24/7 Natural SPEED: Stress Resiliency Shrink Rap ™

The genesis of Shrink Rap ™ began in New Orleans in the late ‘80s and continued in the nation’s capital in the early ‘90s.  And, when inspired, I have been periodically penning Raps ever since.  However, with:

1) the explosion of “smart” technology,

2) the ever rising and spreading Internet-Social Media Tower of Babel,
3) the challenge of being heard (or read) amid the din and ever-increasing competing platforms, and
4) people having less time and attention to devote to reading articles

I am now embarking on a campaign to save brain cells by shortening my output and oeuvre, i.e., writing “Stress Resiliency Shrink Raps.”  Here’s a newer generation effort, recently tweaked ever so slightly in response to a female reader’s observation that excess consumption of soy products may be linked with breast cancer.  (Conversely, a nurse recently shared that eating celery may be protective for the same.)

At the same time, I have been ramping up my Linked-in network.  So, to get everyone on the same page, here’s the revised version of 24/7 Natural SPEED.  A friend asked if he could get reimbursement from his health insurance company after reading this rap.  It really is very thought-provoking; a solid prevention piece, as well as edgy and fun.  As I once observed:  People are less defensive and more open to a serious message gift-wrapped with humor.  Anyway…I hope you are enjoying or will enjoy the writings.

Mark

stressdoc@aol.com

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24/7 Natural SPEED/Stress Resiliency Shrink Rap ™:

Safe Stress Survival Strategies

Are you the “poster child” for stress and duress?
Should you try Prozac?  Is it time to confess
To Ebay shopping – which may be a warning
When you're clicking madly at three in the morning?

But relax, have no fear...
The Stress Doc is here. So lay worries to rest…
Now listen and learn to Practice Safe Stress! ™

As you sprint to the wire with blood pressure higher
Timeless mind-body tips to heed
For slowing down, getting feet on the ground
And building Natural SPEED – Sleep-Priority-Passion-Empathy-Exercise-Diet.

Now don't be cheap with your need for “Sleep.”
Maximum learning must be REM deep
To be a beauty with mental acuity
Not that snooze-button bashing BLEEP!

For when it comes to daily slumber

All night gaming is dumb and dumber.
You may call me a grouchy old toad:
“Pull the d_ _n plug on ‘just one more’ download.”

Chorus:  When it comes to stress – it’s a lock

               Who you gonna get – the Stress Doc!

Do the shadows of consuming insomnia

Now mushroom into munching hysteria?
Does sneaking and snacking mean values are lacking
Or a health disease with vital criteria?

[To savor these “food for thought” questions

Digest this delicious digression:
A search for en-light-ened clarity
Imbued with lingual dexterity
Alas, settles for linguistic perversity –
The neologistic** “insomnobesity” ™.]

** Neologism:  the combining of existing words to make a new, often clever term or buzzword

--------------------------------

But let us get back to troubles in the sack…

Always “burning the candle” is not just a scandal –
More a waxy attack fueling brain-clogging plaque
That may even nurture dementia!

Beware numbing at night with pie ala mode

Better mind travel down a pine-scented road.
Or let sounds of the ocean sing a lullaby potion
While launching a dreamy adventure.

So, can you get seven hours, at least

Without an Ambien or Bud-Lite feast?
When stress from your head crawls into the bed
And virals as a nightmarish beast...

Despite what you think you’ll need more than a shrink:

How do you find – without losing your mind…
Hey, it’s a snap, there must be an app
For a “multi-HYPER-texting ‘n tubeing-always on-Facebooking-
Skype-savvy” exorcist priest?

Chorus:  Ready to confess – join the flock

               Who you gonna get – the Stress Doc!

"P" stands for "Priority"
You can't do it all every day.
Urgent means now but important can wait.
Do you know how to "N & N"? –
Just say "No and Negotiate!"

Now I hope you’ll pardon my asking:

“Must you always be multi-tasking?”
Oh, it’s just me, honey, your Energizer Bunny.
Running from quiet, your life is a riot.
Hmm…what is that “ADD” masking?

Chorus:  Is your life a mess? – you need a rock

               Who you gonna get – the Stress Doc!

