The Stress Doc Letter
Cybernotes from the Online Psychohumorist ™
MAY 2007, No. I, Sec. II
Main
Essay:
The
Stress Doc uses a recent workshop experience at Ft. Hood to examine the power of
seemingly contradictory thinking. The capacity for relating opposition and
unity is not just a tool for “out of the box” and double-edged or multifaceted
thinking, but is a paradoxical pathway for imaginative wit and wisdom.
On Becoming “Positively Negative”: The Seven Purposeful, Passionate and Playful Dynamics of Contrary and Creative Thinking
After a well-received “Practice Safe Stress” program in the fall, I was asked to return to Fort Hood to participate in a May 2007 First Cavalry Battalion Mid-Deployment Pulse Check. In light of the unexpected extension of the tours of duties for the soldiers involved with the Iraq War, the leadership was interested in assessing stress levels of: a) the soldiers’ spouses and family members living on or near the base and b) of the volunteer leaders (usually the wives of the senior military leaders) and military personnel providing support services to the Fort Hood community. (Caregiver “compassion fatigue” is a wide-ranging concern these days, both for many health and social agencies or institutions, as well as for the family member responsible for an infirmed elderly parent.) And the second goal was to provide stress management and morale-building tools for those at the home front.
In addition to the “Stress Doc “ ™ there were two other presenters: a disabled Vietnam Vet, currently a pastor and motivational speaker, and a former paratrooper now a Ft. Hood medical doctor and clinic director. The speakers were given the following expert/subject labels: Emotional, Medical and Spiritual. However, I decided to quickly break out of my category box. Early on I noted that a capacity for purposefully imaginative and flexible thinking might often influence our emotions as much as our emotions influence our thoughts and beliefs. I then said, “Let’s see if we can both stir up some emotional angst as well as challenge ourselves to think more sharply…. It’s time for a surprise quiz!”
A Challenging Thinking Exercise
Actually, the quiz is a word-association exercise, and I’ve been using it in a number of different programs related to high performance motivation as well as “Discovering Your Passion Power.”
The purpose of the exercise is to challenge participants to expand the way they process and organize information and, ultimately, to influence how they make perceptions and judgments. More broadly, the exercise engages the following questions related to rigid or flexible cognitive capacity, that is can you develop a perspective or mind path that: a) reflects both an appreciation for individual parts as well as a holistic sensibility, b) often challenges or pokes playfully at the conventional while seeing the past as a perennial power source, and c): simultaneously still encourages fresh, out of the box and, even, provocative vision, thought and expression? I believe an interactive workshop exercise based on an academic research project may illuminate a key cognitive-psychological component of this paradoxical heart-mind-spirit essence. And it’s a dynamic that is also connected to creative perspective.
Let me outline the nature of the study, the workshop exercise steps and then its modus operandi. Dr. Albert Rothenberg, a Yale cognitive psychologist and psychiatrist, paired a word association test and a creative personality inventory to assess whether there is a correlation between high scores on the personality measure and ways of free-associating to a list of words. I have modified and simplified his study in this manner. One at a time, I read off ten common words (“warm,” “tiny,” “dry,” etc.) asking audience members to first copy the word and then to write their immediate association. (I usually have the words up on a screen.) I then ask people to evaluate their responses based on three broad categories: was their word a “synonym” (or similar to the word I read), a “personal or unique” response (e.g., associating the word “cat” to the word “warm” because you feel your cat’s warmth when you snuggle), or an “antonym” (or opposite association)? After each person categorizes their response list I have them break up into small groups and share and discuss their word choices. By a show of hands, I determine the numbers comprising the response categories. Synonyms and unique/personal responses are fairly even in count; these two usually account for 90% or more of the total category responses. (I may playfully comment: “Guess, we’ve identified the deviants in the room.”)
However, I still have not shared the true purpose of the exercise. After, a few minutes of group sharing, I then discuss Dr. Rothenberg’s interest in the way creative personalities free-associate eventually asking the group which category they believe correlates most closely with creative personality measure. (I also reassure everyone, “that this is only one crude measurement. And that if we used other measures I’m sure all would, in Lake Woebegone-like fashion, score above average on a creativity scale.”) Perhaps seeing the sharp contrast in numbers between the opposite responders and the other two categories challenges people to consider “antonyms” as the creative catalyst.
