You CAN Manage Stress!

Good Stress,
Bad Stress

"Since stress is the nonspecific response of the body to any demand, everybody is always under some degree of stress."—Dr. Hans Selye.

FOR a violinist to make music, the strings on his instrument must be taut—but only to a degree. If they are too tight, they will snap. But if the strings are too loose, they will produce no sound at all. The proper amount of tension lies somewhere between the two extremes.

It is similar with stress. Too much can be harmful, as we have already seen. But what about no stress at all? While the prospect might sound inviting, the fact is that you need stress—at least to a degree. For example, imagine that while crossing a street, you suddenly notice that a car is speeding toward you. It is stress that enables you to get out of harm's way—quickly!

But stress is not only useful for emergencies. You also need stress to accomplish everyday tasks. Everybody is under some degree of stress all the time. 'The only way to avoid stress is to die,' says Dr. Hans Selye. He adds that the statement "he is under stress" is as meaningless as the expression "he is running a temperature." "What we actually mean by such phrases," says Selye, "is an excess of stress or of body temperature." In this context recreation also involves stress, and so does sleep, since your heart must continue to beat and your lungs to function.

Three Kinds of Stress

Just as there are different degrees of stress, there are also different types.

Acute stress results from the strains of everyday life. Often, it involves unpleasant situations that need to be resolved. Since these are incidental and only temporary, the stress can usually be managed. Of course, there are some who jump from one crisis to another—indeed, chaos seems to be part of their personality. Even this level of acute stress can be brought under control. The sufferer may resist change, however, until he realizes the effect that his tumultuous life-style is having on him and on those around him.

While acute stress is temporary, chronic stress is long-term. The sufferer sees no way out of a stressful situation, be it the woes of poverty or the misery of a despised job—or no job. Chronic stress can also result from ongoing family problems. Caring for an infirm relative can bring on stress as well. Whatever the cause, chronic stress grinds away at its victim day after day, week after week, month after month. "The worst aspect of chronic stress is that people get used to it," says one book on the subject. "People are immediately aware of acute stress because it's new; they ignore chronic stress because it's old, familiar, and, sometimes, almost comfortable."

Traumatic stress is the impact of an overwhelming tragedy, such as rape, accident, or natural disaster. Many war veterans and concentration camp survivors suffer from this type of stress. Symptoms of traumatic stress may include vivid memories of the trauma, even years later, along with an increased sensitivity to minor events. Sometimes the sufferer is diagnosed with a condition called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).—See box.

Sensitized to Stress

Some say that the way we respond to stress in the present largely depends on how much and what kind of stress we have encountered in the past. They say that traumatic events can actually alter the brain's chemical "wiring," leaving a person much more sensitive to stress in the future. For example, in a study of 556 veterans of World War II, Dr. Lawrence Brass found that risk of stroke was eight times higher among those who had been prisoners of war than among those who had not—even 50 years after the initial trauma. "The stress of being a POW [prisoner of war] was so severe it changed the way these folks responded to stress in the future—it sensitized them."

Stressful events experienced in childhood should not be underestimated, experts say, since these can have a substantial impact. "Most kids who suffer a trauma are not brought to the doctor," says Dr. Jean King. "They get through the problem, go on with their lives, and wind up in our offices years later, suffering from depression or heart disease." Consider, for example, the trauma of losing a parent. "Stress of that magnitude occurring when you are young may permanently rewire the brain's circuitry," says Dr. King, "leaving it less able to handle normal, everyday stress."

Of course, how a person responds to stress can depend on a number of other factors as well, including his physical constitution and the resources available to help him cope with stressful events. Regardless of its cause, though, stress can be managed. Granted, this is not easy. Dr. Rachel Yehuda observes: "Telling someone who has been sensitized to stress to just relax is like telling an insomniac to just fall asleep." Still, there is much that a person can do to reduce stress, as the following article will show.