We can stop transmission today. We don’t need to wait until we have a vaccine." C. del Rio, professor of Global Health at Emory University, referring to research on populations using masks and public-health measures including distancing and handwashing.
 
The virus is still here! That has not changed. What are the main elements of a good plan? What can keep us safe?
 
Wear a mask in public! When we are near other people the mask will keep us from inhaling any airborne droplets with the virus. It will also keep those who are infected even unknowingly from spreading it around. There is the impressive story from Springfield, Mo., where face coverings prevented an outbreak among at least 140 people exposed to two masked, but infected hair stylists. The other side of this coin is: stay far away from people who don’t wear a mask! Why? Because not only could they be infected and spread the virus, they clearly demonstrate for all to see that they foolishly take great risk for their own health and do not care about others.
 
Keep your distance! The mask is not 100% effective. Therefore keeping at least 6 feet distance to other people helps minimize the possibility of a transmission. Keep 6 feet distance from strangers, but also from friends or family who don’t live with you when you meet them for hiking, dog walking or other activities. Stay away from large crowds or gatherings. A great alternative for protests is to do it in your car where you are safe. The Centers for Disease Control even recommend keeping your pets apart.
 
Wash your hands and use sanitizer! Anything you touch in public could conceivably be contaminated with the virus. Therefore, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and use sanitizer for prevention. Soap actually is great for killing viruses, because soap molecules penetrate their outside membrane and they dissolve. Make sure the stores and restaurants you visit clean their services and their staff wear masks.
 
More facts: Outdoors can be safer than inside. Take extra precaution when in an enclosed space. If at risk because of other illnesses, obesity or advanced age take more precautions. Some recommend having your groceries and necessities delivered to you rather than to buy them yourself. For full review of the latest recommendations and research go to this article “Q&A: Keeping yourself and others safe” by the Washington Post from June 27.
 
How can StopStress tapping help? A unique feature of StopStress is that you feel the effects quickly. People have told us that they feel uncertain of what to do with the “opening”. They feel anxiety. They feel uncertainty. This is where a two-pronged approach can help!

1. Make a plan for your life situation of what makes sense for you to do.
2. Then use StopStress tapping to address all uncertainties and fears. This is what we will practice Thursday, July 2 together.

 
Since StopStress can work amazingly fast it should help to implement your plan with confidence and to stick to it!

Join us Weekly Free Stress Reduction for You and Yours on ZOOM. We’ll practice this process together. We’ll answer your questions. Feel more in control and plan and act with confidence.

Don’t hesitate and use StopStress tapping frequently. Keep your wits and immunity strong.

This may sound strange. We are talking here however about mental bridges. More in a minute, but even building physical bridges we would be able to use the techniques to deal with the stress which comes with building a big project like a bridge. We have helped people improve their performance at work, at home and with sports and exercise including golf and Judo.
 
Extremism creates STRESS!
 
Today we want to talk about a much more difficult bridge to build. But we think using a little StopStress might help. The bridge we are talking about is to attempt to reduce the extreme polarization and division in this country’s political sphere. Now politics has always been much about perceptions. And perceptions are one thing StopStress can help with. If we should land up in one extreme political camp, on the left or the right, it gives a false sense of security and of being “right”. It is a false sense of security because extreme position is rarely ever “right”.
 
The extreme positions which currently are so widespread may convey a sense of safety and righteousness. But deep down they also cause substantial stress. Having a more moderate set of beliefs creates its own stress by watching the extremist communication and actions. Reducing these stressors can help bring more clarity and civility, first in our own minds and through our own calmness perhaps to the minds of others.
 
In Thursday’s session we will give this thinking a test. We’ll look at the experience we have with the country’s divisions and see how much we can reduce our internal stress about it. Perhaps now we can help build BRIDGES!
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​Division creates STRESS! Let’s build bridges instead!
Join us Weekly Free Stress Reduction for You and Yours. You will practice this process together. We will answer your questions. You will feel better and more in control.

