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Clearly, our digital devices and our wired world Edited by Loraine Page are causing a great deal of stress.

Get Stress Relief on the Web

by THOMAS PACK

Link-Up Digital
is a semimonthly updated, web-only section featuring articles, reviews, and more for savvy users and producers of electronic information products and services.

ow many daily emails can you handle? Many people say 50 is their max. If they get more, they start feeling overwhelmed, according to a Harris Interactive poll announced earlier this year. The poll found that about 20% of people who receive work-related email already feel theyre getting more than they can handle. A survey of U.S. communications workers conducted earlier this year concluded that continually crashing computers, slow boot times, and annoying tech support are creating an epidemic of a condition called Computer Stress Syndrome. Users face a continuous state of technical anxiety and challenge such as setting up new computer products, keeping up with software upgrades, and migrating to new applications and operating systems, as well as dealing with malware infections, web threats, identity theft and more, according to the study by the Chief Marketing Officer Council. Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime (www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/

technology/25brain.html). The article points out that when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas. And Times columnist Robert Wright reported that spending a week at a meditation retreat, completely unplugged from the web, email, and phone calls, helped him explore the benefits of mindfulness, which involves a calm focus on the present momentmuch the kind of focus that is said to be endangered by the infinite regress of distractions and disruptions brought to us by digital technology (see http://opinion ator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/ mind-the-grid/?hp). Clearly, our digital devices and our wired world are causing a great deal of stress. The good (and ironic) news is that the digital realm itself can provide relief. Many websites offer tips, tools, and techniques we can use to deal with the daily demands of the digital deluge as well as all the other stressors of modern life.

Supportive Online Community

We all experience stress in our lives. Unfortunately, unmanaged stress can become overwhelming and strain our relationships, health, and love for life, says Elizabeth Scott, a wellness coach and the guide at About.coms Stress Management page (http://stress.about.com). Im pleased to offer you an alternative to the massive amounts of stress that most people are experiencing today, Scott says. The site provides a supportive community of people looking to make positive changes in their lives, along with the most accurate information and helpful tools available to enable you to recognize and reduce stress in your life, maintain a healthier body and mental outlook, and really live the life you feel you were meant to live.

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Tools on the site include several interactive, multiple-choice stress tests, such as What Are Your Stress Symptoms? and Might Stress Be Affecting Your Weight? You can also find out if youre an adrenaline junkie and take a quiz on stress myths, which answers such questions as Can stress really make your hair fall out? (Yes, according to the site. Stress can lead to telogen effluvium, which causes hair to stop growing and fall out a few months later and to alopecia areata, which involves an autoimmune reaction.) Theres also a 10-question anxiety test that includes such questions as How does anxiety influence your sleep? and How do you handle traffic? My answers resulted in this analysis: While your level of anxiety doesnt appear to be diagnosable as an anxiety disorder (though you can talk to a doctor to be sure), you do worry too much, and probably cause yourself an undue amount of stress because of it. I think thats an accurate conclusion. If I decide I need to talk to a doctor, I can consult the section of the site that offers advice on getting professional help. I can also get stress management advice from the sites large collection of articles on everything from yoga, guided imagery, aromatherapy, and maintaining a good sex life to time management, mindfulness, letting go of anger, and Top 5 Stress Relievers for Busy People. Theres even an article titled Tips on Having Fun. (Tip No. 1: Have friends over more often. If youre worried that your house is too messy, the site offers simple and stress-relieving methods for cleaning, and youll likely find that less clutter leads to less stress anyway.) Other parts of the site offer advice on dealing with specific types of stress, such as job, travel, financial, or technological stress. To deal with the frustration of a slow computer, Scott recommends several super-quick stress busters (e.g., deep

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breathing and 5-minute mediation sessions) that also might help if you tend to get antsy when youre waiting for an elevator or sitting at a traffic light. Stress.about.com lets you sign up to receive daily tips, a weekly newsletter, and free stress management courses via email. Eight courses are available at this writing, including Living a Low-Stress Lifestyle, which offers one lesson a week for 10 weeks. Youll examine sources of stress in your life, learn about stress and health, discover relievers and stress management techniques, and slowly transform your life from a source of stress to a source of bliss. Other courses include Four Weeks to Healthy Habits and Less Stress, Stress and Womens Health, and Healthy Eating When Stressed.

Stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to the demands of life, according to the site. Your brain comes hard-wired with an alarm system for your protection. When your brain perceives a threat, your body releases a burst of hormones to fuel your fight-or-flight response.

Your Stress Alarm Keeps Ringing

You can find out more about the link between your health and your stress level at the Mayo Clinics website (www .mayoclinic.com/health/stress-manage ment/MY00435).

When the threat is gone, your body returns to normal. Unfortunately, the nonstop stress of modern life means that your alarm system rarely shuts off. The site offers a great deal of basic information on the causes and effects of

stress as well as in-depth information on a wide range of stress-relief strategies. For example, youll find out how using social support networks, spirituality, laughter, positive thinking, assertive behavior, resilience, forgiveness, anger management, and/or creative problem solving can help you deal with lifes frustrations. I found the article on the four As of stress relief helpful: avoid sources of stress, alter your situation, accept things the way they are, and adapt your expectations. The site also offers tips on increasing your job satisfaction, and theres a solid collection of information on a range of relaxation techniques, including Tai chi, meditation, yoga, massage, and biofeedback. Theres also a yoga video as well as a video on guided meditation and another on using art therapy for stress management. Many other health websites also offer stress information. For instance, the National Institutes of Healths MedLinePlus offers an interactive tutorial on stress management as well as information on stress research and links to journal articles (www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ stress.html).

