What would the Ghost of Christmas Past portray in a retrospective of your work stress and stress management skills during the past year? Have you had: 12 months of being overworked, 11 months of being underpaid, 10 months of conflict and nine months of unwanted change? In the last week, have you had eight stress headaches, seven irritable moods, six sleepless nights and five exhausted states? Do your coping skills include: four hours of TV, three stout drinks, two bags of candy, and one ma-a-axed-out credit card? If this grim scenario appears in your 2007 review, the Ghost of Christmas Past may be warning you that chronic stress and self-defeating coping skills are leading you toward a future of burn-out.
What tidings would the Ghost of Christmas Present bring to your spreadsheet of well-being? Review of the body division would show compromises to the immune system and increased vulnerability to several life-threatening illnesses. Current findings from neuroscience would confirm that elevated cortisol levels (the stress chemical) are actively shrinking areas of your brain responsible for memory and learning. Your mind department will be overstocked with worry, while your emotional division will be suffering under a dark-side takeover, staffed by anger, despair and cynicism. Finally, the Ghost will assess the state of your spirit, the department often ranked lowest in importance, but most critical to well being. Untended in a high-stress work environment, this vital force can succumb to loss of meaning, apathy and disconnection. In the words of Joseph Campbell, life without the spirit is "a wasteland.
What if the third apparition