Hi Angela,I posted this a week ago and thought you might find it helpful.
Stress is created by our reactions to what is going on around us and with us. Our reactions are, in fact, a matter of choice. You cannot control most things. So it is helpful to realize that since they are out of your control your anger and fear (stress) can be modulated downward.
The true reasons for our stress are our reactions to given situations. Change the reactions and there is no stress. If you get stressed out because of something a co-worker does (or does not) do, look at that. Is it even your business? If it is making more work for you, do you have to pick up the slack (or do you just think you must)? If the person talks too much, ignore it or find ways to gracefully exit the conversation. If the situation is intolerable, is this the right position for you?
Our egos convince us that things are a problem, but then gives us no alternatives because the ego wants to be in control and stay in the status quo.
Relaxation techniques teach you that you can quiet your mind and emotions and choose other responses. There is a sense of possibility and change.
Many people react to situations in a calm and considered fashion (without eating or anger) while the same situation will send others to eating for comfort and stressing off the charts.
If you start to look closely at the things that cause you stress, you will see patterns that can be changed. Sometimes, just realizing what is truly going on will cause change for the better.
I was 10 weeks into the BSS plan before I realized I craved food for emotional reasons. I always thought i was hungry, addicted, or my body ’needed’ a certain nutrient (you know, the one in dark chocolate or pizza ha, ha) When I was very clean and healthy (diet wise) I seldom had hunger. If a food fantasy did pop up (high end pizza) I was aware of what I had been feeling and thinking and the craving was easy to defeat.
If relaxation exercises do not work for you, have you considered anti stress therapy?
Good luck on the plan. Margaret week 14

Wow, Margaret. Excellent reply. A little Deepak Chopra in there?
Yup, the Ego is the part of us that thinks that we need to have everything, to own everything, to be not the best that we can be, but rather, to be better than anyone else. Our ego dictates that we must have the most, and the biggest, and the brightest…
Once we get past all that nonesense, we can truly succeed.