Jenny McCarthy, Break-Up Expert

I watched yesterday's Oprah with great interest as Jenny McCarthy spoke of her break-up with Jim Carrey. I'm not normally riveted by the lives of celebrities, but when they start talking about stress and stress management, I perk up. Jenny struck me as amazingly mature in her handling of the break-up: there was no blaming, no bitterness or anger; it was hard to tell if there were even hurt feelings at times, though these feelings are very common with break-ups, especially when children are involved. (I would guess that there were plenty of feelings being felt, but the fact that I saw little to no evidence of their existence makes me think that she's managing them well.)

What struck me as pretty great is how she was able to 'find the lesson' in the relationship and the break-up, and really look inward at what she'd been doing that may not have been healthy. She came away from the experience, she says, with a greater understanding of relationships and herself (including the realization that she had been rather manipulative at times in her relationships) and a feeling of gratitude for the good times. (Oh, and a book on relationships to sell.)

Some of the strategies she mentioned using can probably be helpful for everyone who is experiencing a break-up or relationship stress. Here are a few highlights:

Jenny says she came away from the relationship with the major message that she doesn't need 'a lover' to have love in her life. And she's going to be honest about who she is from the beginning, which is another great idea for us all.

What have you learned from difficulties you've faced in life? What are some of your best coping strategies? Share in the comments section (below), or on the Facebook Page--we'd love to hear your best words of wisdom.

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Relaxing Ritual of the Week: Chocolate Meditation

Managing stress can be much easier if you have a nice mix of tools: stress management techniques that can help you to manage stress in different ways. It's important to have ways to relax quickly so your stress triggers don't lead to chronic stress. It's also important to have strategies to minimize the stressors in your life, so you don't have as much stress to manage. Maintaining the right attitude can also be immensely helpful, and it's very useful to have stress relief habits that you practice regularly. This week, I'm letting you know about a technique that can function as a quick stress reliever, or as an ongoing healthy habit to help you relieve stress: the Chocolate Meditation. (And, yes, it's as tasty as it sounds!)

The Chocolate Meditation combines the benefits of chocolate with the benefits of meditation, forming a stress reliever that you may have extra incentive to practice regularly. Because the benefits of meditation build on one another, maintaining meditation as a habit is a very good idea, and this form of meditation has a flavorful payoff right off the bat!

Learn more about the Chocolate Meditation

Let us know how it went, and share your other favorite stress relievers here in the comments section, in this Reader Response article on stress management techniques, or on the Facebook Page About Stress Management. Please share (via the 'share' button) if you found this to be helpful. Thanks, and have a great week!

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