering teacher gifts at the holidays, working under a mediocre boss with unreasonable expectations, and our jean size figure into the equation?

Life is not only hard as hell but also joy-filled, complicated, and messy. Its pace has dramatically increased and the bodies that carry us are desperately trying to catch up. In Stress Wisely, Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe draws on her rich research in wellness, stress, and resiliency to show us what got us into this situation in the first place, then gently guides us towards navigating the chaos in the best possible way. Through exploring eight touchstones of wellness (physical, emotional, intellectual, social, environmental, occupational, financial, spiritual), she suggests not how to avoid stress but how to live a full, healthy, and whole life in inherently tough circumstances.

With her signature honesty and humor, relatability and intimacy, Hanley-Dafoe offers us the gift of awareness—when we can see clearly all the forces at play, we can choose new strategies and actions to support our wellness at many levels. Amid the noise and the mayhem and the stress, we can find a place within ourselves where we are okay. Just as we are, truly okay.