The gloomy days of January can be the most miserable and stressful of the year, but it doesn’t have to be this way. If you follow this ten step guide to destressing your life, then the next few weeks just might become the most serene and fulfilling ones of the year.
These really are easy steps — like doing something pleasurable, eating a piece of dark chocolate, and remembering one of your favorite moments — but are based on scientific studies.
One step should be carried out on each of the next 10 days, say the authors of “Mindfulness: An Eight Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World ,” based on their program developed at Oxford University to relieve anxiety, stress, exhaustion and depression.
Mindfulness has proved in some clinical trials to be at least as effective as drugs or counseling for dealing with these conditions. The authors, Mark Williams and Danny Penman, offer this abbreviated guide based on their research…






