So what specifically makes oppositional association or simultaneous contradictory thinking such a powerful tool for imaginatively breaking out of a mental and operational box? Consider the “Seven Purposeful, Passionate and Playful Dynamics of Contrarily Creative Thinking”:
1. Question the Conventional, Challenge the Status Quo and Link Demons and Directions. Oppositional thinking often takes on tired and true assumptions and mindless habits. It often challenges authority or “the way it’s always been” tradition. And the more high-minded the principle or inflated the ego, the greater the incentive to skewer the rigid and/or self-righteous. Perhaps von Oech, in his book, Whack on the Side of the Head, said it best “Sacred cows make great steaks.” (Though this mantra may not go down easily with some vegans.)
In addition to challenging authority and convention, creative people often need to express their genuine individuality. Their desire goes beyond just a need to be contrary or different. These individuals need to hear and are not afraid to follow the beat of their uncommon inner drummer. In fact, Edvard Munch, the great 19th century Norwegian painter, best known for his famous work, “The Scream,” claimed that his anxieties and neuroses actually gave him direction and a sense of purpose. Without his inner demons he would have been lost.
2. See Spatial-Psychological Relationships, Including Both Sides to Achieve Multiple and/or Mature Perspective. By definition, oppositional thinking means you are aware of some existing premise or position and that you are thinking in comparative and contrasting terms. For example, free-associating on a word test with an opposite term means you are not just reacting subjectively or spontaneously. Actually, you are anchoring both words in some kind of cognitive, psychological and/or spatial-temporal relationship, e.g., above-below, before-after, front-back, etc.
While an issue may seem “black or white” or “good vs. evil,” juxtaposing opposites provides opportunity for transcending “all or none” and “right vs. wrong” thinking. I bet you’ve encountered a pairing of emotional and behavioral opposites that provides an evocative description for a behavior that can be maddening: “passive-aggressive.” A person may understand that wise stress management maxim of, “Giving of yourself and giving to yourself.” (As someone who I can’t recall noted, character is developed through social interaction, integrity through solitary pursuit.)
An ability to see both sides of an issue, to be able to look beyond your own needs, preferences and biases, to acknowledge if not embrace even an antagonist’s position, often enhances or perhaps defines your capacity for empathy. Being able to walk a mile in an opponent’s shoes is often a sign of emotional intelligence or an excellent EI building activity. (Maybe physical intelligence/empathy as well if you can also relate to their bunions.)
Of course, a lack of empathy can also be exposed and lampooned. For example, I recall an old New Yorker cartoon that deftly and delightfully transcended overly righteous or rigid self-importance with a hip skewering of the same. A nattily attired, pompous looking publisher standing behind his power desk begins to chastise a humbly dressed, hat in hand Charles Dickens: "Really, Mr. Dickens…was it the best of times or was it the worst of times? It could scarcely have been both!"
In addition, using a double-edged, seemingly contradictory perspective not only works when engaging self-centered and one-dimensional antagonists. Such a mindset can even enrich a warm fuzzy concept with near universal appeal – TLC. Using a seemingly oppositional framework, TLC now may have an even more motivational utility and value: “Tender Loving Criticism” and “Tough Loving Care.”
Actually, for the acclaimed 20th century novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, breaking through such “black or white” barriers was a sign of real cognitive maturity and proficiency: “The test of a first rate intellect is the capacity to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. For example one should see things as hopeless yet be determined to make them otherwise.” And such cognitive agility further helps develop flexibility, complexity and hipness.
3. Generate a Broader and Deeper, a More Novel and Complex Perspective. As a way of delving into this enriched oppositional perspective, let me ask a couple of questions: Are you a beach person or a mountain person? Do you often engage with emotional memories from the past or frequently draw on past experience and historical perspective to enrich current understanding or do you only live for the present? Perhaps you frequently escape via futuristic reverie? While I don’t have conclusive evidence, I suspect hip or creative-types tend to live in multiple worlds. To draw on an observation by acclaimed 20th century English author, John Fowles (The Collector, The Magus, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, etc.), as a writer the past is his electric current; he needs to be plugged into this power source. Personally, I must grapple with painful memories to be truly myself and true to myself. Facing and feeling the breadth and depth of my past means living more fully in the present and planning more fearlessly for the future.
