CHRONIC STRESS---ARE WE ALL VICTIMS?

Recently, I was listening to a "Great Courses" cd on the history of our understanding of evil.  There was a discussion of the repeated experience that people who had participated in doing evil things were often convinced that they were doing their duty and what they should be doing.  They were not acting like they were demoniacally possessed and did not seem to think that what they were doing was evil.  How can this be?  I then thought about the fact that often the people doing evil things had experienced mistreatment earlier in their lives.  A possible example is the way that Germany and the German people were treated after World War I as they were made to suffer economically and in other ways.  The stress of this [abusive?] treatment may have caused many of the German people to cope by dissociating or numbing themselves from feelings and emotional reactions to other people.  They would then have been more easily manipulated by someone like Hitler to see other countries as against Germany and believe that protecting their country was their duty. 

If this dissociating and numbing happens to a lot of people then there is a risk that they can be manipulated into doing evil things.  So, even the people doing evil things may be victims.

This points out the terrible impact that chronic stress can have.  

THE PROBLEM WITH DOUBT

I was reading Arthur The Seeing Stone, by Kevin Crossley-Holland and one of the characters [protrayed as Merlin] mentioned that "Doubt is like rust which corrodes metal. It travels from your brain into your body and eats you away." Then alittle later another quote referring to doubt was "Nothing comes of doubt, except inaction and more doubt." When I thought about these quotes they seemed to be accurate.  Doubt does make it harder to do something and it does seem to erode confidence.  The other problem with doubt could be that when we hesitate and do not act on what we first think or believe is right, we are not trusting ourselves and this can lead to worries, hesitating and other stress type reactions.  Maybe it is these stress reactions that "eats us away."  

So, if we don't want to risk getting rusty on our insides, we might want to avoid doubts and second guessing ourselves and worrying about what has or will happen in our lives and ...you get the picture.

Luckily, there are rust removers available.

JUST BREATHE

Breathing is essential for life and seems fairly automatic. However, when we are stressed we often will hold our breath [briefly] and then have shallow and more rapid breaths. Our brains are preparing us for action to avoid some danger.  Often, there is no real danger, just our anxious or feaful reaction to something that might remind us of a past dangerous situation.  Our breathing change indicates that we have shifted into crisis mode and the stress that goes along with this.  If we can keep our breathing calm and even, we will be calm.  Many different spiritual practices promote relaxed, deep breathing as part of their meditation practices.

Learning to breathe more slowly can help us to calm down. Of course, when we are stressed and worried, it can be very difficult to calm our breathing.  Focusing on making our hands and feet feel warmer can help us to feel calmer.  This requires that we focus on our hands and feet, seeking a sensation of warmth in them.  If we do this, our breathing will automatically be calm, without having to focus on our breathing.  Then, during times when we are not feeling stressed, we can practice taking slow deep breaths while being aware of the air moving through your nostrils and into your lungs and out again. Focusing on our breathing and just being aware of it can help us to feel calm and not worried. Exhaling more slowly than you are inhaling can add to your sense of being calm and relaxed.

If we just breathe, we'll like it.

TV NEWS: Too Much Stress In Our Lives

It is easy for each of us to underestimate the amount of stress that we experience every day.  I have found that many of my patients experience increased stress when they watch the news on TV.  The focus of the news is often on violence and offers no hope for change.  It is not possible to protect ourelves from the impact of what we see.  Therefore, watching the news can be very traumatic and yet we can become numb to the impact of this.

Update on Sunday, March 25, 2012 at 10:58PM by Dr. Payton

RELAX, LET YOUR BRAIN DO THE WORK: Often when we are trying to figure something out or make a decision, thinking a lot doesn't seem to help. It might be that way because our brains are very good at storing and integrating information.  However, to retrieve this information it does not work to think a lot and  force our brains to respond.  It seems that when we try to force an answer from our brains, this is interpreted as a stress response and our brains alert to the stress and try to figure our where it is coming from. This then blocks our access to the stored information that we are seeking.  It is like what happens if we become anxious before a test and try to make ourselves remember the answers.

So, to retrieve information and even answers, it is helpful to relax and trust that our brains will provide us with the information or answer.  This may seem weird but actually works.  Studies looking at creativity used to recommend brain storming to get creative and innovative ideas. Now they realize that this does not work and that it is better for individuals to clear their minds and see what pops up.  Some have called this experience  "frontal lobe hypofunction." I think that this is like trying not to think too much.  By the way, the stored information in our brains is not located in the so called higher cortical areas of the frontal lobes.  One of the many problems with being stressed is that stress makes it hard for us to access our stored memory and this then adds to our stress level.  

Update on Sunday, April 8, 2012 at 10:53PM by Dr. Payton

WE ARE ALL IN IT TOGETHER: As I was watching college backetball games during "March Madness" of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, I thought about how important sports are to many people.  I wondered why that is.  I asked a number of people and many of them fondly recalled their experiences playing on teams in high school or college.  They  talked about the importance of being with their teammates and how strong the connections were between them.  Many of them also spoke of missing those types of relationships.  Feeling connected to other people is obviously important to us.  

I have seen stress cause people to withdraw from one another and not feel connected to others.  It can even lead to not trusting others and being more likely to be caught up in causes that further divide people, while briefly feeling connected to other people who are part of the cause.  I don't believe that one can truly regain a connection or relationship to others by excluding or judging others.  So, what can we do to reestablish that sense of belonging and being connected to other  people?

Update on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 4:01PM by Dr. Payton

SHIFT AWAY FROM NEGATIVE THINKING: I have noticed that many of my patients who are chronically stressed, dwell on worries and have a lot of difficulty stopping this. Their brains are almost constantly in a crisis mode and this severely restricts their access to stored memories and leaves them more concrete in their thinking.  This makes it that much harder to get away from their worries.  If they can learn to shift their thinking on to neutral or positive images or activities, they can interrupt the stress mode and have access to a more accurate and positive outlook.  To be successful requires practicing shifting thinking away from worries and not letting oneself focus on analyzing the worries.  This is similar to DBT techniques and you might want to check out this form of therapy.