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inner forces and rises to meet the
crisis, producing the positive effect
of avoiding a collision.
But if the crises and pressures
around us
~ecome
so frequent and so
intense that we are constan
ti
y calling
upon inner resources to respond so
dramatically, the stress becomes
debilitating. The body simply cannot
meet such demands.
Says health educator Leo R. Van
Dolson: "When indivi duals are
repeatedly forced to ... accept con-
drugs to relax him. He is confront–
ing his problems in the wrong way.
Here is why.
Drug reliance, which can develop
into addiction and cause a host of
other related problems (as de–
scribed by other articles in this
series) spawns more stress. The
drug user becomes trapped in the
cycle. He uses drugs to cope with
stress, and this use only creates
more stress.
Relaxation should, rather, m-
Using alcohol or drugs to cope with
stress only creates further stress, contributing
to a vicious and
harmful cycle in a person's life.
tinual change, especially changes
involving conft ict and uncertainty,
an adaptive reaction occurs that
draws upon the hormones, causing
chemical reactions throughout the
body that damage its reserves of
energy."
Having too much stress, which
Dr. Selye refers to as
hyperstress,
can be destructive to both ou r
physical and emotional well-being.
Many turn to alcohol or drugs to
anesthet ize the stress produced by
emotionally upsetting events or sit–
uations: marital quarrels, poverty,
fear, lonel iness, job tensions.
These individuals fail to realize,
however, that usi ng alcohol or
drugs to cope with stress only
creates further st ress, cont ributing
to a vicious and harmful cycle in a
person's life. Using alcohol or
drugs is not an effective measure
for coping with pressures.
Rlght and Wrong Way to Relax
For instance, one important key to
coping with stress is relaxation.
More and more psychologists and
physicians are coming to view
occasional recreation not just as a
help but as an essential part of a
balanced life-style. Relaxing by a
change of activi ty restores us.
People with drug or alcohol
problems
do
attempt to relax, but
only by turning to a bottle fill ed
with either alcohol or pills. The
drug abuser, rather than learning
how to properly relax, relies on
16
volve exercise, a change of pace,
momentarily getting one's mind off
whatever is causing the stress (and
that
by mental choice, not with
self-prescribed alcohol or drugs). A
temperate use of alcohol is only
safely used by one who is
already
mentally relaxed. Alcohol should
never be used to regularly induce
relaxation.
S ince stress involves a person's
mental or emotional reaction to
externa! events, any effective pro–
gram must involve, to one degree or
another, a change of mind- a re–
orienting of life priorities. Besides
relaxation, there are other effective
measures for reducing the debili–
tating effects stress can have:
•
Be realistic.
The drug abuser
locks himself into a prívate world
where clearly viewing the real
world is difficult, if not impossible.
He may mentally magnify his prob–
lems out of proportion. He becomes
wrapped up in his difficulties, real
or imagined, so that he cannot see
anything else.
Certainly, a person's problems
may be real and serious- a broken
marriage, unemployment and lack
of money, problems with a child,
illness. But dwelling on them to the
point of becoming paralyzed by
them- unable to take action-does
not solve them. The solutions must
come through emotional maturity,
seeking wise counsel and getting
control of one's life.
Comp laining about constant
hard work, for example, only rein–
forces the stress. Focusing on the
reward ob tained from the work,
on the other hand, will make the
work a source of satisfaction rath–
er than tension. Developing this
kind of positive attitude toward
stress-produc ing pressures will
ease inner tensions.
If we become more goal-oriented
and look to the ultimate rewards
for our efforts, pressures we daily
undergo wi ll not seem as di fficult
to bear.
•
Manage your time.
Time m;:m–
agement is important. It involves
making optimum use of the time
we have available to do the things
that need·to be done. Giving priori–
ty to tasks to get the most impor–
tant-and, potentially, most worri–
some- things done first, helps.
Retreating to a drug-induced
state of euphoria or forgetfulness
certainly is not a wise use of time.
When an individual comes down
from his high, the same problems
still exist. The same tasks remain
undone, and may by then be even
more urgent. The person may
choose, then, to ftee once again to
his prívate, "safe," drugged world.
It
would be far better to manage
time wisely and get things done.
The resulting sense of accomplish–
ment would produce its own ci rcle
of events- this one positive–
encouraging the person to accom–
plish more.
•
Improve general health.
A
healthy, physically fit person can
cope with a vast amount of pres–
sure. He is adaptable, positive and
generally hopeful. Poor health
magnifies the small irritations of
life and prolongs a cycle of illness.
Consider, in the matter of improv–
ing general health, diet, exercise,
rest, getting plenty of sunshine and
developing self-control.
Alcohol and drug abuse harm
good health, thus putting more
stress on the body and inviting fur–
ther drug abuse to try to cope with
the new problems.
•
lncorporate alternatives to
stress.
Life is filled with many
sources of anxiety and unnecessary
stimulation. We can simply choose
to avoid sorne of these areas that
induce stress unnecessarily, such as
in the entertainment we pursue.
The PLAIN TRUTH