Actually, oppositional thinking and doing is at the essence of my personal and professional being. This mindset certainly has challenged me to expand my career roles and professional skillsets. My seemingly contradictory framework is composed of two seemingly distinct personae: 1) a more quiet, reflective and introverted “Cave Persona” and 2) a more extroverted, outgoing, charming and dynamic, if not a tad manic, “Stage Persona.” And these cage and stage temperaments certainly both reflect and predispose me toward two different role-skillsets:
a. Clinician/Author – these roles reflects my interest in and need to explore the serious, emotionally poignant and dark sides of human nature; and believe me the need to explore begins at home. Both focused, sequential and analytical listening as well as well as soft, intuitive and empathic listening along with probing and reflective questioning are vital aspects of the roles of therapist and writer. Of course, listening to one’s own inner voice or soul is critical and foundational, and
b. Public Speaker/Performer – this role allows me to be a bit larger than life – I can be silly, theatrical and outrageous. I often channel aggressive energy into playfully biting humor or dramatic expression; irreverent wit may turn into light-hearted messages of enlightenment. And while noted above as a “cave” persona role, interestingly, at times, my writing draws on both skillsets. While there’s an obvious quiet and reflective side essential to creative writing, yet it frequently involves tapping into aggressive and whimsically empathic energy, especially when attempting to turn wit into wisdom. I’m reminded of the title of a drive time “Stress Brake” radio essay on burnout: “Breaking Out of a Hell of a Shell or Don’t Feel Too Sorry for Humpty Dumpty He Needed to Hit Bottom.”
So having two sharply distinguished personae and role sets provides opportunity to integrate these seemingly contradictory states into an uncommonly rich synthesis. For example, speaking programs convey both an insightful depth and generate childlike exuberance. In fact, I had to invent (and trademark) a term to capture the double-edged, yin- and yang-like complexity of my professional identity – “Psychohumorist” ™. (Of course, I let my audience decide where the emphasis on this word should go!)
And this double-edged yet integrative nature and expression not only yields an unusual blend of substance and style; it also produces an uncommon impact on others: “You really love what you do” and “You have great energy” are common post-performance observations from audience members. And they are right. But why is this so? Certainly I love the spotlight and the attention. You may know that familiar aphorism: “Vanity thy name is Gorkin!” Hey my public persona mantra: “To get so much exposure that I’m finally arrested for indecency!”
And while the above has some truth (maybe even more than I want to fully admit), there’s another reason for my exuberance and energy: being on stage allows me to draw on and release my fullest self – from the emotionally sensitive and reflective thinker, writer and therapist to the aggressive, irreverent and outrageous performer. I also have biochemical license to cycle a bit manic and melancholy. Actually, I have license to break out of traditional or “appropriate” categories. I have license to project a deeper and broader, a more complex and creative, more cool or hip perspective and persona.
4. Perceive Shades of Gray and Figure-Ground Reversal or Irony. If you can see a connection between black and white, perhaps you can even see these two hues yielding a mix of gray. Or perhaps you can envision partly overlapping black and white circles (a Venn Diagram) so that now there’s a section of gray sandwiched between black and white crescent-shaped moons. (An ex-teacher provided an illustration of how she used Venn Diagrams to help her third graders understand comparison and contrast. She had them draw two separate circles, one with the traits and characteristics of dogs and the other with the traits and characteristics of cats. She then had them overlap the circles where the household pets displayed common qualities while the separate parts of the circles contained their differing natures.)
This visualization can help illuminate how the color gray or, for example, consensus forged from contradictory positions, is a product of creating common ground or overlapping space between oppositional black and white positions or figures. Or in political terms, with our current Red State vs. Blue State dichotomy, Independent Voters may one day forge a Purple Party or, depending on the issue, may display shades of purple while still having basic blue or red sentiment.
But perhaps the best way of generating a sense of gradation is through polar opposites tension depicted as end points of a spectrum. For example, think of the color spectrum – red gradually shading into purple, purple shading into blue, etc. Or consider the flexible and optimal tension of a violin string that allows for a maximal variety and quality of tone and pitch. So instead of black or white, all or none, right or wrong, high or low dichotomy, you can operate with fractions and make subtle differentiations and discriminations. You are not just cold and hot (unless, like my good lady friend, you are subjected to one of those hot flashes), but experience degrees or shades of warmth or coolness.
