Wired recently ran a story about an arcade game in Japan that seeks to help pressurized people relieve everyday stress. Super Table-Flip lets the game player pound on a table replica input device to get the attention of his virtual family or co-workers, and as they become more annoying make the ultimate decision to flip the table altogether, sending everything and everyone flying.

Hmmm. Very funny, but stress relief? Science knows effective stress relief to be much more about consciously controlling the body's built-in stress response than it is about fantasy "venting."

WebMD has a good overview article on stress that includes the following sound information:

What Are the Warning Signs of Stress?
Chronic stress can wear down the body's natural defenses, leading to a variety of physical symptoms, including:

• Dizziness or a general feeling of "being out of it"
• General aches and pains
• Grinding teeth, clenched jaw
• Headaches
• Indigestion or acid reflux symptoms
• Increase in or loss of appetite
• Muscle tension in neck, face or shoulders
• Problems sleeping
• Racing heart
• Cold and sweaty palms
• Tiredness, exhaustion
• Trembling/shaking
• Weight gain or loss
• Upset stomach, diarrhea
• Sexual difficulties

Tips for Reducing Stress
People can learn to manage stress and lead happier, healthier lives. Here are some tips to help you keep stress at bay.

• Keep a positive attitude.
• Accept that there are events that you cannot control.
• Be assertive instead of aggressive. Assert your feelings, opinions, or beliefs instead of becoming angry, defensive, or passive.
• Learn and practice relaxation techniques; try meditation, yoga, or tai-chi.
• Exercise regularly. Your body can fight stress better when it is fit.
• Eat healthy, well-balanced meals.
• Learn to manage your time more effectively.
• Set limits appropriately and say no to requests that would create excessive stress in your life.
• Make time for hobbies and interests.
• Get enough rest and sleep. Your body needs time to recover from stressful events.
• Don't rely on alcohol, drugs, or compulsive behaviors to reduce stress.
• Seek out social support. Spend enough time with those you love.
• Seek treatment with a psychologist or other mental health professional trained in stress management or biofeedback techniques to learn more healthy ways of dealing with the stress in your life.

Habit #1

Take 40 deep, slow breaths, from your diaphragm, one or two at a time, spread throughout your day. Don't try to make up for ones you didn't do earlier; if you do too many at one time, you can hyperventilate. Rather, associate it with a regular occurrence, such as the telephone ringing, traffic noise, or a glance at the clock. See for yourself how effective this practice can be.

Habit #2

Set aside fifteen- or twenty-minute relaxation periods away from your phone and from any other kind of interruption. You can use breaks at work for this. A tape or CD can assist in developing relaxation skills. Rather than trying to maximize your efficiency by using every available minute to get things accomplished, you'll find that you actually get more (and better) work done by taking time out to release internalized stress. You'll see results in about four to six weeks.

Habit #3

Regular aerobic exercise — walking, jogging, swimming, biking, etc. — for just twenty minutes three times a week improves your ability to handle stress. Even more than that is better still, but be careful against injuries!

Habit #4

Remember: all things in moderation. Consider what you eat and drink, and choose sensibly. Don't use caffeine, alcohol or other drugs to cope with stress. They undermine your body's ability to defend against (and recover from) the effects of stress.

Habit #5

Set goals for growth in all aspects of your life. Plan to give yourself positive options. People assume that more money will solve all of their problems, but you should plan for growth in all aspects of your life, not just income. This includes family and relationships, spiritual interests, creative pursuits, even vacations and hobbies - all of the things that nourish your sense of well-being!

Habit #6

Use humor to keep a positive, lower-stress outlook. Positive attitudes really do help you see opportunities instead of difficulties. Don't use it to mask anger, fear, or sadness though.

Habit #7

Stay positive and centered by avoiding people who try to drain your positive energy. Negative relationships with 'friends' or co-workers can quickly erode your peace of mind.