Another “P”-word is “Passion”

And we’re not talking sex, shoes, or fashion.
Don’t try to impress, better…
Learn to play chess
Or dig, dream, and dance in your garden.


"E" is for the "Empathy"
Found in a caring shoulder.
But all give without take is a big mistake
For now you shoulder a boulder.

Find a stress buddy who knows TLC

Someone honest and self-aware –
One who gives “Tender Loving Criticism”
Yet also takes “Tough Loving Care!”

 

Chorus:  Doing more with less – better take stock

               Who you gonna get – the Stress Doc!

The second "E" is for "Exercise"
Start pumping iron or those thighs.
You may not need SSRIs.
Try thirty minutes of non-stop spin
For your mood uplifting endorphin.

And, finally, "D" is for a healthy "Diet"
Alas, many would rather die than try it.
To manage foods so often craved
Grieve, "let go," and then be brave
Sending diet fads to an early grave.

So eat those fruits and veggies
Try omega fish and bean protein.
For too much fats and sugar
Excess alcohol and caffeine
Is a rollercoaster formula

For a brain-fogged and artery-clogged machine.

Chorus:  When it comes to stress – you’re on the clock

               Who you gonna get – the Stress Doc!

It's time to end this Shrink Rap
With final tips for you –
"A firm 'No' a day keeps the ulcers away, and the hostilities too."
So to lessen daily woes, "Do know your limits; don't limit your 'No's!"

Ponder this Stress Doc wit and wisdom
Try to live it day after day:
Burnout is not a sign of failure
You simply gave yourself away.

Remember, sometimes less is more
And more is really less.
Balance work and play, faith and love
And, of course...Practice Safe Stress!

© Mark Gorkin 2013

Shrink Rap ™ Productions

Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is an acclaimed keynote and webinar speaker and "Motivational Humorist & Team Communication Catalyst" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN programs for both government agencies and major corporations.  A training and Critical Incident/Grief Intervention Consultant for the National EAP/Wellness Company, Business Health Services in Baltimore, MD, the Doc is also leading “Stress, Team Building and Humor” programs for various branches of the Armed Services.  Mark is the author of Practice Safe Stress and of The Four Faces of Anger.  See his award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" -- www.stressdoc.com -- called a "workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR).  For more info on the Doc's programs or to receive his free e-newsletter, email stressdoc@aol.com.

To Escape the Box, Embrace Paradox – I & II

The two latest Shrink Raps ™ capture my understanding of how embracing the paradoxical – from “courageous and creative grieving” to “letting go to the flow” – may help you discover and design the “pass in the impasse” when feeling momentarily trapped or torn by self-doubt.  This rap is a bit more complex, some iconic – mythical-psychological, literary-artistic – cultural references; the last stanza especially captures imaginative “flights of fancy.”  Still, I think it’s worth the ride.  Would love to hear your comments, questions, and/or suggestions.  Enjoy!

Mark

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To Escape the Box, Embrace Paradox – I

When having to fight someone always right

Or one locked in their way till that last dying day…
Despite giving your heart, there’s no place to start.
Perhaps the fixation is your own “thrustration” –
Set to thrust ahead with direct action
Yet blocked by a head of fear and frustration.
And the probable cause of the looming train wreck
That “damned if I do or I don’t” bottleneck!

So thunder and rant, until you just can’t

Hide from the shame; shed white-water rain.
As that stark raging river of dark focused pain
Begins flooding and staging new levels of brain.
The cascade now a torrent for electrical current…
Surging sparks of fire, that mad mutant wire
Fusing old with the bold a daring puzzle unfolds:
A kaleidoscopic combo meets spicy N’Awlins gumbo
Pieces bitter and sweet as ideas compete…
Melding Sherlock’s persistence and Sigmund’s resistance
To illumine at last the “pass” in the impasse!
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To Escape the Box, Embrace Paradox – II

So a blow lands square on the chin; oh, no, so now a has-been?

Does a starry knockout score scarlet self-doubt?
Will you get off the floor, ponder the next door –
From exploring new ground to baring a wound?
It may well be a quest, laying demons to rest
To transform grief-passion into a life mission.
Such a painstaking test to craft one’s own nest…
It does take some magic:  weaving comic and tragic.
You say it’s too late, though, to lose self-composure
With your Intimate FOE:  Fear of Exposure.