Oppositional thinking also facilitates a capacity for figure-ground reversal, for example seeing the interplay between parts and the whole or the forest and the trees. And a facility for reversal (and opposition) would seem to encourage a capacity for irony: the utterance or use of words that expresses a meaning which understates the effect intended or which is often the direct opposite of the literal meaning (The Random House Dictionary of the English Language: The Unabridged Edition). Consider this heaven and earth ironic reversal. I recall a steward on a Southwest Airlines flight going through the pre-flight orientation. He had just finished demonstrating the use of the oxygen mask. An uneasy quiet seemed to go hand in hand with his holding aloft a seat cushion as a potential floating device. Suddenly with perfect timing the steward announced, “As we will be going over water for part of this trip, in the unlikely event that this flight becomes a cruise…” Now waves of laughter seemed to roll down the aisles of the plane.
Finally, being able to flexibly view points of overlap, to make fine distinctions or reversals means you can place ideas and actions in a variety of contexts. I’ve always admired this example. In the middle of a heavily traveled New Orleans roadway, frequently a site of traffic jams, there was a large billboard. The billboard was soliciting future advertisers. It’s pithy ploy and double-edged perspective: “To you it’s a traffic jam, for us it’s an audience!”
5. Stimulate Creative Confusion. Frequently, it’s not an easy task relating and reconciling opposition. Finding common ground or perceiving analogous properties or similarities between things seemingly unlike may take a keen or clever mind. Actually, according to renowned author and humorist, Mark Twain, this cognitive agility is the essence of “wit”: the sudden marriage of ideas which before their union were not perceived to have any relation.
With Twain’s definition in mind, what I’m about to say may seem counterintuitive: “Ahas!” don’t just happen. Akin to their human counterparts, conceptual opposites may attract but they don’t necessarily make cool or creative connections…at least not without some back and forth if not stormy interrelating. Grappling with contradiction often generates an initial conceptual mind field of uncertainty, confusion and frustration. The psychiatrist, Richard Rabkin, called this state “thrustration.”
Continuing with our conjugal or at least human relational metaphor, I’ve defined “thrustration” as being torn between thrusting ahead with direct action and frustration, as you have not been able to put together all the pieces of the puzzle. And, at this point, it’s best to stop trying to willpower a solution or conceptual connection. Take a time out; distract your conscious mind by walking in a forest, hitting a tennis ball or taking a bike ride or a nap. In other words, take an “incubation vacation” to hatch the new, the unexpected and the creative, that is, that “Aha!” perspective.
A Catalyst for Reflection and Persuasion
Another 19th century man of letters, the philosopher and educator, John Dewey, captured the fertile ground possibility in conflict and contradiction: Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It shocks us out of sheep-like passivity. It instigates to invention and sets us at noting and contriving. Conflict is the sine qua non of reflection and ingenuity. Sounds pretty cool to me!
Finally, there’s a power negotiation tactic worth noting when dealing with someone opposed to your premise. Present your viewpoint and then encourage your antagonist to challenge your position. This may have a counterintuitive effect; you may be inducing some confusion and subsequent openness. That is, since arguments are often less about facts and figures and more about the actual or perceived status of the individuals in the relationship, when you accept such a challenge or rebuttal you are helping the other party feel less subservient and more in control. And, lo and behold, once having exercised the freedom to disagree or criticize, the antagonist may just become more predisposed to acknowledge the value of your argument, if not adopt your original contrary position.
This negotiation dynamic even can work with that frustrating, often passive-aggressive “stress carrier”…the “Yes, butter.” As I like to say:
If you can
get a person who says, “Yes, but”
To openly rebut
Even if they may be a pain in the…
You can often get them to say, “But, yes!”
6. Reveals a Wiser, Paradoxical or Higher Truth. Engaging with opposition and contradiction not only helps make you broader and more complex in your thinking, but it may also facilitate a capacity for not just wit but also for wisdom. Wit, as was noted above, is often the quick apprehension and clever expression of the analogous properties among things seemingly unlike or contradictory. If being clever often involves the capacity for the unexpected connection of ideas as well as for irreverence and insight, then I have one pithy example – a wise witticism that reconciles seeming contradiction and reveals a truth about the vagaries of human nature. (Hey, my goal in life is to be both a “Wise Man” and a “Wise Guy.”) It’s my classic holiday joke, and it’s a tool for preserving your sanity during the gathering of the tribe. Basically you need to understand the difference between “holiday blues” and “holiday stress.” Now “holiday blues” is the feeling of loss or sadness that you have when, for whatever reason, over the holidays you cannot be with those people who have been or are special or significant. And “holiday stress”…is when you have to be with some of those people! We all can relate and knowingly share a laugh. Once again, grappling with seemingly contradictory tendencies actually reveals an aspect of your nature and, more broadly, of human nature.
