Full Catastrophe Living
Sabrina Shattles, our editor in chief, helps you build your health library.
Okay, I have to admit, the title is a bit intimidating. But what convinced me to pick up this book was the scholarly and medical endorsement: “The program of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.” So this is backed by research and science? I’m interested.
A few pages in, you read “the storms of life will strengthen us as they teach us about living, growing, and healing in a world of flux and change and sometimes great pain.” We all experience storms in life—illness, loss of a loved one, loss of a job, new baby, adult child moving back in, new job or whatever it is that shakes things up in our world. What can this book teach us, and what promises does it make?
This book teaches natural, medically proven ways to soothe and heal our bodies, minds and spirits. It focuses
on mindfulness meditation as a counterbalance to the stress in our lives—stress that can rob us of our peace and even health, or that can be the springboard for a full, dynamic and exciting life. The author asks, “The real question, and the real adventure, is how do we live our lives while we have the chance?” And he admits, “It is not that mindfulness is the ‘answer’ to all life’s problems. Rather it is that all life’s problems can be seen more clearly through the lens of a clear mind.” He shows us step-by-step with exercises, examples and real-life stories on how to practice mindfulness in our own lives.
And what about the promised results? People are referred to the Stress Reduction Clinic by their physicians. These are people who have had heart attacks, back injuries with chronic pain, AIDS, migraines, panic attacks, trouble sleeping or other health issues. The interesting thing to me is that their doctors prescribed this clinic to them for healing. That’s because the program works. “This program saved my life,” says a firefighter. An 88-year-old woman says, “My bouts with severe pain remind me to practice what I learned in the stress clinic. And it still works.”
If you have chronic pain or a chronic illness, I strongly recommend that you take a look at this book and consider how this approach may help with your healing. If you just want to live life fully, this book may also be for you.
Check out the rest of Sabrina's recommended reads.
Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D.