 T might seem like a simple concept.
We toss the word around every day. Stress. But
what does stress really mean? Is it the same thing as physiological
arousal? Is it the same thing as “workload”? Is it any different
from anxiety or unconscious
anger? Is it the cause of
trauma? Is it anything at all? Is it just a
“myth”? [1]
Change
Let’s begin
with the concept of change, because life is a process of change.
Therefore, anything that involves change contains within it the
“demand” that we adapt to it, in one way or another. Graduating
from school can be as demanding as starting school, and starting a new job
can be as demanding as losing a job.
How we perceive
the change really determines how we manage to adapt to it.
If the perception
is positive, we generally embrace the change with open arms and relief. And
the story essentially ends there.
If the perception
is negative—that is, if the change challenges our stamina or
resources—the body will automatically—and dramatically—respond
to this perceived threat with a variety of physiological responses.
Physiological
Responses to Change
 Early
in the 20th century, Walter Cannon’s research in biological psychology
led him to describe the “fight or flight” response of the
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) to perceived threats to physical
or emotional
security.[2]
Cannon found
that SNS arousal in response to perceived threats involves several elements
which prepare the body physiologically either to take a stand and fight off
an attacker or to flee from the danger:
• |
Heart rate and
blood pressure increase |
• |
Perspiration
increases |
• |
Hearing and vision
become more acute |
• |
Hands and feet
get cold, because blood is directed away from the extremities to the large
muscles in order to prepare for fighting or
fleeing. |
Hans
Selye [3]
first popularized the concept of “stress” in the 1950s. Selye theorized
that all individuals respond to all types of threatening situations in the
same manner, and he called this the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS).
 He claimed that, in addition to SNS arousal, other bodily
systems such as the adrenal cortex and pituitary gland may be involved in
a response to threat. For example, chemicals such as epinephrine (adrenaline)
may serve to focus the body’s attention just on immediate self-preservation
by inhibiting such functions as digestion, reproduction, tissue repair, and
immune responses. Ultimately, as the threat wanes, Selye suggested, body
functions return to normal, allowing the body to focus on healing and growth
again. But if the threat is prolonged and chronic, the SNS arousal never
gets “turned off,” and health can be impaired. With a continuously
suppressed immune system, for example, a person would be more vulnerable
than usual to infection—which is one explanation of why some individuals
get sick so
often.[4]
And, regardless
of whether Selye was right or not, psychology, as well as medicine and popular
culture, have accepted the concept of “stress” as an unpleasant
fact of life.
Reducing
Physiological Arousal
Physiological
arousal can be uncomfortable and distracting in situations that might feel
threatening but don’t involve an actual threat. Fortunately, this sort
of arousal can be reduced by practicing some form of relaxation. A basic
relaxation technique such as Progressive Muscle Relaxation
(PMR) consciously helps muscles to relax, and, because muscle tension
is one of the triggers of arousal, the PMR process, by decreasing muscle
tension, essentially tells the body that the perceived danger is over and
that systems can return to normal. More advanced forms of relaxation, such
as autogenics and prayer,
cause muscle relaxation through mental imagery.
Hence these forms
of relaxation don’t just help to turn off the physiological symptoms
of arousal—in the imagination they can actually change one’s view
of change, so to speak, so that a change isn’t perceived as a threat
in the first place. This is why the benefits of advanced relaxation techniques
extend beyond their physiological benefits and can lead to enhanced performance,
greater self-esteem, and serenity of mind.
What is
“Stress”?
Given what we
know about the physiology of arousal due to perceived threats, and given
what we know about relaxation techniques to diminish that arousal, what can
be said about the concept of “stress”?
Well, actually,
not much.
A person could,
for example, experience a job loss and respond to its perceived threat not
with healthy problem-solving but with anger. This
anger may be conscious or unconscious, but as long
as it persists a state of physiological arousal will be maintained. In addition,
perhaps this unfortunate person will experience a Major
Depressive Episode or will develop an Anxiety
Disorder.
In traditional
terms it could be said that this person is under intense stress. In fact,
because of Selye’s influence, psychology and medicine have tended to
regard “stress” as if it were some “thing” that could
destroy our health and happiness even against our wills.
But it could
just as well be said that the person in the example has simply failed to
accept change in a healthy, adaptive manner.