Or consider this perceptive observation of human need and motivation by the pioneering film genius, Charlie Chaplin: A paradoxical thing about making comedy is that it is precisely the tragic which arouses the funny. We have to laugh due to our helplessness in the face of natural forces and in order not to go crazy.
Yin and Yang: Symbol of Synthesis
Grappling with opposition was essential to the theorizing of the renowned 19th century German philosopher, Friederich Hegel. Hegel posited that a starting point or position – a “Thesis” – when contrasted with its opposite – an “Antithesis” – can generate sufficient tension to yield a higher order concept or integrative “Synthesis.” One way of literally envisioning higher order synthesis is through the Eastern integrative symbol of dynamic holism – Yin/Yang. Yin has been described as representing receptive or devoted (sometimes called female) energy while Yang typically represents active or potent (male) energy. (Although, I’m involved with an AARP card-carrying woman who definitely belies this traditional categorization.) And usually this higher order synthesis is achieved by depicting these energies as two separate, mercurial, squash-like figures, one dark, one light, flowing into each other to form a unified whole. And within each of these parts of a whole lies a dot – black in the white yin segment, white in the dark yang segment. The dot is not unlike a contrasting seed in a womb. The placement of these oppositional dots reveals the paradoxical truth that the seed in the Yang configuration is the genesis of Yin energy while the Yin seed nurtures Yang potentiality. (One quick example comes to mind: how a healthy fight that affirms both parties and clears the air may turn partners into ardent lovers.)
This notion of one form of energy or nature being the precursor of its seeming antithesis also reminds me of two poetic “grief and rebirth” insights penned years ago:
For
the Phoenix to rise from the ashes
One must know the pain
To transform the fire to burning desire!
And,
Whether the loss is a key person, a desired position or a powerful illusion each deserves the respect of a mourning. The pit in the stomach, the clenched fists and quivering jaw, the anguished sobs prove catalytic in time. In mystical fashion, like Spring upon Winter, the seeds of dissolution bear fruitful renewal.
These two “one must die to be reborn” quotes combined with the insights found in the “holiday blues” joke and Chaplin’s prescient pairing of comedy and tragedy lead us to a fundamental aspect of cognitive courage and flexiblity and a key component of the creative process: an ability to cry and laugh, to “let go” (even of the loved object or idea) and to grapple with our fears as necessary conditions for exploring anew.
Having focused on grieving, let’s appropriately close with two pithy quotes on laughter, quotes that reveal, actually, the contrary yet evolving interrelationship between fear and laughter, competence and courage. The first is from psychiatrist, Ernst Kris: “What was once feared and is now mastered is laughed at.”
The second is the Stress Doc’s inversion of the first: “What was once feared and is now laughed at is no longer a master.”
And our final strategic segment will further examine this capacity for being bold and brazen.
7. Encourage Daring and Defiance. Clearly, with an oppositional predisposition to question the conventional, self-righteous or status quo and/or armed with a “higher truth” you are often ready to embark on a path that may be grand or grandiose (or maybe both. Hopefully, yours is a non-fundamentalist or fanatical truth.) Seeing what others can’t or won’t see, perceiving more sides, subtleties or possibilities to a thorny issue has the potential for generating uncommon vision and vistas and fresh pathways and processes.
Of course, to see and think anew not only means getting out of the box; sometimes the box may have to be knocked down or blown up. As one of the giants of 20th century art, Pablo Picasso (a man of many, and not always endearing, paradoxical qualities) observed: Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction. (Here’s where fanaticism can be quite problematic: When your goal is to create an absolutely pure or “righteous” society, then if you are not with us you are “unpatriotic.” Or another’s sinful ways must be shamed and condemned, and sometimes the sinner must be exterminated.
Picasso also proposed another paradoxical epiphany: Art is the lie that reveals a greater truth!
What does he mean by these observations? And what is the connection between daring and defiance and being creative, conscious and current? And how may this path reveal a wise or compassionate “higher or greater truth?”