You’re not a loser, though you are at a loss –

Wracked by disorder:  out of control and off course!
It’s time to take stock…beyond “outside the box”
Here’s the gold rock:  embrace paradox.
In times of great strife; Jesus or Buddha, to wit:
To find your true life you must first truly lose it!

So grieve, let go, and go with the flow.

Try an “incubation vacation” to hatch the next generation.
One insane way to train:  sculpt the pain in your brain.
You really need laser; all you have is a razor.
(Now please don’t unwind…I’m talking razor-sharped mind
Though wouldn’t you know, I’m a big fan of Van Gogh!)

Add starting block tension…on the edge of explosion

Or is it collision from “mortal coil”** confusion?
As neurons spiral and spin on the verge of exhaustion…
To breakdown or break through? That is the question.

Aha!…A command decision for chaotic conditions:

Use Seussian rhythm and Janusian*** vision…
Now blast to the heavens “astride the coffin.”
Steering that casket in full metal jacket
Shouting for joy; your own engineered toy.
(Once seen, sky above, in “Dr. Strangelove.”)
As tears that you cried soon allow you to glide
On a magical mystical Persian carpet ride.
(And for all those “us” still taking the bus…
Please do not fuss about one Icarus.****)
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**  From Shakespeare's Hamlet; sometimes used as “this mortal coil” to refer to the fact that one is alive in a troublesome way.

***  Janus, the double-profiled mythical Roman God of beginnings and endings, leavings and returns; Janusian thinking, the capacity to reconcile or integrate opposition or seeming contradiction, often capturing a paradoxical or “higher truth,” is a hallmark of mental agility and creative cognition; the term comes from The Emerging Goddess by Dr. Albert Rothenberg

****  Icarus, son of Daedalus, who dared to fly too near the sun on wings of feathers and wax.

© Mark Gorkin 2013

Shrink Rap ™ Productions

Mark Gorkin, the Stress Doc ™, www.stressdoc.com, acclaimed Keynote and Kickoff Speaker, Webinar Presenter, Retreat Leader and Motivational Humorist, is the author of Practice Safe Stress and The Four Faces of Anger. A former Stress & Violence Prevention consultant for the US Postal Service, "The Doc" is a Team Building and Organizational Development Consultant as well as a Critical Incident/Grief Intervention Expert for Business Health Services, a National Wellness/EAP/OD Company. Mark leads highly interactive, innovative and inspiring programs for corporations and government agencies, including the US Military, on stress and brain resiliency/burnout prevention through humor, change and conflict management, generational communication, and 3 "R" -- Responsible, Resilient & Risk-Taking -- leadership-partnership team building.

Email stressdoc@aol.com for his popular free newsletter & info on speaking programs and phone coaching sessions.

Stress Carrier and Cool Shower Shrink Raps

Is the Stress Carrier a Modern Day Vampire?

Do you allow an invader to become a “stress carrier”?

One who never gets ulcers; only gives them to others.
So how to disarm that blame-throwing charm:
When s/he is sad, it’s, “You made me feel bad!”
A coiled tongue and blood lips launch many guilt trips.
There’s but one loser to a mental “acc-you-ser” –
Not seeing their view, “You haven’t a clue.”
For life’s “black or white,” and God knows they are right!

Some play a trick song; they string you along

Acting so shyly, then “Oh, really” so slyly.
Now in ten seconds flat, “You cannot believe that.”
Before dropping the gong:  “I think…you are so wrong!”
Some are more subtle, allowing rebuttal.
Eyes gazing calmly, smiling so warmly
Of course, paying no mind, they’ll pay you in kind:
With a low-key attack: a text in your back.

So the name of the game is shifting the blame
For like a vampire, who won’t let you expire…
He keeps you alive, so that ego can thrive
Injecting his shame while choking your flame.
For him it’s full moon, for you the cocoon.

Please, don’t give up hope; there’s breakaway rope.
The very first choice:  trust in your voice...then
To outsmart this trap:  grab the next Rap!
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A Cool Shower for Icing a Blame-Thrower

“It’s all your fault”; “You drive me crazy!”

