Contact: Adam Cothes, Publicist, WinePress Publishing Group, 360-802-9758, adam@winepressgroup.com

ENUMCLAW, Washington, April 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- Almost 50% of Americans believe their stress has increased significantly in the past five years, reports the American Psychological Association in a recent study. And while 79% of respondents listed stress as a natural part of life, the medical world continues to confirm the link between chronic stress and health complications.

"The number one major factor in aging today is stress," says Dr. Mehmet Oz, vice chairman of surgery at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University. Dr. Oz, a recent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, confirmed the APA's findings by emphasizing the increase in stress he's witnessed in patients in the last five years.

Author, life coach, and counselor Susanne Sweeny sees a clear path to reverse the debilitating cycle of chronic stress, unrelenting time pressures, and a lack of purpose to instill personal strength and power. In her new book "Transform Stress into Strength" (Annotation Press, 2008) she focuses on a specific four-step process:

1. Define the root causes of your stress through the prism of 7 key life dimensions
2. Create a life plan based on personal values, mission, and ideal future state
3. Eliminate the mental roadblocks to progress
4. Reallocate time to the truly important

Sweeny claims a direct relationship exists between discontent and perceived purpose in life. "When people believe they can't control events, they become increasingly overwhelmed and stressed out. Conversely, gaining control brings balance and order to the constant chaos of our lives."

"Stress is just an external symptom of a life that's perceived to be out of control and out of adjustment." Sweeny continues, "When we discover our life's true passion and become thoroughly engaged in the pursuit of it, it's amazing how the minor stressful inconveniences of life just fade into insignificance."

A former senior manager at the IBM Corporation, Sweeny has run hundreds of workshops on leadership, teamwork, personal effectiveness, stress management, and other topics. Former clients include the American Medical Association, Amtrak, Eli Lilly, GE, IBM, US Army, US Postal Service, United Way, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and the National Federation of Women Legislators.

For more information, to request a review copy, or to schedule an interview, please contact Adam Cothes.

http://www.apa.org/releases/stressproblem.html