Dr LeCrone
03-30-2006, 08:33 AM
Medical researchers disagree very little about the role stress plays in many medical problems. Coupled with a person’s genetic makeup and the effects of problems caused by such environmental elements as alcohol, tobacco and overeating, stress can compound the illness.
Interest in the mind/body connection is very strong now, and many health-care experts believe as much as 75 percent of all visits to the doctor are related to stress. Many headaches, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular difficulties such as hypertension can be linked to stress.
This does not necessarily mean that stress causes these problems, but it is often related to their development and is part of the chain of events that result in these difficulties. Many of us now that a tension headache can be a result of a bad day at the office, an argument with a spouse or a financial setback. Other people may experience upset stomachs, irritable bowel syndrome or some other stomach or colon problem.
The amount that emotional factors contribute to heart disease still is open to some debate, but most cardiologists recognize that stress can be a factor in many forms of heart disease. Lower-back pain, asthma, skin disorders and diabetes also can be related to stress.
To reduce stress, try these strategies:
• Learn procedures that help the body relax and control tension.
• Try relaxation techniques, deep-breathing exercises, physical exercises, biofeedback.
Sometimes a combination of these techniques is helpful, but like most self-improvement skills it is quickly lost without practice. Practicing a tension-reducing strategy regularly enables many people to reduce their tension so that they begin to be perceived by those around them as more “laid-back” and relaxed. Using these techniques regularly can help a person achieve better sleep, better digestion and reduce a tendency to use eating to combat anxiety.
Many people resort to food as a tranquilizer when they are anxious. As a result, they have a great deal of difficulty controlling their weight.
Being more relaxed also helps enhance our perception of having more control in our lives. A more relaxed posture and outlook on life enables us to make clearer decisions and to be free from the wound-up feelings that often lead to impulsive outcomes. A more relaxed approach to life also decreases the likelihood that we will be tense, irritable and hard to get along with in work, social and family relationships.
The Type A personality, tense, driven and unable to relax, often is very difficult to live with. Type A personalities go to extremes in their need for control. Coupled with their tenseness, this gives the impression that they are tyrants and care only for themselves. This behavior is complex and still is being studied.
One definite method for helping the Type A personality learn to change is to adopt techniques that diffuse or reduce much of their explosive, free-floating hostility.
Next week I will discuss another way to deal with stress – one that can lead to healthier outcomes in life.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1987
Interest in the mind/body connection is very strong now, and many health-care experts believe as much as 75 percent of all visits to the doctor are related to stress. Many headaches, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular difficulties such as hypertension can be linked to stress.
This does not necessarily mean that stress causes these problems, but it is often related to their development and is part of the chain of events that result in these difficulties. Many of us now that a tension headache can be a result of a bad day at the office, an argument with a spouse or a financial setback. Other people may experience upset stomachs, irritable bowel syndrome or some other stomach or colon problem.
The amount that emotional factors contribute to heart disease still is open to some debate, but most cardiologists recognize that stress can be a factor in many forms of heart disease. Lower-back pain, asthma, skin disorders and diabetes also can be related to stress.
To reduce stress, try these strategies:
• Learn procedures that help the body relax and control tension.
• Try relaxation techniques, deep-breathing exercises, physical exercises, biofeedback.
Sometimes a combination of these techniques is helpful, but like most self-improvement skills it is quickly lost without practice. Practicing a tension-reducing strategy regularly enables many people to reduce their tension so that they begin to be perceived by those around them as more “laid-back” and relaxed. Using these techniques regularly can help a person achieve better sleep, better digestion and reduce a tendency to use eating to combat anxiety.
Many people resort to food as a tranquilizer when they are anxious. As a result, they have a great deal of difficulty controlling their weight.
Being more relaxed also helps enhance our perception of having more control in our lives. A more relaxed posture and outlook on life enables us to make clearer decisions and to be free from the wound-up feelings that often lead to impulsive outcomes. A more relaxed approach to life also decreases the likelihood that we will be tense, irritable and hard to get along with in work, social and family relationships.
The Type A personality, tense, driven and unable to relax, often is very difficult to live with. Type A personalities go to extremes in their need for control. Coupled with their tenseness, this gives the impression that they are tyrants and care only for themselves. This behavior is complex and still is being studied.
One definite method for helping the Type A personality learn to change is to adopt techniques that diffuse or reduce much of their explosive, free-floating hostility.
Next week I will discuss another way to deal with stress – one that can lead to healthier outcomes in life.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1987