The Problem of Stress

'For the man who has conquered his mind, it is his greatest friend; but for the man who fails to do so, his mind will be his greatest enemy.'
Sri Krsna

What was the big threat facing us in the papers this morning? Do you think the greenhouse effect is more threatening than the spread of AIDS? Do you think the growing number of homeless people is a greater worry than the growing number of long-term unemployed? Add to all this the personal pressures that influence our lives: pressures from family, relationships and employment; the ambitions and standards we set for ourselves; our health and wealth; all the doubts, fears and insecurities of our everyday lives ... is it any wonder we're feeling tense?

If there was ever a period in history when we could hardly avoid falling victim to the ravages of stress and tension, it's now. Stress today is a big threat and claims just as many casualties (if not more) as the Plague did in the seventeenth century. And just as it took a major lifestyle adjustment to combat the Plague, a similar adjustment is needed today to combat stress.

Stress is popularly accepted as the most common promoter of disease and discomfort in the Western world. It is blamed for the escalating incidence of heart disease and the risinf national blood pressure; it encourages almost every fashionable ailment from migraine to cancer; it reduces resistance to disease; it contributes to the rampant insanity and social disorders that confront us every day of our lives. It leads to hypertension, indigestion, constipation, palpitations, insomnia and impotence. It has been blamed for high blood pressure, the hardening of the arteries, strokes and suicide. Overall, it's encouraged more serious illness and suffering than any other known condition, yet it doesn't sound anywhere as frightening or ugly as cancer or leprosy or even, dare I say it, herpes. Such is the insidious nature of stress.

Unlike most ailments, stress doesn't pass with time. It is self-perpetuating. It builds and builds until it is a major influence on your mind and body, until it dominates almost every action you take, every emotion you feel, and every thought you think. Contrary to popular opinion, the reason for this is biological rather than neurotic. Humans, like all animals, arr biologically equipped for regular episodes of 'fight or flight'. When confronted by a hostile animal or adversary, primitive men had the choice: either stay and fight, or flee for their lives. While deciding, their bodies were preparing for either eventuality. With no conscious effort, the adrenal glands began secreting adrenaline and epinephrine hormones, muscles tensed, pulses quickened, blood pressure rose, digestion ceased, breathing quickened. They were perfectly equipped for either fight or flight.

In today's world, every mishap, confrontation, mistake, and almost every move we make seems to activate this 'fight or flight' mechanism. The early morninh alarm fails to sound. You don't have a clean shirt. The garbage hasn't been collected again. The train runs late. The tickey collector is aggressive. You're late for work. Your best friend is angry because of something you said. You don't know how you're going to finish all your work this week. You discover you're the centre of a spicy piece of office gossip. And it's still only 9.20 a.m.

Each one of those 'unimportant' little aggravations activates the 'fight or flight' response in your body. You experience this physiological preparation for action hundreds of times throughout an average day. However, there are differences between your 'fight or flight' reaction and the primitive men's. They could resolve their stressful situations simply by performing one of the two options at their disposal: fighting or fleeing. Either way, the strain on their muscles ueed up the chemicals in their system, and they immediately began to calm down and their stress levels dissolved. In your case it's not so easy. When your 'fight or flight' mechanism is activated, you have to stay at your desk. Or behind the wheel of your cab. Or behind the sales counter. And all you can do is brood. Your nerves and muscles are all primed for fight or flight, your juices are flowing and there's nothing you can do about it. You're stuck in that passive situation while your stress level builds and builds.

Is it any wonder that your stress ends up at such critical levels?

This book is dedicated to eliminating stress.

I'm sure everyone recognizes the fact that it is possible to live a stress-free life. Yet, if you're like most people I know, you won't be prepared to make the dramatic lifestyle adjustment that's required to achieve this end. Like me, you're probably not prepared to change your occupation or husband, or move to a remote part of the country. Similarly, you're probably not prepared to reduce your diet to a subsistence level, or forget just how good wine tastes, to exercise at least thirty minutes a day, to concentrate only on positive thoughts, to get at least eight hours' sleep every night and to drink five litres of fluoride-free water every day.

There has to be a more practical solution than this!

There is. It is possible to live a prpgressively stress-free existence without making dramatic changes to your lifestyle. It is possible to face every day feeling calm and relaxed, easily coping with the pressures and anxieties that modern life presents. It is possible to enjoy a peaceful, happy, contented and confident existence, living life to the fullest. All with a minimum of guidance, surprisingly little effort, and the Calm Technique.

Primarily, the Calm Technique influences your state of mind. If your mind is calm, your life will be in order. As well, your state of mind has a very definite influence on your general state of health. Consider how a relaxed, happy, easy-going person always seems to have fewer medical complaints than someone who is neurotic, bitter and anxious. You may argue that the medical complaints could be the cause of the state of mind rather than the other way around; but evidence has shown that the mental state (read 'stress') does have a marked negative effect on organic conditions. Not only does it encourage ill-health and disease, but it inhibits the body's immune responses and the entire healing process.

Meditation not only encouraged a powerful health-giving frame of mind, but it is also one of the most  successful antidotes to stress. The Calm Technique will reduce accumulated stress. It will have a positive effect on your general state of mind and health. Use it sincerely and conscientiously, and the day will certainly come when you will no longer be a victim of stress.