GOD HELP ME! THIS STRESS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY

by Gregory K. Popcak

Loyola University Press, 2003.

149 pages, $14.95

To order: (800) 621-1008

www.loyolapress.com

Fear. Phobia. Angst. They're nothing new: 25 years ago, Pope John Paul II pleaded: “Be not afraid! Open wide the doors to Christ!” He really was saying nothing different than Christ, who also greeted his disciples: “Be not afraid! Peace be with you!”

But fear and stress seem to dominate modern life now more than ever. How can a Catholic cope? Gregory Popcak, a licensed Catholic psychotherapist in Steubenville, Ohio, offers his advice.

What makes this book special is its blend of spirituality and psychology. Books on the two sometimes tend to downplay the former and play up the latter. This book is different.

Popcak uses the best of psychotherapy without mak- ing it a substitute for religion. He's grounded enough in the Catholic faith to know that trying to live as God wills is naturally (really supernaturally) psychotherapeutic: God's will and our welfare really do dovetail.

At the same time, he also knows that modern psychotherapy, when it takes into account “the whole truth about man” can help promote full human flourishing. That, in turn, is what God wants, because “the glory of God is man fully alive.”

Popcak starts out by getting our perspectives straight. Anxiety and stress find their roots in human sinfulness and the fear of loss. We try to compensate for that fear of loss by attempting to control situations. The problem is that we really aren't in control. The one way out of this vicious circle is to recognize that we're not in charge. God is.

By way of driving that point home, Popcak points out common modes of “faulty thinking” and inventories our “spiritual tools for overcoming anxiety” — like the sacraments, Scripture and Marian devotions. He also urges his readers to “become who you are” by acquiring those virtues we need for our “authentic selves” to blossom. And who are we? Popcak taps into a neglected teaching of Vatican II, a teaching Pope John Paul II himself stresses: We are called to be “priests, prophets and kings.”

Baptism makes us children of God, Popcak reminds us, and “because God wants his home to be a loving and orderly home, he gives his children certain chores to do and certain expectations of family life.”

Elsewhere he urges us to pursue not just happiness but joy. This he defines as “the virtue that allows us to experience an all-encompassing sense of wonder at God's creation and the gifts He has given us.” Joy, he says, “challenges us to live a more abundant life, … to try new things [and] to open ourselves to new experiences.” In other words, joy is the gift of the Holy Spirit that keeps us young — and keeps our stress in check.

The book, whose only fault is its brevity, is replete with case studies that illustrate Popcak's principles in action. It also contains lots of quizzes to let readers evaluate where their own strengths and weaknesses lie. Be not afraid to read the book, take the tests and decompress from your stress.

John M. Grondelski writes from Warsaw, Poland.

Editor's note: To learn more about Gregory Popcak's work, check out his Pastoral Solutions Institute at www.exceptionalmar riages.com.