Stress management -- A few good reads

The following are some of the books that I have found helpful going back 10 years or so when I first became aware of the tolls that stress was taking on my health.  I don't do much reading nowadays, so this is mostly a collection of old stuff.

Inspiration

• Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss: Not very scientific but a good book to read just for inspiration. It reads well and even though I'm not a big reader, I was able to finish it in one long flight (from India).

Conventional psychology

• Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman: Explains how the brain functions and what causes fear to manifest, the physical symptoms of fear, and the health impact. Doesn't really tell you how to improve the situation, but at least you can understand why things happen.
• Masculinity Reconstructed by Ronald Levant: Learning to identify and work with emotions.

Meditation

• Meditation by Brian Weiss: This book has a CD for a guided relaxation (more like a self hypnosis) which I found very useful. I tend to use it during my most stressful phases, especially at times when I find meditation too difficult either because of too much agitation in the mind, or due to physical symptoms like pain or drowsiness.
• Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana: Good book describing what is meditation and what it is not and the technique of Vipassana (Insight) meditation. This book is available online for free.
• Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki: A classic on zen meditation.
• Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn: A book describing the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) class conducted by the author.
• The Art of Shifting Your Reality: 4 Deep Practices for Clearing Emotional Blockages and Harnessing the Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Drumheller: Methods to process emotions.

Stress and the adrenals

• Gaining vitality through the adrenal glands by Carly Polland: Video of a presentation explaining the effect of stress on the adrenals and how that impacts well being.  Remedies include deep breathing, yoga, meditation/mindfulness, visualization/relaxation, and adaptogens.

Resources for sleep

• Sleep for healthy mind and body by Carly Polland
• Sleep diary