Meet Darlene Josaphe, Author and Publisher

Darlene Josaphe, helps women manage stress successfully with resources that educate, combined with personal support. She is the author of the Self-Help Stress Solutions book series on Amazon and editor of the Ezine, Stress Management Fan Club.

1. What inspired you to start writing about natural methods of stress relief?

Women everywhere are experiencing severe amounts of stress in all aspects of their lives, on the job and at home. I see it all around me every day, and I know from personal experience that coping with stress is a difficult prospect. Unfortunately many turn to "solutions" that often do little to improve things and may even make their situation worse--drinking too much, using narcotics, or giving in to fits of anger; these things only hurt you and those around you and rarely do anything to actually address the situation that is causing stress.

I discovered from my own personal experience that there are many positive and beneficial things that can be done to address stressful situations naturally. First of all, facing the situation and doing what you can to change it is vitally important, even if it means making long-term plans, long-term goals, and long-term lifestyle changes. That's why I decided to write about natural methods of stress relief, identify and expose the core causes and detrimental effects of stress for women, and share the high-performance strategies and techniques that women can use immediately to improve their lives. Natural methods work to relieve stress effectively and naturally.

2. What are your best sources for coming up with tips to share with your readers (your own experience, research, suggestions from other people...)?

My best resource is by far my own personal experience, as well as the experiences of the many women whom I have worked with in my professional life during the last 20 years. Women coping with divorce, family conflict, parenting challenges, financial tragedy, job burn-out and frustration; women who are overwhelmed by the pressures and anxieties of modern-day living. Really, who isn’t stressed these days?

But in addition to my own experiences, I also do a lot of research and reading on healthy living and wellness, not only focusing on physical wellness, but also on emotional and spiritual wellness. For women, emotional and spiritual wellness is supremely important for inner-peace, joy, and happiness.

But more than just reading about healthy living, emotional wellness, and spiritual wellness, I work hard to apply what I learn.

I used to be a stressed out, overworked, overwhelmed woman, but I learned how to slow down, re-organize my focus and priorities, and bring balance into my life. I discovered that there is a lot I can do to manage my stress levels and keep them within acceptable standards. When I see how natural stress relief methods work in my life, such as gardening, walking, juicing, proper time management and money management, camping, nutrition, aromatherapy, etc, I write about it so that other women can learn to implement these natural stress relief methods too. They really do work!

3. In addition to your books, articles, and stress management for women ezine, what services do you offer in terms of personal support?

I offer one-on-one support via email. I always answer emails personally.

Most of the time when we are stressed, having someone to talk to goes a long way in helping to soothe frazzled nerves or just to help regain perspective and direction. Some women may not always feel comfortable opening up to family members, and others may live far away and isolated from family and friends, like I was for many years. Yet, via cyberspace, with the click of a button, you can connect with someone in a meaningful way that brings some perspective and peace to your life.

Developing a meaningful support network is by far the single most important natural stress management strategy for women. The support network does not have to be big and extensive. It can be as strong as one person you can confide in, one pair of shoulders to cry on, and one pair of trustworthy listening ears.

4. Why has the Kindle format been such a good fit for your self-help books for women?

Women are online in LARGE numbers, and women shop on Amazon in droves. So the Kindle is a "natural fit" to reach women around the globe with my self-help books and stress management information. Kindle books are easily available online. You don't even need to own a Kindle to be able to download and read books in Kindle format. All you really need is an Amazon account and you can purchase, download, and read the self-help books in a matter of minutes. You can even log in to your Amazon account and purchase the books to give as gifts to someone who may need some stress relief. All you need is the recipient's email address, and Amazon will do the rest!

Another reason the Kindle format is an excellent fit for my self-help books for women is because you can immediately access the information. Unlike traditional hard-copy books that have to get shipped, the Kindle format is digital and can be downloaded immediately, whether 9:00 AM in the morning or 11:00 PM at night. The sooner women can get their hands on the self-help stress solutions, the sooner they will be able to apply them and start living happier lives with less stress.

Finally, the Kindle format allows me to offer my self-help books to women at really affordable prices. With this horrible economy, money is hard to find. Self-publishing on Kindle helps me to keep the costs of the books under $5. And for members of my Stress Management Fan Club, I even have Amazon promos where they can download one of the books for FREE during special giveaways.

So the Kindle format is easily available online through the biggest online shopping resource in the world (Amazon), it's available for immediate download, and it's super affordable. A winning proposition for women around the globe who are in need of natural stress relief solutions.

5. What are a couple of specific suggestions for stress relief you'd offer for someone reading this who'd like to turn off the computer and practice a stress management technique or two right now?

One specific suggestion for someone who wants to turn off the computer and practice a stress management technique RIGHT NOW would be for her to head outside in nature for a few minutes. Nature offers an abundance of natural stress relievers that have a soothing effect on frazzled nerves. The problem is that, other than scenes of nature on our computer screen savers or on TV, we seldom get a chance to tap into the FREE natural stress relief solutions right outside the window. If it's safe to do so, why not turn off the computer and head outside right now for a short walk around the block, breathing in fresh air and taking in the soothing sights and sounds in your own neighborhood which you may seldom get a chance to appreciate, as you fly back and forth each day? Take in the flowers in the gardens as you walk, or the butterflies fluttering by, or the birds chirping a happy song.

If it's not possible to head outside right now, I have another specific suggestion. Try stretching! Stretching can be especially good when you're at work and feeling your back, neck, and fingers tense up. All you need to do is get up and stretch your arms over your head and feel your back muscles loosen up. Roll your head in a circle very slowly and gently. Shrug your shoulders a few times to stretch them as well. To stretch your fingers, spread them in front of you and try to reach them out as far as possible and then just "crunch" them at the knuckles a few times. You might hear your knuckles crack and this is okay; you simply don't want to strain them or make a tight fist which just pulls the muscles.

It's important to remember that stretching exercises don't need to take a long time. Five minutes can do a world of good, especially if combined with deep breathing. Stretching routines only take a few minutes and can be worked into your schedule very easily, whether you are at work or at home.

These are two specific stress management techniques that anyone, anywhere can practice right now!

I invite everyone reading this to join our stress management fan club right now, too, to start learning about and applying natural, DIY stress solutions which can help you beat stress, and regain the balance, joy, and inner peace you deserve.

Thanks, Darlene!