First, why might conceptual or symbolic (though sometimes literal) destruction be a necessary catalyst for generating novel or innovative perspective, process or plan? In my mind, you often have to break habit chains or “less tried and just accepted as true” assumptions in order to see, think and design in a novel or fresh way. And while the tearing down, explosion or breaking apart process may be painful, it paves the way for two essentials for creative exploration: 1) it clears the familiar playing field; you have a new (or mostly clean) canvas to work with and 2) it often induces a state of uncertainty and confusion which may drive you to perceive and build fresh or unexpected, perhaps even fantastic (i.e., the exaggerated lie begetting truth) connections or relationships among the ideas and/or elements in your problem-solving field.
Designing Team Energy and Synergy
Let me illustrate these two paradoxes – destruction for creation, lie for truth – by sketching my signature “psychohumorist” ™, “team discussion and team drawing” speaking or workshop program exercise. Participants are divided into small groups (4-6 people/group). They are given about ten minutes to identify sources workplace stress and conflict. That’s the easy part. Then in the same amount of time, the group must produce a team picture that captures the individual stress perspectives. Invariably, a number of the participants experience some confusion, if not anxiety, at the prospect of transforming individual perspective into collective visualization. But once the group realizes they have to discard or replace linear and logical thinking with visual metaphor and holistic figure-ground story telling through pictures, suddenly the conceptual and operational fog lifts…And creative energy and laughter erupts.
Here’s one of my favorite designs. The audience was comprised of NASA and Lockheed Martin supervisors and managers. There definitely was a preponderance of analytical, left-brained individuals. There was considerable workplace anxiety; news of budget cuts and personnel reorganization was in the air. One picture (done on full-size flipchart paper with broad-tipped colored markers) was a classic. On a cliff is a devil-like figure, with pointy ears and a long tail, with a trident in one hand, a whip in the other. The executive/devil is driving this flock of sheep to the cliff’s edge and beyond. Actually, the sheep have only one option: jumping off the cliff. And the safety net below has gaping holes. While the content is an exaggeration, you can’t miss the emotional message. And did you note the oppositional pairing of the devil and the sheep?
After another workshop, I recall a CEO observing, “I get written reports all the time. But these drawings give me a clearer sense of what’s really going on in the trenches.” Perhaps a vivid picture that provides a wide perspective can induce a “higher truth.”
Which brings us to the second Picasso Paradox: As the devil vs. sheep picture illustrates art may create exaggerations and even absurd illusions. Art may also heighten emotional identification by placing oppositional tension in a familiar and/or novel or surprising psychological and situational context. The viewer sees images and ideas from a new perspective or through a new framework. Artful opposition can readily bring to the surface and into focus the psychic underground. Art may well reveal or clarify a higher, wider and/or deeper as well as more daring emotional truth.
Closing Summary
Using cognitive complexity as a launching pad, this article has highlighted “Seven Contrary and Creative Purposes and Payoffs of Oppositional Thinking”:
1. Question the Conventional or Expressively Disrupt the Commonplace or Status Quo
2. See Spatial-Psychological Relationships, Including Both Sides to Achieve Multiple or Mature Perspective
3. Generate a Broader and Deeper, a More Novel and Complex Perspective
4. Perceive Shades of Gray
5. Stimulate Creative Confusion
6. Reveal a Paradoxical or Higher Truth
7. Encourage Daring and Defiance
Learning to think in oppositional categories, to see multiple facets and to integrate contradiction and seemingly scattered ideas and elements is a powerful tool for challenging habits and assumptions, taking on “sacred cows,” and perceiving and conceptualizing with real imagination and boldness. It’s a psycho-spatial-relational framework for exploring, realizing and expressing your fullest self. Oppositional processing is a vital pathway to being cool, seemingly contradictory yet, ultimately, creative and perhaps equally important it’s your passport for learning how to…Practice Safe Stress!
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Practicing Safe Stress: Healing and Laughing in the Face of Stress, Burnout, &
Depression; Stress Doc Enterprises
Published: 2004; Pages: 372
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---------------------------------------------
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Stress Doc Enterprises
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301-946-0865
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Mark Gorkin, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, is a psychotherapist and
"Motivational Humorist" whose Interactive Keynotes and Kickoffs draw wide and
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with Celebrity Cruise Lines. An OD/Team Building Consultant, Mark is the
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health resource. Email for his monthly newsletter showcased on List-a-Day.com.
For more info on the Doc's speaking and training programs, call or email the
"Stress Doc": 301-946-0865 or stressdoc@aol.com . And to view web video
highlights of a Stress Doc Keynote, go to
http://www.stressdoc.com/media_downloads.htm .
(c) Mark Gorkin 2007
Shrink Rap Productions