What if you could see stress coming and knew how to stop it from interfering with your work, rest, and relationships? What if you could effectively respond rather than impulsively react to pressure and loss? What if you could see where your thoughts are leading you and redirect them to where you really want to go? These are not distant fantasies but something you can accomplish by applying what you read in “Slow Down and Lighten Up.” It involves understanding how body, mind, and emotion interact, what goes wrong, and what you can do about it. The key is learning to restore and maintain physical, mental, and emotional balance and then remove common obstacles to solving problems. Slow Down and Lighten Up explains how this works in clear, simple terms using stories and metaphors based on the experience of the author and thousands of students, workshop participants, clients, and patients who made significant improvements in their lives by applying what is described in this text. Bob presents many facets of stress, tension, and anxiety in this book. He also provides realistic and refreshing methods of relieving these symptoms. I highly recommend his book. This is easy to read, clearly written, and he has a wonderful course, as well. Thank you Bob! (This book and course should be a prerequisite to the anticipation of entering any stressful arena whether it is work, office, relationship, etc. If one is challenged by stress this is a must read). This is also a great companion (reference)book, no need to let the dust settle onto it. This book makes a great gift item, as well. Review from former student I am taking Bob's class through my college and it is the best way to handle stress that I have come across. He gives you techniques anyone can follow and effective ways to use these techniques for any stressful situation. Bob gives you techniques so you are able to handle long term stress, not just immediate stress. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in getting their out of control stress handled. After I am finished with my class in about a month, I am then passing the book around to a few different family members who have noticed a major difference in my well being. Jenna Simpson I took the course from Bob, the author of Slow Down & Lighten Up, and to say that he has a firm grasp on how to teach others how to deal with life's stress, is an understatement. He is emphathetic to people's problems, but has a strong ability to help you. He will help you to take these new tools and integrate them so that they become second-nature, instead of reverting back to one's own old and destructive patterns.I would highly recommend this book for anyone , not just those that have suffered from prolonged anxiety. Very helpful, Bob--you definitely get a 5 star!! Review by former student Bob Van Oosterhout is a psychologist and recently retired college professor with over 45 years experience in counseling and teaching  He has provided training to professional organizations, community groups, human service agencies, health care providers, businesses and government agencies since the mid-1970's.    The focus of his work in counseling and teaching is on identifying the core principles and essential functions for living a productive and fulfilling life.  He has a knack for explaining things in clear simple terms using stories and metaphors to bring the material to life.