Historical Overview: The Ten Commandments of Stress/Life Management

What used to be called Life is now called Stress. This popular philosophical refrain has a strong sense of universal truth. Many people across the globe complain of excessive stress and medical science now documents hundreds of stress-related illnesses. Research amongst family practitioners suggest that as many as 90% of complaints by patients is due to a direct stressor. Burnout affects work performance, relationships, and mental and physical health.

The Ten Commandments of StressLife Management is my personal work in progress that began in the 1970s whilst a science student, deepened in the 1980s as a medical student and resident in psychiatry, and from the 1990s came face to face with thousands of patients suffering from severe burnout. Measurement of stress levels commenced in the middle of that decade, and one specific observation fed my curiosity needs: A minority of patients, initially in breakdown mode, recovered well enough to be able to function better and take on more demanding activities without showing signs of distress. There was a personal transformation due to the crisis of the breakdown. From the turn of the 20th century and until the present, multiple reasons for this positive shift concentrate my focus of scientific and Talmudic enquiry. From this perspective the Ten Commandments of Stress Management is thus a vibrant organic model, documenting my findings of processes underlying these phenomena: From Bad to Good to Great!

In 2002, the Ten Commandments of Stress Life Management converted into a seminar/lecture series and to date is a very popular topic. Over 450 presentations have been conducted across the world and response remains extremely favorable. Each commandment now has enough depth and breadth to be a stand alone presentation. I get intense joy by returning to each and discovering a new insight, a different angle, a practical application to daily life, and keeping up to date with the scientific evidence informing the truth of each commandment.

My style is interactive, fun, and engaging, quickly adapting to the needs of the audience. Low dose technology is sometimes used. Principles and practices are intermingled with a personal narrative allowing critical information to be absorbed.

You gotta see it to believe it!

Dr Jonathan Moch (BSc MBBCH, FFPsych (SA)