So maybe
“stress” isn’t any “thing” at all. Maybe it’s
just a descriptive term that our culture uses to normalize unconscious
anger, a fear of love,
a lack of forgiveness, a desperate clinging to
a vain identity, and an absence of a
spiritual life. Maybe “stress” is just
a convenient myth—a fraud in its own right—to shift responsibility
for life away from ourselves and onto something so vague that everyone can
love to hate it.
But those who
accept the discipline of a relaxation technique are at least taking a positive
step—not to fighting “stress,” but toward living responsible
lives.
Mindfulness
Meditation
Mindfulness in
general means to be fully aware of what you are doing, while you are doing
it. This means, for example, that while eating breakfast you would be
“mindful” only of the various sensory experiences of eating the
food; you wouldn’t be thinking of that upcoming business
meeting.
Mindfulness
meditation is a term often used in the practice of psychology so that meditation
can be taught without seeming to have any religious implications. Many meditation
techniques, such as “centering prayer,” Zen Buddhism, and even
Transcendental Meditation, are quite similar to the idea of mindfulness
meditation, and yet there is nothing religious about any of them. They are
all nothing more than psychological techniques to achieve some form
of relaxed, focused mind.
Mindfulness can
be relaxing because if you focus just on the one thing that occupies you
in the moment you don’t have to deal with the anxiety of future concerns.
Mindfulness meditation draws on this realization and allows you to relax
by focusing just on your body in its immediate surroundings: heartbeat,
breathing, environmental sounds, etc. The idea is to notice these things
without judging or interpreting them. Random thoughts, for example, are noticed
as transitory things that simply come and go. If you don’t focus on
them, they soon go away as easily as they came, and so they don’t bother
you—or cause SNS arousal. Accordingly, mindfulness meditation is a very
passive process.
There is, however,
a problem with mindfulness meditation: since it’s a passive process,
you cannot stay relaxed unless you do nothing but
meditate.
The explanation
for this odd fact can be found in the
traditional [5]
Performance-Stress Relationship Curve, which looks like an inverted
“U”. At zero arousal, you have zero performance—which means
that you’re either sleeping or meditating. At maximum arousal, you
also have zero performance—here, you’re incapacitated by
panic. So, curiously enough, the only way to have any performance is to have
some arousal.
|
This curve idea
is really just common sense about physiological arousal, and it may not represent
anything particularly scientific about what “stress” may or may
not be. |
|
This means that
if you are performing any activity with a moderate to high level of arousal,
such as driving a car, being in a state of mindfulness does not in itself
reduce SNS stimulation. (Remember that mindfulness while sitting quietly
can be relaxing because sitting quietly is not inherently threatening.)
Therefore, although mindfulness can help to increase performance—because
it increases focus and awareness—to have optimal performance you also
need to use an active form of relaxation, such as progressive
muscle relaxation, autogenics, or
prayer, to keep SNS arousal from becoming
excessive.
A Lesson from
Aviation
A pilot in charge
of flying an aircraft is called the pilot in command (PIC). All pilot
training involves coping with equipment failures and other emergencies.
Emergencies can happen no matter how well-prepared and competent the pilot
may be.
When an emergency
occurs, physiological changes resulting from the threat to life favor strong
surges of energy in the large muscles, and they foster a narrow focus of
attention on the “blood rage” necessary for survival.
In a crisis,
however, a pilot needs precise hand and foot movements—not gross physical
strength—and he or she needs clear thinking—not the tunnel vision
of rage. Consequently, the “natural” survival skills triggered
by an emergency can actually contribute to a pilot losing control of the
aircraft.
Therefore, in
order to manage SNS arousal in an emergency, a pilot—or any
person—needs a third option, a sort of “unnatural” option:
not fleeing the problem, and not fighting the problem either, but taking
command of it. In an emergency, a person should be “pilot in command”
of his or her body as one essential step in coping with the overall
problem.
Taking command
of breathing.
• |
Being
aware of breathing rate |
• |
Taking slow,
deep breaths |
Taking command
of muscle tension.
• |
Being
aware of which muscles are tense |
• |
Letting
go of muscle tension |
Taking command
of cognitive processes.