The American Institute of Stress (www .stress.org), a nonprofit organization established in 1978 to serve as a clearinghouse for information on stress-related subjects, offers free articles, including What Are Stress, Stressor and Eustress? What Can I Do to Reduce Stress? Does Stress Cause Heart Attacks? and Can Stress Cause Cancer? For a fee (starting at $35), you can buy informational packets on such topics as Stress in Specific Occupations and Stress in Children. The packets include reprints of articles and reports culled from medical and scientific publications as well as reliable lay media sources. Still stressed? Youll find links to many more sites in the Yahoo! Directory (http:// dir.yahoo.com/Health/Mental_Health/ Stress_Management) and the Google Directory (www.google.com/Top/Health/Men tal_Health/Stress/?il=1).

Thomas Pack is a stressed-out freelance writer who lives near Louisville, Ky. Send your comments about this article to itletters@infotoday.com.

Crusty Memories of Fernandomania and a Famous Chicken

CyberSports
by DAVID KING

recent call from a movie researcher in California triggered some crusty old memories for your Field Correspondent, who seems to be experiencing more mental crustiness all the (whats the phrase?) oh, yeah, all the time. This one dates from a warm summer evening in 1980 on the west side of San Antonio. The combined attraction that night was the San Diego Chicken and a stellar young pitcher at V.J. Keefe Field, home of the Double-A San Antonio Dodgers (currently known as the Missions) of the Texas League. We dont remember who the foils for the Dodgers were or who the straight men were for the chicken who went on

to become simply Famous (www.famous chicken.com). But we do remember the pitcher: Fernando Valenzuela, who was 1 year away from launching Fernandomania with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the major leagues. In summer 1980, we had our own little mania in San Antonio. After a slow start, the chunky left-hander was all but unbeatable, leading his team to the Texas League championship series. (As was the case, with one exception in 2 decades, the Dodgers snatched defeat from San Antonios jaws of victory by promoting Valenzuela to the majors before the playoff series ended.) There was something right about Valenzuela, and it wasnt just that goofylooking windup (he appeared to look straight up, as if checking the weather forecast, in the middle of it) or his decidedly nonathletic build (he was nicknamed el toro, the bull, because he appeared to be as big around as one). It was his baseball smarts, his tenacity, and his personality that people liked. Thats why he quickly wound up with endorsements, some of which have mercifully been archived online. Among them were a Spanish commercial for Kelloggs Corn Flakes (www.youtube.com/ watch?v=BMKZJUcZbOg), in which he appears as if by magic in the middle of a familys breakfast picnic.

Yes, a breakfast picnic. Well translate the highlights: Would you like to have breakfast with us? Its Kelloggs Corn Flakes! the father asks Valenzuela, who is wearing a Dodgers cap and jacket (just to make sure the kids, their dad, and their mom recognized him). Of course, Valenzuela says. Its my favorite cereal. And then, after a little jingle in Spanish and a bite of the flakes, he adds stiffly, Its like winning a championship. OK, its not exactly destined for the advertising hall of fame with cat herding and Mr. Speedy Alka-Seltzer. But hey, its something, and it probably paid a few bills too. Theres also an episode on YouTube about Valenzuela from a series called Leyendas del Deporte (Legends of Sports) with some of the most awesome sound and video effects available in the 1980s and a collection of photos and video that make the decade look as though it came 2 weeks after Thomas Edison invented the gramophone (www.youtube.com/watch ?v=rBjRHGFH6ZM). Another homage to Valenzuela (who doesnt have a personal website despite his continuing fame as a broadcaster) is a time-lapse video of an artist painting a portrait of him in Dodger blue, set to a tune called the Baseball Boogie. Of the two media, neither is high art (www.youtube .com/watch?v=UVfY3G402cA). The definitive place for Valenzuela data is his Wikipedia page (http://en.wiki

pedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Valenzuela), at least until the ESPN video about him comes out, as part of its 30 for 30 series (http://30for30.espn.com). Look for your Field Correspondent in the credits, as the guy who lost the only photo of Fernando from 1980.

Wiki This
When we worked at the Word Factory, we knew basketball season was approaching because our neighbor in the office used to start talking about hanging the peach baskets and cage tilts (clichs the long-suffering copy editors would change to season opener and basketball games when the terms came across their screens). Nowadays, we know its time for basketball when we start poking around NBA .com. Most of the leagues official site is pretty much Sanitized for Your Protection, but theres one part thats at least a little fun: Hoopedia, the Basketball Wiki (http://hoopedia.nba.com). All Basketball, All the Time is a wiki that includes everything from history to trivia to the illustrated rulebook. By the way, the original version of that rulebook explains our old colleagues reference to peach baskets in a photo. Theres also a place to find out which NBA legends share your birthday (Gail Goodrich, thank you).

David King is a freelance sports writer who lives in New Braunfels, Texas. His email is dking1@satx.com, if you dare email him. Send your comments about this article to itletters@infotoday.com.

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