Don't worry be happy

Dr Cate Howell and Dr Michele Murphy have written "a manual" on how to destress.
Release Your Worries - A Guide To Letting Go Of Your Stress And Anxiety - is full of ideas, examples and exercises readers can use to help themselves relax. It's a handbook with room for readers to write down their feelings and experiences.
Subjects covered include anxiety, panic attacks, stress and self-esteem.The authors offer step-by-step practical advice on how to overcome it all - and more.
Dr Howell is a general practitioner specialising in mental health and Dr Murphy is a clinical psychologist working in private practice.
Linda Hall asked them about their book.
Tell us how this book evolved. Whose idea was it?

For a long time we had both realised how useful it would be to have a book that would explain anxiety and stress-management in a down-to-earth way. Over the years, we have seen an increase in the number of people presenting with stress and anxiety.
We began to dream about how we could have prevented so much suffering, and the manifestation of this dream was our training consultancy, CM Consulting, which aims to provide education to manage anxiety and stress in schools and workplaces.
How long did it take from beginning to end?
It took about six months to write the book, and the publishing process took a further 12 months.
What makes your book any better than other self-help books?
We believe our book offers something unique, because it is written by a general practitioner/therapist and a clinical psychologist who have shared knowledge but also bring some different ideas to the book; it is easy-to-understand and read; and the approach we use in our practices and in this book is "multi-modal", that is, we incorporate a range of treatment approaches, from lifestyle to psychological treatment(s).
Many self-help books utilise one or two main approaches. However, we do not believe that one size fits all in terms of approaches for stress and anxiety.
Finally, the book is the culmination of 50 years' combined experience, and we have many more ideas we are excited about sharing with people.
Did you readily agree on all aspects of the book, or did you have to compromise now and again?
We work in a very similar way and are passionate about our work. We agreed on just about everything, and when one of us was experiencing writer's block the other would ask questions that would get the ball rolling again.
What would you class as the most stressful time of life?
The most stressful times of life are those times associated with change. Any alteration to the normal routine of our lives can provoke a stress response.
Common changes we experience over our lifespan include finishing school, starting a job, moving house, getting married and having children. Our book provides people with the skills to manage the stress associated with these changes so they can live a rich and fulfilling life.

Do you have any other projects planned, either together or separately?
We have just made a relaxation CD called Relax Your Worries, for people beginning to use relaxation techniques. We are making a CD with the more advanced exercises called Letting Go of Stress and Anxiety.
This book has whetted our appetite for writing and at the moment we are working on a book to help students, parents and teachers manage the stress of the year of final exams at school.
As part of our consulting firm, we are keen to utilise Release Your Worries as the basis of training in organisations who wish to reduce the level of stress. We will also be running workshops for the public based on the book, and hope to come to New Zealand in 2011.
Six tips to destress
1 Do things you value:  in today's world we lead busy lives. More and more we are realising that we can probably still have it all, but not at the same time. Therefore, we need to be able to have clear priorities as a way of choosing how we will allocate our time and energy.
2 Connect with family and friends:  good social support can act as a buffer against stress.
3 Have a laugh: simple ways to destress using humour include watching your favourite comedy show and trying to see the funny side of a situation.
4 Aim for a healthy lifestyle: eating healthy foods, getting adequate sleep and regular
exercise all assist in helping people cope with daily stressors.
5 Learn to say no: we often worry that people will not like or approve of us if we do not agree to do what they want. It is okay to say no.
6 Prioritise yourself: it is important to remember that you will have trouble being of any use to anyone if you are stressed to the point that you burn out. Prioritising your own self-care will ensure you are able to take care of others.