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“Many of us are recovering from all
the effects of being human in an imperfect world,” said James Marshall,
a master’s level psychologist and owner of the Master Care Institute in
Petoskey. “We are all designed to activate ‘the stress response’ to any
events that seem threatening to us.”
When people describe themselves as being stressed, they usually mean the
nervous agitation they experience under excessive demands, most commonly
in the areas of work, family, relationships, finances and health,
according to Dr. Gabor Mate, author of “When the Body says No:
Understanding the Stress — Disease Connection.” But Gabor said the
sensations of nervous tension do not define stress, nor strictly
speaking, are they always perceived when people are stressed.
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“Both animals and people can
experience stress with no awareness of its presence,” he stated.
Gabor defines stress as “a measurable set of objective
physiological events in the body involving the brain, the
hormonal apparatus, the immune system and many other organs. It
is a biological process, a wide ranging set of events in the
body that occur when the organism perceives a threat to its
existence or well-being. Excessive stress occurs when the
demands made on an organism exceed its resources.”
“The stress response activates the whole systems in the body,”
Marshall said. “Single, big, capitol ‘T’ traumatic events in our
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— sudden death of a loved one, abuse, an ugly divorce — can
activate the stress response. Then without help healing this emotional
trauma, and as more stress conditions continue — or lots of little ‘t’
traumas — a chronic stress response is triggered which is always turned
on.”
“Both animals and people can experience stress with no awareness of its
presence,” he stated.
Gabor defines stress as “a measurable set of objective physiological
events in the body involving the brain, the hormonal apparatus, the
immune system and many other organs. It is a biological process, a wide
ranging set of events in the body that occur when the organism perceives
a threat to its existence or well-being. Excessive stress occurs when
the demands made on an organism exceed its resources.”
“The stress response activates the whole systems in the body,” Marshall
said. “Single, big, capitol ‘T’ traumatic events in our lives — sudden
death of a loved one, abuse, an ugly divorce — can activate the stress
response. Then without help healing this emotional trauma, and as more
stress conditions continue — or lots of little ‘t’ traumas — a chronic
stress response is triggered which is always turned on.”
Marshall said the chronic stress response will affect how well a person
feels and may also make him/her more inclined to diseases.
The stress, disease connection
Fifty one-year-old Fred Hackl of Harbor Springs hates to admit that his
job as an architect is stressful.
“It’s fun too,” he said.
Hackl suffered a heart attack in August of 2000 at the age of 43.
“I asked my doctor if the heart attack was stress related because I had
it five days after a perfect checkup,” Hackl said.
While his heart attack was attributed to genetics, Hackl said he was
under a lot of stress at the time and the stresses leading up to his
heart attack were very subtle.
“I’m always under stress. It was funny when I had my heart attack. I was
designing a house for my toughest client — my dad. To this day he asks
me if my heart attack was his fault and I say yes,” he laughed.
“I’d always managed stress but did nothing to reduce it,” he continued.
“Dread was one of my symptoms and I’d talked myself out of panic attacks
for years.”
After his heart attack, Hackl said he suffered from excruciating pain
and “absolutely felt like giving up a couple of times.”
“I felt agony and depression after getting home. I had plans to build a
house on a bluff in Harbor Springs and I didn’t think I’d live long
enough to build it,” he said. “My daughter said it would be a ‘leap of
faith’ to build it. Her remark inspired me to live long enough to build
it — that was in 2002.”
Hackl said he fits in the category of a “type A” personality.
“I wrestle with the same things most people do. On the outside I look
relaxed and in control but on the inside I’m angry and fearful — I
internalize it,” he said. “Exercise helps me control it.”
Exercise may improve mental health by helping the brain cope better with
stress, according to research into the effect of exercise on
neurochemicals involved in the body's stress response, states the
American Psychological Association.
“Exercise is therapy for stress management,” said Northern Michigan
Regional Hospital exercise physiologist, Kelly Primo. “Exercise gets you
away from stress and releases serotonin in the brain which helps you
relax.”
Primo, who has been monitoring Hackl at cardiac rehabilitation for the
last four years, said physiologically, exercise also helps reduce blood
pressure.
“When people exercise, overall, they feel more control of their stress.
Exercise is also a healthy outlet for stress,” she said.
“A sense of humor goes a long way too,” Hackl added.
An amazing ability to heal
Although stress is virtually unavoidable, there’s also good news —
Marshall said everyone has an amazing ability to heal.
“My whole approach is (that) life is recovery,” he said. “The important
thing to remember is balance — balance between acknowledging stress and
the emotions it triggers, such as increased fear, insecurity and worry,
with staying strong and resolute to change what you can change that’s
within your control.”