Sounds like an assault from a mind that is lazy.
Do not be shy, here’s one good reply –
Looking eye to eye…with tone a tad dry:
“Time after time, I know you have said it…
Alas, you still give me way too much credit.”

Do you have the guile for an adversarial trial?
Challenged by a Mr. Bluster, one high and mighty officer –
That hyper-competitive type; running (his mouth) on aggressive hype
Throws down the gauntlet; puts “the Doc” to the test
With scorn in his voice and that puffed up chest:
“What do you call it if you don’t have any stress!?”

Now a pregnant silence looms; tension crackling through the room.
“What do you call it?”…Gulp, I wanted to split
For a moment he had me, I must admit
But then…like a Phoenix rising – an inner wit:
Did I but intuit or was I now “into it?”
Who truly knows where the spirit-wind blows…
But a pointed punch-line suddenly hit:
 “There’s but one word, sir, which would surely fit.”
Though no longer able to hold back a smile
Yet still being humble:  “That would be…Denial!”

The moral of the story – it’s not for the glory.

In the final hour, speak truth to power
So your soul won’t sour; so others can see the light
May choose to do right; perhaps even flower.
Still, don’t lose sight…you’ll likely be sent to the showers.
But you’ll be clean and will soar again!

© Mark Gorkin 2013

Shrink Rap ™ Productions

 

Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is an acclaimed keynote and webinar speaker and "Motivational Humorist & Team Communication Catalyst" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN programs for both government agencies and major corporations.  A training and Critical Incident/Grief Intervention Consultant for the National EAP/Wellness Company, Business Health Services in Baltimore, MD, the Doc is also leading “Stress, Team Building and Humor” programs for various branches of the Armed Services.  Mark is the author of Practice Safe Stress and of The Four Faces of Anger.  See his award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" -- www.stressdoc.com -- called a "workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR).  For more info on the Doc's programs or to receive his free e-newsletter, email stressdoc@aol.com.

Safe Stress Tools for Survivin TNT Heaven – Part I

I believe I’m honing in on my ‘60s mission (my age, not the decade):  to become the Dr. Seuss of Stress (for Adults).  The below Shrink Rap ™ is the latest personification.  In editing mode, I could hear and sense the Seussian rhythms and rhymes.  Like so many others, as a kid I loved Dr. Seuss!

This is the first of a two-part “Poetic Essay/Shrink Rap.”   It captures some of the challenges in carving out and communicating with civility and integrity in a TNT world driven by technology and numbers, money, ego, and power.  It even has a poetic morality tale.  Enjoy!

Mark

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Safe Stress Tools for Survivin TNT Heaven – Part I

Key communication tools, of great use for all but fools

Alas, never taught in primary schools.
So listen close and learn the rules
So listen close and wisely rule.

My initial suggestion, muse upon these suspicions

A real foundation for self-transformation:
Is it time to confess, when under duress?
As “do more with less” bitterness breeds like a virus –
From cutthroat chaos to mind games of chess.
The only norms: almost all can be pawns.

Flooded by noise the challenge is poise…

With all manner of gripes from ill-mannered types

Clashing seas of memos to moats around silos.

The power tower's impressed as you shoulder all stress

Alas, data surfing and drowning in waves of b.s.

So grab hold, why don't ya…that new lifeline mantra:

"Turn your life over to Buddha Computah!"

 

Chorus:

It’s a long way from heaven when TNT-driven

By “Time, Numbers, and Technology”
Has it become today’s trinity?
24/7, 24/7
Whatever happened to heart and soul livin?

 

When a leader avoids the smoldering baggage

How great the fear of collateral damage?
Does toxic anger have most walking on shells?
Are you entrapped in the office from hell?
Whether explosive, dismissive, or silently passive
Can a culture survive when folks are submissive?

One no longer grasps the depth of the scam:

“I am as important as I think I am!”
Well known for such all-consuming virtue
Is a towering ego now a bronzed statue?
Naturally, forever erect…
As others but humbly genuflect.

Chorus:

It’s a long way from heaven when mostly pride-driven

By status, power, and money
Has it become the supreme trinity?
24/7, 24/7
Whatever happened to heart and soul livin?