Habit #8

Understand what you can control and what you cannot, and don't try to direct events you cannot control. Try to be prepared. Know that in any situation, you can always control how you respond.

Habit #9

Give compliments sincerely and generously. Smile. Be positive and let it influence others. Your positive attitude will come back many times more.

Habit #10

Listening is the most important communication skill you can develop. True listening both empowers and relaxes.

Interesting piece at PsychCentral about biofeedback being used to treat panic and anxiety disorders. Highlights:

An new online treatment system will provide real-time care by combining patient-provider communication with physiological biofeedback to assist patients suffering with panic disorder and anxiety problems.

The Taiwan-based team has coupled a wireless-enabled finger-ring device that measures skin temperature with a web-enabled system. The system provides a convenient channel for communication between patients and health care workers as well as allowing hospital staff to allow patients to ask questions and download pertinent information.

The increasing pace of life, the industrialization of society, and the advent of digital technology are all thought to underlie the growing prevalence of mental illness. Disorders, such as anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression are now diagnosed more frequently than ever before.

Panic disorders are not easily diagnosed but do represent chronic illness for countless patients and lead to hospitalization with increasing frequency.

Patients are taught muscle and mental relaxation exercises and how to observe the effects of these on their skin temperature, thus providing a biofeedback mechanism.

Once the patients learned the cues for relaxation and the method to obtain rapid relaxation, they were able to apply the methods and cues to relieve the symptoms of panic disorder.

The title of this post is the title of a new book by Alva Noë, an exciting and controversial exploration of the difference between our brains and our minds. From the SF Gate review:

"Consciousness is not something the brain achieves on its own," Noë writes. "Consciousness requires the joint operation of the brain, body and world. ... It is an achievement of the whole animal in its environmental context."

Noë sells this audacious idea with a series of effective metaphors. For instance, he begins the book by comparing consciousness to a dollar bill. He notes that it would be silly to search for the physical correlates of "monetary value." After all, the meaning of money isn't in the paper, or the green ink, or the picture of George Washington. Instead, it exists in the institutions and practices that give the paper meaning. Similarly, our awareness of reality doesn't depend entirely on what's happening inside the brain, but is a side effect of how we, as individuals, interact with the wider world.

Although Noë is a philosopher, his argument is carefully built on scientific evidence, as he considers everything from studies of cells in the visual cortex to examples of neural plasticity. In each instance, he interprets the data in a startlingly original fashion, such as when he uses experiments showing that ferrets can learn to "see" with cells in their auditory cortex as proof that "there isn't anything special about the cells in the so-called visual cortex that makes them visual. Cells in the auditory cortex can be visual just as well. There is no necessary connection between the character of experience and the behavior of certain cells."

Certainly, many of the scientists cited by Noë would disagree with his interpretations, but that's part of what makes this book so important: It's an audacious retelling of the standard story, an exploration of the mind that questions some of our most cherished assumptions about what the mind is.

According to US News and World Report, Colleges are pulling out all the stops to help students beat stress during high-pressure exam weeks. And biofeedback has a place at the table!

This is great news, since intense work and school pressure often make our minds cloudy and disorganized right when we need to perform best — and biofeedback training is a proven way to conquer our stress and move confidently through challenges. By physically, consciously calming our body, we calm our mind as well.

Other great ideas for strss-busting at colleges have been "dog days," during which faculty and staff bring their dogs to campus to play with stressed-out students, prayer events, contra dancing, and midnight breakfasts to raise money for charity.

A lot of the events at colleges stem from open communication between students and school administrators. At Bentley, students asked that special fitness classes, such as fitness and pilates, be offered during finals week. They got them. "We try to listen to what students are telling us in our efforts to help them with stress," says Andrew Shepardson, the school's dean of students.

Tampa Bay Online had a great and detailed look at brain fitness games across all age groups today.