Marshall said when you focus on what you can change, you practice
empowerment rather than powerlessness. One of the methods he uses is
“Core Thinking” which moves away from victim thinking to healthy
empowerment thinking by providing greater insight into thinking patterns
promoting distress and changing patterns to promote peace.
“People tend to respond to external stressors and tend to be victimized
by them,” he said. “I use ‘Choice Points’ to help patients escape victim
thinking. Choice Points are the ability to detect body signals alerting
you to the presence of distress before it takes a greater emotional and
physical toll.”
Marshall said physical, emotional and thought signals flag us that we
are at Choice Points.
“When you notice signs, stop and do something — do what you can do and
avoid victim thinking,” he said. “We need to shift from practicing any
form of helplessness in anything we are facing and practice empowerment
by asking for help, receiving love and support from others, having faith
and acquiring new skills to face challenges.”
The limited licensed psychologist said we often tell ourselves that we
shouldn’t be thinking, acting or feeling the way we do, and that shaming
and blaming ourselves locks us into a problem.
“You have to own responsibility and non-judgementally explore the need
that’s driving those patterns. If you don’t use compassionate
exploration to find out what’s driving those patterns, you can’t change
the problem,” he said.
If you find yourself struggling unnecessarily and feel blocked from
achieving your potential or when what you’re doing isn’t working and you
don’t know what else to do, Marshall said you may benefit from speaking
with a professional.
“Emotion has energy. If you don’t acknowledge it, it stays and works
within you,” he said. “Asking for help is not weakness and talking it
through is not giving up or quitting — it’s being honest. Everyone also
needs to remember to breathe — this is one of the most effective ways to
trigger relaxation.”
He added that therapy is not always about treating problems, it’s also
about attaining peak performance. And when it comes to serious illness,
Marshall said the thought process of mind over matter sure can’t hurt.
Mind over matter
“The role stress plays varies by individual. Two people can experience
the same stressors over time. One may not end up sick in some way from
the stress while the other could be increasing the likelihood of a host
of diseases,” Marshall said. “We have to be very careful not to blame
people for their illnesses though, since we can’t know just how much, if
any, stress has played in a given person’s health scenario. The point is
to get savvy in preventing illness and disease to the extent we can by
building our distress tolerance — learning stress management skills.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, mind-body therapies are
interventions that use a variety of techniques designed to facilitate
the mind’s capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms. Therapies
include relaxation techniques, guided imagery, biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral
therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing and
psychoeducational approaches.
“Using visualization skills to project desired outcomes on cellular and
body levels and on life may even help. We also teach what I call ‘the
core triad of relaxation skills.’ This includes diaphragmatic breathing,
which activates the brain to trigger the relaxation response — a
biochemical change that soothes the nervous system,” Marshall said.
He added a positive attitude and faith can affect mood, attitude and
level of hope.
“With hope and faith, anyone facing a serious illness is apt do to
better in fighting that disease and is also apt to enjoy life everyday
that they’ve got.”
Alternative program help those striving to beat cancer
Some medical experts are finding that complementary and alternative
programs can go hand-in-hand with traditional approaches to help heal
the body of those striving to beat diseases including cancer.
“We are trying to help our patients see that there are other therapies
that can dovetail with their medical regimen,” said Sue Finley, licensed
master social worker with Northern Michigan Hematology/Oncology and an
organizer of a new program offered by Northern Michigan Regional
Hospital, for people diagnosed with cancer.
Often, patients are overwhelmed with a cancer diagnosis and can begin to
focus solely on the rigorous medical treatments ahead. The program will
be a way for area professionals to share expertise in integrative
medicine techniques that can help heal the whole person, Finley said.
This innovative program is intended as a complementary addition to a
patient’s traditional medical protocol and will focus on promoting
health, managing symptoms, nourishing and strengthening the body and
enhancing mental and emotional well-being. Therapies and topics such as
art therapy, aromatherapy, reflexology, relaxation therapy, money
matters, relationship issues, nutritional topics, lymphedema, Safe
Crossings and the American Cancer Society’s “Look better, feel better”
program are explored.
“More and more people are surviving cancer and there are a lot of areas
that research is just beginning to focus on,” said Finley. “We really
want to be proactive and look at some of these issues with people and
their families, because this is a family disease — it affects everyone
in the family.”
“Every person is affected by cancer in different ways, and these
programs offer unique techniques that allow each person to individualize
their journey,” added Dr. Lisa A. Galloway, oncologist at Northern
Michigan Regional Hospital.
Galloway also mentioned that some of these programs have the potential
to offer a sense of control over a patient’s care, which can be healing
in itself.
The class is open to cancer patients undergoing treatment and Finley
noted that patients do not have to specifically be patients at Northern
Michigan Regional Hospital. Anyone suffering from cancer who may be
interested in taking part in the program can call Finley at 487-3390
with further questions about attendance.
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