"Stress Relief for Busy People"

Getting Rid Of The Frazzle - The Rickwood Way

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Lisa Rickwood remembers what it was like to be so frazzled her immune system couldn't fend off a simple cold.

It happened just a couple of years ago, during a hectic time in her life. Rickwood's stress level was through the roof. One of her sons was having difficulty sleeping, she was feeling restless at work, her husband had been laid off, finances were tight, and on top of all that the couple was trying to buy a business.

"There was so much stress I could hardly handle it," says Rickwood. "And although I still get stressed out now, it's not nearly as bad as it was before I started doing some research into how to slow down."

That research not only helped the 35-year-old regain her emotional and physiological balance, it prompted her to write a book that would help others do the same. The book is called Escape the Pace: 100 Fun and Easy Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy Your Life. It's written for anyone who feels lost in a sea of errands, demands and grown up pressures – anyone who has too much to do and too little time in which to do it.

"The book is about slowing down, but it's not about permanent slowing down, because a lot of us don't want to do that," says Rickwood. "But what we want to do is just take a mini break, a mini holiday every day." And it's as easy as it sounds.

Mini holidays can be anything from taking a walk to playing a game. "Even if we don't think we need it, taking that one-minute or 15-minute breather can put a different perspective on our day," says Rickwood. "It can recharge, revitalize and re-energize us."

But many women feel guilty if they take a break, no matter how brief the break is. The first step, says Rickwood, is to release that guilt. "I think all women are under that pressure that we can be super women, we can be the perfect partner, the perfect career person, the perfect mother," she says.

"We're stressed out because we're thinking of everybody else. We feel guilty when we say to people ‘No, I can't.' We don't want to say no. We want to say yes; we want everyone to like us. And so we go out of our way to take care of everyone's needs and when we suddenly get run down and sick we're surprised."

So how does Rickwood take a break? She steals quiet time wherever she can, even if it's five minutes in her parked car before a delivery. "I'll turn on the stereo, put the seat back and just escape."

Rickwood's book offers many ways in which all women can find balance in their hectic lives. The book sells for $19.95 and can be found at Falconer Books in Harbour Park Mall. Copies are also available at Rickwood's Mens Wear.