Affirmations can help as well. Some good ones to say are: "I am supportive of myself." "I am supporting myself." "I am surrounded by supportive people, and have all support that I need in life." "I am standing up for myself." "I am standing upright for myself." "I am moving forward in my life, surrounded by supportive people and pain-free."

Eliminating stress from your life is essential to good back health. Stress contributes tremendously to tight muscles, a constant adrenaline rush of "fight or flight" and feelings of helplessness. Look around and do what you can to cut stressors in your life. Give up feeling that you must be super-human and that you have to control everything!

For pain relief, try this: put an ice cube on a plate. Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit, relax and just watch ice cube melt. As it melts, say to yourself that pain is melting away along with ice. All stress, pain, fear and worry are just melting away.

Be aware that you are all support that you really need in your life. You are more than capable of being supportive of yourself if you will only allow yourself to be.

No matter how debilitating your back problems are, if you will work on this, it will help if you can be open to possibility that it will. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain with attempt.

Please, feel free to email me and let me know if this helped you or if it did not! sibyl@www.circle-of-grace.com

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Chase stress away Stress causes increased production of a hormone named cortisol. According to Dr. Blair Justice of University of Texas Health Science Center, cortex of adrenal gland releases this hormone, which can have a negative impact on cells of your immune system. Cortisol also reduces number of "natural killer" (NK) cells, which travel through body, looking for and destroying aberrant cells. If you don't have enough NK cells doing their job, abnormal cells can eventually develop into tumors.

When cortisol is racing through your body, it can damage neurons in your brain in long-term and cause your to become "frozen" in short term. Experts advise engaging in a mental challenge just prior to a stressful even such as an opening moments of a meeting you've been planning for all year or an interview or a performance-appraisal review with your supervisor. There are any number of exercises you can engage in to develop your powers of concentration and control your stress. Here 's one.

Have a colleague or family member note how long it takes you to complete these six. Then make up others and exchange with your "coach." Time yourself on second set and strive to beat your earlier time.

1. N-A-P-E is to P-A-N-E as 8-2-4-7 is to: a) 4-2-8-7b) 4-7-8-2c) 7-2-8-4d) 4-8-2-7e) 2-7-8-4

2.P-O-R-E is to R-O-P-E as 3-6-9-1 is to: a) 9-6-3-1b) 3-1-6-9c) 9-1-3-6d) 9-3-1-6e) 6-1-3-9

3.T-O-P-S is to P-O-T-S as 4-1-7-9 is to: a) 7-4-1-9b) 7-1-4-9c) 9-4-1-7d) 7-9-1-4e) 4-9-1-7

4.L-I-P-S is to S-L-I-P as 5-8-3-0 is to: a) 0-3-8-5b) 0-8-3-5c) 0-5-8-3d) 3-8-0-5e) 8-0-5-3

5.S-L-A-T-E is to T-A-L-E-S as 6-7-3-5-2 is to: a) 3-7-2-5-6b) 2-6-3-7-5c) 5-7-3-6-2d) 5-7-2-3-6e) 5-3-7-2-6

6.S-A-I-D is to D-A-I-S as 2-8-4-1 is to: a) 1-2-4-8b) 1-8-4-2c) 8-1-2-4d) 2-4-1-8e) 1-4-8-2

Develop your originality by developing your mind. Whether you're aiming for next rung on corporate ladder, or simply trying to remember names and numbers at work, rely on mnemonics, practice, and stress-chasers.

Adapted from Maximize Your Mind; Peak Your Potential (800-876-4636) by Robin Wilson and Marlene Caroselli. Dr. Caroselli is an author, keynoter and trainer. You can reach her at mccpd@aol.com.

Answers: 1a, 2a, 3b, 4c, 5e, 6b.