In today's turbulent world, one common stress is felt by all: the Time Famine.  Just like when there is not enough food, running out of time produces significant negative results.  For example, consider driving across town, either to get from home to work, or to visit several appointments.  We (men are worse at this, but women are catching on) like to kid ourselves, and brag about how close we live to our destination; "I can get there in 22 minutes, door to door" is a common boast.  Sure.  At three in the morning, with a police escort.  But leaving your home during rush hour you can count on a lot more time than that.  Consider the stress levels in the following two commuters, both facing a thirty minute drive:

1.  Sue leaves plenty of time to spare.  She knows she can expect at least twenty minutes traffic delay, and allows a ten minute buffer just in case.  So for her, the commuting "hour" can be predicted to be not only tolerable, but even productive.  She can listen to books or music on her radio speakers, or she can just enjoy the zen of the drive.  If she hits all the lights, and arrives twenty minutes early, she carries material to fill that time usefully.  She can get caught up on bills, read a bit of a novel, or just get herself prepared for the starting of the day.  If traffic is horrible, she will still get to work with a few minutes to spare.

 RESULTS:

Mind: Calm, focused, and ready for action. 

Body: Her stress responses are all balanced; good pulse rate, easy breathing, muscle tone is good.  

Appearance: Confident, face relaxed, responds with a ready smile, looks energetic and ready for a full day's work.   

2.  Peggy hits the "snooze" button on her alarm twice, fritters around distractedly,  then leaves just 30 minutes before her work begins.  But much to her chagrin, she forgot to budget time for TRAFFIC!  Cars don't all start up in unison when the light turns green,  and they don't all make it through the intersection before it turns red.  Or if you are the first in line at the light, the one in the next block is turning yellow just as you get up to speed.  During rush hour, there is a "system" set up by a demon in the traffic department: the green lights are synchronized for only two speeds of traffic: 2 mph, or 102 mph.  Anything between, and you get the full three minute wait at each intersection.  It's no better if you are on the bus or street car; the traffic will still cause a delay in your "ideal" travel time.  Even assuming no cars are involved in accidents or breakdowns, Peggy will screech into the parking spot late and frantic as usual.

RESULTS:

Mind:  Her mind is racing, even though her car is now parked.  Rattled by adding time pressure to her busy day, she lacks focus, and is very likely to make needless mistakes.  Anxiety, panic attacks, and resultant insomnia are hardly going to help her performance.

Body: Peggy's stress  responses are programmed for primitive challenges; survival of the fittest depended on "fight or flight".   However, in today's traffic jam there is nobody to hit, and nowhere to run, so these primal responses are counterproductive.  Her mouth is dry, her stomach is in a knot, her palms still sweat, and her heart is in her throat.  Her muscles are tense, and she is likely feeling a headache coming on, starting in her shoulder tips.  Long term, this behaviour will predictably settle in to "lifestyle" illnesses like high blood pressure, depression, tension headaches, and stomach ulcers or colitis, and obesity (if sloth and gluttony take over).  In the short term, she feels like she has already finished a tough day, yet she hasn't even started it yet!

Appearance: Her face is a disaster.  Eyes are dilated, teeth are clenched, skin is sweating, and her make-up needs making up.  Her cheeks are blotchy with patches of blush and pallor, and she already has dark circles forming under her eyes.  Her forehead is furrowed, and the "number 11" lines are showing up between her eyebrows.  All in all, she is making her work look a lot harder, before she even gets in the front door!

ACTION TIPS:

1.  For your mind, consider getting expert advice on time management.  There are many options, but many of my patients have benefitted from Brian Tracy's advice , at http://www.briantracy.com/.  He has a full menu of books, audio and video products that fit almost every need.  One that you could start with is called Time Power, which comes in soft cover and e-book formats. 

Franklin Covey also has an excellent time management planner, at http://www.franklincovey.com/.  You might even want to consider something low-tech, like a simple stop-watch to tell you how long it really takes to get to your destination, from finding your keys to sitting down at your desk.  Then you can budget yourself a realistic travel time, and avoid surprise delays.   And if all else fails, make sure you have a good alarm clock!

2.  For your body, consider reading "The New Joy of Stress", available from http://www.peterhansonmd.com/.  It will offer insights into the shortcomings of the body's wired stress responses, and give great strategies for turning stress to your advantage.  Also, see your doctor for a regular check-up to make sure you do not have any silent signs of trouble brewing.  Abnormalities of blood pressure, cholesterol, and sugar metabolism are easy to pick up medically, but usually are not noticed until much later by the patient.  Simple tests will check hormones like thyroid, cortisol, etc, and a cardiogram could be useful if any heart abnormalities are suggested by your examination.  Don't forget to budget time for exercise, and time for relaxation (like yoga or meditation). 

3.  For your appearance, consider a FaceMaster, at http://www.facemaster.com/.  With today's economy people don't have the money to get spa facials.  And with today's time famine, they don't have the luxury of a couple of hours (remember to include traffic!) to drive to a spa, park,  wait in the reception room, then have the facial done for an hour.  Far better to use the same output as the spa machines offer, and own it for less money than ONE TREATMENT!  Click here to see Suzanne Somers show you how to take control of your own face, just like she has done for the past 15 years.

Dr. Hanson welcomes your comments.