• |
Being
aware of internal “self-talk” |
• |
Being
honest
about the situation |
• |
Changing focused,
negative
thinking and self-defeating thoughts to open, positive thinking and intuitive
creativity |
“Being in
control”
The idea of
“being in control” is not really a solution to change; in fact,
it is actually the cause of all the problems associated with the demands
of change in the first place.
To understand
this, let’s begin by distinguishing “being in control” from
thinking ahead, or “being prepared,” because many persons confuse
these terms. If you have to make a long trip through the desert, for example,
packing survival equipment and a set of tools is good preparation. The
preparation has nothing to do with being in control because no amount of
preparation can prevent your car from breaking down. But being prepared for
a breakdown can reduce the difficulty of coping with it, and it can make
the entire trip more relaxing.
Similarly, thinking
about all the possible objections to a business presentation is good preparation.
All too often someone will complain that such a prepared person, who thinks
in advance, likes to “be in control.” It’s not necessarily
the case.
As for the idea
of “control” itself, we have to consider both the physical
and the psychological aspects of control. On the physical level, it’s
important to realize that the arousal-relaxation cycle is not something that you
can consciously control. As I described earlier, physiological symptoms of
arousal are triggered by the Sympathetic Nervous System. I didn’t mention
that the SNS is one of two parts of the autonomic nervous system
(autonomic means out of conscious control).
The second part
of the autonomic nervous system is the Parasympathetic Nervous System
(PNS). The PNS does essentially the opposite of the SNS: it decreases heart
rate, increases digestion, etc. Hence the relaxation response switches off
SNS arousal by switching on the PNS. So, in essence, you don’t really
control the relaxation response; instead, you do the things that result in
the PNS taking control.
On the psychological
level, it’s important to realize that, despite the popular—and
illusory—images of invulnerability manufactured for sports and movie
heroes, we are never really “in control” of our lives. Much of our thought
process and creativity takes place on the
unconscious
level. In fact, anyone who uses an imaginative relaxation technique such
as meditation or prayer gives up control to something greater than
rational consciousness.
|
The task of teaching
relaxation techniques, then, is in convincing people that “being in
control” has nothing to do with relaxation. |
|
Those who resist
this understanding, and who deny their not being in control, have
two courses of action.
1. |
They can give
up all initiative entirely, as a sort of futile existential
protest, and resort to substance
abuse as a drug addict or alcoholic. Psychologically, this is all an
unconscious attempt at self-destruction as a sort of
self-punishment for feeling weak and
vulnerable. |
2. |
They can attempt
to seize control of some small part of life to create the feeling that they
at least “have control” of something. To some extent, this can
function as an illusory distraction that takes your mind off what you can’t
control. In Western cultures, men tend to use sports, sex, and wealth to
achieve a feeling of control, while women tend to use glamor and fashion.
But these distractions can also lead you straight
into pathology. An obsession with being in control of your weight can lead
to an eating disorder; an obsession with body-building
can lead to
Body Dysmorphic
Disorder,
which, by definition, is a preoccupation with an imagined defect in your
appearance.
And, even if they don’t become obsessions, all
of these distractions lead you into the realm of competition, strife, and
revenge,
leaving you with the constant need to protect yourself from losing the very
things that you use to puff yourself up in front of others. |
The attempt to
“be in control” of anything actually causes
“stress.” |
Consequently,
the best way to cope with change is to get used to “letting
go”—letting go of arousal by trusting in intuitive and creative
processes greater than your conscious thinking. It’s a bit like Luke
Skywalker, in Star Wars, deciding to switch off the computer to let
something greater than logic guide him.
So remember:
you should always be “pilot in command,” even if you’re never
in control of anything.
• |
Trying to be
in control is just a vain illusion that you can determine what happens
next in your life. |
• |
Being in
command means that even though you can’t control what happens next,
you can make decisions about what to do in response to whatever
happens. |
Four
Maxims
1. The threat
of change is perceived individually.
This means that
there are no absolutes to SNS arousal. An activity which feels threatening
to one person may not be at all threatening to someone else. I’m a private
pilot, I enjoy flying small airplanes, and I really have had fun flying
aerobatics—but there are many persons who would freeze in panic at just
the thought of flying upside down.