No matter the social-media venues

Those fiery texts no longer make news.
Still…blaming “You”s never fail to abuse
Giving people their due as the righteous just spew:
“What’s wrong with you!”; “You haven’t a clue!”
Or one takes from the vault:  “Of course, it’s your fault.”
Is this salt on the wound or more an assault?

Some with sly tact say matter of fact:
You, my good man, just have no impact!
Beware being caught between a hard place and a rock
By folk’s using the Law of Loyalty Loop & Lock:

Those who never want you to answer back

Always want you to back their answer

With, “Yes, sir, No sir, No excuse, sir!”

Chorus:

It’s a long way from heaven when hostility-driven

By “just kidding,” scarcasm, and put-down irony
Has it become our snappy trinity?
24/7, 24/7
Whatever happened to heart and soul livin?

Please consider this true tale of e-caution:

About seething with anger and also exhaustion.
When battling an antagonist overseas
One he so wanted to slice at the knees
He composed a retort; oh, yes – cutting and short
It’s a real dagger, the foe he will stagger.  However…
In a state of total frenzy…uh, oh, he overkilled the enemy
Hitting “Send All” by mistake now translates to a wake:
A thousand in-boxes a coffin does make.
Alas and alack, for a keyboard attack
Of frenzied egoal engagement a career is now buried
By mandated ANGER MANAGEMENT!

Even with conflict just down the hall

Why not fight behind a virtual wall.
If the “e” in email stands for “escape”
Why bother dealing up front with a scrape.
Now when you send a post that does bristle
Is it less email and more an e-missile?

Chorus:

It’s a long way from heaven when duplicity-driven

By gossip, back-stabbin, and sneaky enmity
Has it become the trusty trident trinity?
24/7, 24/7
Whatever happened to heart and soul livin?

One final query, as I am getting weary:

Was this creature simply born with the colic
Or has s/he over time morphed “blame-aholic?”

Part II Preview:

Whether sender or receiver, we’ll provide some clues
On how to refuse or defuse blaming “You”s!
So until next time, with more Stress Doc rhyme
Try not to regress…better, Practice Safe Stress!

© Mark Gorkin 2013

Shrink Rap ™ Productions

Mark Gorkin, the Stress Doc ™, www.stressdoc.com, acclaimed Keynote and Kickoff Speaker, Webinar Presenter, Retreat Leader and Motivational Humorist, is the author of Practice Safe Stress and The Four Faces of Anger. A former Stress & Violence Prevention consultant for the US Postal Service, "The Doc" is a Team Building and Organizational Development Consultant as well as a Critical Incident/Grief Intervention Expert for Business Health Services, a National Wellness/EAP/OD Company. Mark leads highly interactive, innovative and inspiring programs for corporations and government agencies, including the US Military, on stress and brain resiliency/burnout prevention through humor, change and conflict management, generational communication, and 3 "R" -- Responsible, Resilient & Risk-Taking -- leadership-partnership team building.

Email stressdoc@aol.com for his popular free newsletter & info on speaking programs and phone coaching sessions.

Sleeping, Eating & Gaming, Oh My: The Blood Sugar-Blood Pressure-Out for Blood Triangle

This “Safe Stress” ™ Resiliency Shrink Rap ™ started out examining the sleep deprivation epidemic invading the country.  And in short order it expanded to two related social health concerns:  out of control eating and addictive-violent gaming.  Hopefully the message generates a mind-opening balance between lighthearted and heavy-handed.  Enjoy…and feel free to spread the words!

 

Sleeping, Eating & Gaming, Oh My:
The Blood Sugar-Blood Pressure-Out for Blood Triangle

Now don't be cheap with the need for “Sleep.”

You’ll just be snappy, make folks unhappy
Or you join the mob crashing on the job.
As your memory brain becomes a leaky drain.

And stop pretending, you’re just defending.

It’s hocus pocus:  you cannot focus
As that caffeinated mind races through the grind:
Are you “lean and keen” or more a drama queen?
But my biggest stress:  “All is fine” b.s.

 

Chorus:

Sleep deprivation, sleep deprivation

A Vampire sucking concentration
Sleep deprivation, sleep deprivation
The iPod for a Zombie nation.

Oft burning the candle is more than a scandal

A lack of sleep feeds body mass creep
As a sluggish mood screams out, “More food!”
Stepping on the scale, it too starts to wail.
Now is your fate a pre-diabetic state?

