Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.
- Chinese proverb
LOTS OF people who seek medical care are left undiagnosed or inadequately treated because examinations and tests can't determine the cause of their illness. The real problem in many of these patients is stress. The illness and the symptoms they suffer are perfectly real, but the underlying cause is related to psychological and emotional factors.
Today, perhaps the greatest challenge to health is not heart disease or cancer or diabetes or AIDS. No, I believe that the greatest threat that we face is stress.
Stress underlies much of our suffering. It contributes to such a very long list of disorders, some of them life-threatening, that researchers at Cornell University Medical College in New York called stress "the most debilitating medical condition in the United States". Sadly, we spend a great deal of time and money treating these symptoms while failing to recognise and address the underlying cause - STRESS!
According to Healthy People 2000, a report from the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services, stress has an enormous impact on our health and contributes to 50 per cent of all illness in the United States. It is estimated that 70-80 per cent of all visits to the doctor are for stress-related and stress-induced illnesses.
Job-related stress alone costs the U.S. an estimated US$200 billion annually, including costs of absenteeism, lost productivity and insurance claims.
How stress affects us
Science is becoming more and more aware of how powerfully the mind and its thoughts affect the body. Common manifestations of stress are:
Sleep disorders - too little, too much or a poor quality of the sleep.
Sexual problems - impotence, low libido, inability to experience orgasm.
Digestive problems - gas, diarrhoea or constipation, irritable bowel syndrome.
Depression, low energy, emotional and mental disturbances, difficulty in concentration, ringing in the ears, chest pains and backaches.
Awareness of heartbeat, high blood pressure, difficulty in breathing, tingling or numbness in the hands and/or feet.
Menstrual disturbance, infertility and hormone imbalances.
Accident proneness, phobias, poor performance, for example in examinations.
Anxiety disorders
Almost everyone experiences some anxiety, which is normal. Anxiety disorders are different because they are more severe and can persist and interfere with a person's daily life.
Common anxiety disorders include:
Panic disorder - a condition where a wave of sudden panic overtakes the person for no apparent reason.
Specific phobias - fears of particular situations or things: for example, a fear o open spaces, spiders, snakes or blood.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - an uncontrollable urge to repeat a certain behaviour or intrusive thoughts.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - experienced as ongoing distress and reliving of experiences as flashbacks or nightmares months after experiencing or witnessing a very distressing event, such as a disaster, accident, violent death or crime.
It is also important to realise that stress is not necessarily a bad thing. Life will always have its stressors. If we can handle them well, they can serve to stimulateus to greater strength and accomplishments.
Managing stress
Identify and list your main stressors. Become aware of your reactions to them. Learn to observe yourself in stressful situations so you can begin to choose how you respond instead of an unconscious reaction. Don't react. Respond.
A major source of your stress may be subconscious. Trauma experienced in early childhood is often suppressed and locked away in the subconscious mind. Later in life, these unhealed psychological wounds surface in a variety of ways as symptoms that often mystify both the patients and their doctors. Much unnecessary suffering frequently results from failing to identify the underlying cause.
Explore ways to elicit your relaxation response. Different people use different activities to relax them, e.g. music, hobbies, social work, etc.
Regular (daily) exercise, particularly yoga, deep breathing, meditation, and self-hypnosis, is most beneficial.
Seek professional help for counselling or psychotherapy if necessary.
Be extremely careful about using drugs to alleviate stress symptoms. This includes recrea-tional drugs like alcohol and marijuana as well prescription medicines like Valium and ativan. They only give temporary relief and are all addictive.
A proper diet is extremely important. Aim to include five or more servings of fresh fruit and vegetables daily along with an optimal protein intake. Avoid sugar, artificial sweeteners, MSG, hydrogenated oils and fried foods.
The herbs tang quei, chamomile, kava, St. John's wort and valerian, lemon balm and treanine from green tea are excellent non-drug alternatives to tranquilliser medication.
Email Dr. Tony Vendryes at info@anounceofprevention.org or listen to his show on Power 106FM on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.
