How to fix what ails you. Seriously.

MACBETH
     Cure her of that.
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased,
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the written troubles of the brain
And with some sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?

MACBETH
Cure her of that. Can’t you treat a diseased mind? Take away her memory of sorrow? Use some drug to erase the troubling thoughts from her brain and ease her heart?

DOCTOR
     Therein the patient
Must minister to himself.

People are especially stressed. Facebook has turned into a Cold War hot spot. Name-calling and schoolyard taunts drive polls for presidential hopefuls. People feel the world leaving them behind, or threatening to come take their stuff.

What to do?

Read a novel.

Yes. Read a novel.

Six minutes a day can drop stress levels in half.

Such advice is not new, but the tools for measuring its effectiveness make a more compelling case.

Take this article on self-therapy via reading, for example.

But this one- from Inc. magazine, of all places- gives the most bang for your attention span.

So pull down a book.

Be more centered. Sleep better. Pick fewer Facebook quarrels. Amaze your friends. They'll ask, "Have you lost weight?"