You need forty winkies, not all those Twinkies

Can fill the lonely part of a hungry heart.
So do that snoozing not quiet boozing
Or raiding the fridge for a late-night binge.

Chorus:

Sleep deprivation and food compulsion

When fried and fries forge a junk mood junction
Sleep deprivation and food compulsion
Heavy eyes “super-size” our population.

All night gaming is mind inflaming:

Does it inspire or trip a brain wire?
For Net addiction is not total fiction:
It’s pretty insane to deaden all your pain.

Excess e-violence and underground defiance

Sow impulse erosion with TNT emotion.
Are we turning a “fun” day into a Ted Bundy?
Alas, the danger goes beyond the stranger…
Bottled rage adds plaque for arterial attack!

Chorus:

Sleep deprivation and tech-obsession

A formulation for mental regression
Sleep deprivation and tech-obsession
Oh not another Newtown procession!

 

Does sneaking and snacking mean values are lacking, or…

Is a super-sized culture now the main vulture?
With a quarter on the border of a blood-sugar disorder
You’ll need more than Snickers or a kick in the knickers.

If the noble intention is broad health promotion

Then leading a nation means “Shrink Rap” ™ education
For moving brain and bone outside a comfort zone.
When life is on the line work with folks to design
Daring images of self that will reject the shelf.

Chorus:

Sleep deprivation and weighty conditions

Means a decision for a new mission
Sleep education and weighty conditions
We must amend as a nation the US constitution!

See a health pro, begin to let go

Of those excuses and self-abuses:
To escape that rut, get off of your “yes, butt.”
Now exert self-control; start crawling from your hole
Exposing all the lies as you pump those thighs.

We’re at the starting gate…let’s learn to meditate.

Whatever is the matter, stop Mad Hatter chatter.
Within that wired riot discover peace and quiet
Without computer code or that pie ala mode:
Accept failing with grace; don't fail to sculpt your space.
Do know your limits, don’t limit your “No”s!

Chorus:

Health education and self-examination

The amalgamation of mind-body connection
Personal reflection and witty expression
The articulation of a Psycho-humorist ™ mentation.

Don’t stare at your navel, contemplate mind travel

Via synaptic node down a pine-scented road.
Or let sounds of the ocean sing a lullaby potion.
Slowly turn self-censure into dreamy adventure
As old voices inside now drift out with the tide.

And a final thought, as a last resort.

To get seven hours at least sans an Ambien feast
When stress from your head crawls into the bed
As the shadows retreat…now a nightmarish beast.

Despite what you think you’ll need more than a shrink:

Just how do you find – without losing your mind?
Hey, it’s a snap, there must be an app
For a “multi-HYPER-texting ‘n tubeing-always on-Facebooking-
Skype-savvy” exorcist priest?

Closing Chorus:

Relaxation-visualization along with inventive combination

The fun-damental foundation of free-flowing association
Introspective meditation and cutting edge conception
The ingenious inception of Safe Stress ™ intervention.

I’m running out of time; also out of rhyme

So my last dime: embrace the sublime.
When running out of time; also out of rhyme
My one last dime:  embrace the sublime!

© Mark Gorkin 2013

Shrink Rap ™ Productions

Mark Gorkin, the Stress Doc ™, www.stressdoc.com, acclaimed Keynote and Kickoff Speaker, Webinar Presenter, Retreat Leader and Motivational Humorist, is the author of Practice Safe Stress and The Four Faces of Anger. A former Stress & Violence Prevention consultant for the US Postal Service, "The Doc" is a Team Building and Organizational Development Consultant as well as a Critical Incident/Grief Intervention Expert for Business Health Services, a National Wellness/EAP/OD Company. Mark leads highly interactive, innovative and inspiring programs for corporations and government agencies, including the US Military, on stress and brain resiliency/burnout prevention through humor, change and conflict management, generational communication, and 3 "R" -- Responsible, Resilient & Risk-Taking -- leadership-partnership team building.

Email stressdoc@aol.com for his popular free newsletter & info on speaking programs and phone coaching sessions.

Stress Doc Mantra: "Think out of the box, perform outside the curve (the Bell Curve) and be out-rage-ous!