We are in crazy times confusing and disturbing. What makes it particularly difficult for us are all the often contradictory statements from various officials. There is little solid information. Whom can you trust?
 
In most States more stores are opening, more travel and activities are permitted, and larger groups are allowed to get together. Yet the virus is still out there. We have no vaccine or effective medication. To what degree do we participate? How do we remain safe and healthy?
Uncertainty creates STRESS!
 
How do we make a good decision for ourselves and our family? One of the first most powerful effects of stress is that the autonomic nervous system begins to pull blood from our neocortex, Thinking Brain. That makes it difficult to come to good decisions. Our thinking is foggy and it is hard to focus. We are more tempted to make rash emotional decisions which later turn out to be faulty. This is where our StopStress tapping technique can be so helpful.

Therefore, before we decide where to go and how much to participate, let’s spend a few minutes tapping down our stress, our feelings of doubt and uncertainty. We still don’t have more information. But we are in a better position to make a good decision with information we have. Our brain and our thinking function are more optimal.
 
Join us Weekly Free Stress Reduction for You and Yours. You will practice this process together. We will answer your questions. You will feel better and more in control.

In crazy times like this even the smallest things can drive people up the wall. It is similar to when you bend the branch and it is been near the limit the next level push will break it. Just like that most of us feel the constant stress of these difficult times. Our stress processing is already on high. Now any little additional problem will do it to us. That is especially true in interactions with other people. More so even with people who are close to us.
 
So what should we do? Getting really teed off and letting it all out? Letting the other person have it? Well, not so good. This would turn the situation into a nuclear event. Therefore,
 
Don’t blow up! Don’t vent!
 
Now I know this is easier said than done. What to do?
 
Tactics: “Fix it fast”
Take a deep breath. Count to 10, sometimes count longer.
Be forgiving. Realize the other person is just as stressed as you.
Apologize quickly. The faster the fire is put out, the less pain will it inflict.

That is one of the natural but very unfortunate side effects of the human survival mechanism. While police departments have thorough training to reduce this danger, there has been a history of a subset of officers acting in a racist manner. Under the additional stress of the coronavirus situation one white police officer in Minneapolis killed an African American citizen. The circumstances were such that the officer was arrested on charges of murder.
 
This was the spark which caused massive protests in many cities throughout the United States. No other industrialized country has such a history of citizens being shot by police or minorities being killed by white police officers. Therefore, already there exists a high level of fear and suspicion. Now minorities and other concerned citizens had their survival instincts activated for the massive protests around the country. And just as there are bad apples in the police force there were rotten apples and instigators amongst the protesters. They managed to turn many of the peaceful protests into apparent riots with arson and looting.
 
What if we could significantly reduce stress?
 
If law enforcement would have a simple powerful stress management technique, flexible enough to use on the job, even intense situations, could bad enforcement be reduced? Would officers be healthier and use better judgment?
 
If the minority communities had available a powerful tool to reduce their anxieties, improve their performance in school and at work, could they make a better life for themselves? Could they reduce the likelihood of discrimination?
 
The revolutionary StopStress and EFT rhythmic tapping techniques have been proven to reduce stress quickly and effectively. They can easily be taught to individuals, small and even large groups in person, with literature and on video. They are there for not just effective but very low cost to implement. Here is a promising opportunity to help a difficult profession, high-risk neighborhoods, and the community as a whole.
 
Call to action: if you see or know of opportunities to offer our StopStress techniques to organizations, please let us know!
 
Fair warning: it’s important to be informed as a citizen of what is going on. BUT limit your exposure to these difficult events. It is not unlike “secondhand smoke”. Too much of the images and rehashing the terrible events will pollute your subconscious memory and trigger additional stress we don’t need, especially not now.

​Join us Weekly Free Stress Reduction for You and Yours. You will practice this process together. We will answer your questions. You will feel better and more in control.