Distress, dis-ease and stress

This is a slightly technical article about stress. The intention is to help people get clarity on stress and how to avoid it.

Readers with long memories may recall that, in my 2007 article Stress Out, I argued that 'stress' as most psychologists think about it, doesn't actually exist. Stress isn't something that happens to you; it's something you create. I quote:

"The first thing to do about stress is get rid of the word 'stress'. Because the moment you use that word you are going to develop the illusion that an unfair, malign world is overloading you with problems that are driving you crazy. Thinking about your problem in this way will usually create passivity, hopelessness, procrastination and cynicism. It will also make you ill."

"Stress' only happens to people who imagine that they are victims. Now most of us get distressed when we come up against the burdens, losses and pain of life. By which I mean that we get upset. But getting upset is normal. The emotions that come up when things don't go our way: fear, sadness, frustration, anger - are signals from Bodymind that we are in trouble and that we need to make decisions, adapt to change, take risks, and get help.

The reason some of us don't handle distress well is because your ego refuses to accept that you need to change. And the basic reason for that is what I call 'dis-ease'.

Dis-ease is a pre-illness state in which your Conscious Mind - or Headmind as we call it in Reverse Therapy - is out of sync with Bodymind. Meaning that it tries to pretend that your emotions aren't there. Or if it does admit that they are there it explains them away. Or comes up with reasons why you shouldn't be letting 'irrational' emotions take you over (for example: 'I'm a grown man/boys don't cry.' or 'I'm a grown woman - I'm not going to let anyone think I can't handle it.').

Now if this state of affairs continues too long then you will not only be stuck with a load of unresolved problems but you are going to be in a jittery, highly charged, anxious, insomniac state. A state that can very quickly turn into out-of-control rage, or depression, or something worse. Like what some people call 'stress-related illness': irritable bowel syndrome, stomach ulcers, heart problems, eczema, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, tension myositis. Simply because your body can only take so much.

I have already written about how to avoid 'stress' in this article: 10 best ways to stay out of stress so I won't repeat what I said there.

But the real solution is to shrink the ego. Reduce the amount of time you spend on hurrying, worrying, control-freakery, or pretending to be someone you are not.

    'Stress is an ignorant state.  It believes that everything is an emergency.'
     Natalie Goldberg

Image by jenniferlstoddart

Comments

[Tim]

What if your body is in a state of stress but your unsure of the reasoning behind it?