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Learn tips for stress management at this year's HPS conference

In the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome community, we know all about stress. We’re experts. We know about the stress of living with chronic health problems. We know about the stress of a sometimes uncertain future. We know about the stress of limited finances, of working with overworked and understaffed (and often under-appreciated) state and federal agencies. We know about the stress of coping with a disorder that often requires us to learn more than the average patient might have to learn about medicine and health care. We know what’s its like to find ourselves in the position of advocates for our very lives – whether we ever wanted to be there or not. Yep, we’ve got stress down pat.

Coping with stress well, however, is another story. I have to say I don’t always do it well. I didn’t get this, uh….hum, figure by not coping with stress by trying to save time by cutting corners or skipping exercise. This year in particular has been one major stress pit between the sale of our magazine, being understaffed (and underpaid) and the need to fill research protocols at NIH. I never go to bed feeling as though I’ve finished even half of what I need to accomplish in a day.

I know we’re not all going to cure our stressful lives in a single one-hour session at conference – but hey, it’s a start. Sometimes those little, practical tips can at least take some of the edge off.

So, this year we’re going to have a break out session given by Debbie Mandel, a stress management expert and radio host in the New York area. I’ve copied her bio below for those who are interested.

Her session will be opposite the HPS 101 session, Dr Meredith’s session on HPS and women’s health, and an eye doctor (sorry, I don’t know his name) coming from Puerto Rico. We put it in this spot because for some of the “old timers” we know you’ve heard the HPS 101, Dr. Meredith and the usual eye doctor speech several times already. We hope that this session will be something new for all of you. And some families that come as families break up and go to multiple sessions.

Here’s the bio:
DEBBIE MANDEL
Debbie Mandel, M.A is a stress-management specialist, radio show host, mind/body lecturer, creator of an educational website, and the author of two self-help books:
Turn On Your Inner Light: Fitness for Body, Mind and Soul and Changing Habits: The Caregivers’ Total Workout.She conducts inspiring stress-management workshops for people from all walks of life: Couples, medical personnel, cancer survivors, staff development, caregivers, nuns, teachers, young mothers, children and others. She is asked the tough questions which she answers honestly, directly and concretely. Debbie is a popular radio personality. In addition to guest spots on numerous radio shows nationwide, she hosts her own health/fitness radio show on WGBB radio in N.Y. (which airs Tuesdays from 7:00PM – 7:30PM, streams live on the internet and all shows are archived). Her guests are noteworthy physicians, therapists, nutritionists and authors like, Bernie Siegel, Michelle Wiener-Davis, Dale Atkins, Stacy Debroff, Pat Love, Pamela Peeke and David Zinczenko who set up links to her site when she archives their shows. She has been written about or significantly quoted in the NY Post, NY Times, NY Daily News, Newsday, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun Times, London Times, Miami Herald, Denver Post, Oxygen Magazine, Woman’s World, First for Women, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Body and More Magazine, IDEA Fitness, etc. The NY Post, iVillage, Fox5 and NPR interviewed Debbie about her original concept how men and women can “Find Love at Home Depot.” Debbie is frequently quoted on prominent websites such as: WebMD, Beliefnet.com, FoxNews.com, MSN.com, LifetimeTV.com, Yahoo.com, e.diets.com, Weightwatchers.com and Smartmoney.com about stress-management and relationships. Her articles have been republished on over 50 web sites such as: Beliefnet.com, SheKnows.com, Bellaonline.com (where she is the Stress Management and Alzheimer's site editor), SelfGrowth.com and SolveYourProblem.com. She was invited by Yahoo.com to present her prediction for “What’s Ahead for Romance and Relationships in 2007.”Debbie has a BA from Brooklyn College, Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude and an MA from New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She was a high school English teacher and a college professor and has since utilized her educational experience to help "you read life to get a sense of who you are."She took care of two parents with Alzheimer’s and is determined to be fully present. She embraces life with a sense of humor and fun which she brings to her own marriage. She has an uncanny ability to objectify stress, re-write the story with a positive spin, and fall in love again and again with life. Despite the tremendous stressors that caregiving places on a marriage, Debbie is able to enjoy a fulfilling marriage where she and her husband, Steve, feel romantic after all these years. Debbie is the mother of three children and a dog. Her hobbies include: gardening and landscaping, exercising, meditation, and belly dancing.

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