Stress Buster

288 Pages·2006·2.03 MB·English

by  Geoff Thompson

Previously published as A Book for the Seriously Stressed
This edition copyright © Geoff Thompson, 2005
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, nor
trans mitted, nor translated into a machine language without
the writ ten permission of the publisher.
Summersdale Publishers Ltd
46 West Street
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 1RP
www.summersdale.com
www.geoffthompson.com
Printed and bound in Great Britain.
ISBN 1 84024 509 3
Cartoons by John Smyth
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S T R E S S B U S T E R
About the Author
Geoff Thompson claims that his biological birthdate is 1960,
though his hair-line goes right back to the First World War.
He has worked as a fl oor sweeper, chemical worker, pizza
maker, road digger, hod-carrier, martial arts instructor,
bricklayer, picture seller, delivery driver and nightclub bouncer
before giving up ‘proper work’ in 1992 to write full time.
He is now a bestselling author, BAFTA-winning screenwriter,
magazine columnist, playwright and novelist.
He lives in Coventry with his wife Sharon.
www.geoffthompson.com
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Other books and DVDs
by Geoff Thompson
Books:
Red Mist
Watch My Back: The Geoff Thompson Autobiography
The Elephant and the Twig: The Art of Positive Thinking
The Great Escape: The 10 Secrets to Loving Your Life and
Living Your Dreams
Fear – The Friend of Exceptional People: Techniques in
Controlling Fear
Shape Shifter: Transform Your Life in 1 Day
The Formula: The Secret to a Better Life
Real Grappling
Real Punching
Real Kicking
Real Head, Knees and Elbows
Dead or Alive: The Choice is Yours
Three Second Fighter: The Sniper Option
Weight Training: For the Martial Artist
The Pavement Arena: Adapting Combat Martial Arts to
the Street
Animal Day: Pressure Testing the Martial Arts
The Fence: The Art of Protection
The Art of Fighting Without Fighting
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The Throws and Takedowns of Judo
The Throws and Takedowns of Sombo Russian Wrestling
The Throws and Takedowns of Freestyle Wrestling
The Throws and Takedowns of Greco-Roman Wrestling
The Ground Fighting Series
Pins: The Bedrock
The Escapes
Chokes and Strangles
Arm Bars and Joint Locks
Fighting From Your Back
Fighting From Your Knees
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DVDs:
Animal Day: Pressure Testing the Martial Arts
Animal Day Part Two: The Fights
Three Second Fighter: The Sniper Option
Throws and Takedowns Vols. 1- 6
Real Punching Vols. 1-3
The Fence
Ground Fighting Series
Vol 1 Pins: The Bedrock
Vol 2 The Escapes
Vol 3 Chokes and Strangles
Vol 4 Arm Bars and Joint Locks
Vol 5 Fighting From Your Back
Vol 6 Fighting From Your Knees
Advanced Ground Fighting Vols. 1-3
Pavement Arena Part 1
Pavement Arena Part 2: The Protection Pyramid
Pavement Arena Part 3: Grappling. The Last Resort
Pavement Arena Part 4: Fit To Fight
For more details visit www.geoffthompson.com
For a free colour brochure of Geoff Thompson products ring/fax [phone] or write
to Geoff Thompson @ PO Box 307 Coventry, West Midlands CV3 2YP.
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S T R E S S B U S T E R
Thank you very much to Rachael Osborne for her patience and
guidance in editing this book. Thank you to Kerry Thompson for the
fi rst edit.
Dedicated to the memory of my lovely friend James Gillies who died
in 1998 after a long and brave battle with cancer. You remain a great
inspiration to me James, I love you. God bless.
A little boy can be paralysed with fear
when he is told there is a bogie man under
his bed who is going to take him away. When
his father turns on the light and shows him
there is no bogie man, he is freed from
fear. The fear in the mind of the boy was as
real as if there was a bogie man there. He was
healed of a false thought in his mind.
The thing he feared did not exist.
Likewise, most of your fears have no reality.
They are merely a conglomeration of sinister
shadows, and shadows have no reality.
Dr Joseph Murphy
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
LET’S TURN ON THE LIGHTS!
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Contents
Introduction 11
Chapter One:
Understanding the Enemy 22
Chapter Two:
Understanding the Other – It’s Not Personal! 29
Chapter Three:
The Inverted U Hypothesis 39
Chapter Four:
We Always Hurt the Ones We Love 60
Chapter Five:
What Causes Stress? 82
Chapter Six:
Who is Prone to Stress? 95
Chapter Seven:
Immediate Reactions to Stress 106
Chapter Eight:
Symptoms of Short-Term and Long-Term Stress 151
Chapter Nine:
The Defence Mechanisms 188
Chapter Ten:
Coping Mechanisms 214
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Chapter Eleven:
The Buck Stops Here – The Safe Surrogate Release 221
Chapter Twelve:
The Id, The Ego and The Superego 229
Chapter Thirteen:
Relief from Stress 243
Chapter Fourteen:
Professional Help 267
Epilogue:
A Room at the Inn 269
Bibliography 274
Appendix 277
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