The nice thing about the article is that it talks about what is "marketing hooey" as well as what has been proven to work; we at Somatic Vision are very committed to the success of our games, and the article very much reflected our point of view. Some important excerpts:

• "It's similar to going to a health club and deciding you want to work on your biceps or your abdomen," says Alvaro Fernandez, a neuroscientist and co-founder of SharpBrains, an independent science-based clearinghouse that evaluates brain fitness games.

• "It's similar to going to a health club and deciding you want to work on your biceps or your abdomen," says Alvaro Fernandez, a neuroscientist and co-founder of SharpBrains, an independent science-based clearinghouse that evaluates brain fitness games.

• Brain fitness requires more than memory games and mental stimulation. It also involves nutrition, physical fitness and stress management, Fernandez says. Studies also have shown that socialization is important.

• Working adults — Stress management is critical at this busy time of life, but it's an oft-neglected area of brain fitness. Fernandez says the best exercises blend mental challenges with meditation and other calming practices. Even better are ones that offer biofeedback, immediate reads on body functions such as blood pressure and heart rate, so the user can adapt and improve. Finger sensors you wear while playing the game actually help you learn how to relax. Women, in particular, will respond to these stress-busting games, Fernandez says.

• Older adults — Teaching an old dog new tricks is critical for older adults who want to get their brains moving, Fernandez says. Computer games are a good choice because older adults aren't as familiar or adept with them as say, crossword puzzles.

• BE A SHREWD SHOPPER. People looking to select a book or interactive game aimed at brain fitness should ask: Is the program based on published scientific evidence you can read for yourself? Does it claim to provide specific benefits, and if so, what skill or part of the brain is being exercised? Are you learning something new? Are you challenged, or just being entertained? Does this fit your personal goals and commitment?

A new study from Canada again finds a link between anxiety and physical pain/illness, the link that biofeedback products like Alive and Dual Drive seek to address:

Canadian researchers believe teenage anxiety can lead to physical and mental health issues.

Researchers from the Université de Montréal, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center and McGill University found that insecure adolescents experience more intense pain in the form of frequent headaches, abdominal pain and joint pain.

Moreover, these teens were more likely to be depressed than peers with secure attachments.

Comments from Dr. John Grohol over at Psych Central:

We often try and highlight the connections between one’s mental health and their physical health complaints, to demonstrate that the two are inseparable. Yet another study has been published to show how our insecurity can even impact something as physical as the feeling of pain.

We've been working very hard on bringing Alive through development and into beta, pre-release, and now...the Introductory Version we are now offering at a great price.

What are the benefits of being an early purchaser of Alive?

Getting to start using it now! Without risk. We are working to incorporate auto-update features into Alive, and you will benefit from ongoing enhancements and improvements as we continue to bring this powerful software forward — at no extra cost.

In the works are new environments as well as a host of new Audio Workshops that make it easy to learn to relax in a traditional workshop sense...Close your eyes and follow the step-by-step instructions delivered by your own therapeutic session leader. You'll learn to breathe, use progressive muscle relaxation, and other techniques to build your ability to consciously relax and control your physical response to stressors.

The benefits of getting started with Alive before these features are fully incorporated are many, and you'll be the first to get the free updates as they become available.

Anyone attending the International Peak Performance Symposium on November 16th in Milan? If so, drop us a note about anything that was particularly interesting to you. The conference will focus on modern approaches of neurofeedback and biofeedback with leading international experts in the field — we wish we were able to attend to exchange ideas!

Somatic Vision spends a lot of time testing its products with consumers, and incorporating user feedback. We'd love to hear what you have to say, and we encourage you to connect with other users online. Here are two great ways:

1. The Somatic Vision Forum. Just click the link at the top of this page under the search bar, or click here, and you're on the discussion board, able to participate in all kinds of discussions surrounding biofeedback, stress reduction, health games, and much more.
2. Facebook. Yes, we have a page! Become a fan and begin to connect in a fun way with others who share your interests.