You Are What You Say : A Harvard Doctor's Six-Step Proven Program for Transforming Stress Through the Power of Language

According to Matthew Budd, M.D., author of You Are What You Say: A Harvard Doctor's Six-Week Proven Program for Transforming Stress into Resilience and Vitality, language determines how we feel both physically and emotionally. By changing our words (both what we say to ourselves and others), we can reduce stress, enhance our health, improve communication, and transform our life.

In You Are What You Say, Dr. Budd outlines his "Ways to Wellness Program" developed nearly 20 years ago at the Harvard Community Health Plan, a Harvard Medical School HMO in Boston. The program contains exercises, information, and anecdotes to help you change unhealthful emotions like anger, depression, anxiety, and perfectionism. Dr. Budd prescribes a number of established techniques for reflection and learning, including meditation, automatic writing, listening to the body, and examining the role history plays in shaping who we are. The goal of the exercises is to sharpen awareness, increase acceptance, and encourage new action.

Following the tradition of body-mind researchers Jon Kabat-Zinn and Dr. Herb Benson, You Are What You Say may challenge your views of yourself and change who you are and how you operate. Like much of mind-body medicine, this plan is simple to follow, but results take time and effort. This is not magic-bullet medicine. --Ellen Albertson