From An Overlooked Epidemic
In 1983 Time magazine declared that stress was "the epidemic of the '80s." What does that say about us now?In the two decades since that declaration, we've welcomed into our lives cell phones, beepers, the Internet, 24-hour news, and self-managed retirement plans. The workplace has been revolutionized -- a few times. So have the financial markets. Shopping choices have proliferated (funny how tomatoes now come in grape, cherry, plum, and pear variations), meaning decision-making is harder than ever. Beyond our control are the more insidious concerns of terrorism, a one-world economy, and global warming. If someone asked you to describe life today in one word, it's a pretty good bet that word wouldn't be "calm," "serene," or "tranquil."
Given its profound influence on our physical and mental well-being, stress may well be America's No. 1 health problem. The American Institute of Stress estimates that 75 to 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for illnesses caused or made worse by stress. Included in that category are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease. That's why the Live It Down Plan's stress-reduction component is so important. If you can learn how to relax and be more sanguine about the "24-7" world we live in, you can make major progress in lowering your heart attack risk and improving your life.
What Is Stress?
According to the Encyclopedia of Stress, "stress" is one of the most frequently used but ill-defined words in the English language.We say we're stressed when we're late for work and when we can't pay our bills. We laugh about the stress of the holidays and cry over the stress of a divorce. Even an ostensibly happy occasion -- such as the birth of a child -- can be stressful.
The encyclopedia defines stress as a "real or interpreted threat to the physiological or psychological integrity of an individual that results in physiological and/or behavioral responses." In other words, stress is any change in your world that evokes some reaction from you. If you're a neatness nut, having 10 people staying in your house for a long weekend could be incredibly stressful; but if you don't mind chaos and clutter, then let the fun begin. If you thrive on to-do lists and deadlines, a week with absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to go could make you crazy; another person might feel positively reborn.
"People talk about stress as though it's a bad thing," says stress researcher Catherine M. Stoney, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Ohio State University, "but stress exists inside us. It's really the interaction between what's in our environment and how we cope and deal with it."
Stress is often linked to a short-lived event, such as an argument. But it can be prolonged as well. In fact, the persistent yet subtle pressures of modern-day living are an ever-increasing -- yet harder to diagnose -- cause of stress. Doctors identify three main classes of stress:
Types of Stress
Acute stress
This is the most common form, stemming from the demands and pressures of the recent past and the anticipated demands and pressures of the near future, such as a fast-approaching deadline. Acute stress is the kind you encounter when you first find out you or someone you love has cancer; when you have a brand new baby; or when you first read a notice from the IRS asking about last year's taxes. It's what happens to your body when you swerve to avoid hitting a car or rush across town because you're late to an appointment.
Episodic acute stress
People in this category move from one episode of acute stress to another. Typically they live lives filled with chaos and crisis. They take on too much, they're always running late, and their homes are filled with clutter. They never seem to slow down, are quick to anger and, not coincidentally, have higher rates of heart disease. Some are worrywarts, who see disaster around every corner and who live their lives in a constant state of high anxiety.
Chronic stress
This is the subtler, prolonged stress -- often linked to large life issues -- that wears you down every day. It exists in the background of your daily routine. You become so used to it, you don't even know it's there anymore. It's caring for an aging parent or disabled child, working a job in which you have little control, trying to support your family on a salary that never seems to stretch far enough, or coping with a chronic illness like diabetes or heart disease. It's being trapped in a bad marriage, living in a war zone, or coping with a dysfunctional family.
Genetically, we're relatively well equipped to deal with acute stress. When we're confronted with a stressor -- such as when someone suddenly shouts at you, or you're driving in the car and you have to swerve to avoid a collision -- the body kicks into gear, releasing a flood of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, known as stress hormones. These, in turn, direct a well-orchestrated response throughout the body. Blood sugar level rises and metabolism speeds up to make more energy readily available. Breathing rate and oxygen consumption also increase, and blood flow changes, with blood being pulled from nonessential areas (like the digestive tract and the small muscles in the fingers and toes) and sent to the brain and major muscle groups that you use to fight or flee, primarily the arms, legs, and chest. Even the blood itself is affected, with clotting time decreasing so you're less likely to bleed to death if you're wounded. Meanwhile, the immune system goes dormant because it's not immediately critical to survival.
This fight-or-flight response enabled our ancestors to deal with a more hostile, physically demanding world of hunting, fighting, and surviving. All well and good for those instances when quick thinking and quick feet are necessary. But when stress hormones are continually released, when your body is continually in fight-or-flight mode, and yet you have no physical release for these surges of energy and hormones, then damage can occur.