This
“relative” quality of threat is why so-called psychological
“stress tests” are of better use for entertainment than clinical
assessment. In fact, if you need a stress test to discover how much your
resources are being challenged by changes in your life, forget the
score—the very fact that you’re so out of touch with your body
and your mental health as to need a stress test is a clinical statement
in itself.
2. For any
individual, some activities are more physiologically arousing than others;
accordingly, a less threatening activity can provide a relative sense of
relaxation after a highly threatening activity.
This means that
a person in a demanding job, such as options trading, or air traffic control,
or emergency medicine, might find an activity such as woodworking to be relaxing.
Even though woodworking may have its own inherent demands, it can be a major
relief from the life-or-death decisions a person may have to make as a daily
part of his or her job.
3. Some activities
are more efficient at relieving SNS arousal than others.
This means that
even though a person in a demanding job might find woodworking relaxing,
there may be other activities, such as meditation, that can be more relaxing
than woodworking. Accordingly, you should try to pursue the most direct form
of relaxation possible.
Remember also
that some forms of relaxation can turn out to be more demanding than you
imagined. A project to build your own airplane, for example, can become a
real nightmare. So be careful not to get trapped in what started as a seemingly
good idea.
4. No matter
what relaxation method you choose for relaxation, the underlying mechanism
is the same.
This means that
meditation works in essentially the same way as woodworking. Remember the
basic physiology of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems:
relaxation works by encouraging the PNS to “turn off” the SNS arousal.
A relaxing activity provides relief from an arousing activity simply because
the arousal is turned off—or at least turned down.
Note that this
maxim applies also to medications. Although all medications work by different
physiological processes, they all—prescribed (anxiolitics, such as Valium),
over-the-counter (such as alcohol), and street drugs (such as marijuana or
heroin)—ultimately have the effect of influencing the SNS arousal to
turn off.
Coping with
Frustration: Psychological Counsels
Most individuals
experience feelings of frustration when someone or something obstructs them
in some way. And most individuals respond to the feeling of frustration by
wanting to force the “other” to provide satisfaction. The healthy
response to frustration, however, requires a different psychological attitude
than satisfaction.
When feeling
frustrated, instead of getting angry at the situation
or at others, sit back, relax, and wait. Say to yourself
• |
“As things develop, I
will, through listening to guidance from my
unconscious, adapt to changing circumstances and grow
with them.” |
• |
“ I may
not get what I want when I want it; I trust that things will work out in
their own good time, for my ultimate benefit, as long as I remain
calm and peaceful.” |
• |
“ I may
not get what I want at all, and yet, in remaining calm and attentive, I may
discover something else that I need even more than what I
thought I wanted.” |
So it’s simple:
take responsibility for your life, adapt peacefully to life changes, and
you will find true peace—and joy—in all that you do.
 Anger and
Forgiveness
(Fourth Edition)
Shows how to turn the emotional wounds
of daily life into psychological growth. Available as a paperback book or
as an e-book.
More
information |
No
advertising—no sponsor—just the simple truth . . .
|
|
Notes:
1.
Doublet, S. (2000). The Stress Myth. Chesterfield, MO: Science &
Humanities Press.
2. Cannon, W. B.
(1929). Bodily changes in pain, hunger, fear and rage: An account of recent
research into the function of emotional excitement (2nd ed.). New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts.
3. Selye, H. (1956).
The Stress of Life. New York: McGraw-Hill.
4. But note the
following: “The
claim of a suppressed immune system implies that the system is shut off.
This is far than being supported by research. A temporary small reduction
in lymphocytes or T cells does not make that much difference. Most of the
studies on the effects of stress are correlation studies where the
‘stressor’ is assumed and the effect is also assumed. No cause
and effect relationship has even been established.” Serge Doublet,
personal communication, July 2001.
5. The
“Yerkes-Dodson Law.” See Yerkes, R. M. and Dodson, J. D. The
relationship of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation. Journal
of Comparative Neurology, 1908; 18:459–482.
Additional
Resources
Music:
Dovesong
International —About Positive Music (and negative music).
Stress:
The
Stress Myth —this site is essentially an advertisement for
the book, but in reading over the information you can get a good sense of
the basic problem with the popular concept of stress.
Related Pages within A Guide to Psychology
and its Practice:
Autogenics
Training
Progressive Muscle
Relaxation
Systematic
Desensitization
Trauma
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